Broken Frontier

For a first time graphic novel, Tim Sievert's That salty air to be published by Top Shelf has gotten rave reviews all over the net. Twenty-four years old and from Minneapolis, the comics world seems to be full of promise for this emerging talent. Broken Frontier talks to him about his GN and how it came about.

Broken Frontier: Did you have any experience with comics-making before That salty air? Were you involved in mini-comics for example or is this your first published work?

Tim Sievert: I attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in their Comic Art program, and had some experience working with longer narrative pieces there. Since graduation I worked for Big Time Attic  here in Minneapolis and helped out on a few comics they were working on at the time, as well as making a few mini-comics now and again, with little to no distribution due to my own laziness. But I would definitely consider That salty air to be my first published work.

BF: You’re not only a cartoonist but also an experienced dollmaker :) Do you have another day job or are you a full-time illustrator? What does a typical day for you look like?

TS: I currently work for Big Time Attic's sister/related/best friend's company called PUNY. We 're a convergent media company specializing in animation and interactive media and high-end graphic design. It's really amazing and really hard to describe. I can't say that I have typical days at PUNY, I really never know what I'm going to be doing. Today for example I began organizing and constructing puppets  for a studio project I can't really talk about. It's a dream come true.

BF: The scenes with the octopus read a bit like magical realism. Do you yourself, as a writer, have an affinity for that particular writing style?

TS: I have to admit to you that I'm not very well read, and though I'm familiar with magical realism as a literary genre, I don't feel I have the experience required to answer this question without bullshitting you. I do feel that That salty air is in the vein of stories that I'd like to be writing in the future, so if you compare parts of it with aspects of magical realism, I will have to look into it further.

BF: Due to the pensive mood and the reflective tone of the subtext, I have to ask you, did you tap into your own experiences of life to write this tale? Could you tell us a bit about your dedication to Laura Sievert?

TS: Laura Sievert was my mother. She died without warning in 2004. Making That salty air was my way of dealing with that. When she died, I was in the last few months of college. I was pretty distraught, contemplating taking time off from school and things like that, but my family strongly urged me to finish school and try to continue on as best I could. Burying myself in the book was my way of dealing with everything. It wasn't like ignoring the grief, but I got to deal with my grief through the characters in the book. I let Hugh self destruct the way that he does so I wouldn't have to.

BF: Hugh’s reaction to the sudden news becomes very violent after a while. Like to swelter and then burst their way to freedom. Do you yourself have a positive view on humanity?

TS: I think I have a pretty balanced view of humanity in general. There are a lot of people who may disagree with that, but what do they know. I think humanity is capable of truly wonderful things, but we all know that it's also capable of horrendous actions.

BF: Maryanne and Hugh are two simple fisher-folk. Do you yourself come from the country or are you a city boy?

TS: I'm from Davenport Iowa, which to a lot of people would suggest that I'm a country boy, but no Davenport is quite a city with a population just under 100,000, in a metropolitan area of about 400,000 people.

BF: Is the sea something that is close to your heart too? Do you worry about things like the environment and the decimation of species of fish in the oceans?

TS: I've always been fascinated by the ocean. Since I've lived in the Midwest my whole life, I've had very limited exposure to it, so it's always been a source of mystery and enchantment for me. But you know again I'm obviously not an expert in the field so I don't feel comfortable trying to comment on the environmental problems of the ocean, but I feel that we're headed in the wrong direction, and at risk of losing something that we could never get back. I think about those issues everyday.

BF: The cover is not only a nice melancholic image but also has some striking colours that really set the scene apart. Did you - at any moment - think about producing That salty air in colour or has it always been a black and white graphic novel in your mind?

TS: It's always been black and white to me. I'm really a fan of black and white comics, and want in my own work to better understand how they work. I think it's such a powerful technique that when understood, makes everything you draw, color or not more successful.

BF: I detect a bit of Craig Thompson and Charles Burns in your drawings. Who are some of the people who influenced you, whether they come from the world of literature, the arts or comics?

TS: Craig Thompson and Charles Burns are definitely guys that I admire and love to read. I'm also big fan of David B, King Mini, Jason, Johnny Ryan, Paul Grist, Kevin Cannon, and  Zander Cannon. Yeah, I realize those are all comic guys, like I said before I don't read enough.

BF: Well, due to the succes of That salty air, let’s hope you have even less time now :) Thanks for your time and good luck with any future endeavours!

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Stay in touch with Tim Sievert at his blog where he posts his art and keeps you updated about his latest projects.