{"id":17327,"date":"2025-01-29T15:14:37","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T20:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=17327"},"modified":"2025-01-29T15:14:39","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T20:14:39","slug":"episode-623-matt-madden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-623-matt-madden","title":{"rendered":"Episode 623 – Matt Madden"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show 623:
\nMatt Madden<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/virtualmemories\/Episode_623_-_Matt_Madden.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

“I like the whole idea of creating art by setting yourself a rule to follow, especially one that’s weird and unexpected.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>Cartoonist Matt Madden<\/a> rejoins the show to celebrate his new collection, SIX TREASURES OF THE SPIRAL: Comics Formed Under Pressure<\/a> (Uncivilized Books). We talk about the liberation to be found in formal constraints, his history with OULIPO<\/a> and its OUBAPO<\/a> offshoot, how structure can inspire story, and the formal and thematic challenges in sequencing the stories in the collection. We get into how he tried to make the most of a multi-year residency at La Maison des Auteurs in Angouleme, the unwitting influence of Herg\u00e9 on one of his favorite stories, the changes in his art & storytelling since publishing Ex Libris<\/a> in 2021, and the “director’s commentary” he added as back matter for Six Treasures. We also discuss Lewis Trondheim’s challenge to him to make a comic without a formal rule or constraint, his Substack<\/a>-goal of sharing OUBAPO rules, the balance of comics-making with child-rearing, the fun of making foldy-comics, why it’s important not to let the formal constraints overwhelm the heart of the stories, and more. Give it a listen!<\/a> And go read SIX TREASURES OF THE SPIRAL<\/a>!<\/p>\n

(And listen to our 2021 conversation<\/a>!)<\/em><\/p>\n

“Nabokov describes writing as a kind of game between \u2014 not the characters and the page, but the readers and the author. I love that idea and think of it as a very participatory, playful thing, not as talking down to the reader.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n