Making Queer Fairy Tales w/ Melanie Gillman
Spirits
Multitude
4.8 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 15 May 2024
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We’re joined by cartoonist and author of Other Ever Afters, Mel Gillman to chat about growing as an artist, how allegories of fairy tales grow over time, and breaking the structures to write good horror. Also, the premiere of our new favorite segment: Foraging Corner.
Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of queerphobia, arranged marriage, divorce, colonization, genocide, bodily fluids, gentrification, and classism.
Guest
Melanie Gillman is a cartoonist and illustrator who specializes in LGBTQ books for kids and teens. They are the creator of the Stonewall Honor Award–winning graphic novel As the Crow Flies, Other Ever Afters, and Stage Dreams. In addition to their graphic novel work, they teach in the comics MFA program at California College of the Arts.
Housekeeping
- Recommendation: This week, Julia recommends The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss
- Books: Check out our previous book recommendations, guests’ books, and more at https://spiritspodcast.com/books
- Call to Action: Check out Big Game Hunger!
Sponsors
- Blueland creates everyday eco-friendly cleaning productions that save you money and space, without any plastic waste. Get 20% off your first order when you go to blueland.com/spirits.
- Wildgrain is the first bake-from-frozen box for artisanal bread. For a limited time, you can get $30 off the first box - PLUS free Croissants in every box - when you go to Wildgrain.com/Spirits to start your subscription.
- BetterHelp is an online therapy service. Get 10% off your first month at https://betterhelp.com/spirits
Find Us Online
- Website & Transcripts: https://spiritspodcast.com
- Patreon: https://patreon.com/spiritspodcast
- Merch: https://spiritspodcast.com/merch
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/spiritspodcast
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/spiritspodcast
- Tumblr: https://spiritspodcast.tumblr.com
- Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/group/show/205387
Cast & Crew
- Co-Hosts: Julia Schifini and Amanda McLoughlin
- Editor: Bren Frederick
- Music: Brandon Grugle, based on "Danger Storm" by Kevin MacLeod
- Artwork: Allyson Wakeman
- Multitude: https://multitude.productions
About Us
Spirits is a boozy podcast about mythology, legends, and folklore. Every episode, co-hosts Julia and Amanda mix a drink and discuss a new story or character from a wide range of places, eras, and cultures. Learn brand-new stories and enjoy retellings of your favorite myths, served over ice every week, on Spirits.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Welcome to Spirits podcast, a boosy dive into mythology, legends, and folklore. |
| 0:33.4 | Every week we pour a drink and learn about a new story from around the world. |
| 0:36.9 | I'm Amanda. |
| 0:38.0 | And I'm Julia. And this week we are joined by the wonderful author, artist, lover of folk and fairy tales and |
| 0:45.4 | mythology. It's Mel Gilman. How are you, Mel? Hi, I'm good. Thanks for having me on. I wanted to start |
| 0:50.8 | this episode off by being like the timeline of me experiencing your work. |
| 0:57.6 | I remember I came across one of your comics probably in 2020. |
| 1:03.0 | It was the goddess of mishaps comic on Tumblr. |
| 1:06.8 | And I was like, oh, this is so cool. |
| 1:08.6 | I really love this. |
| 1:09.9 | This is so like our vibe here on spirits. And then I was in a bookstore up in Vermont recently. And I came across other ever afters in that bookstore. And I was like, oh, this, I recognize this. This is the same person. And got really excited. Bought bought it immediately, was so thrilled to, like, |
| 1:28.5 | just to see it in the existence. I hadn't even, like, seen that it had been a published work. |
| 1:32.3 | So when I finished reading it, I messaged Amanda immediately and was like, we have to have |
| 1:36.8 | them on because I think this would be perfect. And to your credit, you answered right away. |
| 1:41.3 | So from my perspective, I just found out about you a few days ago, |
| 1:44.4 | and I have so much to dig into. I'm so excited. Definitely. So Mel, can you tell us, |
| 1:49.7 | first off, a little bit about yourself and the work that you do? And then we can talk a little bit |
| 1:54.4 | more about other ever-afters and just the queerness of folklore and fairy tales in general. |
| 2:01.2 | Sure. |
| 2:02.8 | So my name's Mel Gilman. |
| 2:04.3 | They then pronounce for me. And I am a graphic novelist and a colored pencil artist. |
| 2:09.1 | And I work in a lot of different genres and styles of storytelling. |
... |
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