We had the chance to check out an early version of Term Life, the new original graphic novel written by A. J. Lieberman (Cowboy Ninja Viking) with art by Nick Thornborrow (The Anthology Project).
The book centers around Nick Barrow, a career criminal who is desperately trying to survive the next 21 days of his life. Lieberman and Thornborrow have done a terrific job here, and if you’re anything like me, you won’t be able to put this book down until you finish it. A.J. and Nick were kind enough to take a bit of time from their busy schedules to talk to us about Term Life, and here is how it went down:
TFAW.com: How did you come up with the idea for Term Life?
A.J. Lieberman: Well, I knew I wanted to write a crime story. And once I had the concept of someone taking out a life insurance policy on himself, and then having to stay alive for a set amount of time before the policy goes into effect, and how and why everyone wanted him dead, everything started to flow from there.
Not all stories are plot dependent, but a crime story, at least for me, is very plot dependent. They seem to have this kind of internal logic that has to be applied to the story. Like a good puzzle. And that’s kind of how I looked at writing Term Life. A very violent, bloody puzzle.
TFAW.com: The tagline for Term Life is: “If Nick Barrow can stay alive for the next 21 days he’ll die happy.” Can you tell us a bit more about that?
AJL: I used to be a copywriter. And for whatever reason, when I start working on a new project, I always try and come up with a “tag line” for it. Not right away. Once I’ve gotten the broad strokes or the main concept down–it’s just something that helps remind me what the story is at its core.
Even Cowboy Ninja Viking had one–”Using the crazy to catch the psychotic in an insane world”–though I also had: “Death, Three Times Faster.”
Anyway, when I came up with the tag for Term Life it just seemed to perfectly sum up the book, because at its core it is a story about a kid who absolutely hates her father and the challenge of changing that in 140 pages.
TFAW.com: The main character, Nick Barrow, is a two-strike criminal who’s been absent from his family’s life for some time. How does this influence his actions in the book?
AJL: Two strike? You’re far too kind. It’s more like tenth strike. But yes, Nick has not spoken to Cate, his daughter, for over 10 years (she’s only 13) so she doesn’t even know him. And yet you learn that doesn’t mean he’s not “involved” in her life. So yeah, she only knows Nick through whatever she’s heard from her Mom and none of that was, well, too complimentary.
Nick’s only motivation (based on some idealized notion of parental duty) is wanting to give Cate some security for the future, but to do it without getting involved emotionally. His plan is to just sit out the 21 days he needs to stay alive, and then let Cate cash in the policy without ever meeting her. Of course, things don’t work out that way. And why it doesn’t work out that way is what Term Life is about, it’s what happens over those 21 days.
Nick quickly discovers that as bad as guys trying to kill you can get, it doesn’t come close to the wrath of a 13-year-old girl meeting her father for the first time as he’s forced to keep them both alive.
TFAW.com: The narrative is really interesting in Term Life. Parts of it seem to be told through flashback and at other times we see conversations play out from different perspectives. What inspired you to tell the story that way?
AJL: Well, other than knowing I wanted to write a crime story, the other thing I knew I wanted to try was writing an original graphic novel. And I wanted it to be the type of story that didn’t wrap up until the very last page.
So the structure was just a by-product of me wanting to play with time and the chronological order of events. Which is why each scene has title card. You read a scene and think, “Okay, so that happened first.” And then you read a second and third scene and realize you’re wrong, that first scene happened after the other two, which changes everything you thought you knew was going on.
You actually find out what happens to Nick, Cate and everyone else about 10 pages before the book is over, but you don’t know how it got to that point until the very last page. But, like you say, we have these scenes that you see two or three times, that are all connected, but each time you see them you see them from different POV. So for example, page 16 is connected to page 23 and 34, which meant the artwork and dialogue all had to sync up on those pages.
The thing that saved me was Nick (Thornborrow, not Nick our hero). In fact Nick ended up thumbnailing the whole book just to be sure we got everything right. He was beyond brilliant in coping with the unique hassles the plotting required. Nick is too nice to admit it, but I’m almost 100% sure he blames me for his Red Bull and codeine addiction.
TFAW.com: The cast of characters is large, with gangsters, cops, and lawyers all playing their part. It seems like something bigger surrounds Nick and his latest job.
AJL: I always thought of the cast as being small. Really just Nick, Viktor, Keenan, Cate–but you’re right–there’s a whole group (Yuri, Misha, the Tolstoy brothers, Braydon, Matty Miller) that causes the plot to ping around like a BBs in a can.
TFAW.com: The color palette for Term Life is understated. How did you come to use the muted tones?
AJL: That’s all Nick (Thornborrow). His artwork in this book is incredible. The use of coloring and the line work is beautiful. It totally makes the book. It really is a perfect match of story and art.
Nick Thornborrow: Everything I was trying to do with the art was in service of the story being told. Since the story isn’t told in chronological order, the colours were used as a subtle visual cue to bring you back to a location that you’d already visited in the story. The goal with the line work was clarity. I think there’s enough detail in the art to give you a sense of space and atmosphere, but its simplicity keeps the story moving along.
TFAW.com: How did you two meet?
AJL: J-Date. No. Nick edited a collection of short comics called The Anthology Project (check it out, very cool). I knew one of the other artists who contributed to the anthology, Darren Rawlings, who I’m working with on another book, and Darren introduced me to Nick.
TFAW.com: What are your favorite comic book titles right now?
AJL: I like most of anything by Brian Wood. Last Call by Vasilis Lolos was pretty sweet. I haven’t read 27, but I’m friends with the artist Renzo Podesta, and I love his work. Mike Henderson is another artist I like and who I believe will be starting some big things for some big titles.
NT: I’m finally going through The Walking Dead. I’m not sure why it’s taken me this long to pick them up. I recently read James Sturm’s Market Day. I really gravitate towards simple stories told with deceivingly simple artwork. I’ve also been reading Sailor Twain or The Mermaid in the Hudson. That’s a free online comic being done by Mark Siegel and it’s gorgeous.
TFAW.com: Do you have any other upcoming projects that you’re excited about?
AJL: Well, what else would you expect from the writer of Cowboy Ninja Viking and Term Life? Right, a children’s book. For Scholastic.
NT: Following up with The Anthology Project Vol. 2 is due out this spring. Plenty of new artists are involved with this one, as well as many returning from the first volume.
We want to thank A.J. and Nick for taking time out of their schedules to talk with us about their upcoming book, Term Life. To celebrate the book’s upcoming release, we’re giving five copies, signed by A.J. and Nick, as part of our Term Life Twitter Contest. Enter for your chance to win today!
CHECK OUT THE FOUR-PAGE TERM LIFE FIRST LOOK PREVIEW
