The Inflatables by Jess Hitchman and Beth Garrod

Jess Hitchman and Beth Garrod tell us about their new graphic novel series, The Inflatables. Check out the Q&A prepared by Scholastic.

This is your first graphic novel for the both of you – what was the experience like? Was it like you had expected?

 We didn’t know what to expect but it has been an amazing experience. Getting to work with such a talented (and hilarious) illustrator as Chris Danger has been such a fun collaboration and he’s made Have A Great Spray and all the inflata-pals better than we could have ever imagined.

 For us, writing a graphic novel has been kind of like a cross between writing a book and a script, and brings the best of lots of different worlds; dialogue that makes us laugh but also visual humor and scene setting. And then when Chris Danger does the art it’s packed full of even more jokes, humour and amazing expressions, so every step of the process is really fun. And luckily for us, we have an incredible editor, Jenne, who has been guiding us through the process every step of the way – it’s been a real team effort.

 

Why did you want to write a graphic novel in particular?

 Some of our favourite recent kids books have been graphic novels – there’s so much scope to do fun things like wordless action scenes etc. They can also attract some kids who get put off by lengthy text and we want to write stories that anyone can enjoy. It was also great to try something totally new!

 

What were the benefits and challenges of writing a graphic novel as a team?

 The benefits were getting to chat to each other every day – especially during lockdown when we wrote the bulk of books one to four. Getting to talk about hypnotic guacamole, dressing-gown loving donuts, and self-obsessed swans was a great break from reality at that time.

 The challenges are all really fun, but for us it was mainly understanding how much information to get across in one panel/page so that it flows nicely and isn’t over complicated when paired with the visuals.

 

What was the inspiration for The Inflatables?

 We really wanted to write something funny about friendship that makes us (and others) happy – and the idea of a talking pink flamingo really made us laugh. Plus it was a really rainy day and what better to cheer yourself up than by dreaming of sunny, summer holiday with family and friends.

 

Finally – what would your dream inflatable pool float be?

 We love all inflatables (except when they’re trying to take over the world), but we’re particularly fond of anything with snack-holders, or inflatables that someone else blows up for us.

 

The Inflatables by Jess Hitchman, Beth Garrod and Chris Danger is available now.

 

Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Federation.