In the graphic novel The Worst Ronin (HarperAlley/HarperCollins, 14–17 years), author Maggie Tokuda-Hall and illustrator Faith Schaffer present two female samurai on a quest, set in a reimagined feudal Japan featuring modern technology. See also the Fantasy and Graphic novels subject tags in the Guide/Reviews Database.

1. Maggie, you’ve also written picture books, nonfiction, and fantasy. Why a graphic novel for this story?

Photo: Red Scott.

Maggie Tokuda-Hall: I think the best and most essential part of being an artist is getting to chase whatever you’re passionate or excited about or moved by in any given moment, and so form, for me, only serves to support whatever story I am compelled to write. It felt so natural for The Worst Ronin, a story with lots of hand-to-hand combat and great settings, to be a graphic novel. One of our two protagonists, Tatsuo, is also not much of a talker. There’s so much to her that’s understood in gestures, in facial expressions, and in actions. I think writing her interiority would have been very dark and very unfun. But showing her existing in the world allows her character to live in a story that also embraces silliness. There’s such a long tradition of visual samurai narratives, and I’m proud Faith and I have gotten to participate in the way that we have.

2. Faith, how did you decide on the illustration style?

Faith Schaffer: While my typical drawing style is inspired by turn-of-the-twentieth-century illustration (think Aubrey Beardsley), I work a bit differently for comics. My personal illustrations feature characters with fairly stiff expressions, while in comics they need to express a wide range of emotions. For that reason I drew The Worst Ronin in a slightly more simplified and punchy style. This approach lets characters’ expressions snap between silly and serious easily — and as a bonus, they’re easier to draw repeatedly.

3. Maggie, where did the idea come from to incorporate modern technology into this world?

MTH: I wanted to be really clear that this book is not here to teach you anything. Not a thing. I think often when BIPOC creators are invited to the table in commercial publishing, it’s under the auspices of education. There’s a real push for us to speak on our cultures or marginalizations with the goal of edifying the reader who is not from our culture. I was uninterested in doing that with this book. I wanted to write a book that was as authentically mine as I could possibly make it, without concern for marketability or the white gaze. And because of that exuberance, because I allowed myself that room to play, unburdened by the need for historical accuracy, this was the most fun I have ever had writing a book.

4. Faith, you’re also a designer and visual development artist for animation. How does your animation work inform your illustration work?

FS: A lot of animation production is figuring out how to work smarter, not harder. Quick visual reads are important in my line of work, and quick execution is doubly so. I did a lot of work early on to give each character a unique color palette and silhouette so they would always stand out in a panel. In addition to the more simplified style I did for characters, I also developed a shorthand way to draw environmental elements like trees that stayed consistent the entire book. For the coloring, I developed a few palettes (forest, interior, nighttime, etc.) that I repeated throughout the book. I applied colors flatly but then used a brush with a watercolor texture to add highlights and shadows, which added a watercolor feel to the whole coloring style without a ton of extra effort. These choices and others like it helped speed up the process and were all informed by my experience in the animation pipeline.

5. Maggie, you’re a founding member of Authors Against Book Bans and on its national leadership team. Why is its mission important to you, and what can people do to help?

MTH: Well, I’m delighted you asked, thank you! Our freedom to read is a fundamental right. The idea of limiting what narratives, information, or emotional experiences other people are allowed to have is, frankly, weird. This is the land of the free, and I fully intend to read (and write) that way. That most bans these days come from a basis of bigotry only makes me even more committed to this fight. Book bans thrive in communities that are afraid to stand against them. It is my hope that together we can feel more brave and push the politicians who would use easily inflamed bigotries for political expediency off the ballot, and the extremists who would ban books back to the shadows of cultural irrelevance where they belong. If you are an author, illustrator, translator, anthology editor or contributor, or have ever had your name on a book as a creator (traditionally or independently published), I would urge you to join Authors Against Book Bans. We’ll help keep you up to date with calls to action and with ways to get involved in person and also remotely. For everyone, I highly recommend downloading the 5calls app and using it to call your state representatives with the Protect Children From Book Bans in Your State script in place there (and written by Authors Against Book Bans). No matter where you are in the nation, expressing your commitment to the freedom to read to your representatives is an essential, daily action that you can take.

From the August 2024 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.