The Bookmarked interview... with Chris Baker

As one half of the writing and directing team Fitch/Baker, Chris Baker has turned his hand to short-form comics, graphic novels and scripts. He is the co-writer on comics including Trained Medic and Last Driver, and on graphic novels such as Apollo and Reddin. He, along with his writing and directing partner Matt Fitch, has written short films including Bad Vibrations, starring Nick Moran, and written and directed the award-winning short Backmask.

Here, Chris talks to me about the books he loves, the authors he respects, and why the train is the perfect place to write.

Above: Baker is the writer/director behind a series of graphic novels, short form comics and award-winning short films.

What's the first book you remember loving?

I was drawn to Terry Pratchett's books. Those covers by Josh Kirby had a magnetic pull; grotesque, like a Goya painting, but oddly compelling. They called you to open the book and slide into the fantastical world inside.

I picked up a copy of Mort at about the age of 11 or 12. I didn't just love that book, I worshiped it. Death needs an apprentice? Sold! It was fantasy on stilts for me. It solidified my love for fantasy, and began my strange love affair with the macabre. The wicked humour stayed with me though my young adult life, and I still take that book off the shelf from time to time in search of that old feeling.

Above: Terry Pratchett's Mort; "grotesque, like a Goya painting, but oddly compelling".

Which literary character would you most like to be?

Simon Morley, from Jack Finney's novel Time and Again. For those who have not read it, it's a deliciously crazy book about time travel via self hypnosis. Morley travels back to the Dakota building in old New York, 1882. Its strange that Morley's one of advertising's 'mad men' of 1970s New York, and I have later held a fascination with the Dakota building. 

What's your favourite movie/TV show adapted from a book?

Without a doubt its The Red Riding trilogy, by Tony Grisoni. I came to the books after seeing the three movies. Now there are four books in the series, but the trilogy is a masterful adaptation and one which I highly recommend. The noir quality of the books is not lost in the adaptation, and I come back to the films often and with great pleasure each time. British television often lacks that 'bite' which our literature has in spades.

Above: The Red Riding Trilogy, from 2009, adapted Tony Grisoni's books, featured actors including Paddy Considine, Andrew Garfield and Sean Bean.

Which book do you think should be adapted for the screen that, so far, hasn't been?

I'm a graphic novel fan. Having written a few, I appreciate them very much and have been waiting patiently to see an adaptation of Charles Burns' Hole. It's a masterstroke of Lynchian Americana horror.

I heard a whisper on the wind that [director] David Fincher had optioned the rights to make the film. A quick google and I can see there has been some movement on an adaptation, but nothing new since 2018! Here's to hoping the wheels of progress spin a little faster! 

Where's your favourite place to write? 

The train. Weird, I know, but it's a perfect situation. I have a set amount of time to achieve something in silence (headphones) and free from distractions. It's not my office at home, but its my special place. Once upon a time it was the best opportunity I had to try and write or edit short comics. 

Describe your perfect writing set-up?

Low light, easy listening music, table service drinks and cigarettes without the health consequences. I haven't smoked for years, but smoking and writing are like olives in martinis! 

What was the last book you read and would you recommend it? 

I've spent years watching and idolising The Shining (1980)... the movie initially, and finally, in my 42nd year, I decided it was high time I read the novel. I would say its a must read for any Stephen King fan.

Above: Baker has seen - and loved - the film many times, but has only recently read Stephen King's novel.

I'm ashamed I left it this long. It was a masterclass in building tension. I really liked Jack Torrence, I was with him all though his troubles, I truly wanted him to succeed and, more than anything, I wanted to taste that first gin he got served in the bar. I don't know how King does it! Kubrick missed a trick by omitting the wasp's nest, a really valuable metaphor that popped so hard in the final chapters. 

Which book is next on your reading list? 

Dark Waters has already worked its way to the top of my pile but, after that, I'm having a small fascination with the artist Francisco Goya, and I plan to read his biography, Goya, by Robert Hughes.  

Plotter or pantser?

One must always plot. But never let being overly organised stop you from diving in and writing that scene or situation that's in your head. 

You're starting a book club with four other authors; who would you choose?

Alan Moore, Christopher Hitchens, Chuck Palahniuk and Hunter S. Thompson. Moore would be stoned and have a brilliant reason why William Blake would win an arm wrestling match with any takers. Hitchens would disagree with sharp wit and whisky on his breath. Chuck would just have the answers to it all, and Hunter would be taking notes.

Above: A dinner to remember, with Hitchens, Thompson, Moore and Palahniuk.

What book do you think you should have read, but still haven't?

I've never read War and Peace and it feels like one I should have read by now. I read too much trash and it's good for the brain to look at the classics.

Which of your own books are you most proud of? 

I still love Apollo. I co-wrote that one with Matt Fitch, my long suffering collaborator, and I am very proud of what we achieved. I think a stand-out moment was idly browsing a book shop in Berlin and there it was on the shelf, translated in to a language I cannot read! 

Above: Apollo unpacks the urban legends, the gossip and the speculation to reveal a remarkable true story about life, death, dreams and the reality of humanity’s greatest exploratory achievement.

How do you organise your bookshelves? 

Bottom shelf for the big art books and oversized comics. Middle two for novels and safe-for-all-ages reading. Top shelf for the porn, magic and dangerous works. 

If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, which would it be? 

From Hell, by Alan Moore. I can't stress this enough; that book is more than a graphic novel. The art is nearly impossible to follow and the words are so abundant it should be a novel. It's got more information in it than one sitting can take. I have pored for hours over that ground-shaking book and I'll continue to do so for years to come. 

If you're a published author and would like to be considered for a Bookmarked Q&A, please email maxelwoodwrites@gmail.com