Interview with Cecil Castellucci for her graphic novel “The Plain Janes“
Taiah, a student in our Man, Myth, and Monster class has had the amazing opportunity to interview Cecil Castellucci. Here it is!
TW: When I decided to write a review of Cecil Castellucci’s The Plain Janes, I never would have imagined it would be so difficult. I absolutely loved the book and can rant on and on about how great it is, but it is near impossible to put into words how much it means to me. The Plain Janes is a story following the relocation of a girl, “Main Jane,” and her family, after surviving a city bombing. In her new school, she meets a group of social misfits, all named some form of “Jane,” and together they set out on a mission to promote healing through art. Castellucci’s dialogue makes the graphic novel read more like a movie script rather than a comic, and while it is short (I read it in around an hour), Castellucci and Rugg do not miss a beat, creating a fully developed story with multifaceted characters in a minimum number of pages. Thankfully, I was provided the opportunity to interview Castellucci and ask her a few questions regarding the graphic novel. I had a feeling that she could explain some of my thoughts better than I could:
TW: The plot is one of the most original and complex I have seen. What inspired you to write it?
CC: Thank you. I’ve always been a believer that art saves. I kept having this image in my head of these four girls all named Jane. Where one Jane sits with them everyday thinking that they are cool, but the other ones always wish they were sitting at a different table. Until something unites them. The idea being that we sometimes think that other things are cool, but really cool might be the table that we are already sitting at. The other part, the bombing in Metro city, that comes from a personal place. I was in an IRA bombing when I was a young girl, and it has marked me. I wanted to talk about trauma and recovery and how art really can save us. Their doing street art is a way that Main Jane heals. An attack becomes something beautiful. So it was two separate ideas that blended together.
TW: That’s amazing. Sounds like your story would make a cool film. Why did you decide to make The Plain Janes a graphic novel, instead of a book or film?
CC: I really didn’t know what it was. I knew that it wasn’t a novel. I thought maybe it was an animated TV show or something. It wasn’t until DC Comics called me and asked me if I had any ideas that I thought it would make a great comic book.
TW: Main Jane is a pretty complex character. Were there any difficulties or things you wanted to avoid when developing her or any of the other Janes?
CC: I think that it is always hard when you are writing a comic and you are restricted by page count to get to the gravitas of a character. So I wish that I could delve a little deeper in all of the Janes. There weren’t things that I wanted to avoid, more like I wish I could expand. Maybe more home life of the other Janes.
TW: Reading the book, I felt myself connecting to Brain Jayne. Is there any character you identify with more than the others?
CC: I relate a little bit to all of them! They are like different aspects of me kind of fleshed out. But I do love Main Jane and her determination to heal and to make art. I find that really comforting. I also like how she brings people together.
TW: With that being said, is there was one message you would like your readers to get from The Plain Janes? If so, what would it be?
CC: I suppose it would be that we should turn to art when we are confused or hurt or happy or sad. That art shows the way to our fundamental humanity. That it is beautiful. I would want people to consider what is art. And how it can help us heal. And how it can bring people who are very different together. I would hope that people would look up when they walk and see art around them, the obvious and the secret and be glad for it.
TW: I’d like to thank Cecil Castellucci tremendously for her time in responding to my questions, and I realize that I haven’t said much about the book; however, Castellucci has created more than just a graphic novel, and I wanted to explore that with you through the questions that I crafted. For me, this book was an experience, and the only way to fully understand it is to read it for yourself (which I do highly recommend). The Plain Janes has become my favorite comic, novel, storyline, etc. period. And I’m sure that once reading it, you’ll understand why. This book is a prime example of comics branching out from storylines of men in tights, and I greatly look forward to future works of Ms. Cecil Castellucci and Mr. Jim Rugg.
