Sketch #1

An ongoing series and an update

After a year or so of thinking and precisely one call with my literary agent, I’ve decided to do something I’ve always wanted (but have been too afraid) to do: make a graphic novel.

While locked in the conference room of my brain, I definitely tried to dissuade myself from such a mammoth undertaking. Maybe only some of it has to be illustrated. Maybe we can do a few drawings, but have it mostly be text. But it seemed like a copout, and the drawings felt more like decoration. I think this story wants and needs to be a graphic novel.

Obviously, that’s a whole lot of drawing, something I’m good at, but not super technical with. In order to make this thing happen, I need to keep my drawing hand (my left one) warmed up. I’ll be doing a lot of sketching for the next year at least.

I thought it would be fun to share that process with my subscribers here, both as a sort of public journal about the making of this book, and as a way to get some fun images out into the world. I’ll be posting sketches, some of which will probably be from the forthcoming book, and writing about what was going through my mind when I drew them.

This one has nothing to do with the graphic novel, unfortunately, but it is nonetheless a trout wearing a hat with his catch of the day. What does it mean? It’s unclear. If I had to guess, it’s inspired by the fact that I failed to step on a lantern fly in Manhattan the other day, despite it being my sworn duty to The New York Times. I had a moment of “who am I to crush thee?” I’ll be more courageous next time.

The other thing is, as I embark on this long, arduous project, I’m going to need support, so I’m going to start doing ¡Hola Papi! columns for paid subscribers. There will still be a free column every month at the very least, but if you’ve enjoyed ¡Hola Papi!, it would mean the world to me if you would upgrade your subscription to a paid model. The next column, for example, will be for paid subscribers only, and if you are one, I encourage you to send me a letter to answer for you at holapapiletters@gmail.com!

I’m super excited to reveal more about the graphic novel, but I feel it’s in a sensitive developmental stage at the moment, and I don’t want to crater it like a soufflé by making too much noise. There’s a lot more to come, though, and meanwhile I hope you enjoy these sketches and musings.

Con mucho amor,

John Paul Brammer