It may not even be July, but Jason Shawn Alexander already wants you thinking about Christmas.
More specifically, the artist (behind books like Killadelphia and Empty Zone) has recently launched a Zoop campaign for Scrooge: A Christmas Carol. As you might have guessed already from the title, Scrooge sees Alexander adding artwork to the famed 1843 novella from Charles Dickens. It is, as Alexander explained in press materials, a chance to “share the images that appear in my head when reading this ghostly tale.”
But there’s yet another wrinkle to this story. Scrooge actually began way back in the early 2000s in a project that “never came to fruition.” So, after finding the artwork some 24 years later, Alexander reworked and completed Scrooge, with some pics that “have been tweaked and others, completely redrawn and new ones added.” Despite the book taking so long to finally arrive, Scrooge promises to be a daring new addition to Alexander’s own robust catalog of impactful art — and an interesting spin on a true seasonal classic.
The Scrooge Zoop is currently active; if you’re interested in supporting the campaign, head here. In the lead up to the launch, we caught up with Alexander recently via email. There, we talked about how Scrooge initially got sidetracked, his experience reworking/adding art, why Scrooge is such an iconic story, and his favorite scenes/standouts, among other topics and tidbits.
AIPT: What happened with that early 2000s Scrooge book — why didn’t it ever come to fruition?
Jason Shawn Alexander: The company inevitably shut down.
AIPT: Keeping in that vein: What was it like to revisit and rework this material? Do you now have a better idea of your early days and overarching development as an artist?
JSA: This book started out as something I thought would be fast. Ha. My wife and I found all of the original art and looked into it and then decided I should try and just publish it. But once I began putting the book together it really hit that this would be large book and the only time I’d show my version of this story, which one of my absolute favorites. So I started digitally tweaking them and they got my motor running and then I realized I just needed to do it all the way.
My goal was just to “fix” certain images and parts of others but what came to be has been my reworking every illustration in the book. I’m still basing the work off of my old illustrations and that where the really special aspect comes into play. It’s like I’ve been having a conversation with my 25 year old self and I’m complimenting his string drawing bones and then showing him what we learned over the next 25 years.
AIPT: What were some of the challenges of redoing art after 24-ish years? What about any opportunities?
JSA: The challenges have been purely time related. This became a much bigger project than I expected. This became a much bigger project than I expected. This became a much bigger project than I expected. But everything about working over these images and adding new ones has been nothing but opportunities.This became a much bigger project than I expected. But everything about working over these images and adding new ones has been nothing but opportunities and it’s been a blast.
AIPT: How does this new book differ, or how has it changed, from the one 24 years ago? I’m sure there’s plenty gained, but do you think you missed out on anything by not releasing way back when?
JSA: I haven’t missed anything. I’m thrilled because now I’m taking this chance to chance, visually, to show why I love this story so much. The drawing, itself, has improved and relaxed and the sheer atmosphere is something I couldn’t have pulled off back then.
AIPT: Why is the Scrooge story/canon both your fave and still so important or resonant?
JSA: I love it so much. I generally have darker sensibilities and this is a glorious ghost story told at Christmas time! The best! And I’m a sucker for a good redemption story.
AIPT: Do you have a favorite image in the book — maybe one that speaks to what this book is really trying to accomplish?
JSA: Too many. I’m proud of all of this body of work.
AIPT: You have a very stark and singular style. Did you modify that at all when you’re telling a story like Scrooge?
JSA: Yes, the original drawings were meant for a younger audience. It wasn’t until revisiting the book and re-reading the story did I understand better, that this is not, indeed, a children’s book. But I love cartooning and exaggeration, and knew I didn’t want to just take model photos and do everything as realistically as I can. I’ve done that, a lot. So, this version is definitely dark but there’s a lot of character to that darkness.
AIPT: Is it scary/harrowing at all to be drawing a Charles Dickens story? Or is there less pressure given your “collaborator” is long dead?
JSA: The pressure comes from not wanting to just knock out another project. I’d love for this volume to be people’s versions on their bookshelves that they open during the season. I’m treating this book with every bit of reverence as though it was going in every library in the country.
AIPT: Speaking of the dead, I’ve always felt like A Christmas Carol is a better Halloween story than for Xmas. Would you agree with that, and are you basically making it a Halloween tale with your intense/spooky art style?
JSA: No! It’s a tale of regret and redemption. At the end I still get choked up. The man was brought face-to-face with the consequences of his actions and he, literally, wakes from it. Beautiful.
AIPT: How do you feel about taking part in the whole crowdfunding experience? Do you think a book like this is tailor-made for this approach?
JSA: Yes. I believe every project has its own vibe and its own way it should be presented. Crowdfunding this book felt right.
AIPT: We’re talking about Christmas, so I have to ask a dumb/silly question: What’s the best holiday song and why?
JSA: For nostalgia sake, I have to say “Little Drummer Boy.” For some reason, I had a record, and I loved drums. And I was little. So that.
Also, “O Holy Night,” if someone can really belt out that last part; “Fairytale [of] New York” by the Pogues; and that Baby please come home that U2 covers. Editor’s Note: That’d be the underrated “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”
AIPT: Is there anything else we should know about Scrooge, your work, any more “secret” uncovered projects, etc.?
JSA: Only that Albert Finney’s Scrooge destroys me every time.
My only other secret project that will come to light will be hopefully next year when, along with a new ongoing series, we’ll be making the 300-page Empty Zone omnibus that will contain everything ever published, and not published in its almost-28-year existence.
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