Star author-illustrator couple collaborate on first graphic novel

You've heard of partners who finish each other's sentences, but what about a married couple who finish each other's creative ideas?

That's the case for Melbourne couple Sofie Laguna and Marc McBride, who have collaborated on their first graphic novel, Blunderbore, which tells their version of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Laguna is an acclaimed author for adults and children, and won the 2015 Miles Franklin award for The Eye of the Sheep.

McBride is a prolific illustrator and artist, with a particular interest in fantasy. He has illustrated more than 200 book covers and the Deltora Quest series, which has sold more than 18 million copies.

Talking to ABC Arts over Zoom, the vivacious couple's chemistry and admiration for each other's work are clear.

"I discovered we bounce off each other really well," Laguna says.

"Whenever I hit an obstacle or a tricky moment, or I needed a way through, I could run it by Marc, and then we'd go on, advancing each other's suggestions. What a joy that was to have happen.

"He is pretty brilliant. It was funny too, because he would do voices for all the characters!"

McBride laid the groundwork for the project when he drew a series of pictures illustrating familiar scenes from the fable: Jack climbing the beanstalk, entering the giant's towering castle and stealing the golden goose.

Laguna brought different strengths to the project such as a novelist's understanding of structure and pacing.

"It was just a mess of drawings, really," McBride says of the initial drawings. "I knew roughly my version of the story, but Sofie took over and turned the mess into … can I say something beautiful?"

McBride's sketches introduced a new twist to the old story (the first printed version dates back to 1734), as the last frame revealed a young girl was drawing the action, raising the question of whether the whole tale took place in her imagination.

The finished product is epic and immersive, with McBride's black-and-white art conveying the sheer scale of the giant and his destruction and capturing the army of rat servants in all their repulsive glory.

While the pair had previously collaborated on children's picture books, McBride says there was never a grand plan to create a graphic novel.

"We've been married quite a long time, but we never really planned to work together," he says.

"We were always very separate. I was mad about fantasy and obsessive about Lord of the Rings, and Sophie wasn't."

When the COVID lockdowns in their adopted hometown of Melbourne limited their options, they began working together more and enjoyed the process. Still, they hadn't tackled a project of this scale before.

Laguna says she underestimated how much work McBride, who created more than 1,000 of his incredibly detailed drawings for the project, would have to do.

"I remember standing in our backyard and saying 'How hard can a graphic novel be?'" she says, with a knowing laugh.

"Our roles and responsibilities are so different; I just provide a template, or a bunch of seeds for Marc."

While Laguna was able to move between writing projects while working on Blunderbore, McBride often laboured into the early morning on his illustrations. He created them with a range of techniques and mediums, including drawing on creative pen displays, making 3D models and using Photoshop to draw over and rearrange airbrush paintings.

Blunderbore isn't just the result of artistic collaboration; it's also a story about how people can work together and use their creative powers to solve seemingly impossible problems.

There are dozens of different versions of the fable, many which feature Jack acting alone to defeat the giant.

In Blunderbore, however, it's much more of a team effort; intrepid young artist Gemma, the mild-mannered but formidable Aunt Lucy and even the hordes of animals the ogre has imprisoned all play crucial roles in ending the monster's reign of terror.

"This is all unconscious, but it does occur to me that [Blunderbore] is all about collaboration; the way they problem-solve together and support and encourage each other," Laguna says.

Even the couple's youngest son, Milo, was involved as the photo model for Jack. McBride remembers him being a willing sitter, but Laguna suggests there may have been a chocolate bribe or two.

Their friends also lent a hand, being photographed to help McBride illustrate Aunt Lucy and the servants imprisoned in the giant's castle.

"We'd have a barbecue, and you'd see everyone from Blunderbore running around," McBride says.

While some creative couples have strict boundaries for when and where they discuss their joint projects, Laguna and McBride are happy to let their work and personal lives blur together.

"It's never been an issue," Laguna says. "We could be working in the garden, and we'll have a chat about [the graphic novel].

"Marriage isn't easy, but this was harmonious. We don't want to give an idealised version of events because there were some tough moments when we were reaching a deadline."

McBride adds: "But no-one died, you know?

"It was a different process, and we definitely learned a lot about each other.

"But I would happily spend the rest of my life just doing graphic novels."

Blunderbore is also a story of the power of a child's imagination.

Laguna says one reason the fable has proved so enduring is because it reflects on universal themes of childhood and growth.

"Only a child would sell a cow for magic beans, and only a child could defeat this tyrant," she says.

A key addition to Laguna and McBride's version of the fable is Aunt Lucy. A grown-up who takes Gemma's stories of monsters and giant beanstalks seriously, her role in the story becomes an allegory for fostering imagination.

McBride often visits schools to talk to kids about creativity and he feels passionate about its potential.

"There are so many mind-numbing ways to get rid of creativity now," he says.

"Art, writing and creating are how we'll get children to think outside the box and work out ways of solving the world's problems.