Return to the Perry Bible Fellowship
This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on July 15, 2008 Sign up now!
By Laura Hudson -- Publishers Weekly, 7/14/2008 2:47:00 PM
Last year, Perry Bible Fellowship creator Nicholas Gurewitch published The Trials of Colonel Sweeto, a Dark Horse hardcover collection of his Ignatz Award–winning Web comic. The response shot the cult favorite humor strip up the Amazon.com charts, and three printings later, Gurewitch is planning an even bigger and broader compilation. The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack, due out November 5, will have an introduction by Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody, and will contain the complete print run of PBF. The strip is currently on hiatus as Gurewitch pursues other endeavors, including a BBC television pilot based on his comics.
PW Comics Week: How does the upcoming anthology differ from Colonel Sweeto?
Nicholas Gurewitch: The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack will have all the material that’s in Colonel Sweeto, and a heck of a lot more. It will essentially replace Colonel Sweeto.
PWCW: Did you expect Colonel Sweeto to be as successful as it was?
NG: I can't say I didn't expect it. I don't think I really thought about it. For what it is—a book of comic strips—it sold a lot. I think the most impressive piece of info we got is that it was the 10th bestselling book on Amazon.ca [Canada].
PWCW: Colonel Sweeto prompted Dark Horse’s largest order ever from the U.K. Diamond distributor. Why do the Brits love you so much?
NG: Well, they have Perry Bible Fellowship in the [British newspaper] the Guardian. And people have said that the [strip’s] humor has a British flavor.
PWCW: Speaking of which, you’re also working on a television pilot for the BBC that’s based on PBF. How’s that coming along?
NG: I'll be adapting a couple of the strips for the pilot, and I just got the news the other day that they wanted to make it longer because they liked the 12-minute treatment I sent. They want to make it a 30-minute pilot. I'm actually working with a British television company, Endemol Entertainment. A number of people there had ordered some prints from me, and apparently someone brought them into the office. It became known amongst them that they really liked the comic, and [making the pilot] was just a decision that came about organically because of that. They all realized they liked the strip, and said, “Why don't we do a show?”
PWCW: If BBC picks up the pilot, what would your role be in the show?
NG: I'd probably be writing it, and hopefully I can direct it, too. I guess I'll take it a step at a time.
PWCW: Which Perry Bible Fellowship strips did you choose to adapt for the pilot? How long will a typical strip segment run?
NG: They really liked “Weeaboo.” Especially over there [in the U.K.]. I send a lot of “Weeaboo” [prints] over there. Maybe it's the paddling? They just really wanted to adapt that one. The Perry Bible Fellowship–based [segments] could be one to two minutes, but there will also be longer ones with original content that could run two, three or four minutes.
PWCW: You’re currently “semi-retired” from Perry Bible Fellowship. Could you ever see yourself returning to a Web comic on a regular basis?
NG: I doubt it'd be regular—I doubt they'll have regular intervals. But that's something I'll focus on as soon as I finish up work in these other areas. The thing is, I can always do comics, at any point in my life.
PWCW: How has your life changed since the success of PBF?
NG: It feels like the same life. I don't think it's changed. I think I've been exposed to new ripples of the same substance, but it's definitely the same old life I had. I'm still very much focused on several things that you might consider dreams or goals that exist outside these events. That's the thing that'll change my life if I accomplish it.
PWCW: What is the thing you’re hoping to accomplish?
NG: I don't know. You know, you have all these idealistic feelings about who you want to be, and what you want to do with your life, and how you want to affect the world. I can't say that I've changed anything that really matters. I just think there's a lot more to do. There's no reason to give yourself a sense of accomplishment and get complacent. Complacence and arrogance—those things are deadly to art.
