Interview with Mark Newgarden and Megan Montague Cash, creators of Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug
Q: How did you decide what situations and characters Bow-Wow would encounter while making his rounds of the neighborhood?
MN & MMC: When we decided to write a wordless book, we knew we wanted clearly defined visual gags that young readers would be able to understand at a glance, and that would, like a classic silent film comedy, build momentum as our hero progresses on his journey. We carefully mapped out Bow-Wow’s round-the-block route in advance and took into account every twist and turn of his “bug beat.” Once Bow-Wow got out on the street, though, none of that careful planning really mattered—he wound up taking us in directions we never even anticipated, and the story just started to write itself.
Q: How did you create the look of the book?
MN & MMC: Since the drawings for this book needed to do the job that pictures and words usually accomplish in tandem, our goal was always to be as simple and direct as possible. Mark is a cartoonist and Megan is a children’s illustrator and graphic designer, so we crossed our fingers and aimed at the crossroads where those worlds collide.
Q: How do you approach collaborative projects, such as Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug?
MN & MMC: We each have our defined roles, yet they constantly overlap and intertwine. Mark’s primary focus is on the initial “writing,” which is conceptualized visually like a storyboard for an animated film. Megan is responsible for the finished artwork, as well as the book’s design. For this book Megan contributed key ideas and parsed every last story detail while Mark colored and fussed over all the finished artwork. It’s a true back-and-forth working collaboration—until we both cry “Uncle!”
Q: Mark, you were one of the creators of the immensely popular trading card series, the Garbage Pail Kids, and you’re also a collector of comic art. Who are some of your influences? Are there any contemporary artists whose work you admire?
MN: I guess the whole tradition of twentieth-century comic art has influenced me. One favorite cartoonist is Ernie Bushmiller, creator of the comic strip Nancy. He was an absolute master of simplicity and clear design in staging his information, and his approach reverberates on projects like Bow-Wow. As far as the contemporary children’s book field, I admire books by artists like Lane Smith and Richard McGuire. But most of the pictures I look at are usually a lot older than I am.
Q: In addition to picture books, Megan, your illustrations were used on the “Things I Know” Tot Tower, an educational toy for babies and toddlers that won an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award. How does creating art for an interactive toy differ from book illustration?
MMC: Pictures in a book perform a more complicated job. They may need to convey suspense, fear, surprise, time of day, or a combination of concepts all at once. Illustrations for a toy usually do not have to take on that range of nuance but come from the same place. Making toys and books for children is all I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a child myself.
Q: We hear that the building you live in used to be a funeral parlor and that you have a pet that bears some resemblance to the star of your book. Is there any truth to those rumors?
MN & MMC: True on both counts. We live in Brooklyn in a building from the 1930s that was once described as “the biggest mobster funeral home of its day.” Our Australian terrier Ruby lives there, too. Luckily no ghostly goodfellas—and very few bugs—have been detected yet.
Q: Bow-Wow will be featured in his own series of board books, including Bow-Wow naps by number and Bow-Wow orders lunch, both available in August 2007. What other adventures do you have in mind for this tenacious terrier?
MN & MMC: There are more Bow-Wow board books on the drawing board right now! In the meantime Bow-Wow will also star in comic pages in Nick Magazine and The Bark as well as on his own website, www.Bow-WowBooks.com.
