You might recognize Sage Coffey from their work in publications like The Nib and The Washington Post (as well as story editing for the 2020 video game Bugsnax). Now, the Chicago-based artist has planned their very first graphic novel, Wine Ghost Goes to Hell, which is currently crowdfunding via BackerKit.
Wine Ghost Goes To Hell is the latest in a series of titles featuring the “alcohol-soaked train wreck” who has recently found herself among the dead and deceased. In this latest adventure, she reunites with a friend from her previous life (as a living person), where she is “faced with a lot more responsibility than she bargained for.” Equal parts thoughtful and totally bonkers, it’s an important and entertaining coming-of-age tale unlike any other you’ve ever read.
The campaign for Wine Ghost Goes To Hell officially ends on Thursday, June 1. (It’s already raised, as of publication, nearly $2,900 of its $10,000 goal.) In the meantime, Coffey was kind enough to talk to us about the project, including the book’s intriguing inspirations, Wine Ghost’s personal development, and any future projects.
If you’d to donate to the Wine Ghost BackerKit, head here. And following the interview, enjoy some exclusive character designs from Coffey.
AIPT: You’ve been published in some pretty big places, like The Nib and The Washington Post. How did it feel to get to tackle your first graphic novel?
Sage Coffey: Writing and drawing a graphic novel after primarily doing short autobiographical work is different for sure! It took a while to figure out how to make my usual process work with something so much longer than what I’m used to! I ended up breaking my work days into finishing a few pages rather than a whole scene at once. That really helped making Wine Ghost Goes to Hell feel less intimidating to work on!
AIPT: Tell us about Wine Ghost Goes To Hell. What’s your elevator pitch?
SC: Think Beetlejuice meets Broad City. Wine Ghost is the over-confident, fabulous, and dramatic friend we either are, have, or want to be. In Wine Ghost Goes to Hell, her daily life, usually split between depression naps and partying hard, is interrupted by Sebastian, an old friend from her living days who needs help finding a place to start his afterlife.
AIPT: You said in some press release that Wine Ghost “is drama…is fashion.” Why is someone who is so messy just so dang compelling?
SC: Wine Ghost is like a dollar-store rhinestone. She’s cheap but fabulous, largely self-centered but reliable towards her friends! It’s that multi-faceted personality that keeps us coming back for more. I think a certain amount of messiness is needed for a character to grip the audience and really get them invested, too. Like Barry Berkman from MAX’s series Barry wouldn’t be a compelling character if his life and personality were completely put together.
Courtesy of Sage Coffey.
AIPT: I was reading through the book and, in the best way possible, kept thinking, “This is Cathy for ironic millennials.” How close am I?
SC: ACK! You’re not wrong, hahaha. I almost feel like this is a disservice to Cathy. If Cathy had a deeper relationship with wine than she did her parents or cat, I think that’d be closer to Wine Ghost in spirit (pun intended). Born too late to be a Disney Adult, too early to be a TikTok Star, and just in time for purple ketchup, Wine Ghost is a Gen Z-Millennial cusp-y with nowhere to go but further into the depths of Hell.
AIPT: Who is the Wine Ghost story best suited for?
SC: Wine Ghost is for the weirdos, the femmes, and the tender-hearted. If you ever shoplifted from Claire’s, swiped right on someone you knew you weren’t interested in, or maybe got drunk at a party and said something a little too weird and every now and then you lay awake at night thinking about it, then this book is definitely for you!
AIPT: What’s so compelling or interesting about marrying supernatural themes/elements with more grounded, human (sand super messy) subject matter?
SC: I think part of the fun of Wine Ghost is the characters having a super serious conversation and we step back and realize there’s a slime man making boozy milkshakes in the background. To me, melting those supernatural elements into such a human story gives the graphic novel a little more oomphf than it would otherwise have. I think the story would work just as well if everyone was alive and living in Chicago or something but that’s not as fun as visiting a Baba Yaga Hut-inspired sex dungeon!
Courtesy of Sage Coffey.
AIPT: You’ve written a few other Wine Ghost shorts/pieces. How do those compare or inform — if at all — the “Goes To Hell” story?
SC: I think the short Wine Ghost stories were really necessary for me to get to know her as a character. In a weird way, it’s kind of like going on a date. The first date (or in this case, first mini-comic), you get an immediate impression of who Wine Ghost is and with each subsequent mini-comic we get a little more insight, her flaws, and what motivates her. Even if that motivation is something as simple and silly as a good sub, making the mini-comics allowed me to explore her enough as a character so that I might tackle a larger, more complicated story with her like in Wine Ghost Goes to Hell.
AIPT: Every creator puts some of themselves into a character. How much are you like Wine Ghost, or is that instead somebody you hope you’re not like at all?
SC: Wine Ghost is all the negative aspects of myself in my 20s cranked up to 11 with a little extra glam on top — hahaha. In a lot of ways, I feel like I’ve grown out of who she is for the most part but there are also aspects of Wine Ghost I still carry with me and others I wish I had. She’s confident and completely unafraid to be who she is, messiness and all. That’s something I like about her.
Courtesy of Sage Coffey.
AIPT: If things go well, could we see even more from Wine Ghost? Maybe Wine Ghost Goes To Space or something?
SC: Oh gosh, Wine Ghost in Space! She’d probably get bored from the sheer vastness of it. I’d absolutely love to do more Wine Ghost books or even adapt her story into an animated series! Wine Ghost’s brain is rich with little nooks and crannies to explore and the world she navigates is as goofy as she is. It’s just really fertile soil for stories to grow from!
AIPT: Why should anyone support or pick up this book/project?
SC: I hear a lot of folks asking for something new and creative on social media. We see so many projects that are based on properties that existed for years or even decades prior. Well, Wine Ghost is that something new! Wine Ghost goes to Hell is unlike anything out there right now and while some of her stylistic influences are based in pop culture a lot of her story is based on personal experience too. Wine Ghost Goes to Hell has some screwball bits and real emotional tenderness. I think she’s got a little something for everyone.
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