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Interview: Ivy Noelle Weir and Christina “Steenz” Stewart, Creators of Archival Quality

It wasn’t too long ago that we reviewed the graphic novel Archival Quality by Ivy Noelle Weir and Christina “Steenz” Stewart. Monster Librarian reached out to the creators, both professionally qualified librarians, through reviewer Lizzy Walker. Check out their interview, read our review, and then get your library card and check out Archival Quality!

 

Interview with Christina “Steenz” Stewart and Ivy Noelle Weir 

 

Christina

Christina “Steenz” Stewart

 

 

 

 

LW: Tell Monster Librarian readers about yourselves.

CS: My name is Steenz! It’s short for Christina. I work at Lion Forge as the social media and community manager. I used to be a manager of a comic shop and a comics focused librarian. I live with my fiancé Keya and my cat Marko. We are currently going through Arnold Schwarznegger’s entire filmography.

 

Ivy Noelle Weir

Ivy Noelle Weir

 

IW: I’m Ivy Noelle Weir, I’m a writer and an MLS-holding former librarian who now works in book publishing.

LW: What attracted you to working on this book?

CS: We became friends through The Valkyries. As I moved on to working in a library after comics retail, I reached out to Ivy to talk about the switch. And then we just started talking every day, every hour, from morning till night and became besties. It was soon after best friend status Ivy asked if I wanted to illustrate a webcomic with her and of course since I’d been itching to do a longform story for so long, I said yes! Also, the story is really good, so I was 100% on board after reading her summary.

IW: As Steenz said, we met in The Valkyries, and I just immediately loved her art from the moment I saw it. There’s a liveliness to Steenz’s art, her expressions are so lifelike and fun. I knew I wanted to work on something with her.

LW: What inspired you to create Archival Quality?

IW: It’s sort of a long story. I did my undergraduate studies in photography, and I became really fascinated by 19th century medical photography, and the ethics surrounding it. I took an internship in a historical medical archive, where I was working closely with images all day that were, to put it mildly, somewhat disturbing, but also deeply sad, isolating, lonely. While I was working there, I fell deeper and deeper into considering the ethics of archiving, what we preserve, and if it consents to being preserved. So, I started writing a ghost story about the ghost of an object in an archive, who doesn’t consent to being archived. Eventually, this turned from a prose novel to a comic script when I met Steenz, and now here we are.

Image from Archival QualityLW: Why did you choose to frame Archival Quality as a ghost story? What drew (ha) you to the horror genre? Are you a horror fan? Why or why not? Do you have recommendations for similar material?

CS: I’m ALL ABOUT horror. I love being scared. There’s something thrilling about watching a film and feeling uneasy afterwards. It’s kind of like a high. I recommend the Poughkeepsie Tapes if you don’t want to sleep for like two nights and Housebound if you’re looking for humorous horror.

IW: I’m a big ol’ horror nerd, and I always have been. I particularly love ghosts and haunted houses – I think they represent so much more than jump scares, they can be this pensive consideration of memory and trauma. The biggest influences on this story were Guillermo Del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone, Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves, and Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. I think Jackson’s book in particular blends the concepts of the highly personal with horror in a really fantastic way.

LW: You tackle the subject of mental illness and care very delicately, while at the same time head on. How did you manage to craft such a powerful narrative and equally powerful artwork for this story?

CS: I think when it comes to the art, I read the story… and knowing Ivy as a person, I felt like I had a good idea of what she was looking for in terms of style. We were on the same page when it came to aesthetics for this story. A shared Pinterest helped me a lot. Also knowing that Ivy trusted me entirely with the design of the book and characters let me stretch my world building muscles.

IW: For the story, it was very important to me to show a realistic portrayal of mental illness as it exists for one person. I think when you try to generalize, and make a narrative that fits everyone, or has a “happy” ending where someone is cured or “fixed”, you come up with something that I don’t feel is as genuine or effecting. Depression doesn’t always mean being beautifully sad. Sometimes it means being a jerk to the people around you because you feel out of your own control. I know some people won’t relate to Cel – and I think that’s okay. Depression looks different on everyone, and everyone’s path to helping themselves is doing to be different, too. It was important to me to show someone who struggles with the concept of getting help, because I think a lot of people who struggle with their mental health can relate to that feeling.

LW: Are there any plans or desire to further develop Celine’s story?

CS: I think Celine’s story is done. Celeste on the other hand could have many more adventures and continued growth. But I think we both want to take a break from the world of AQ for a little bit before getting into that.

IW: No, I think she’s got what she needed.

LW: Steenz, your artwork is so unique. I particularly love Holly’s character design! I also follow you on Facebook and adore your kung fu poses. How did you achieve your art style? What tools do you use for your work?  

CS: Thank you! I think when you’re learning to draw you subconsciously create your own style by fusing your interests with what your muscles naturally want you to do. I love Chris Sanders, Rebecca Sugar, and similar works. So, you can see the inspiration, but my style peeks through. I use a WACOM Cintiq, Manga Studio, and Photoshop. I’m hoping to get an IPad soon because all of my other comics friends has one and I’M HORRIBLY JEALOUS. Also, being able to work away from the desk is an amazing idea.

LW: Why should new graphic novel readers seek this out?

CS: Ivy and I both love reading works that aren’t just graphic novels. So, I think our work shows that. It has elements of cartoons, manga, and YA novels. So, if you like those things, there’s no way you won’t like Archival Quality.

IW: I think if you’re interested in haunted house tales, we’ve done something unique here in regard to the genre. And like Steenz said, we both brought techniques from a lot of the other media we consume to this book.

LW: Why should libraries be interested in Archival Quality?

CS: Well, we used to be librarians. And once a librarian, always a librarian. Support the homies, yanno?

IW: I think books that discuss the ethics of librarianship and archives in a conversational way are few and far between, and I hope Archival Quality offers libraries a way to engage with the topic while also getting spooked.

LW: What are some of your favorite books/graphic novels?

CS: Novels: The Lunar Chronicles, Six of Crows; Graphic Novels: Extremity, Daytripper, This One Summer, Batman: Detective Comics, Ms. Marvel, etc. I could go on for a really long time, but those came to my head first. Webcomics: On A Sunbeam, Agents of The Realm, Star Trip, Witchy

 

IW: Well, my favorite book is the previously mentioned The Haunting of Hill House. I just finished Night Film by Marissa Pessl and really enjoyed it. As for comics, I read pretty widely: I’m a big fan of Hellboy, Saga, Wicked + Divine…I also read a lot of manga – I’m loving The Girl from the Other Side right now.

LW: What other work have you done, separately or together?

CS: We’ve done work for anthologies together. Separately I’ve done work for the MINE! Anthology for Planned Parenthood and the ELEMENTS: Fire Anthology.

IW: We had a short story come out this month in Action Lab’s Princeless Charity Anthology!

LW: What else would you like librarians and readers to know about you?

CS: I tell everyone this, but GET A LIBRARY CARD. Also, I’ve spent many, many, many hours in libraries and I can guarantee you 100% that this is a book that you will want to curl up in a corner of your local library and read from beginning to end.

IW: I second Steenz’s urging for readers to get a library card. Libraries serve so many roles in their communities; your support is integral!

LW: What’s next for the amazing Ivy/Steenz team? 

CS: We’re working on a pitch for another book! Can’t say much other than that. So, GET READY.

IW: We’re working on something new! Which I should really get back to writing.

Posted on June 21, 2018 by , Reply

Musings: Gratitude

One thing this month has brought into sharp relief for me is how much I have to be grateful for.

I have discovered that I am surrounded by people of conscience who will actively challenge hate. Despite all the problems caused by the spread of poor information, the Internet has connected me when I felt isolated and alone.

I am within walking distance of my public library, a privilege that lifts me up, whether I am going there to work on this website, search for recreational reading, hang with my kids, or widen my understanding of the world. It’s a pretty great place, and during the month of October, I got to see democracy in action there, and show it to my kids, as it was an early voting location. People waited for hours to vote, every day. I wish everyone could easily access a library like mine. We all deserve it. Libraries are a cornerstone of democracy. If a major purpose of education is to create informed citizens able to participate effectively in democracy (and I firmly believe that it is) then publicly funded libraries are essential to our society. Where else can we freely access information and literature of all kinds, that opens windows in our minds and wakens us to ideas we’ve never encountered before? More than ever before, we need libraries and librarians, those professionals able to help us sort satire and lies from reliable sources. to help us identify bias and examine our reading critically. “Check your sources”, repeated by English teachers everywhere, has to be our gospel now. Librarians and libraries can show us how.

That we have freedom of information, freedom of the press, is such a gift. It’s one that can so easily slip away without our noticing in the morass of fake information and claims of bias. Corporations would like to end net neutrality and control our access: government would like to see the only news we see come straight from the source. That we live in a country where a free press  that keeps our government accountable not only exists but is something to have pride in, is amazing. That it’s a right we have is something we must protect (and that free press needs to be held accountable to accomplishing its mission, too). Our ability to express our outrage over challenges to literature and to question authority is a blessing that I am so grateful to have written into the founding documents of this country.

I am hopeful that we will remain a country of neighbors, reaching out to help each other in times of need. I have benefited from that generosity in my community as I cope with the death of my husband and the grief that accompanies it. I would like to think that the same people who have reached out to me when I have been in distress will also reach out to others outside our community when they see those people in need of help. I believe readers, especially, have a vision of the wider world, and will hold out their hands, and so I’m grateful for readers, and for all of you who have touched the lives of the people around you, near and far… and whether you know me or not, you have made a difference in my life.

I am grateful for a loving family and for my reviewers, some of whom have been such a part of the lives of me and my kids that they are like family themselves. And I will also be grateful if the sherry gravy on my stove right now doesn’t burn while I’m writing this.

Although for many people (including me) this is a difficult time of year, and in this year, for some it is particularly dark, I wish you all blessings in your celebrations, and reasons to find gratitude in your future.

 

Posted on November 24, 2016 by , Reply

The Amazingness of Libraries

I’ve rediscovered the library. Oh, I have loved libraries since I was a kid and have spent a large chunk of my adult life working in them. As a new parent I took my kids to storyhours and flooded them with library books. Now they are at that awkward in between stage where they’ve outgrown storyhours but aren’t old enough for much of the library programming that intrigues them. I spend time in their school library now, and it’s a really great place.

But I have rarely gone for myself since I became a parent. My community’s library has an amazing first floor children’s department, but I have to take an elevator up to the adult stacks. The few times I have been up there it’s been kind of dusty and I’ve had difficulty finding what I want. I have a card for the Indianapolis library system, but the nearest library there is still a 20 minute drive for me. With ereaders at hand, I have not felt that I have a lack of reading materials. It’s very easy to get a book I want when I want it, so why cause inconvenience?

Yet I noticed my list of books I wanted to read, or thought I should read, or wanted to try, was getting longer and longer. I didn’t want to pay full price for books I might only read once that would take up the limited space that I have for my very favorite books. And so I gave up the convenience of my ereader and headed to the library, where I had a stack of holds waiting.

Now, there are two ways you can approach turning in your books or picking up holds. The first is the targeted approach– you are there to do one thing and that’s it. When you have lots to do or little kids waiting this is the way to go. The second is the “since I’m here, I’ll just look around” approach. Clever library pages display intriguing titles on the tops of shelves. Maybe I decide to see if there’s a particular title that I want that I just thought of (chances are slim, but I did find A Grief Observed this way) or to see if any books by an author I like are on the shelf. And just walking down the aisles of books chances are I will discover something that looks interesting enough to take home. Probably several things.

Which is how I ended up going to the library yesterday to collect holds  of Station Eleven by Emily St. James Mandel; Get in Trouble by Kelly Link; and Waistcoaats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger, and also ended up with one of Laura Resnick’s Esther Diamond paranormal mysteries (these are FUNNY– in one of them, Esther plays a Jewish departments store elf named Dreidel); an update of Jane Austen’s novel Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid; two Discworld novels; and a book that I am not familiar with by Mark Haddon (author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time).

This library also does something that I think is rather unusual– it puts new nonfiction up front. Typically, I would expect new fiction to be in front, but the effect this has on me is that I pick up and read nonfiction that I would never seek out on my own.  I’m working my way through The Republic of Imagination by Azar Nafisi, and she almost has me convinced to go back and read books I haven’t touched since high school.

What neither my community library or this library does is separate horror out from general fiction. They do try to pull the science-fiction and fantasy books together in one location, and you might find something there that will rock your socks off, depending on your definition of horror (one of Booklist’s editors named John Scalzi’s Lock-In as one of the top ten horror novels of 2014– I love John Scalzi, but I think that’s a stretch). So you may be in this same situation where you can’t find what you want without putting it on hold or having a librarian lead you to a specific title… but don’t limit yourself. You aren’t buying a book– you’re trying out something new. Don’t like it? Put it down. But with a visit to the library where you can take your time, try wandering the stacks, looking through the books, and seeing what out there, that you might not normally read, looks like it’s worth trying. For me, it’s like falling in love all over again.

Posted on May 15, 2015 by , Reply
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