My friend and co-creator, Dan Franch, e-mailed me one day a few months ago and mentioned that he had a comic strip idea. He came up with the name late one sleepless night in Eritrea, East Africa. He sent along a couple of ideas that were floating around in his head and we began bouncing jokes off each other ever since. The first strip of "Table Manners" was one of his original three.
Q: Why center a strip around food and the dinner table?
A: Franch: The idea evolved from the title of the strip. "Table Manners," is a short, catchy phrase. The setting is simple and straightforward. Plus, all sorts of topics come up at the dinner table, and kids seem to be always doing and saying and thinking unpredictable things there. It is perfect family time with all its imperfections.
Morocco RPCVs Brendan Hayes and Dan Franch collaborate on Dedham Transcript's newest cartoon "Table Manners"
Q&A with creators of Dedham Transcript's 'Table Manners'
By Andrea Salisbury/Dedham Transcript
Dedham Transcript
Posted Feb 06, 2010 @ 07:00 AM
DEDHAM -
Brendan Hayes and Dan Franch met in Morocco in 1994, while volunteering with the Peace Corps. During that time, Hayes, a Dedham resident, developed his first single-panel comic "Camel Toe," which was printed in the Peace Corps newsletter. While Hayes crafted the monthly comic, he bounced ideas off of Franch and this relationship has continued.
"Dan is an idea guy and gifted writer, so we've worked on some children's book ideas," Hayes said. "Writing is his true craft. He spends his free time writing poetry, song lyrics and children's stories."
Since leaving the Peace Corps in 1996, the two have managed to stay in contact.
"Since then, we have seen each other sporadically and in random places – Chicago, Boston, Italy, Lake Placid," Franch said. "But we stay in contact regularly via e-mail, our lives paralleling each others in some random, cosmic way."
Even though the two are on different continents they regularly collaborate on the Dedham Transcript's newest cartoon "Table Manners."
Q: What's your background, as an artist?
A: Hayes: I have no formal training. I started drawing comic characters while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco. I sent homemade X-Mas cards to my family and I've been making holiday cards ever since.
Franch: If you mean visual arts, I have no background or inclinations in that area. I write poetry, children's stories and song lyrics. All three are hobbies, not an active pursuit. As I am not an artist, I just came up with the title and general idea. From there, I simply provide ideas for strips and feedback on the characters.
Q: What is the backstory of your new cartoon "Table Manners"?
A: Hayes: My friend and co-creator, Dan Franch, e-mailed me one day a few months ago and mentioned that he had a comic strip idea. He came up with the name late one sleepless night in Eritrea, East Africa. He sent along a couple of ideas that were floating around in his head and we began bouncing jokes off each other ever since. The first strip of "Table Manners" was one of his original three.
Q: Why center a strip around food and the dinner table?
A: Franch: The idea evolved from the title of the strip. "Table Manners," is a short, catchy phrase. The setting is simple and straightforward. Plus, all sorts of topics come up at the dinner table, and kids seem to be always doing and saying and thinking unpredictable things there. It is perfect family time with all its imperfections.
Q: Can you explain the Bull family?
A: Hayes: The Bulls are not a typical middle-class family. Eddy is a stay-at-home dad and Eda, an event coordinator, is the breadwinner.
Franch: I suppose, with a modern family twist ... And the kids are typical kids; Morgus, 8, is a smart-aleck, Nevin, 16, is an instigator, and Mandy, though she has yet to be introduced in the strip, goes to college.
Q: How did you develop the characters in "Table Manners"?
A: Hayes: Dan came up with the first three ideas and had some very general characters in mind. We exchanged ideas through e-mail, but the characters ultimately came to life this past December when we met up at Lake Placid, NY.
Franch: Brendan and his kids came up to visit my family and me. We were vacationing there en route to Chicago to visit my parents. While coming up with ideas for characters, their personalities and their roles, Brendan would sketch and re-sketch how they should look. The more we shared ideas and the more Brendan drew the more real the whole thing became.
Hayes: The names of Eddy, Eda, and Mandy were carefully selected and Nevin and Morgus came about spontaneously. Dan has two sons, Sandor and Markus, and I have two daughters - Sahara and Neve. I brought the girls with me to Lake Placid and he was vacationing with his family. One morning while the kids were playing, I overheard Neve refer to Markus as Morgus. I chuckled ran into the kitchen to tell Dan what had happened and we decided it was a perfect name for the 8-year-old. Dan, suggested Nevin as a way to work in Neve.
Q: Are they based on anyone in particular?
A: Hayes: No, but being a teacher, some of the interactions I've had with my students will come into play.
Franch: While the characters aren't based on anyone in particular, their names have a story … Eddy, Eda and Mandy have their own quirky story that we'll leave for the readers to figure out.
Q: What is it like collaborating on "Table Manners"?
A: Hayes: Obviously it would be easier if we were both living on this side of the pond, but so far there haven't been any issues. I'm in charge of the drawings, but we both have a hand in the ideas and writing of the strips. We'll usually have an e-mail exchange about the dialogues and I'll give him a general idea of how the panels will look/ break down. The Internet in Eritrea is slow, so the whole process takes a few days rather than what could be done over a cup of coffee.
Franch: At this point, Brendan does most of it. Though the original idea was mine, I can't draw, so I just provide ideas. Our exchanges are all via e-mail. He has a list of strips we have brainstormed, and he picks which one he wants to present. As for the illustrations, I might offer some input down the line, but for now it is fun to see how he lets the characters develop. That is his strong point, and he has a critical eye.
Dedham Transcript editor Andrea Salisbury can be reached at 781-433-8322 or by e-mail at asalisbu@cnc.com.
