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Art & Books

Crazy good

I’m Crazy is a graphic novel by Adam Bourret. It’s an autobiographical journey through the author’s troubled battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and it’s remarkably good. It also might not have been printed if Bourret was dissuaded one printer’s refusal to print the novel due to a gay sex scene.

Bourret took some time out to talk to NOW about the sting of homophobic censorship, getting a helping hand from Chester Brown, winning a Xeric grant, worrying he likes Harry Potter a little too much, black people he respects, and connecting with other OCD sufferers.

What prompted you to make your first graphic novel?

I started doing these vignettes about my life. I would draw them randomly and they would be two or three pages long each. And they were becoming something, so I contacted Chester Brown, he was one of the first people doing this kind of extremely biographic, personal stuff.

I asked, “what do you think of this? Do you think, if I pumped out enough of these short pieces, they could eventually form a book?”

He thought that was a good idea, so I would draw more, bring them back and he’d say “yes” or “no” or “redraw this”. I spent most of 2008 re-drawing it. I watched a lot of Sex and the City and it was over.

After completing the novel I understand you experienced some hostility from a printer.

It kind of got blown out of proportion. I was going to different printers. You give them a couple of files and they give you a quote. And just by chance (Harmony Printing) checked out my website. The printer wrote to me asking if the material on the website what we’re going to be printing. I was a little confused, as no one had asked me that before, but I said “yes”.

The printer then responded that because he feared reprisal from his religious clientele – but had no problems with the book itself – he said, “we can’t print this sort of content.”

imcrazy_inside.jpg

I got pretty huffy asking, “what do you find objectionable about this?”

And he never wrote back to me.

I found out later why I was rejected. The reason was that they felt the depictions of sex were explicit.

There were other printers around and I went with University of Toronto Press, but they story got on the Internet and people got excited.

But you’ve moved past. What’s the next step with I’m Crazy?

Well, I just won a grant, which kind of rules. It’s the Xeric grant. It was established by Peter Laird, co-creator of the Ninja Turtles. They pick a selection of self-published cartoonists, like me. So I won!

I’m using that money to print a nicer, offset version. It will debut in September at Word On The Street, where I’m doing a reading, which might be weird.

You experience all kinds of anxious episodes in I’m Crazy. What’s up with the tree bursting out of your body?

I would visualize this tree inside of me busting out. There were a lot of times in public when I would break down, fall over and people would look around. It felt weird, like something horrifying was happening to me and nobody wanted to touch me or be near me. Then again, if I ever saw somebody collapse and go into hysterics on the street, I’d probably cross.

How about the pedophilic thoughts around Harry Potter? How long would a cycle like this go on?

I was not very clever about concealing Harry Potter, eh? I really should have changed that broom to something else.

You could have these kinds of thoughts at any time, but they get stuck. So you keep dwelling on it, and dwelling on it and dwelling on it. It could be something innocuous and innocent like I walk by that [Harry Potter] poster thinking “that kid’s kind of cute” and then I was, like, “what if?” That’s the kind of thought that you can’t prove or disprove beyond your own convictions.

You made a list of black people you admire to fight fear of being a racist. Do you still have it?

Yes. I still have the list. But that’s why you have compulsions, because they distract you from the thoughts. Just having a list of random black people that you like doesn’t make stop you from being a racist, but you have these compulsions and you act them out because they make you feel better like pills would.

Did you get a lot of concerned people calling you?

I thought people would be a lot more disgusted. But I have gotten a lot of letters from different people who are going through, or have gone through, the same sort of thing. I have a lot of OCD fans now. So I’m reaching that audience.

I feel better about the graphic novel having gotten letters from strangers talking about their own experiences. It feels really nice having them thank me for putting this out.[rssbreak]

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