Artist K. Woodman-Maynard has a bold take on beloved ‘Tuck Everlasting’

In a comic she drew before bedtime one night, K. Woodman-Maynard manifested a project that would occupy her for the next couple of years. The author and cartoonist, who lives in south Minneapolis with husband Mike Schowalter and a one-eyed Vizsla named Leif, writes a “diary comic” each night. Creator of a graphic novel version of “The Great Gatsby” that came out in 2021, she craved a new project. So Woodman-Maynard, who grew up in Golden Valley, Minnesota, drew a portrait of herself in a Wonder Womanlike position, with arms akimbo. “Two days later, the call came,” said Woodman-Maynard, who also writes her own original comics and works as a comics coach, helping other artists create work and feel good about it.

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A couple years, 1,400 hours of work and a pile of gorgeous watercolour paintings later, that call has resulted in “Natalie Babbitt’s “Tuck Everlasting”: The Graphic Novel.” Celebrating the book's 50th anniversary, it’s a fresh, inventively-illustrated look at the middle-grade book about a girl who meets a boy named Jesse and his family — who have achieved eternal life and aren't sure that’s such a great thing. I met with Woodman-Maynard, 40, to discuss death, hope and whether her adaptations are abominable.

Graphic novel adaptations of classics are hot right now. How did these two biggies come to you?

“Gatsby" is in the public domain and it was my idea. We pitched it and a publisher bought it. For “Tuck,” [Babbitt’s estate] approached me because of the “Gatsby” adaptation, thinking it would fit stylistically.

You were immediately interested?

I remembered having strong feelings about “Tuck Everlasting” when I read it as a kid and the feelings were, like, loving it but also betrayal and anger. So I ran over to my nearest book store, Moon Palace, and got the book and read it before we even started the process.

And?

I thought, “I love this.” I'm so well suited to this because nature is so important in it and I really love nature, but also the theme of mortality I was very interested in, both for myself and kid me.

You thought it could help you cope with death?