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| Roth with Beep (courtesy of Roth) |
by Mike Rhode
Jonathan Roth appeared recently at the Politics and Prose flagship for the second book in his Rover and Speck series. Rover and Speck are sentient planetary rovers (Rover is the one from NASA, while Speck's origin is a mystery) that meet on a Mars-like planet and then explore a water world in their second book which came out recently. After having his own event that morning, Roth came back for Roz Chast's talk and Bruce Guthrie introduced the two of us. Roth's
children's book bio can be found on his website.
What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
I write and illustrate almost solely for kids these days. My first graphic novel series, Rover and Speck, came out in 2022, with another book just released and book 3 slated for 2024. I’ve also created chapter books and picture books.
How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?
I do rough planning and character design in pencil first, but the finished art for my graphic novels is rendered and colored digitally.
When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?
I was born in Detroit, too young to remember the first step on the moon, but I was alive for it.
Why are you in Washington (aka Rockville) now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?
Though we first settled in Ellicott City in the late 90s, so my wife could go to acupuncture school, we moved to Montgomery County when I got a job teaching elementary art here in ‘99. We’ve been in Rockville most of that time, for the past 10+ years in Twinbrook.
When and why did you live in Zaire and the Virgin Islands?
I
deferred college a year to live in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the
Congo) to join my father and his wife (remarried) who were high school
teachers at the American School of Kinshasa. They later taught on St.
Croix, so I dropped what I was doing (not much) to spend a year there
too.
What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
Like so many others, I started by copying characters in comic books and strips as early as 5 years old. But by the time I went to art school (Cooper Union), I was of course, like my peers, too serious an artiste to draw cartoons. But shortly after graduating I knew I wanted to write and draw above all, with a humorous bent, and my path back to cartooning (and then children’s books) was natural and fun.
Who are your influences?
Though I was addicted to Marvel and DC as a kid, I don’t see much lasting influence there. My cartoonist’s heart was mostly shaped by newspaper strips like Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes and Doonesbury. Works such as the early Star Wars movies and the Hitchhiker’s Guide books certainly taught me a lot about longer narration and humorous voice. The Simpsons, too.
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Roth at Politics and Prose; photo courtesy of Bruce Guthrie
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Tell us about your alt cartoonist days in Charlottesville and other newspapers please.
In the mid to late 90s, I had hundreds of strips published by weeklies and magazines such as the C-Ville Weekly in Charlottesville (a weekly strip for a couple years), Communities Magazine and the occasional acceptance in the Funny Times and similar. But the tone of these strips was much gentler than edgy, and I don’t think the alt-scene was where I belonged. I really yearned to do more mainstream newspapers and began submitting to the syndicates. United was briefly interested in one strip, but it never went anywhere. At the same time, I was also developing my interest in writing for children, which is the path I eventually took.
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Roth at Politics and Prose; photo courtesy of Bruce Guthrie
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Where did you get the idea to do a book series about planetary rovers?
I’ve followed Mars landers and rovers since I was a kid, but didn’t have an idea to make them characters until 2019, when I saw that the long-lived Opportunity rover had ‘died’ after an unprecedented 14 years on the Martian surface (it was supposed to last about 3 months, ha!) I immediately had an idea about another rover finding a fictional Oppy and bringing it back to ‘life’. Thus Rover and Speck were born!
How did you pitch it, since you would be a new graphic novelist? Was it on the strength of your previous children's book series?
My agent did the pitching, so I don’t know all the details. Because so many publishers are looking for good graphic novels now, I doubt my chapter book series had much sway either way. This one sold as an initial three-book series. Book one takes place on a rocky world. Book two is set on a water planet. And, for the first time in kid’s sci-fi that I know about, book three will take place within the cloud layers of a gas giant! I wanted to try something especially unusual for that one.
Will we learn more about Speck's origins?
Not in book 3. But maybe if there are more books down the line!
The rovers are obviously not possible to engineer yet, in spite of AI advances. Beyond the alien life such as rock creatures, is the science in your books accurate?
Maybe a wee bit more accurate than Star Trek, haha! I do try to make the specifics more plausible than fantastical, but the more factual science connections are peppered throughout in the ‘Fun Science Facts.’
How do you decide which science panels to include?
There are cool, interesting facts about all aspects of nature, but I try to tie these panels into pertinent things happening at that point in the story. My editor usually has good suggestions around these too.
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?
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Roth at Politics and Prose; photo courtesy of Bruce Guthrie
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My first agent, who was shopping my middle-grade novels around almost 15 years ago but knew about my comics background, wondered if I could do comics for kids. For some reason I wasn’t thinking in those terms yet, though if I was, I could have possibly been on the ground floor of the current kid’s graphic novel boom (I met Andy Runton at SPX around then, and books like his
Owly were definitely spinning gears in my head).
What work are you best-known for?
For my work an art teacher! I mean, I teach 500+ kids a week, each student body continually replenished for 25 years. In the wider world, my Beep and Bob chapter book series is probably still the best known of my kid’s books.
What work are you most proud of?
It’s such a longshot getting any work traditionally published in children’s books these days, so I’m grateful for all my books. If I’m proud of anything it’s my perseverance, because that’s been the key.
What would you like to do or work on in the future?
Another graphic novel series. And more picture books. No lack of ideas! Just time…
What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
Go for a walk or bike ride. Most of my ideas come to me while not in the chair (though sitting and composing is the only way to work them out). Active bodies are active brains!
What do you think will be the future of your field?
So bright, people will be wearing shades! Not likely me, but someone.
What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Awesome Con, or others? Any comments about attending them?
I’ve been attending the Small Press Expo for about 20 years, since back when it was in a hotel in Bethesda (now at the Mariott convention center closer to me). Anyone into comics, especially those beyond superhero, should definitely go! I attend occasional other cons, but most of the events I attend and/or appear at are book festivals: the Gaithersburg Book Festival, Fall for the Book, the Chesapeake Children’s Book Festival and more.
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| Roth at Politics and Prose; photo courtesy of Bruce Guthrie |
What comic books do you read regularly or recommend? Do you have a local store?
Just about all the kidlit and adult comics I read can be found in good indie bookstores, like Politics and Prose (where, in the last week alone, I attended talks by creators as diverse as Stephen Pastis and Roz Chast; I also spoke there too, smiley face). Sadly there are no indies in Rockville (boo!), but the new People’s Book in Takoma Park has a cool comics selection, and I’ll travel to NoVa for Bards Alley, Scrawl, One More Page or Hooray for Books (why is NoVa so much better than MoCo this way? Discuss). And MoCo Libraries has built a great collection.
What's your favorite thing about DC?
That I can ride all the way from Rockville to the Mall on beautiful bike trails (Rock Creek Trail, Capital Crescent, C and O) to visit some of the best museums in the world. For free!
Least favorite?
That there’s such a profound equity/wealth gap.
What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?
The National Gallery is my happy place. Great Falls is a spectacular outdoor spot.
How about a favorite local restaurant?
I’m boring about dining. The Silver Diner is our main bag.
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Roth at Politics and Prose; photo courtesy of Bruce Guthrie
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Do you have a website or blog?
www.beepandbob.com
How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected you, personally and professionally?
Such a strange, surreal time! Fortunately we found a way to keep schools (and teaching jobs) going during the pandemic, so for me it was more of a mental than financial hardship. I wrote and sold a book in 20-21, and my series has survived, so I’m grateful there. Plus somehow I still haven’t had Covid myself! But with all we should have learned, I’m worried we aren’t going to be prepared for the next pandemic.
