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Paul Theroux, the acclaimed travel writer and novelist, has taken readers to the far reaches of the world, from Patagonia and Siberia to China and Uganda
At 85, he has written short stories, novels, memoirs, criticism and historical fiction, and several of his books have been adapted into films starring A-list Hollywood actors
But despite growing up as an avid comic book reader, Theroux had never collaborated on a graphic novel — until he received a letter from Santa Rosa cartoonist Steve Lafler
In 2020, after reading Theroux’s “On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey,” Lafler sent a fan letter to the publisher. To his surprise, Theroux wrote back
“Steve, out of the blue, wrote me a message about Oaxaca and how he liked the book,” Theroux recalled. “Then he said he did graphic novels, which interested me a lot, so I replied.”
The two struck up a correspondence. Lafler, who spent a decade living in Oaxaca with his family, sent Theroux his own graphic novel, “Death Plays a Mean Harmonica,” a surreal tale featuring a 2,000-year-old Zapotec vampire who raises chickens for their blood because he’s too polite to bite anyone and a cab driver who turns out to be “a fungus in human form.”
“I liked it a lot,” Theroux said. “He’s created his own version of the human race. These are Steve’s people. All great cartoonists do that. Steve’s drawing people that don’t exist in any other comic.”
From EC Comics to ‘The Mosquito Coast’
It might not be obvious from books such as “The Great Railway Bazaar,” his 1973 train travelogue from London to Asia and the Middle East, or “The Mosquito Coast,” his 1981 novel about an eccentric inventor later played by Harrison Ford in the 1986 film adaptaton, but Theroux’s fascination with dark, twisted stories predates his career as one of America’s best-known travel writers
“When I was young, comic books were my go-to reading,” said Theroux, who grew up in Bedford, Massachusetts, and now divides his time between Cape Cod and Hawaii. “I loved them, and I can say they really influenced me.”
His favorites were EC Comics, particularly horror titles such as “Tales from the Crypt.”
“They were never about children. They were always about adults — and very dysfunctional adults,” he said. “It opened a whole world of experience to me. What novel, when you’re 11 or 12 or 13 years old, would you read about a bad marriage, a divorce or a guy killing his wife?”
An underground cartoonist’s world of ‘insect noir’
Born in upstate New York, Lafler attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he drew the daily comic strip “Aluminum Foil” for four years in the Daily Collegian
“That was my 10,000 hours of learning the basics of comic storytelling,” he said
Over the years, the self-described “independent slash alternative slash underground” cartoonist carved out a niche with “Mean Cat,” the “Dog Boy” comics and the “Bughouse” graphic novel series-with-one-of-tvs-best-first-seasons-is-now-on-netflix/” title=”A Superhero Series With One Of TV's Best First Seasons Is Now On Netflix”>series, which reimagines the 1950s bebop jazz scene in Manhattan through an “insect noir” lens — the musicians are all bugs addicted to a drug called “bug juice.”
Insects are a running theme: Even his punkabilly band, which he co-founded in Oaxaca, is called “Radio Insecto.”
Once Lafler and Theroux began talking about comics, collaboration came naturally
“We hit on the idea of collaborating,” said Lafler, 69. “The chance to collaborate with one of my favorite authors was enticing. I knew it’d be a hell of a challenge, but I just jumped at the idea.”
The result is “Crazy for You,” a graphic adaptation of two stories from Theroux’s 2014 collection “Mr. Bones.”
The stories descend into obsession, greed and infidelity. One follows real estate developer Minor Watt, who becomes consumed by the desire to destroy valuable works of art during a divorce. The other, “Siamese Nights,” tells the story of a husband working in Thailand who falls for a local sex worker who is not who she appears to be
“Paul’s fiction, especially his short stories, tends to be dark,” Lafler said. “They’re often Shakespearean, and I would say a lot of them are Macbethian. His male protagonists overreach. It’s hubris, it’s pride, and often they have an idea they can’t let go of. There’s often horror, and horrendous comeuppance.”
A meeting of literary and visual storytelling
The collaboration itself was largely hands-off. Theroux offered suggestions, but otherwise encouraged Lafler to make the stories his own
“He understands it’s not going to necessarily be super faithful to his prose,” Lafler said. “It’s a different medium. I almost felt like I was getting away with something, and he was happy to let me.”
For Theroux, the biggest surprise was the sheer amount of work involved
“I didn’t know any of the parameters related to creating a graphic novel,” he said. “That was an education for me.”
Theroux said he can write a short story in about a week. It took Lafler nearly three years to adapt and illustrate “Crazy for You.”
Released in March, the book has been warmly received, Lafler said. Theroux even shared a copy with fellow novelist Haruki Murakami
“He was really jazzed about it,” Theroux said
The two are already discussing another collaboration, possibly adapting a story from Theroux’s 2025 collection “The Vanishing Point.”
“I’d be totally up for it,” Theroux said. “In fact, it would be great to do homage to Tales from the Crypt — to write something really gory.”
If you go
What: “Crazy for You” book signing and concert with graphic novelist Steve Lafler and his band Radio Insecto
Where: Arlene Francis Center, 99 Sixth St., Santa Rosa
Admission: $15 (although Lafler said “no one will be turned away for lack of funds”)
Information:arlenefranciscenter.org
