Comic

Who is Emily?

Sie ist eigenbrödlerisch, geheimnisvoll und ständig umgeben von vier schwarzen Katzen. Im Zuender-Interview äußert sich Emily-Erschaffer Rob Reger zum Erfolg der Figur

Fragen von Sarah Benecke

Ganz ruhig scheint sie zu schlafen, Kopf an Kopf mit ihrem Kätzchen. Geradezu friedlich kommt das Buchcover daher – wäre da nicht der leuchtend rote Hintergrund mit glänzenden Spinnen, Geistern und hämisch grinsenden Monstern, auf dem der Titel “Good Nightmares” prangt. Gute Alpträume. Was nach einem flüchtigen Blick wie ein Kinderbuch erscheint, würde kleinen Kindern wohl wirklich Alpträume bescheren. Die Comicfigur Emily, auch Emily the Strange, ist ein sonderbares Mädchen.

Sie ist dreizehn Jahre alt, trägt ein kurzes schwarzes Kleid und weiße Schuhe. Emily folgt niemandem, sie ist eine eigene Subkultur, die menschliche Gesellschaft nicht mag. Ihr liebster Satz ist “Hau ab!” und ständige Begleiter sind vier pechschwarze Katzen.

Die Zeichner haben sich dem klassischen Comicprinzip mit vielen kleinen Bildchen und Sprechblasen verweigert: Jedes Bild füllt eine Seite aus, Text gibt es nur spärlich.

Rob Reger, Emilys Erfinder und Zeichner, sprach im Interview über Emilys Eigenarten.

For whom did you create Emily?

For all the strangers in the world. People of all ages like her. There's a little stranger, a little Emily in everybody.

How was Emily created?

It came to me one time when I was on mushrooms. I was skateboarding down a hill backwards and hit my head – and when I looked at the blood in my hand it had the shape of Emily.

Am I going to publish that?

You can if you want to.

Does Emily ever smile, is she ever happy?

She doesn't have to show everybody, but she is happy with her life. She' s diggin' it. She' s pissed of at just about everybody else in the world. But she is content with her strangeness. That is actually part of the message behind Emily: Celebrate and accept and flourish with your own unique strangeness.

She is quite a lonely girl then.

She preferes to be alone. That's where her imagination and her life with her kitties exists. The message is: All you need is strangeness and there's no place like alone.

Is that how you are?

Sometimes, yes. Certainly that's how I was when I was younger. One of the reasons, I think, why so many people identify with Emily is the fact that it doesn't seem like she fits into anything she's supposed to be. Doesn't do what she's supposed to do. And that she just stands up and accepts that.

The pages in “Emilys Good Nightmares” are of many different styles. Did you want it that way?

Yes, actually there are thirteen different nightmares in the book – and every one has it's own style. And we did our best to pay homage to some of our greatest heros in the art world: Escher and Dürer, for example. But it's not copying – it's more like doing a cover song of your favourite band. It's also a way of saying “Check out this other guy” to all Emily fans.

How long did it take to finish the new book?

It took us about six months. We worked on it a little every day – and there probably was a solid month I did it full time.

How long is Emily going to be around?

As long as I'm enjoying it I'm going to keep doing it. I think Emily has become a certain type of icon that should be around forever.