The Big Skinny: How I Changed My Fattitude
By Carol Lay
Villard, January 2009, $18.00

In the wake of [[[Perseopolis]]] and similar works, graphic novels have become ever more popular for acquisition editors at the major trade publishing houses. But, just as the direct market twists products in the direction of its own obsessions – spandex, punches, and chivalry twisted through at least two axes, these days – those mainstream publishers have their own market trends and forces, and they’re looking for particular things themselves. To be blunt, all of the big-publisher GNs seem to be memoirs of one sort or another. Some of them are “here’s my life in numbing detail” books, like David Heatley’s [[[My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down]]], and some are small stories of particular moments and times, like Lucy Knisley’s [[[French Milk]]] – but they all are personal stories of one kind or another.

Carol Lay, surprisingly, hasn’t written a book-length illustrated work before; she’s had several collections published – mostly of her weekly [[[WayLay]]] strip – but [[[The Big Skinny]]] is the first time she created a graphic work purely for book publication. And, since it’s from Villard, one piece of the huge Random House book conglomerate, you’d be pretty safe betting that it’s a memoir of some kind. And it is. But The Big Skinny isn’t just a memoir – it’s some more unusual for comics, though it fits into a pretty common prose format.

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Nathan Fillion, star of Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” and “Serenity,” will do double duty this March as the voice of Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman, the next entry in the series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies due on March 3, 2009, with a preview showing at the New York Comic Con, and is also taking the title role in “Castle”, premiering on March 7th on ABC, which features Fillion as a hugely popular mystery/horror writer who helps police solve crimes– think "Murder She Wrote" with Stephen King, but nowhere near as stiff.

Fillion, a fan favorite as Captain Mal Reynolds, as well as Captain Hammer in “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” found time away from the grasp of DC Voice Director Andrea Romano (right) and his unrelenting Halo addiction to chat.

QUESTION: Can you describe the challenges of bringing Steve Trevor to life?

NATHAN FILLION: The challenge I find is just trying to use my natural voice and trying not to put on too much of a voice.  I tried to just keep it nice and easy and relaxed. He’s a little bit wry, he’s a little bit dry. I can do that. And a couple of times I actually slipped in a little bit of a southern accent. 

Steve Trevor is not a complex guy.  He’s got a façade up, he’s got a defense up, but he drops it a little bit because he does care about Diana.  I like that he’s got a bit of an arc, he’s got something to learn.  I think that’s what makes a good character and a good story.

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