The graphic details

Along with artist Lee O’Connor, they developed Iraq: Operation Corporate Takeover, which was published late last year and launched at an exhibition at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts. The story focuses on Nazem, a young graduate returning to Baghdad after four years studying in London, only to find a situation beyond anything he feared.

 

Sean Wilson: I always wanted to do comics beyond the normal superhero type stuff. It’s part of my interest to broaden the range of things that comic books are about – and it’s also more interesting for me. I knew about War on Want and approached them to see if they wanted to use the comic book format to promote their campaigns. They do great work in highlighting poverty and its causes in various countries. The campaign man there, Nick Dearden, thought it a great idea and we picked on their “Corporations and Conflict” campaign. That’s how we decided to do a book about how corporations are taking advantage of the situation in Iraq.   

 

 

SW: We used War on Want’s own research and reports, as well as their advice thoughout the process. So, the research had mostly been done by WoW already and they supplied me with info on the oil industry, private security guards (PMSC), Bechtel, Halliburton, Caterpiller, etc. Of course, I had to do my own research beyond that and lots of hunting down of visuals, as we wanted to get the look of buildings and clothes right. Most people don’t realise that to do a comic book or graphic novel like this can take a year or more. It’s a lot of thinking and a lot of reading and research.

 

SW: Nazem's story is fictional, but all of the things Nazem does or says are based on real events, but changed to fit our story line. For instance, PMSC guards in southern Iraq shot someone in their car in March 2007 in a way very similar to that scene in the book. Nazem and his family names were carefully picked to reflect their location and religion, and we tried to make their behaviour and words towards each other realistic, not stereotyped. Nadia Idle at WoW grew up in Eqypt, so she drew things from her own experience and of her Arabic friends living in London. WoW worked closely with us to get those details right.

 

SW: I’m glad you asked that. Some people have the idea that the artist makes the story in the drawings and then the words are just added on at the end. Its like saying you will bake a cake, and then come up with the recipe for it afterwards! The process of how most collaborative comics is this: the writer comes up with the basic idea, works that up to a plot that outlines the whole story, then writes a script. The script can be very specific – what goes where and how it should look, what happens in each 'panel' – or more loose, leaving the artist to work out the lay out on the page. Sometimes the artist is also involved in the plot and script. But 90 per cent of the dialogue will be there at the script stage, though it may be changed as artist draws the pages. Often, though, the artist also writes the words…

 

SW: Because War on Want is a UK-based organisation, the main audience are people living in Britain. However, the novel would be interesting and informative to anyone who is interested in current affairs and graphic novels in general. The feedback has been very good and wide ranging. A Reuters news clip has been shown in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China, Korea... I've done radio interview in Austria, had a large article in Dubai, website articles in the USA and now your esteemed publication. It's all good...  

 

SW: I want to do more. They are a wonderful way to combine art and a message in an accessible way. So if any publishers or magazines are reading this: contact me!