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This irresistable title was our introduction to Lafcadio Hearn. We loved his purple prose, which described our hometown as if it lurked in the lizard-brain of Dickens or Poe:
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Our interest deepened when we learned of his life story, his global wandering, and his complicated psyche. There is an active Lafcadio Hearn society here; his descendants and relatives visit often.
Finally, we came to see Hearn as a symbol of the turbulent nature of the times. He arrived in America as it was 'recovering' from the Civil War, and undergoing massive growth. As a foreigner who preferred to be elsewhere most of the time, he depicted what he saw with a jaundiced but fascinated eye.
Our development of this book has been an intensive process of writing, sketching, outlining, etc. Below you can see various styles we have worked through to help determine the visual language of our story- what is working and what might needs development. Our story employs magic realism as well as many historical 'easter eggs' for readers. The arc is the personal journey of Hearn, from orphaned outcast to folk hero.
We hold bi-weekly charettes where we grapple with the idea of Hearn through targeted strategy sessions and individual meanderings.
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In 2022 we visited Japan, where Hearn died in 1904 as a family man and professor. He is well-known there, being the first
Westerner to fully assimilate into the country and write about it in a way that sought to explain it to the rest of the world.
We visited Hearn's preserved homes in Matsue and Kumamoto, his beloved vacation spot in Yaizu, as well as his gravesite in Tokyo. Meeting Hearn's great grandson Bon Koizumi and his wife Shoko Koizumi, both of whom direct the Hearn museum in Matsue, was a welcome surprise
In 2024, The Mardi Gras Krewe of Rex (one of the oldest in the parade) themed its entire parade around the writings of Hearn, creating floats that spoke to his work in New Orleans and Japan. I was privileged to be able to visit the 'den' of the Krewe, where I got up close with the amazing pieces.
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