By Zack Quaintance — The Glass Wall is a new graphic novel that just recently hit Kickstarter. It’s an adaptation of a novel by Will Robertson, who has scripted it for comics himself, and it’s being brought to life now by artist Yulia Lapko. It’s a sophisticated story that involves drug-use in London, a main character struggling to cope with a difficult time in life, and an assault between two of the people closest to him. It’s a great project, and today we have an interview with Will and Yulia, which you can read below before heading over to back this one via The Glass Wall campaign page.

Enjoy!

Will Robertson and Yulia Lapko Interview

ZACK QUAINTANCE: Will, how was the process of adapting your novel into the medium of comics, and what sort of changes did you find yourself making to enhance the fit?

WILL ROBERTSON: Painstaking! It took me a while to accept that I had to forgo a fair chunk of the novel and that certain parts of it wouldn’t adapt well. Secondary characters, tangential plotlines, scenes that neither drove the narrative nor developed Lucian’s character enough – these were all cut to the benefit of the comic. A couple of examples: A significant section of the novel takes place in Berlin. Keeping it in London allowed us to tell it quicker. And Yulia and I had a protracted debate over the exclusion of a scene in which Lucian and Pandora are analyzing bloodstains on a bed sheet. Eventually I relented. In truth, having this new, slimline version of the story has compelled me to revisit the novel for the first time in years with the intention of editing it down.

One thing I dig about creating comics is how much consideration goes into presenting a scene. A simple example is the way a set-up or cliff-hanger has to be shown in the bottom right panel, a pay-off or reveal held back until the page is turned. The physicality of comics is of greater significance than that of novels. Controlling the pace of the narrative to fit this pattern was an interesting process.

ZACK: Yulia, how did you approach creating a visual language and aesthetic for this project, given that it was in part first conceived as a prose work?

YULIA LAPKO: The visual aesthetic suggested itself almost immediately while I was reading William’s novel, so it was only a matter of time before I imagined it as a comic and proposed we adapt it. As an artist, it’s how my mind works. Were I a filmmaker, The Glass Wall would now be a movie. Mine and William’s tastes intertwined naturally in this project, because I enjoy drawing people, especially when they’re, let’s say, having a bad time. And William writes those characters well. I wouldn’t necessarily enjoy illustrating any book I enjoyed reading, but the mood and tone of The Glass Wall resonated strongly with me.

ZACK: Yulia, from the early pages you’ve shared, I really liked the color palette. There’s just something so perfect about it for the subject matter. How did you make your color choices for this book?

YULIA: I'm really glad you think so, and it's interesting you would ask. Violet-grey is the color of the sky over London at night. The way I’ve seen it, at least. When I visited the city for the first time around 10 years ago, it was one of the first things that struck me — how after twilight the sky would turn into this peculiar color, instead of the usual dark blue. Was it the lights, the smog, or my rose-colored glasses? Or was I just drunk all the time?! I don’t know. But it’s beautiful. And it made sense to lend this color to a book about London’s darker edges.

ZACK: What sort of overlapping experience do you have with the setting and the actions of the characters in this story?

WILL: During the period I was writing the novel I didn’t have a permanent home, so I was crashing on sofas and outstaying my welcome a lot. I met a bunch of people, listened to their stories and soaked up as much of east London’s nightlife as I could. I’d hit up the dingy bars of Shoreditch and the basement clubs along the Kingsland Road and attend a slew of after-parties. This wasn’t always my idea of fun; I rarely felt at home in these places. Still, I forced myself out of my comfort zone and into my skinny jeans in a bid to unearth the rhythm of the city and capture it in prose. Why write about a milieu from which I felt so detached? As a place where depravity is the norm, external rather than inner approval the ultimate goal, it provided a good setting to examine the novel’s key themes – the fallibility of the conscience and the limits of moral law as a universal set of rules.

Despite some elements of the story developing from things I witnessed or heard about, certain characters evolving from people I knew or met, The Glass Wall is a work of fiction. And although I share some personality traits with Lucian (the better ones, naturally!), I wanted to create a protagonist who for various reasons struggled with making moral judgements, and so haplessly fell in with a cast of dubious characters.

YULIA: I can’t say I sympathiZe much with the characters’ actions (often it’s to the contrary!), but that’s exactly what I find so realistic – being surrounded by all sorts of questionable people, and wondering what the hell is wrong with them. Or is something wrong with me? The characters are neither entirely “good” nor “bad”, but who is? And how are we even defining good and bad? I like Lucian, but, oh, how many times I disagree with his actions. Sometimes I just want to grab him and shake some sense into him! Typically, we’re supposed to root for the protagonist, but I think it’s fun to challenge the reader.

ZACK: Finally, what do you each hope that readers will take away after reading this story?

YULIA: My main hope is that readers will enjoy the ride. Because, for me, enjoyment is the main point of any art form, and of life in general. This is why I’m so in love with David Lynch’s work, where pure experience matters more than moralizing or answering certain questions. I really relate to this kind of creative approach. There is a lot to analyze, discuss and take away from our story, but what that is might vary widely between readers. When I read William's novel, what I took away from it was a desire to become a comic book artist. Does that have anything to do with the story? Hardly. But isn’t it wonderful?

WILL: The Glass Wall doesn’t set out to answer any big questions, although it might ask a few. It might move us to hold up a mirror, to submit ourselves to a rigorous process of self-examination and ask, “Am I a good enough person?” As a reader you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you might even throw up a bit. But whatever you do, so long as you feel that reading it was a good use of your time, I’ll chalk it up as a success.

The Glass Wall

The Glass Wall
Writer: Will Robertson
Artist: Yulia Lapko
Lucian’s life is fucked. In a self-obsessed East London where everyone is smoking, snorting, or shooting, where nights pass in a fog of half-remembered physical and emotional wounds, Lucian’s been advised—no, instructed—that the only defence is to wear an armour of indifference. Then his best friend is accused of raping his ex-fiancee. Should he pick a side? Or is he best to stay out of it? This is The Glass Wall, the debut graphic novel by William Robertson and Yulia Lapko.
Back It Here: The Glass Wall on Kickstarter