9/18/08
DAVID PETERSEN – Mouse Guard Creator Appears at CGS Super Show
By Bruce MacIntosh

David Petersen, creator of the smash hit that took the comics world by surprise in 2007, appeared as the special guest at the Comic Geek Speak Super Show Sept. 6 and 7, in Reading, PA. Although the fantastical and lushly-illustrated tale of a medieval murine microcosm, Mouse Guard – Fall 1152 has won two Eisner awards and caught the eye of "mainstream" comics companies and creators, Petersen hasn't let it go to his head. He was genuine and personable, as I chatted with him about his ongoing work on "Fall's" sequel, Mouse Guard – Winter 1152, and future projects.
Unlike many comics creators these days, David Petersen was not originally inspired by reading superhero comics as a kid. Instead, he developed his fantasy mindset playing Dungeons and Dragons in high school, and then began trying to translate those stories into prose with his friends. "We never got that far, only a couple of pages." However, the stories he was creating remained in his mind, as the "scenes from what Mouse Guard became were planted then."

Years later, he set out to develop a fantasy animal comic that would be more serious than typical funny animal comics or even the average children's story. His initial concept was to see what would happen if he focused on the relative sizes of the forest predators and their prey: "If I actually make them like animal sizes so the fox is tiny, bear is huge… I could do the whole world that way."

Soon, he began to focus only on the skittish forest rodents, because of their diminutive size and their place near the bottom of the food chain: "Mice are small; everyone is trying to get them." His story centered on what would happen after the mice built their civilization separately from their many larger predators: "They have to close themselves off from the rest of society for protection."

He began to develop Mouse Guard way back in 1996, until he learned of a book from 1987 with a similar theme, Brian Jacques' Redwall. After he thought, "Oh no, somebody's already done this," Petersen put his Mouse Guard story back "on the shelf." But the story still developed in his mind, and "the characters continued to grow".

He attended Motor City Con in Michigan several years ago, determined to break into the comics medium he loved: "I pulled out any piece I had: Fantasy drawings, Mouse Guard concept sketches, superheroes. The thing I got the most comments on was Mouse Guard." This was all the inspiration he needed to revive his dormant project. "I started saying, 'I'll get the book out by the next Con'. That was the motivation."

Petersen was one of the Guests of Honor at ComicGeekSpeak Podcast's SuperShow, a hybrid of a fan fest and a medium-sized convention, which for the last three years has grown and currently features a mix of indy creators and big-name, mainstream talent. Despite the runaway success of Mouse Guard, David is still a humble fan and very approachable. So Bryan Deemer, one of the podcast's founders and the SuperShow's major domo, only had to ask once. David accepted immediately when Deemer called and asked, "Would you like to be a guest of the show?"

The SuperShow "has been great! These guys are fans, so I think they have a level of respect for creators. [Everyone] has equal spacing and placement" for their tables, and the organizers were great about asking "are you okay?"

He was quick to note that the ComicGeekSpeak Podcast has "always been really cool about promoting my book." Petersen has done many podcast interviews and appearances, but commented that the interview, "I always hear fans talk about is ComicGeekSpeak. They've always been huge supporters."

The attention and fame has not gone to his head, however. "I'm not a huge company, I'm a guy. It's funny to say now that [Mouse Guard] is a 'small book', because it's taken off so well. I was the little guy struggling to make a difference." He compared his recent journey to that of comics podcasting itself, and commented that the fledgling medium is great exposure because it is like a personal suggestion from another fan: "It's the best review you can get, because a friend tells you 'you should see that'. "It's like getting a recommendation from your friends." Podcasting, he agreed, is like the new generation of fandom: "They feel like you're friends."

What's up next for Petersen? First, "I've got to finish up Mouse Guard, Winter - 1152." Then, he will be doing some work on a new role playing game based on Mouse Guard. He'll also be illustrating a cover for Top Cow's new fantasy series, Dragon Prince.

He's also illustrating a story in House of Mystery, written by Bill Willingham (Fables). David was excited that the writer personally asked DC to have David draw his story. They originally met at a Con in Calgary, and later Willingham wrote a fan letter to Petersen about his work on Mouse Guard, but David didn't make the connection until later. Even then, David still had no idea Willingham wanted him to do something with his House of Mystery story, but is very excited to be asked to work with the well-respected writer.

After the story of Winter, the Mouse Guard story will not continue with the "seasons" theme. Instead, the next story will involve the character of Black Axe, and it will recount his 16 year history.

Visit the official Mouse Guard site, and David Petersen 's own site, to learn his Eisner Award-winning work (2008: Best Publication for Kids and Best Graphic Album—Reprint) and future projects. David will be appearing at the Baltimore Comicon at the end of September, then the Mid-Ohio Con in October, and a small show in New Hampshire, the Portsmouth Comics Show.