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A Generational Mystery: Matt Kindt and Margie Kraft Kindt on “Gilt Frame”
I’ve been an admirer of Matt Kindt’s comics work ever since I read the 2001 graphic novel Pistolwhip, his collaboration with Jason Hall. Since then, his career has seen him take on a host of genres, including working with some other high-profile collaborators. (Notably, Keanu Reeves on BRZRKR.) Kindt’s latest collaboration finds him working in the mystery genre, collaborating with his mother Margie Kraft Kindt on the series Gilt Frame. The first issue is due out this Wednesday, and I spoke with the two collaborators on the making of their new series.
Bizhiki On the Making of Their Stunning Debut “Unbound”
Unbound, the debut album from Bizhiki, brings together a trio of talented musicians with some high-profile guests to create one of the most immersive, compelling, and wide-ranging albums you’ll hear in 2024. The group, comprised of Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings, Joe Rainey Sr., and S. Carey, have done terrific work on their own; seriously, if you haven’t listened to Rainey’s 2022 album Niineta, you’re in for a treat. I talked with with Bizhikiins Jennings about the making of Unbound and the challenges of collaboration.
Haunted Words, Diabolical Inspiration: Ananda Lima on Writing “Craft”
It’s hard to find the right way to describe Ananda Lima‘s new book Craft: Stories I Wrote For the Devil. On the simplest level, it’s a collection of uncanny stories, many of them involving the act of writing and a series of ominous Satanic presences. But there are also — as the title implies — subtle links between all of the works in the collection, establishing this book as more than the sum of its (impressive) parts. I talked with Lima about the genesis of Craft, its relationship to her poetry, and the art of structure.
It’s All In the Timing: An Interview With Paddan
Sigtryggur Baldursson and Birgir Mogensen have been making music for a very long time. They first played together in the group KUKL along with future members of the Sugarcubes; the music the duo makes now as Paddan, though, takes them in a very different direction. Their debut Fluid Time is a hypnotic collection of songs, both propulsive and willing to linger and explore unexpected sonic corridors. I spoke with Baldursson about their debut, their approach to collaboration, and the subgenre they’ve coined to describe their sound
“This Novel Drove Me Out of My Mind”: Nicholas Rombes on “The Rachel Condition”
There’s a lot going on in The Rachel Condition, writer and filmmaker Nicholas Rombes‘s followup to his excellent debut, The Absolution of Roberto Acestes Laing. In its broadest terms, it’s about a man sent to Detroit to infiltrate a countercultural group in search of a literary artifact. And if that was the full breadth of this novel, it would be compelling enough — but Rombes goes further. Slowly, it becomes clear that the version of Detroit (and of the United States as a whole) are not quite the same ones we’re familiar with. And it’s these small moments of dissonance which turn out to have huge implications on the story being told. I spoke with Rombes about the genesis of this book, his fondness for nestled narratives, and his own relationship to Detroit’s musical history.
Daryl Gregory on Short Books, Big Ideas, and the History of “Revelator”
Daryl Gregory is not a writer who likes to repeat himself. The paperback edition of his novel Revelator was published earlier this year, and tells a story that involves familial secrets, violent clashes between bootleggers, and a godlike being that lives in isolation. It’s a compelling read, and it’s also a huge stylistic shift from his earlier novel Spoonbenders, about a family of psychics. That, in turn, was wildly different from the horror-tinged We Are All Completely Fine; what they have in common are compelling characters, complex themes, and a haunting quality that’s hard to shake. I spoke with Gregory about his latest book, his thoughts on genre, and what’s next for him.
John Freeman on the Perpetual Evolution of “Hit and Run”
It’s always daunting to talk with a writer who’s made a significant impact on you. Given that John Freeman’s How to Read a Novelist had a seismic effect on the way that I write about books, the opportunity to talk with Freeman about his new novella Hit and Run was both enticing and imposing. Thankfully, Freeman was a warm and engaging conversationalist, and I was happy to talk to him about this new book, which follows a character not unlike Freeman who witnesses a horrific incident and finds his life shifting in its aftermath.