Fable Comics Blog Tour: Interview with Charise Harper

I'm super excited today to have cartoonist Charise Harper stopping by the blog as part of a very special blog tour for Fable Comics, an anthology that includes retellings of a number of Aesop's fables (and more) in comic form. I had a blast reading this book and seeing all the varying styles of artwork, so if you're looking for a really fun collection of stories I hope you add this to your lists. Charise was nice enough to answer a few questions for me about her contribution, "The Belly and the Body Members" (this one was new to me!), so a huge Supernatural Snark welcome to her!

If your various body parts could all talk to one another (or complain as the case may be!), which part of you do you think would be the chattiest/loudest or the first to mutiny against the others?

Oooh – that’s a personal question – very daring! Let’s see … Well, because of my job, which involves a lot of sitting and drawing and typing, I think my legs would be bummed out that they don’t get to do very much. They spend a lot of time just hanging out under my desk. If they were complaining, they’d say things like, “Get up!  Walk the dog!  Chase the cat!  Let’s do something! PLEASE!!!” But my butt would say, “No way man!  I’m staying right here until the brain runs out of ideas.” Then my bladder would be all prissy and full of herself (pun intended.) “I can move the butt whenever I want.”

During any given work day, which part of you would correctly argue that they are at a 6 on the Work O’Meter?

In waking hours, my brain is always way beyond a six – even when I want it to be at a three or a four. Drinking coffee probably doesn’t help. I’d say my hands are the work horses of the Charise Harper operation. They type, they draw and they always take time out to pet the dog and the cats. Plus that right hand is an expert at holding my coffee cup. He hardly ever spills a drop. “Great job little buddy!” 

In “The Belly and the Body Members”, the mouth recalls a particularly rough day when the guy he belongs to was younger and decided to eat a few things he shouldn’t have. What’s one food your mouth would raise a very vocal objection to having to eat? One food it would beg you to eat on a daily basis?

Mouth hate - My mouth would protest long and hard about having to eat brussel sprouts! I’ve never liked them. As a kid I always had to choke down two or three when they were on the table, and my mother would say, “When you get older you’ll love them, just like your father and I do.” Well Mom was wrong! I’m grown up and I’m not a fan. I have honestly tried to eat them, on numerous occassions, but my mouth does not like mutant cabbages!

Mouth love – My mouth would ask for my mom’s homemade rhubarb pie. Cold or warm, I could eat it every day! Maybe even sneak down in the middle of the night and have a bite or two – it’s that good!

“The Belly and the Body Members” is a retelling of one of Aesop’s fables, what’s one other fable you would love the chance to recreate in comic form?

My father is from France, and every year my french grandmother would take the long journey over to visit us for a few month. One year she brought me a present of a handkerchief, with the story of the fox and the crow printed in french around the edge and a lovely image of the two main characters in the middle. My french skills weren’t very good, but I practiced, until I could read the whole story out loud in French. I was so proud of myself. I made my whole family sit down and listen to me recite it from memory. Unfortunately for them – more than once. The Fox and The Crow would be my pick.

If you were to create a comic in which you starred, what would the name of that comic be?

Again – not an easy question. Sometimes I feel lke my outsides and my insides don’t really match up. I’m terrible at chit chat in a group. Shyness is not a plus – it often comes off as aloofness. People often seem surpised once they get to know me – like I was not what they were expecting, I’m like that rescue dog you adopt – it takes a while to get to know her personality, and then over time you find out she’s full of surprises – hoefully the good kind. So here is my title:

Rescue Girl – I Won’t Pee On Your Carpet.

Thanks so much Charise!

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FABLE COMICS

From classics like "The Tortoise and the Hare" and "The Grasshopper and the Ants" to obscure gems like "The Frogs Who Desired a King," Fable Comics has something to offer every reader. Twenty-eight fables from different cultures and traditions are wonderfully adapted and illustrated in comics format by twenty-six different cartoonists. Edited by New York Times bestselling Fairy Tale Comics' Chris Duffy, this jacketed hardcover is a beautiful gift and an instant classic.

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N

This is an epic tour, so be sure and check out the full schedule so you can follow along and meet all the amazing artists included in this anthology!