JT: Too many things to name and they’re constantly shifting. MW: Who are some of your influences as a writer and an artist? Illustrations with lots and lots of detail. MW: What were your favorite books as a kid? JT: It’s pretty simple: I try to pick a colour scheme that fits the emotion of the story that also looks nice. Can you tell us a little about your approach to coloring? Scene from Baba Yaga by Jillian Tamaki. Really enhances the eerie, otherworldly feeling of Baba Yaga’s world. MW: I love the palette of golds and reds you chose for this tale. JT: I work in a way that combines digital and traditional media. Do you still work on paper, or have you gone entirely digital? MW: We’d love to hear a bit about your process. The idea of hero, narrative, moral, etc., are very different. I illustrated a book of Irish legends a few years ago and was struck by how they differ from the typical “story” we have come to expect. JT: My parents read the Brothers Grimm to me sometimes.

MW: Were you into fairy tales as a kid? (Or beyond…some of us never stop reading them!) The way magic was used felt unfamiliar and exciting. Because it’s Russian, the story and imagery felt a little fresher and more intriguing to me. JT: I snapped up the Baba Yaga because I wanted to draw the witch and her chicken-house. What made you decide on that tale as your contribution to the book? And since she appears in so many narratives, how did you choose which of her stories to tell?

I couldn’t get over the house with chicken legs. MW: The Baba Yaga stories always fascinated me as a kid. Jillian Tamaki: First Second, the publisher behind Fairy Tale Comics, will be publishing my upcoming graphic novel, co-created with my cousin Mariko Tamaki. Melissa Wiley: How did you get involved with Fairy Tale Comics? I had a chance to chat with illustrator Jillian Tamaki about her contribution: the wonderfully creepy Baba Yaga tale.

Once again editor Chris Duffy has assembled a team of gifted cartoonists to bring some very old stories to a brand-new audience, comics-style. Now they’re back with Fairy Tale Comics, another lively collection of short comics depicting classic children’s tales. Two years ago, First Second’s Nursery Rhyme Comics blew me away with its fresh and fun approach to familiar old rhymes, featuring a roster of some of the best illustrators in the business.

Fairy Tale Comics by Chris Duffy