News Release

Lio to Make Debut—Silently—on May 15

Kansas City, MO  (03/07/2006)  Lio doesn’t talk. That’s the first thing readers will find that sets this comic strip’s main character apart from others. Mark Tatulli’s new comic strip begins in dailies on May 15 and Sundays on May 21. Tatulli, the cartoonist of “Heart of the City,” will continue that Universal Press Syndicate strip which appears in about 100 newspapers nationwide.

The Q&A that follows explains the background behind Tatulli’s unusual approach. For samples, please go to New Features at www.amuniversal.com/ups.

Q&A with Mark Tatulli on Lio

Q: How do you describe the strip? What would you say is its main theme?

--LIO is about a little boy with a deceptively sweet exterior and the dark, surreal world that that he nonchalantly inhabits.

Q: What or who inspired you to come up with the concept for the comic strip Lio?

--Actually, the strip idea had been floating around in my brain for some time, but I never had the time to commit it to paper. When I was laid off from my day-job in February, I suddenly had some time to put some basic inspirational drawings down. But it wasn’t until I showed the drawings to my wife Donna, who instantly liked the idea and encouraged me, that I really sat down and started working out rough ideas for strips. And it came so quickly after that. Had it not been for Donna, LIO probably never would have seen the light of day.

Q: Why did you decide to draw in the style of old pen-and-ink drawings? What’s distinctive about your style for Lio?

--I really wanted to draw in a different style from HEART OF THE CITY, which is rendered with a brush dipped in ink. It was important to me to separate the two strips visually. So I picked up a pen and drew in a style that I haven’t drawn in for about 20 years. LIO is much closer to work I have done in the 1980’s. Plus, I was always intrigued by the artwork of an obscure 19th century artist, A. J. Volck. He was a political satirist during the Civil War, a Southern sympathizer, and I was always so fascinated with his darkly detailed illustrations. Every time I looked at his spidery pen-and-ink drawings I found something new. And maybe because his politics were 180 degrees from my own, often depicting Abraham Lincoln as a demonic figure, I was repulsed but still appreciated the craft of his work. I wanted to capture something like that with LIO…art that immediately stirs an emotion, simply by pen technique, even before you know what the strip is about. I don’t know if I was successful, but I’m pleased with the results.

Q: How does the pen-and-ink style affect how you communicate with the strip?

--Using the fine pointed pens that I use, I’m able to add much more detail than I would with a brush. As a kid, I always enjoyed looking at detailed comic strips, even when I didn’t “get” the joke. The drawings in LIO are very time consuming, but also a real joy and hopefully I can bring the joy that I had looking at comics to a whole new generation of kids.

Q: Why did you decide to make the strip wordless? How does the absence of words create a different experience from what readers might have if there were words?

--It’s a challenge, but I think it makes the comic enjoyable in a very different way than what we’re currently seeing on the comics page. So many comics today are text-heavy and because of the limited space, very little room is left for artwork. In LIO, the art is the writing. And I can take full advantage of the space allotted. It’s very liberating for a cartoonist who loves to draw. And each strip is like a mini puzzle. There is no verbal punch line; no rim shot. You have to look at the series of panels and kind of put things together. I’ve always loved pantomime strips, there’s something kitschy about them, and I wanted to explore that arena while updating the format to appeal to a modern audience. Plus, this format will work well with an international audience. Nothing will be lost in translation…because there is no translation! Heck, you don’t even have to know how to read! Truly a comic for all peoples of the earth!

Q: How is Lio different from your other comic strip, Heart of the City? What does Lio (the character) have in common with Heart? What makes them different?

--HEART and LIO are polar opposites. That’s the only way I could possibly do two strips; A completely different mindset. When I do a week of HEART strips, it’s almost like I have to mentally turn a dial 180 degrees to get into the LIO mode. It’s a whole other side of my personality much closer to my youthful cartoon experience that I dig into. I tend to think visually anyway, so LIO has been much fun to think about in terms of camera-angles and layout of action. HEART requires more “scriptwriting” and I use whatever space is left for artwork.

Q: Tell us more about Lio. How do you describe his character? How old is he? Who are his friends? What does he really love? Hate? What drives Lio’s imagination – fears or desires or something else?

--LIO is a very simple concept. It has to be to live within the pantomime format. What you see is what you get. No deep backstory, no intricate relationships. The reader should be able look at a week of strips and instantly be able to know what is going on. Mostly it is a surreal strip that needs no explanation for why things are happening the way they do. Once the reader accepts LIO’s world, they realize that anything can happen. And I believe the wordless format aids that. It’s simple joy in picture-storytelling with a funny or surprise conclusion, and the central character of LIO is your tour guide through this bizarrely funny world. And each strip is designed to stand on its own.

Q: We see Lio’s life as he imagines it. What’s his life really like? Is he having fun?

--LIO’s world is really happening, it’s just that generally he’s the only one who sees it or cares to see it. Kind of like the kid in THE SIXTH SENSE who sees dead people. And while the SIXTH SENSE kid was frightened by his visions, LIO is much more accepting…this is normal to him. He takes it in stride and in some cases revels in it.

Q: Some readers might see Lio as a dark character. What would you say to them?

--LIO’s world is dark. Every child’s world is dark. Do you remember lying in your bed at night thinking what would happen if your mother died? Seeing news reports you don’t understand that threatened the fabric of your tiny, tottering world? I remember as a child being afraid that the Japanese would suddenly fly over and drop bombs on my house…just from seeing old World War II movies. And nuclear war was always a reoccurring dream. Kids have really intense fears driven by fertile imaginations. It’s only when they get older that their imaginations become dulled by explained realities.

But if you look at the successes in literature and movies directed at kids…HARRY POTTER, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, THE LION KING, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, WATERSHIP DOWN, even BAMBI…they all center around some pretty dark themes that peek a child’s imagination. Kids really can relate to that stuff and I truly believe that LIO will find an audience with younger readers…and readers that remember being young.

Q: Is Lio you? How is he like you? How is he different?

--LIO is not me, but he is a reflection of what I was fascinated in as a child. Things like monsters, robots, aliens and animals that I was sure had feelings and could think like we do. And, a childish desire to use science without actually knowing anything useful about actual science. I thought I could create a magic potion that would make me shrink so I walk around my sister’s dollhouse or create a robot simply by attaching a coffee can to an empty box. In LIO’s world, it always works. Perhaps LIO is my way of realizing a private world I wish I could have had as a kid, where I can communicate with animals and create nefarious contraptions to defeat the schoolyard bully.

Q: What do you think readers will like about Lio’s character?

--Gee, I don’t really know. As selfish as it may sound, I’m pretty much looking only to please myself. That’s the only way I can create a comic that I can be interested in and draw week after week, month after month. Hopefully they will enjoy the drawings and the weird stories the way they appeal to the youthful side of my imagination. It’s always fun to step into a dark work where anything can happen, if only for a moment.

Q: Lio has a great imagination! What are your sources of inspiration for Lio’s adventures?

--Again, it’s not really his imagination but his reality. I can be inspired by an action figure or a sign in a store. Ideas are everywhere; it’s just a matter of taking that thing and bringing into LIO’s world.

Q: Your own children must be a source of joy and all kinds of ideas. How do they inspire you in your work?

--I’m always fascinated by how kids think and how they see the world. Obviously we all started that way, but, alas, we all become eventually adults and begin to reason rationally. I think it’s important to occasionally get on our hands and knees, crawl around the floor, and view the world from a baser perspective.

Q: What do you do to help you get inside the head of a child?

--Cartoonists never truly grow up. Every kid starts out wanting to draw cartoons. But at some point they become dentists or accountants and cartoons kind of fall away to a spectator sport. Thank God…I don’t need the competition.

Q: Do you read children’s literature? If so, what authors or books do you enjoy? Does that help you think like a child?

--I love children’s books. Doctor Suess and Roald Dahl are two of my very favorites. One of my favorite things is reading to my kids because it gives me a chance to honestly revisit the books of my youth with an adult understanding. But I never have a problem thinking as a child…and as my kids get older, it’s becoming quite embarrassing for them.

Q: Tell me about some of your favorite imaginary adventures that you had when you were young.

--I wished I could do real magic and invent things that really worked…I really wanted to fly, so I attached wings to an old baby carriage and rolled down my driveway, hoping that the speed would be enough to get me aloft. What I really wanted was the car from CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG: a car that instinctively liked little kids and could fly without the benefit of a trained pilot. Man, I still want that car!

Q: We don’t see adults in the strip very often. Do you think that allows us to see Lio’s world more as he sees it – as a lot of imaginary adventures without adult interference?

--Adults are always telling you to stop fooling around and act your age. Who needs that!

LIO has a Dad, but he is not deeply involved in LIO’s life. He’s just there to react to the occasional oddness that surrounds LIO’s existence. This Dad is not one to ask many questions. He just wants to sit in his little backyard and sip his beer…he kind of turns a blind eye to the weirdness that’s around him because he doesn’t want to ask the questions that he doesn’t really want the answers to. LIO’s world can therefore flourish. You can imagine that a woman, LIO’s mother, probably shared the house with these two at one point, but understandably didn’t stick around for long.

Q: Who do you think will enjoy reading Lio?

---Hopefully, everyone. But primarily I’ve drawn this for kids who love to look at comics…and for adults who become kids when they pick up the comics page.

Q: Are you hoping Lio communicates a message or is your goal simply to entertain?

--Always first and foremost is to entertain. I’m entertaining myself, sure, but always with an eye on my audience. Again, even if they don’t get the joke, hopefully they will like the pictures. There’s something for everybody. There’s a message to some of the gags, but very few. My goal is to be able to tell a whole connected story with just drawings, and I think that is possible because comic stripping is an everyday thing. Every day you get a little better. If you ride a bike everyday, eventually you can do it without hands. And then, before long, you can balance on one wheel. I want to take the multi-panel pantomime concept to new and edgy places it has never gone before on the daily comics page. At this point it’s just an aspiration, but if this strip finds the audience that I hope for, the sky’s the limit.

Q:`How about developing Lio as an animated cartoon show?

--I think LIO would make for a fun, new animated TV show. Think of it, no talking…only sound effects and music and action. Like an old silent movie, but drawn into a modern sensibility. I think it would be a great challenge, but tons of fun to create. And I’ve already got lots of ideas for episodes! All I ask for is complete creative control. That’s not crazy, is it?

Creator(s): Mark Tatulli

Contact(s): Kathie Kerr

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