“A Book About Endings”: John Dermot Woods on the Making of “Mortals”

Mortals

When we’ve spoken with John Dermot Woods in the past, it’s been about his work in prose. This spring, another aspect of his work as a writer is coming to the forefront: a graphic novel called Mortals, created in collaboration with artist Matt L. Mortals follows the story of an aging stage actor named Francis, who’s found respect in his field but a general lack of commercial success. A supporting role in a film and the end of his marriage both force him to consider his legacy and his mortality, and the result is thoroughly moving. I spoke with Woods about the genesis of the project, his interest in comics, and what appealed to him about the form for this project.

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Vol. 1 Brooklyn’s March 2022 Book Preview

March2022 books

And now, somehow, it’s March. We’re not sure how that happened, either. Nevertheless, it is the case, even as the weather decides to vacillate between “bitter cold” and “maybe picnic weather?” It’s a strange time. Our recommended books for the month also cover a lot of ground, from insightful looks into the art of writing to immersive forays into surreal landscapes. Read on for what we’re looking forward to this month.

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A New Kind of Indie Publisher Opens its Doors in Brooklyn

This summer, I got the chance to correspond with Sarah Lopez, one of the co-owners of Radix Media, a new Brooklyn-based publisher that focuses on beautifully designed, illustrated books with a high attention to detail. So far, they’ve published speculative works by John Dermot Woods, Vera Kurian, Ashley Shelby, and others. All look and feel like collector’s items, objects that truly do justice to the ideas they contain.

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