As luck would have it, writer Norm Harper is returning to the world of Haphaven. Sort of. The fantasy book first debuted half a decade ago; and now it’s getting a deluxe edition from Oni Press, which highlights not just the soaring story of a girl trying to save her mother from a world of bad luck, but also the process artist Louie Joyce used to craft the world.
“Mostly what’s extra about this edition is the back matter,” Harper told Comic Book Club over email. “We did go in and correct some of the text, like literally correcting typos, etc. And I believe the art may have been adjusted for technical print size reasons or something similar. But this isn’t a George Lucas, ‘Hubbub Shot First’ sort of situation. Nothing about the narrative was altered. It was just cleaned up for the new presentation.”
You can find out more about the book, which is in stores now — and get a look inside at some of the pages — below.
Comic Book Club: It’s been five years since Haphaven first hit… Why revisit it now?
Norm Harper: Well, in a lot of ways, I think the book is even more relevant now. Haphaven is the story of Alex Mills, a young girl who steps on a crack and breaks her mother’s back, so she sets off to Haphaven, the magical land that is the origin point for all of Earth’s superstitions, to try and find a cure. Ultimately, Alex discovers that the ruler of Haphaven is abusing his control over these superstitions, and that abuse of power mirrors a lot of what we’re seeing in the news everyday now in the banning of books or limiting access to certain kinds of medical care. So much of that awful stuff is cloaked in the idea of upholding “morality.” And that’s very much the situation Alex is put in in the quest for her mom’s cure, “If you want to save your family, you have to help me root out and hurt the target of my hatred.”
Looking back, what was the initial genesis of this story?
I remember that I was really interested in the potential for a superstition based adventure story while, at the same time, I was wanting to do something that felt like the fantasy movies I grew up with – The Neverending Story, Dark Crystal, Labyrinth. And so I was exploring story ideas thinking those would be two different projects – the darker fantasy story and the bright, silly leprechaun story. Until one day I realized that “step on a crack, break your mother’s back” was a perfect vehicle for combining the two notions. There’s so much darkness and drama inherent in that sing-songy rhyme, it’s almost like a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Once that clicked for me and the two pieces fused, the big picture came together pretty fast; although it would still take me a couple of years to figure out all the world building and details.
Since the book came out, how has your relationship with luck/superstition changed? Or has it stayed the same?
I think the only difference is being more aware of the relationship I’ve always had with it. When Louie Joyce and I started work on the book, I would have said I was a very rational person who didn’t put any stock in superstition. But since then, I have noticed that a few of my regular habits aren’t that different in practice from some rituals that we might recognize as superstitions. On an intellectual level, I don’t actually think they have any impact on my fortunes, but on an emotional level, they certainly bring me comfort. And sometimes comfort is reason enough.
I love the process looks in the Deluxe Edition – what was important to include and highlight? And what (if anything) got left out that we can expect in the Super Deluxe Mega Edition in another five years?
For me, the most important thing to include was the evolution of the Jinx’s design. I remember that coming very late in the process. Louie was penciling pages and I think he was just five or so pages away from the intro to the Jinx when we decided to alter the look. But an alteration in the design meant an alteration to how characters reacted to him. Which meant rewriting the pages that Louie was about to draw. It was such a hectic thing that it feels like 90% of my memories of making the book are about that sequence.
For the Super Deluxe Mega Edition, I guess I’d have to dig into the old script drafts from even before Louie came on board. There were a ton of ideas that were abandoned as the story evolved – for a while there was a whole army of Jinxes, and Penny used to be a different kind of being, neither human nor leprechaun.
Did you or Louie tweak or change anything in the main story? Or is it all the extra back matter?
Mostly what’s extra about this edition is the back matter. We did go in and correct some of the text, like literally correcting typos, etc. And I believe the art may have been adjusted for technical print size reasons or something similar. But this isn’t a George Lucas, “Hubbub Shot First” sort of situation. Nothing about the narrative was altered. It was just cleaned up for the new presentation.
This is a pretty tightly crafted story, but have you had any thoughts about revisiting the world of Haphaven?
I’d love that! I don’t know if it would be another adventure for Alex, or maybe an all Haphaven based story about other corners of that world…there’s so much that could be explored. If the demand was there, I know Louie and I would both be eager to go back.
Haphaven Deluxe Edition is in stores now from Oni Press.
