Jeff Lemire is an Eisner Award-winning comic book creator of titles such as “Essex County,” “Black Hammer,” “Descender” and “Sweet Tooth,” which was developed into a Netflix series. As well as writing and drawing his own publications, Lemire has worked on high-profile series for Marvel and DC Comics. His memoir, “10,000 Ink Stains,” arrives in stores on July 15.
Q. Please tell readers about your new book.
“10,000 Ink Stains” is my career retrospective art book and memoir. It goes through my entire 25-year career of making comics, both independently and in the mainstream, with books like “Sweet Tooth,” “Essex County” and “Black Hammer,” as well as my work at DC and Marvel. The book goes book-by-book through my career and features process material and personal essays about what was going on in my life as I created each book.
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Q. Is there a book or books you always recommend to other readers?
There are always a few that I go back to. In terms of other graphic novels, I always recommend the work of my friend Matt Kindt. I also love fellow Canadian cartoonist Seth’s work, especially his opus, “Clyde Fans.”
As for prose, I am a huge Haruki Murakami fan and recommend “1Q84” and “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” to everyone.
Q. What are you reading now?
I am jumping between a re-read of David Lynch’s memoir, “Room To Dream” and Tim Johnson’s novel “Distant Sons.” I like having a fiction and non-fiction book going at the same time.
Q. Do you have any favorite book covers?
I am obsessed with the illustration and design of the Penguin classic versions of John Wyndham’s novels that were published in the ’70s (the ones with the orange spines). They are mesmerizing and I love how they use intricate linework and a really limited color palette.
Q. Do you have a favorite book or books?
Definitely love Murakami’s “1Q84” and “Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.” I also love Michael Chabon’s “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,” William Gibson’s work and Iain Banks.
Q. Which books are you planning to read next?
I have an Alastair Reynolds sci-fi novel ready to go next as well as “The Maniac” by Benjamin Labatut.
Q. What’s something about your book that no one knows?
It features a completely a faithful reprinting of my very first self-published mini-comic and zine from 2003. I originally silkscreen printed the covers myself and printed only 300 copies. This is the first time I’ve ever reprinted those early comics.
Q. You’re both an artist and a writer. How has collaborating with other creators on projects like “Descender” with Dustin Nguyen affected your work?
Learning to let go of the control of the visuals, and writing scripts for other artists like Dustin was really freeing. It opened up an entirely new side of making comics for me. The actual drawing takes so much time and focus that I can really only ever draw one project at a time myself. But writing projects for other artists allowed me to start juggling multiple projects. And it also let me explore genres and types of books that I may not excel at drawing myself, but others would.
Q. You write in “10,000 Ink Stains” about achieving a kind of dream by working at DC and Marvel. But that experience also illuminated why you like being an independent creator. Can you talk about what you learned about making your own work from that experience?
As fun as it can be to write these characters that you grew up reading and loving, ultimately, you are still in service of someone else. Creating your own worlds and stories is always so much more fulfilling. Creatively, I have total freedom and control with my creator-owned books. I answer to no one and nothing except my own ideas and creative impulses. That is impossible to beat, no matter how much you may love those pre-existing characters.