Life story of Willie Nelson, told in unconventional way
Local author pens “graphic history” of country star
Cartoonist and author T.J. Kirsch did not grow up in a family of artists. His dad was a high school basketball star who went on to play for Siena College, and his grandfather was Bill Kirsch, a legendary player and longtime basketball coach for Siena. “My mom and dad say that when I was 3 years old I used to draw things and they actually looked like what I was trying to draw,” said Kirsch from his home in East Greenbush. “They never expected me to be an artist, but today they’re my biggest fans.” In elementary school he became known as the kid who could draw well. “Sometimes I liked the attention,” he said, “and sometimes I didn’t. What I did like was the Disney Channel where I could watch all those vintage Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck cartoons. I then became a big fan of the Garfield comic strip, the Archie comics and the DC comics.”
This love of comic art led him after high school to The Kubert School in New Jersey to learn cartooning and commercial illustration, and today he is an accomplished author and illustrator of numerous graphic novels. His latest book “Willie Nelson: A Graphic History” (NBM Comics Biographies) $19.99, is out on pre-order on Amazon and most independent bookstores. It is due for publication on Sept. 15.
The Willie Nelson book came about because he was looking for a new project after completing his graphic novel “Pride of the Decent Man” (2017). “That publishing company, NBM, had been putting out quite a few of these true comic biographies, and I was looking for something to do with my next book,” said Kirsch. “I wanted to challenge myself and do something I had never done before.”
He saw that NBM had done books on The Beatles and Elvis, but they had done nothing in country music. “I thought who would be the most obvious choice, and I immediately thought of Willie Nelson, who has lived such a rich history. I also thought it would be fun to draw him. His physical characteristics are so distinctive. He looks like a comic book character.”
The publisher loved the idea, and Kirsch enjoyed immersing himself in everything Nelson. “I look at Willie now as a kind of guru. Willie’s really good at staying positive and not dwelling on things too much. He does what he wants to do and doesn’t really care what other people think. He’s good to his family and supportive to those around him, and he’s never sold out to anything he didn’t believe in.”
Kirsch also loves the range of what Nelson can play, from jazz to folk to old school Hank Williams country. “Not many people can play with B.B. King, Ray Charles and Tonya Tucker, and it all works so effortlessly.”
He might do another biographical profile like this in the future, but not right away. “It was so exhausting. It took three years from the idea to the actual book. I did a lot of research and played the music of Willie Nelson all the time. I overwhelmed myself with Willie, and I think this book gets a pretty good sense of who he is.”
Kirsch had to stop himself from including everything in Nelson’s life. “I had to cherrypick what would make a good comic page, and keep the book to under 100 pages.”
Originally he had planned to illustrate the entire book, but pretty quickly realized that
would take a very long time. “I decided to contact some other artists, people I had met along the way in my career, and have them take on some of the chapters. That gave me the time to get the writing the way I wanted it.”
He never reached out to Nelson, but when the book comes out he will send the musician a copy. “I’m not putting anything in the book that hasn’t already been written about with Willie. There’s nothing that he will object to. I was taking sourced material from his official biography and from what people he has worked with have written about him, including his daughter. There’s nothing too salacious in the book.”
His advice for someone who would like to work in the comics industry is to spend a lot of time drawing. “Going to the Kubert Art School helped me. It forced me to stay behind a drawing desk 10 hours a day and draw. That helped my artwork immensely. Some people are very motivated to work on their craft, but I needed the push.”
When people ask him what they should draw, he tells them to go to a park and just draw people interacting in a real space. “Go to different places and draw people. It’s also important to read comics and graphic novels. Get a sense of the rhythm and the economy of the language. Find the authors and artists that appeal to you, and most importantly try to find your own writing voice and the only way to do that is to write.”
In the last few years Kirsch has also begun working as a literary agent for people trying to write graphic novels and even picture books.”i’m enjoying it. It’s a different aspect of my work in comics. I’ve always enjoyed the other end of the business and how publishers manage the talent. I’ve always been fascinated how publishers can curate what material they want to bring to the world. I also love helping people in this industry, and as an agent I can do that.”
“It was so exhausting. It took three years from the idea to the actual book. I did a lot of research and played the music of Willie Nelson all the time. I overwhelmed myself with Willie, and I think this book gets a pretty good sense of who he is.”
— T.J. Kirsch
Jack Rightmyer, an adjunct English professor at Siena College, is a regular contributor to the Times Union.