Comic creators Fiona Boniwell and Brendan O’Connell explain their new graphic novel
Tell us about yourselves.
Brendan is a writer from Cork. He has written everything from online cartoons to educational computer games and currently has a television project in development. His work is characterised by a dark sense of humour and a satirical view of the world.
Fiona is an artist based in Ballinspittle. She grew up in London, regularly visiting family in Kinsale. Fiona moved to Kinsale in 2006. She makes comic books, zines and illustrations. Subjects vary but visual storytelling is key. We first collaborated on a comic book project in 2013.
What is Cerberus’ New Trick?
It’s a new graphic novel. It examines some topical themes such as progress for progress’ sake, automation at the expense of humanity and the importance of representation...At its heart, it’s a warm story about a little girl with Down syndrome who just wants a dog and a very big dog (with three heads) who needs a new home...
What’s your inspiration for the characters?
Brendan grew up around rescue animals, so it had long been in his mind to do something centred around how good this experience is for young people. And, of course, the idea of a rescue centre trying to cope with a gigantic three-headed hellhound was just naturally funny. Amy, the young girl who refuses to give up on Cerberus, is in part inspired by a neighbour he had growing up who had Down syndrome.
It isn’t your first comic book?
Death’s New Lease on Life was our first collaboration. It was a 32-page graphic novel published in 2014, it won the inaugural Carousel Aware Cap4Indies Best Young Adult Book award in 2016. Cerberus’ New Trick, whilst not a direct sequel does carry over some of the characters, themes, and humour of the first book.
Does it take long to put a book like this together?
The timeframe for producing a book like this is approximately one year in total, if you can do it in one hit from concept to formatting with-out interruptions. In the case of Cerberus’ New Trick, Fiona and Brendan have been working on it for about eight years. Being an independently produced book project with limited funding, work on the book was carried out around other projects. Work on Cerberus’ New Trick was partially funded through the Cork County Council Artists Bursary. This made a huge difference to the successful completion of Cerberus’ New Trick as it gave the Brendan and Fiona the time and space to set down a good foundation.
It also gave them confidence in the viability of their book.
When do we expect to see Cerberus’ New Trick published?
It goes to print in early November with a proposed publication date of early December 2023. Initially, it will be available online from www.boniwellgraphics.com, and in Cork bookshops.
