WBBT: Michael Hague Interview

Fuse #8: Roughly speaking, how long have you been working in the business?  And for that matter, how did you get your start?

Michael Hague: My first book was published in 1975. It was done for Hallmark. It was a pop up book.  I was working at Hallmark and was doing illustrations for greeting cards at the time. After the illustrations were completed and sometime before the book was published I left Hallmark Cards and moved to Colorado Springs.  When I finally I had a chance to see the finished book I discovered that someone at Hallmark had decided to have an artist draw a thick black line around everything.  Apparently, my subtle line and color were not considered suitable for children.  It was my first book and my first "book bitch". After graduating from Art Center College of Design in 1972 I sent portfolios to publishers in hopes of becoming a book illustrator. For five years I had not so much as a nibble but accumulated many nasty remarks from editors.  My favorite was from an editor at Holt Rhinehart and Winston.  The long and the short of it was that my work was too weird for children and that I should consider another profession. " Perhaps", she suggested (and people think I have made this up but I swear it is the truth) "you could learn to be a trucker." My first big break came from Trina Hyman, bless her, and Dilys Evans, who were the art directors for Cricket Magazine.  Through their efforts I was given several covers to paint over the next few years.   Soon thereafter I received book commissions and my career as an illustrator began.

MH: My first major book was The Wind in the Willows, one of my all-time favorite stories.  It sort of christened a new age and interest in classic children’s literature.  The huge success of the book triggered the years of my illustrating other classics.  

MH: There are two reasons for delving into graphic novels.  One would be the indifference of today’s publishers to my work. And the other is my creative need to do something of my own and expand to new horizons. The graphic novel, In the Small, was a first in many ways for me.  It was a true learning experience. It was the first time I explored a different format; it was the first time I had attempted to write a complex story, and it was the first time I painted my illustrations using the computer.  To be honest, the book displays all the awkwardness of a novice writer and illustrator. I think the idea was grand but the execution leaves something to be improved upon.  I do not have any regrets for any shortcomings in the book and I am proud of certain parts.  Everyone falls the first time they stand up.   That is how an artist or anyone for that matter, learns and grows.  I find it amazing that when I write I write for the fourteen year old that remains at the center of me.  I like the same things that I liked as a fourteen year old.  Either that is sad or refreshing. All I know is that I want the next book I write to be really cool.

F8: Finally, who were your influences?  I’m going to assume Rackham, but that might just be me projecting.

MH: My early influences were Hal Foster and Walt Disney.  Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant was the only comic I was officially allowed to read.  By officially, I mean Mum approved.  I guess Prince Valiant was ok because my mom was British.  All other comics were banned.  She was certain I would become a juvenile delinquent if I read any of them.  Thank God she never found my secret stash of Mad magazines. 

In college I discovered the artists of the golden age of illustration:  Arthur Rackham, W. Heath Robinson, The Detmold brothers, Heinrich Kley, T R Sullivant, Dulac, Wyeth. 

I am still discovering illustrators, both new and old, who dazzle me with their talent.