Eight years ago, Comics Beat reported that publishers’ favorite, award-winning comics every week Anders NelsonNew comics Tongue “Looks spectacular.” Well, the collection of this spectacular work is finally here.
After the artist himself published various entries over the past few years, the Penguin Random House Brand Pantheon Books released the first volume of the collection on March 11, 2025. Check it out here.
Beat Contact Nilsen via email to discuss the release of his new graphic novel, his work’s inspiration, and why his artistic process is so magnificent.
This interview has been edited (slightly).
Ollie Kaplan: Although made of geometric shapes, panel layouts are usually organic and earthy. Do you have a process to schedule a page?
Anders Nelson: Usually very intuitive. However, there are some general ideas – in past history there are usually round panel boundaries, while what is happening now is made up of straight edges. That said, I also worked on this project and wanted to play with the panel borders somehow. Therefore, some scenarios involve more paneling. One book reviewer said that the early dream/memory sequences in the first scene were obviously intended to quote the ritual reading of the internal organs that I absolutely like. But, I didn’t actually expect it. Then, I use some heavy frames in some places, giving the scene a similarly powerful feel.
For me, panels are the basic unit of comic storytelling. Panels are for comics, sentences or phrases are prose, but if you want to play with them like this, they may be much more than that. They are a realistic approach. They can visually convey many practical meanings and content. They can create the entire context for the scene. We usually only use them as small containers, but they can be more actively part of storytelling.
Kaplan: How is it Tongue Based on your previous work?
Nelson: This is definitely a climax. So far, I’ve been everywhere. My books don’t look like any other book in terms of visual style, storytelling style, etc. Tongue, I don’t necessarily mean to put everything together, but it happens on its own. The way I use panels is an example, but it is also the use of silhouette images, which are many of the themes of this book – myths and ideas related to religion, politics, and divinity. Although almost all other major projects I completed grew into experiments in my sketchbook Tongue My other finished works have grown up. I’ve been Dog and water Stand out from prometheus Poseidon’s rage. I’m integrating from Big problem Entering the narrative in a new way. I’m using myths in a way that can be traced back to the Sisyphus story Cramer’s Corner #4back to the early days.
Kaplan: Your interest in what the comics mean, and to me, the legend of Prometheus inspired the work. What news (or meanings) do you want readers to take away from this story?
Nelson: Well, the main thing they took away is that this is a fascinating read. But I am definitely interested in provoking readers to think about our identity as human beings. Part of this book is about meditation about how great we perform and how terrible we have to influence the world. We are a complex species. Many fantasy/sci-fi/hero novels are about “save the world”, which basically means saving yourself. This is a good idea, and it’s rightfully so. I’m not necessarily going to take the opposite position, but am interested in solving this problem.
Kaplan: What drew you into a modern recap of classic myths? What else has affected your work?
Nelson: When I was a kid, I was attracted by Greek mythology. In particular, some people may know something about D’Aulaires’ book on Greek mythology. Anglaire IngriThe art in that book is so rich and gorgeous. I may have read it a hundred times. My Tintin books and X-Men comics would be there, so it was burned into my brain. I know a lot of these story guards, so it’s easy to dip in and use them as templates for playback. The popular concept of these stories is that they are undoubtedly in another period, which makes it automatically interesting to set them up in the moment. Unlike Tintin and X-Men, there are no copyright issues to worry about.
Other effects may include CS LewisThe Narnia Story, and his later books Until we have face. JRR TOLKIEN It’s hard to deny. There is also a Norwegian existential writer per warehouseWhen I first started making comics seriously, I read a lot of books, and his storytelling methods also influenced me. I’ve always had to mention Chester Brown‘ Ed Happy Clown. For me, it’s one of the masterpieces of the comics, or overall storytelling.
Kaplan: It took 15 years to complete one of your previous works; here are about 10. Can you tell me more about your artistic process while working in comics?
Nelson: Well, my artistic process usually involves stories that are longer in telling than in concepts. Unfortunately for such a large work, I started with some basic ideas of things I wanted to incorporate – themes, visual thoughts, roles, and I sat with them for a while. Many ideas permeated for a long time before I started painting or writing, at least because Sisyphus and Dog and water. When I arrived to actually plan the book, these ideas might not all be strictly reasonable, but I was also interested in throwing some different, irrelevant elements together to see what would happen. It was like dropping some obstacles on my road to make sure I wasn’t very happy with the route across the other side. I want to make room to find some discoveries along the way. I want to surprise myself if I can. Then I sat down and started writing. I wrote a script, at least in the first 40-50 pages. I then abbreviated this, blocking the content in each panel. Then I carefully planned the panels on each page, and I was very sketchy in the pencil – really just putting the characters and objects. and ink. All drawings take place in the ink. This is scanned and all colors happen in Photoshop.
Kaplan: What is your typical R&D process when creating a new work? Do you think of the tongue differently from previous works?
Nelson: Tongue Of course, there is more research and reference involved than anything else I have done. Figure out how to draw the Eagles correctly and figure out how to divide locations like Mazar e Sharif in Afghanistan and Nairobi, Kenya. The bottom of the Hummer. I naturally wouldn’t attract the research part, but it was necessary and I tried to accept it. This book definitely expands my abilities as an artist and I am grateful for it. Once upon a time, I’ve been looking at image galleries in public libraries. Now, Google Image Search is my constant companion.
Kaplan: What are your thoughts when readers can expect Volume 2?
Nelson: Currently, the whole story is probably 95% scripts and thumbnails, so I’m confident that the second volume will be faster than the first volume. Cross your fingers. I’ll just say three to four years, and then when the book is published in 2035, we can all laugh together.
Kaplan: Your work explores militarism regularly. Do you think the political climate in 2025 will affect the way this work is received?
Nelson: Yes, unfortunately, a good question. I have no idea. Hope we don’t go back to the battle. I hope the theme is relevant, no matter who is in power, but the current regime does tend toward the argument that humanity is arduously qualified to manage the earth. So maybe this is good for the book? But if I had a choice, I would rather bombs and planets flourish.
Kaplan: By reading other interviews with you, I understand that your parents are also artists – your mom, writer; your father, painter; and your stepmother, artist. How does this affect your artistic development?
Nelson: In different ways. Watching my dad and stepmother as artists was a bit standard for me. Like, it’s just what people do. And, absolutely more or less everyone, so is my stepfather. Writing and painting are both. No one tried to tell me to do something more responsible or financially feasible. Ultimately, they all made their livelihoods other ways, but that didn’t affect their passion for my choice. My dad put me on hold at some point to let me know that this might not be the easiest way of life, but I think he is just obligated. I don’t think he’s trying to push me to another path. I’m very lucky. For my benefit, I was believed and supported. Many children don’t.
Kaplan: Both my mother and uncle are professors of fine arts at the University of New Mexico, so I’m glad to learn that you got the BFA there. How does the program and/or New Mexico itself affect your work?
Nelson: Oh, that’s wild. I love New Mexico. The art program there is great. Of course, it’s a far cry from the big art centers in New York and Los Angeles, but it just forces us to make our own scenes. To this day, my two best friends are from the program. We raise each other’s work and ideas and ambitions. The program is very focused on ideas, not technology, and I appreciate it. Of course I didn’t have an understanding or interest in comics at the time, but I didn’t know that it was actually important, and it was important in the end. Part of me may like to start comics earlier, but I’m glad I was forced to experiment and play in a bunch of other sandboxes before settling in one medium. I think this might make my comics more interesting.
Kaplan: Do you want to add anything else?
Nelson: I don’t know when it will come out, but I only mention this group welfare art show I’ve released for Chicago books. It’s called Xlaooc, or it’s oversized and has no context. I’m making a bunch of large prints of original art by cartoonists and donating proceeds to ACLU and doctors without boundaries. The work will last for several months, with a few weeks of earnings auctions after opening on March 25. Other artists include Charles Burns,,,,, Chris Ware,,,,, Aidan Koch,,,,, CF,,,,, Kevin Huizenga,,,,, Ivangieg,,,,, Geneviève Castrée,,,,, Laura Parkand marijuana. I have a beautiful collage Fantastic Four page Jack Kirby. The show was held at a restaurant I used to cook at an early restaurant in Lula Café Chicago. I’m very excited about the work I’m able to get and am very happy to be able to raise a little money for several groups in an attempt to alleviate some of the chaos and destruction that our current government is causing. So I hope people check it out.
Pantheon Books released the first volume of Anders Nilsen’s tongue on March 11, 2025.
