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David Enker’s travels:

Download the version in pdf here :

Interview by: Armelle Barré & Eric Vidal

If you’re fond of comics, all roads lead to Angouleme. There, we met David Enker, a comic’s lover who came to the festival to satisfy his thirst for discovery but also to try his luck and meet publishers. Neshuma, his self edited first work, his personal background and his multicultural view of comic strip caught our attention. Yesterday, the Netherlands. Today, Europe. Tomorrow the world?

T9 : Can you tell us who you are?

David Enker : Part of ‘who I am’ is what my graphic novel is about. I was born in Amsterdam in 1970. My student parents were very young and had to put me away, and I landed up at an artistic family, and stayed there until I left at 20... I was always surrounded by oil paintings and comic books. In the atelier of my uncle who lived nearby I learned to draw and paint ever since I remember. I studied physics and various other subjects at university for a while after school and stopped art all together, but picked it up a couple of years later. I am hardly ever really satisfied with my drawing skills and am in a continuous battle with myself, my laziness and my motivation. But my main goal is always to be genuine; to be true to life and art. And I think I’m somewhat succeeding in that.

What are you doing for a living?

I work in London as a freelance web designer/illustrator. A lot of it is for advertising, selling my soul to the devil to pay the astronomically high rent, and to buy myself some free time to work on my own stuff or take a trip to Angouleme. Sometimes I meet some interesting characters from all over the world, but London is mostly business oriented, and not as creative as I expected.

What (and when) were your first comic books reading?

Long before I could read, I was looking at the pictures of my older brother and sister’s comic books. My long-time favourite was Suske & Wiske (Bob & Bobette) from the Flemish Willy Vandersteen. For quite a number of years I referred to myself as ‘Suske’. As I grew older, my interest mostly stayed with Belgium/French comics like Guust Flater (Gaston Lagaffe), Robbedoes & Kwabbernoot (Spirou & Fantasio), Kuifje (Tintin), Lucky Luke, Asterix, Schuiten & Peeters, Ravian, Philemon, Tardi, Moebius. The French language and environment lends itself to create art that just has more flair, mood and imagination. The non-French stuff I liked was Carl Barks’ early 50’s work, Don Lawrence, Richard Corben, Mad, Robert Crumb, Dan Clowes…. My obsession grew more over the years, and before I left home I had collected about 10 metres of comics…

You grew up in the Netherlands: is this a “comic books country”?

Yes, I think it is. Maybe not as much as France or Belgium, but definitely more than in the UK. A lot of comics are translated into Dutch, and they certainly were popular when I was younger. Things have changed over the years, as anywhere, thanks to computer games and the internet, but recently graphic novels have become a hot topic in the more serious newspapers with raving reviews. Not an awful lot is produced in Holland (especially compared to the smaller neighbour Belgium), but there are some lovely things coming from the Flat Wetlands. My recent discovery is Guido van Driel. He sort of paints on black paper and has a very unique style.

What are your main influences? Can you explain us why this author/books are so influential?

Apart from the many youth comics as mentioned above, my more recent ‘discoveries’ have all some way or the other had their influence. Probably on top is Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. Her simple but effective mixture of childish curiosity and serious topics gave me my final push to continue with what I thought was an insane interest of mine. Other pioneers are for me: Will Eisner (A contract with God) for his true-to-life observations…Art Spiegelman’s Maus – the best work on the most difficult subject…all Chris Ware’s work (beautifully melancholic)…I admire Joann Sfar’s world and activity…and the dry observations from Guy Delisle as well. I admire Rutu Modan’s Exit Wounds for being such a well told story in a clear style. Also very influential, perhaps surprisingly, is the dramatic work ‘Life? or Theatre?’ (1940s) from Charlotte Salomon. A sort of Anne Frank’s Diary in pictures and words. The original pages were exhibited in Amsterdam a couple of years ago, and that was perhaps the only time a story told in pictures and words actually made me cry.

Next to the world of comics, equally influential to me is the rich artistic tradition in my family, as well as in Holland, from people like Van Gogh, Mondriaan, Escher, Vermeer, and Rembrandt.

It must be said though that I feel equally, if not more, inspired by other art forms as well: literature, film and music in particular. And the best inspiration: just look outside...

What kind of comics do you find in the UK?

There are hardly any English comics that I like. I went here for a love (my current girlfriend), not for the art. In Holland and France there is a comic book store on almost every corner of the street, and comics are referred to as the 9th art in France. In Holland, even de street cleaners know Rembrandt or Gaston. Not in England. It’s all pubs and clubs here. There still are too many associations with superheroes and kids stuff. The best comic books I think are from abroad. Of course there is a lot of American/Canadian stuff here, and Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly books are getting a respectable spot in the normal bookstores now. One of my favourite comic books from the Angouleme festival though was Faire Semblant C’est Mentir by Dominique Goblet. It remains to be seen if something like that can be translated into English…

What decided you to make your own comic books?

I made my first comic books when I was 8 years old together with my school friend from America called Clifford. We weren’t aware of copying machines yet, so we made hand-drawn copies of each issue and sold them for 10 cent each to schoolmates. After school I tried to be a serious adult. That didn’t quite work out, and the blood is strong….I picked up painting again and did that for most of my twenties. I went on/off trying to get my autobiographical story started from when I was 25 or so, but work, life and love got in the way. Only after I moved to London in 2005 and nearly got killed in the bombings of 7/7, I realised I only had one life, one chance, to do what I want to do, so I started on this project ‘Neshuma’. Now, I have no choice but to continue on this path.

I think the ‘story with pictures and words’ or the somewhat pretentious term ‘graphic novel’ (I don’t like the english term ‘comic books’ --it’s not always that ‘comical’-- and prefer the french ‘bande dessinée’, or the similar dutch ‘strip’) is the best medium for telling a personal story that ‘sucks you in’, and the people who don’t have time or patience to read a ‘real’ novel can enjoy the experience too.

You published a comic called “Neshuma”. Can you tell us about this book?

‘Neshuma’ was my initial reaction to the London bombings. I wanted to respond and tell what happened that day, but gradually it turned into something much bigger, more ambitious. It is a collection of stories, a trilogy. The first story, called ‘In Transition’ (just out now), is about that fatal day. The next one, with the working title ‘Detached’, is about growing up in Holland in my unusual family, confronted with difficult choices, and hence growing character/spirit on my own merits. The last story is still in development, but will be inspired by the 17th century Dutch philosopher Spinoza. All the stories are reality-based, but I use the freedom to alter things as I please, sometimes leading to surreal escapes. Live is full of paradoxes, and that is what I try to portray, both in style as content.

Why Neshuma? What does that mean?

It is the Yiddish word for soul. I first came upon that word through Will Eisner’s final work ‘The Plot: The Secret Story of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’, in which he describes his ‘Jewish soul’ in the introduction. I have a Jewish background as well, but hadn’t heard that word before. I looked it up and found references to the Kaballah, in which it is described as ‘the intellectually mature soul, with a spiritual component. A sort of a super soul that anyone can reach but little do’. Now, I was raised without any religion, and I don’t like mysticism, but I have experienced on a couple of occasions (one of them deep underground during the bombings confronted with death) something what is sometimes referred to as the Kiss of the Beloved, let’s say a profound spiritual strength, that keeps me going and distinguishes me from my surroundings. That is ultimately what my book is about.

Why did you choose self-fiction rather than fiction?

As long as the events in my real life are stranger than fiction, I don’t see a reason why I should make up stuff. ‘Reality’ is pretty complicated stuff. I love reading about other people’s thoughts, and I would like to make something that I would enjoy reading.

Are you interested in fiction for your future work?

Yes, very much so. Sometimes reality can be too hard to bear, and fiction is the ultimate escape. That’s why my books, even if they dealing with real-life events, are full of dreams and surrealism.

But yes, I’d like to go further and distance myself from ‘me’. But making a comic book is a monk-like commitment...My In Transition story has 70 pages and took me more than a year to complete; my second book is now at 100 pages in draft, and I would like experiment more visually, so that’s going to take quite some time as well. In the meantime, my hair is getting thinner and I see a belly growing....

How do you sell it?

After a friendly but negative reply from a publisher I’ve decided to go self-publishing. I’ve received my first copy from lulu.com and it looks quit lovely. Normally in England books look deformed with quotes from other established artists and saying hollow stuff like ‘5 stars’ or ‘a masterpiece’, to increase sales numbers and to serve the supposed ignorant reader…..I hate that. I much more prefer books with nice designs like those from L’Association or Chris Ware. It will be for sale online, and am still looking into ways of getting it into the minds and bookshelves of the interested. It is a story that needs to be told and read.

You have a website: neshuma.com. Why did you use internet to promote your work? Is it helpful, efficient?

In my daily life I am a web designer, so it only seemed natural to make a site about my project. But to make a site for someone else, for work, or for your own stuff is really different, and I am never satisfied with the style and content. Then, after I’d send the link to my site to some publishers, I got disappointing responses: either they said they only want to see printed material, like photocopies, or they didn’t bother looking at all... I don’t really blame them, because ‘snapshots’ like photocopies or pages on a web don’t really give the right impression; my book only works as a whole. So that’s when the self-publishing comes out really handy: I just get my book sent at home, and can then send it to publishers. Or find other ways of distribution, which I’m still looking into. Maybe I take a copy to my favourite bookstore and ask them if they want to buy it, or maybe I send a copy to other artists I like, and ask for their help. I seriously dislike the promotional part and would love to have an agent for that, if only they existed....

You came to Angouleme: did you meet publishers? or authors ? useful contacts ? Was this a good experience?

It was an excellent experience. It was more French than international, but I liked that. The best comic books are made in the French language originally after all. My high school French isn’t very good unfortunately, so I was glad to have met you guys from Trame 9, but I also enjoyed seeing Deemoes with his sketch book during dinner. Further, I don’t have any ‘idols’, so hunting for autographs was out of the question. I had a very nice coincidental meeting with another Londoner, Paul Gravett, who is the writer of books about graphic novels and one of the biggest promoters of foreign languaged comic book artists into the English language. He recently introduced Persepolis, the film in London, and just now he invited me to visit an exhibition called ‘Manhua’, Chinese comics translated into English. I also talked to some people from the publishing houses, L’Association is one of my favourites, but the people working there were mostly just selling books. I was recommended to send a copy of my book, and so I might.

Have you already made contact with L’Association?

No, I am still waiting for the revised copy of my book from lulu.com. Once I am happy with that, I order 10 copies or so, and send them to various publishers, see if they bite. I seriously think this is one of the most urgent stories in graphic novels to date, and I don’t see why not one of them should embrace my unique world.