Cult indie-pop darlings Belle and Sebastian, whose name comes from a French children's book, now have a book of their own.
In Image Comics' new release, Put the Book Back on the Shelf: A Belle and Sebastian Anthology, a team of comic book artists melds the band's songs into comic book stories.
While similar song-inspired comics have occasionally turned up, rarely have these endeavors involved artists on the level of Belle and Sebastian, said B. Clay Moore, the former public relations and marketing coordinator for Image Comics and instigator of the project. The Scottish band has sold more than two million albums worldwide.
The band showed enthusiasm for the idea from the outset, said Belle an Sebastian keyboardist Chris Geddes. "When anyone is inspired to take something you've done and do something creative with it, it's flattering."
Fans of the band say Belle and Sebastian are the perfect group for the unusual project.
"Belle and Sebastian have a lot of character as a band-they're very idiosyncratic and quirky," said Suzan Davis, a freshman who will travel to Tennessee over Spring Break to see the band play. "The comic book seems like a good fit for them."
The book, released Wednesday, coincides with the relase of Belle and Sebastian's sixth album, The Life Pursuit.
The collection is the brainchild of Image Comics CEO Eric Stephenson, who initially approached Moore about an anthology focusing on the music of songwriter Stephen Duffy, Moore said.
The two were discussing other potential bands for such a project, and Moore said he suggested Belle and Sebastian because of their popularity among cartoonists.
The anthology's host of contributors-handpicked by Moore for their interest in the band-gives it a mix of artistic styles ranging from classic comic panels and colors to more abstract collages and watercolors.
"The collection treats Belle and Sebastian's songs like a library of books that you're looking through," said Laurenn McCubbinn, art director for Image Comics. McCubbin designed the cover of the comic book and also contributed a story. She said the highly narrative nature of the band's lyrics lent itself very well to the project.
While many of the comics in the 144-page anthology depict literal stories from the band's songs or show their actual lyrics accompanied by pictures, others draw inspiration from ideas or feelings contained in a particular track.
For example, the artists' rendition of "We Rule the School" takes the song's themes about childhood and creates a new story about a young boy and his imaginary friend. The different interpretations reflect the varied songwriting styles of the band's different musicians, said Geddes.
"For [lead singer and songwriter] Stuart Murdoch, narrative and characterization are very important," said keyboardist Geddes. "Other band members are more impressionistic in their writing."
The comics also vary in the emotions they deal with, another feature of the band's songs. The opening story, "The State I am in," bleakly recounts Murdoch's drug-induced stupor as he struggles through his sister's wedding. In contrast, "Step into My Office, Baby," is a lighthearted and humorous take on Belle and Sebastian's hit single of the same name.
Project initiator Moore said artists were given a good deal of artistic freedom in everything from the choice of songs-which span the group's 10-year career-to the degree to which the interpretations stayed true to the songs' literal storylines.
"In my story, I tried to combine a surface reading of the song with what I read as the song's deeper meaning," McCubbinn said. For example, he said he reads certain lyrics as a metaphor for the character's emotional numbness.
Transposing other media into comic book tales was relatively familiar territory for McCubbinn, who had previously adapted several prose stories into comics.
These types of adaptations, however, are less common than one might think, Moore said. "There are a lot of things you'd think would make good comics, like video games. If you're dealing with major labels, though, there can be a lot of red tape," he noted.
Moore said that's why he thought Belle and Sebastian were a good choice for this project, as he had heard Stuart Murdoch was a comics fan.
As a boy, Geddes also had an affinity for comics, he said. "The whole band definitely shares an appreciation for the art form."
So how did it turn out? Geddes said the band members were "quite intrigued" by the final product.
Moore also cited the potential for fan crossover between Belle and Sebastian and indie comics as a motivator for the project.
The creators may hope the release will expose a wider audience to the comic book genre. However, Jon Newman, manager of Ultimate Comics in Durham, said he doesn't see much potential for increased comic book exposure. "It's not something that will really fly off the shelves," he said.
For his part, Newman is not concerned. He said that most of the people he expects to seek out the anthology will be diehard Belle and Sebastian followers. This is exactly the type of audience the book is being marketed toward. According to Image Comics' website, mailings about the anthology have been sent to more than 40,000 Belle and Sebastian fans.
Student fan Davis said she didn't receive the mailing but is nonetheless excited about the release.
"I've never read a comic book before, but I'll definitely get this one," Davis said.
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