Art uses many different styles, but his voice is very consistent. He's always concise and clever and funny. That's true of somebody like Chris Ware, who has an emotional quality to his work - but it's boiled down and it's very sober and spare. Each word has great weight. Comics are not just pictures, but it is graphic design in the sense that they are composed and architected in a specific way.
Francoise MoulyI know what I as an editor respond to is a voice. A voice is not just a stylistic thing, but it means someone who really has something to say. I think a lot of what I get from books - whether they be books of comics or books of literature - is a window into somebody's mind and their way of thinking. Somehow, I can recognize some of my feelings in seeing somebody who is actually expressing their own inner reality.
Francoise MoulyComics are actually dubbed by euphemistic label of graphic novel, which became a big deal.
Francoise MoulyOften, we separate intellectual discourse from emotional reaction. But I take such genuine pleasure in things that are intellectually well architected. It's definitely an integrated experience for me. Much more than any kind of cheap, emotional pulls that you get in popular culture, when I read a sentence and it's beautifully written, it can bring me to tears.
Francoise MoulyThe artists catch what's in the air. It's not because the artist "felt like it" or is a guru who channels the truth of the universe in some opaque, abstract way, or even in a realistic painting. The comics artist is someone who has the humility to set himself up in public culture and to communicate with the reader. If your image doesn't make sense, it's your problem, and I shouldn't publish it.
Francoise Mouly