Shocking, thrilling and intriguing, Beth Hetland’s Tender, a psychological thriller from Fantagraphics, erupted onto the comics scene earlier this year, both startling and delighting horror lovers, and cementing Hetland as one of the most innovative and creative artists and writers I’ve come across in a long time. It’s a graphic novel that stuck with me, so I was delighted to catch up with Beth after her appearance at San Diego Comic Con to ask some burning questions about her inspiration, uncanny sketches, future projects, and all things horror…
BROKEN FRONTIER: Tell us a bit about yourself! You’ve been a guest at SDCC recently. Can you tell us about this year’s event and what you were doing there?
BETH HETLAND: I’d never been to SDCC before, and I was so excited to be able to join the Fantagraphics team at their booth for signings each day. What a trip! I feel like I had a quintessential Comic-Con in that I stood in long lines, I saw celebrities, I bought comics (and merch), ran into pals I haven’t seen in years, was enthralled by elaborate cosplay, and met some idols! I spent most of my days wandering around the convention floor and drinking it all in, then signing for about an hour. It was especially cool to meet more of the cartoonists published by Fantagraphics, and more of the Fantagraphics team!
BF: Tender, your graphic novel with Fantagraphics, focuses a lot on body horror and scenes that shock. Were you inspired by any horror films or books when you were writing these scenes? Were they enjoyable to illustrate in all their gory glory?
HETLAND: Certainly! I really love movies and while I was creating the book I was thinking about some of my favorites such as The Brood, Suspiria, Black Swan, Possession, The Thing, The Babadook, Raw, and I’m sure more I’m forgetting. There are so many great moments that made me squirm in those films! I think the build-up and the tension are just as important, if not more important, than the actual disturbing parts. As for prose, I hadn’t read a lot of horror before writing the book, but while I ink and color, I really like listening to audiobooks and I got some GREAT recommendations. Not always scary, but some of the ones I enjoyed were Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth, Mary by Nat Cassidy, Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, All’s Well by Mona Awad, You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine by Alexandria Kleeman, and The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher. I’m sure there’s even more of those as well. As twisted as it is, I did have fun drawing those scenes and moments. In many ways it’s the satisfaction of the build of tension and then the release of it.
BF: Even though Carolanne’s (Tender’s protagonist) actions throughout the book get more and more erratic and reprehensible, as the reader, it was hard in some ways not to identify with and feel pity for her. Was this how you intended her to come across?
HETLAND: Absolutely. It was important to me that she wasn’t just “some crazy lady.” I’m most interested in characters that are not so easily written off as only good or only bad. That doesn’t feel real to me. Being able to identify with Carolanne, feel sympathy for her, maybe even empathy with her, makes the read all that more powerful. Ultimately, I’m interested in horror that isn’t just about shock or the grotesque, I think it’s quite horrific to find yourself relating to someone who makes reprehensible choices and feel like you have part of these feelings, urges, and thoughts inside yourself.
BF: I interpreted the title Tender as a really clever homonym, having dual meanings of affection and succulence. It also has connotations of recent cult classics like the film Tender about cannibalism, and the book Tender is the Flesh about the same. Could you tell us how you came up with this title and what it means to you?
HETLAND: Oh good! I’m glad it’s functioning on these levels for you. I also think about the softness, like a tender underside of a belly. So there’s evocation of food, care, and the body which is the ultimate trifecta for the book. I have to say though, I can’t take credit for such a fantastic title. My best friend who I collaborate on other work with, came up with it! It’s so good!!!! I’m more grateful than I am jealous. Thanks, Kyle!
BF: I’d love to know more about the gorgeous and uncanny sketches throughout – was it all hand drawn? How long roughly does it take to illustrate a project of this length, from start to finish?
HETLAND: Thank you so much! That’s very kind. This book is a bit of a departure from my previous work both stylistically and thematically. This was my first book that I’ve done entirely digital, and I created it on the iPad with the Apple Pencil, using Procreate. That being said, I didn’t want it to look like the digital work I was seeing. I wanted it to feel hand drawn and I wanted the lighting and atmosphere to be a big part of the aesthetic so a graphite/colored pencil texture seemed to be what helped me achieve that. I did do all my thumbnails, which is my writing process, physically on notecards with pen but the rest of it was digital.
As for how long it took me to do this, the whole process, writing and all, was about five years. This includes various life obstacles between 2018 and 2023 like…oh…a global pandemic… where I wasn’t very productive for a while. Plus, as the next question addresses, I teach and so a lot of my concentrated drawing time is reserved until the summer break. There was additionally a fairly steep learning curve in changing my working methods but I think how fast I became with the iPad more than made up for the early slow days.
BF: It’s so cool that you’re a professor who teaches comics and comics adjacent courses (especially as it can sometimes seem like the world of comics is male dominated!). What drew you to this career, and did teaching about comics inspire you to craft your own?
HETLAND: Teaching is something I grew up around. My mom was a middle school music teacher, something I could NEVER do, and looking back I can see how much of my own approach to teaching mirrors hers. For me, making comics came first and teaching came second. They both feed each other and as much as I love teaching, I am a cartoonist first and foremost. While I was in college at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I was introduced to the Center for Cartoon Studies by a faculty mentor and now friend of mine, Surabhi Ghosh. She suggested I look into it. I fell in love with the school and the people there, but especially the faculty.
Each professor I had oozed passion for cartooning and teaching. I distinctly remember our first critique that was run by Jason Lutes and how empowering his guidance was for us in aiding each other to our own creative goals. Every semester I step into my classroom for the first time I think about that moment. In making the choice to go to grad school, a career in teaching was a significant factor. I paid careful attention to not just what was being taught but how it was being delivered. I feel incredibly lucky to have had the experience I had at CCS and SAIC. I don’t think I’d be the teacher I am today without them.
BF: From looking at your website, you’ve published lots of cool zines, but Tender is one of your first graphic novels. How was your experience of writing and illustrating for a longer narrative different from constructing a much shorter narrative for a zine?
HETLAND: I have worked on a few graphic novel-length books but they were not nearly the same experience as making Tender. My first long-form book was my thesis for grad school at The Center for Cartoon Studies and was a memoir called Fugue (below). That was a very different writing process since it was more about shaping the material into a cohesive story but was rooted in the real experiences of my family and myself. The other two long form books were done with my collaborator, Kyle. The simplified version of that process is that he wrote them and I drew them. The more complicated answer is that we worked very closely together throughout each phase of creation to edit and shape the work into the best version it could be. Those two books are called Cycles and Half Asleep.
For most of my work, regardless of length, it starts in images. For Tender, I spent time collecting drawings and photos in my sketchbook until it felt like there was enough material to try to piece together some form of narrative. Because I think in pictures, I would work through various questions I had for myself and for whatever this book was going to be and try to respond to them in drawings or writing. For example, I knew I wanted to tell a story with a female protagonist but I didn’t know anything about her yet. I would make drawings of who she could be, what her life might be like, who her friends were, where she lived, etc. until I found things that either felt right or fit together with other disparate pieces.
Once I had the rough story beats mapped out in a chronological timeline, I rearranged them several times to make the story have more tension and drama. From that point, I began thumbnailing on index cards and was determined to thumbnail the whole thing beginning to end without editing just to get the whole story out. After the story was thumbnailed, then I went through and edited it, showed it to some trusted cartoonist pals, made more edits, and then was able to begin penciling. This is very different from a lot of my zines and minicomics. For those, oftentimes I’m interested in exploring a specific physical structure and fitting a narrative within that structure. Since Tender was a straightforward traditional book, I was able to put that energy into the story development rather than the bells and whistles of paper engineering.
BF: Can we expect any further projects in the future? Where’s the best place for readers to follow you for updates?
HETLAND: Absolutely!! I can’t help myself and have already made a new minicomic that’s not on my website but I sell at conventions and events called Monsterous. As for longer work, there are several irons in the fire at the moment, some collaborative and some solo. I am working hard at promoting Tender this year, but I hope it won’t be too long before the next projects are out in the world. People can stay up to date on my whereabouts and projects by following my social media, specifically my instagram @bethhetland, or subscribing to my email list which can be found at my website: www.beth-hetland.com
BF: Broken Frontier is a huge supporter of small press and indie creators – are there any creators or projects you could recommend?
HETLAND: Oh wow yes, this list could be endless. I’ve been traveling all over the west coast at the moment and reading with some incredible creators – Elinor Bonifant, Nicole Goux, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Nicole Georges, Katie Skelly, and Molly Mendoza to name a few. Some pals who have books coming out shortly (or just came out) to check out would be – Colleen Frakes, Ryan Claytor, Mel Gillman, Mary Shyne, and Andy Warner. Also, go to your local indie shop, ask the staff who they recommend! Or pick up something you’ve never heard of that looks neat!
Tender is available to order from Fantagraphics
Also buy online from Gosh! Comics here
Visit Beth Hetland’s online store here
Interview by Lydia Turner
