BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO When I hear Salt Water Taffy, I think of childhood vacations, long walks on the boardwalk and getting the chance to sample some treats that weren't at the corner drug store in my neighborhood. Salt Water Taffy's creator Matt Loux has a lot of childhood memories of vacations past as well. Many of those and other elements from his active imagination, came into play when he was working on the quarterly misadventures of pre-teen brothers Jack and Benny, Hardy Boys types who get into a few mysteries on their vacation to Maine.
THE PULSE: I think almost all of us remember going on vacation when we were little, visiting the boardwalk and getting some salt water taffy. What made you want to title the adventures of brothers Jack and Benny Salt Water Taffy? Was this at all based on your vacation memories?
MATT LOUX: The books are very much influenced by vacations I went on with my family and my older brother. More so with the feel and the environment, because we never ran into a giant lobster. We went camping all over the east coast but we often went to Maine for the ocean and hiking. The title 'Salt Water Taffy' it's self changed around a bit. In the beginning this series had a tentative name 'Welcome to Maine' with the whole traveling and vacation idea behind that, but after discussing it with everyone we decided it was too regional specific for a title. We didn't want to scare away any vendors from other states. So we thought that since the first story centers around the taffy shop, and something about that candy kinda summed up the fun and salt water feel of the book.
THE PULSE: Who are Jack and Benny? Why aren't these brothers pleased with their family's choice of vacation spots?
LOUX: Jack and Benny are brothers, Jack being the oldest at 12 and Benny being 8ish. Jack is the typical older brother. often annoyed by younger Benny and very grumpy that he's being dragged away from civilization, video-games and TV, to an old port town in the middle of nowhere. Benny on the other hand doesn't have a problem with this. He is just happy to be on an adventure. This begins the story with a divide among the brothers, but as they learn about the mysterious sea monster Old Salty and his legend, Jack starts to shed his attitude and begins to accept Benny as his best ally in these adventures. Allot of their dynamic is based on me and my older brother from around that age.
THE PULSE: Is there really a fishing village called Chowder Bay in New England? IF so, have you visited? IF not, did you just make this up based on other places you've vacationed or driven through?
LOUX: No I made it up. It's heavily based on Mt. Desert Island, and Bar Harbor Maine, which for those who've never had the pleasure is a cool spot rite on the ocean with many mountains around it and real cool hiking trails. There are a tone of great rock formations and is a fun place to camp. I made Chowder Bay a little more rural though. I really wanted it to seem as far from civilization as one could get. There also had to be lots of interesting natural areas and old buildings that the kids could explore and get into adventures in, so one of the first things I did with these stories was draw a map of Chowder Bay. The first map I drew was in green pen on line paper, but it was pretty close to what the bay ultimately became. Also it was the first page I drew when starting 'The Legend of Old Salty'. The map has allowed me to have a reference point on what to put in the background of each panel. It helps me keep a strong sense of environment.
THE PULSE: Your first book in this quarterly series is called "The Legend of Old Salty." That sounds like some kind of pirate tale to me ... but just who is Old Salty?
LOUX: Old Salty is the Legendary sea monster of Chowder Bay (and is a giant lobster). Most people know her story but few believe anymore with the exception of an old fisherman Angus Oneil. Angus befriends Jack and Benny and tells them the tail of the one that got away. In his younger days he snagged Old Salty in his fishing line and battled her on the open ocean for days until she fought her way free. Angus has spent the rest of his days trying to find her again and take a clear picture of the beast so that people will believe him.
THE PULSE: I think just about every town, even these really small ones like I live in, have some kind of legends or mysterious figures associated to them. How did you come up with the myths surrounding Old Salty?
LOUX: Well, I've always loved lobsters. As a kid I had any number of rubber ones to play with. Something about how weird they looked. their kinda the ultimate weird sea creature. And the thing about Lobsters is if they are left un caught, they pretty much keep on growing. There have been reports of lobsters getting to almost 50 lbs. I guess if a lobster was thousands of years old like Old Salty is supposed to be then they could easily grow to be the size of a car. But yeah, I also grew up in rural eastern Connecticut where we heard lots of local folk lore and stories often stemming back to colonial times. That's what I wanted these stories to feel like. Old New England legends that modern society had forgotten about. Things like Big Foot and Champ the Lake Champlane monster that can only exist in the rural wilderness (where there is adequate space to be elusive). Most of the ideas I've come up with so far are just my own versions of camp fire stories.
THE PULSE: How is Old Salty different from a Loch Ness Monster type or other sea creatures? What elements from those legendary types are incorporated into Old Salty?
LOUX: Just the idea of an unknown sea monster is an exciting and fun idea to explore. I wanted to do a sea monster but one that wasn't the typical Plesiosaur and since it was Maine the natural progression of thought for me was "giant Lobster!" Other than being a lobster, Old Salty isn't that different than the other sea monsters. She is queen of all the area lobsters and asserts her power, but still she keeps to the ocean floor most of the time and only shows herself to crazy fishermen. Just like rest.
THE PULSE: With the title "Salt Water Taffy" one might guess all the stories involved are going to revolve around some event from that shop. Why did you want to make it the focal point?
LOUX: As I explained earlier the title is more the fun idea of that candy and the seaside places you generally find it. That being said the taffy shop will be a focal point in a few of the stories. The third story, 'The Truth About Dr. True' will bring Jack and Benny face to face with the ghost of old Dr. True of which the shop is named after. I will also be a meeting point, and often an area to regroup and fuel up for the next adventure.
THE PULSE: Are Jack and Benny kind of Hardy Boy types? Do they get sucked into a mystery and have to solve it? Or are they more like just hearing the stories, and we're seeing it through their eyes?
LOUX: The boys will take an active role in these stories, so I guess it's more of a Hardy Boys thing. In the Legend of Old Salty they are more the observers but especially in the third story they will be solving a ghost murder mystery. It's not going to be as dark as that sounds though.
THE PULSE: I know a lot of little boys dream of being involved in some kind of spy caper or cop caper or something where there is a potential to be a hero. When you were younger, did you daydream a lot about things like that?
LOUX: No. Not at all now that I think of it. I guess I was always more the observer. The things I always wanted to do as a kid were either artistic or adventure in a discovery sort of way. Like I wanted to be a paleontologist as a kid because I loved dinosaurs. Then i wanted to be just an archeologist. That was probably because of Indiana Jones. I never saw myself as the hero or the caper type. I was just too nervous a kid for that.
THE PULSE: How, if at all, are things you imagined coming into play in your Salt Water Taffy stories?
LOUX: Pretty well I'd say. My art and storytelling are getting closer to my vague imagination then ever before. It's funny, when you've been thinking of a story for a long time you focus on certain ideas or visuals, then when it comes to actually drawing it, way often the details totally change. What you thought was a very iconic composition or scene can change completely when the pen hits the paper. I think that probably happens in most comics. But I've definitely gotten closer to the feel of the old port town and the New England adventure that I was trying for.
I've also planned a bunch of locations for the map and pre planning ideas for the books that I haven't even figured out a way to incorporate yet. Like, I've designed the Kid's house to have a library in the upstairs, but i don't have a story that gets them in there yet. And I really want to draw the library too. I'll have to figure this one out.
THE PULSE: What made you want to tell stories like this? I mean, they sound like ones that will have a mass appeal in and out of the traditional comics crowd, but what drove you to get these stories down on paper?
LOUX: These stories began as a gag idea of an old fisherman fighting a giant lobster in Maine. This visual was the basis for 'The Legend Of Old Salty' but at first it was just going to be a short story staring the old fisherman Angus. I introduced the idea that Angus lived in a mysterious old fishing town and he would be telling the story of Old Salty to what became Jack and Benny.
Once I finished up Sidescrollers I had to decide what to do next. I had the vague idea that I wanted to do a series, something that could build on each new volume, and I thought about that short story i never finished. As I started thinking about it's possibilities I soon realized that the kids had to be the main characters, and once they were, it opened up a lot of other adventure possibilities. It also made it plane that it was going to be an all ages series. Once the general scenario was established for me I've just been having tons of fun ideas for these characters. All episodic, but building of the previous books. I think if people like this series I could just keep going with it.
THE PULSE: How did Oni come to publish this quarterly series?
LOUX: It was pretty simple really, I had finished Sidescrollers and James and Randy (Oni editors) asked me what I wanted to do next. They loved the idea of me doing a series of shorter graphic novels (short is relative, they're still almost 100 pages), and they seemed to really like my pitch, so we went forward with it. Everyone at Oni is incredibly supportive and a great bunch to work with. They're pretty hands off in terms of the creative process. It's a creators dream actually, but they see the value of a creators singular vision.
THE PULSE: What's next for the brothers assuming they solve this mystery? What other problems lie ahead in Chowder Bay?
LOUX: In the second book, 'A Climb Up Mt. Barnabas' Jack and Benny encounter Barnabas the giant Gold Eagle who promptly steals their dads hat, so the boys have to climb up a treacherous mountain to get it back. And the Third book, 'The Truth About Dr. True' Jack and Benny meet the 120 year old ghost of old Dr. True who needs them to help solve his murder, but what the boys find might change the history of the little town of Chowder Bay, and reveal the truth about Dr. True. I also have some future ideas of a giant squid and a ghost whaling ship, and a story that incorporates a lot of the previous characters and will include mild time travel.
THE PULSE: How was working on these kids different than the ones you created in the pages of Sidescrollers?
LOUX: Sidescrollers was an easy bunch of characters for me to write because it was pretty much me and my friends making suggestive jokes to each other. I've been doing that for most of my adult life so it was easy. But Salt Water Taffy is about younger kids and a more innocent adventure/comedy/mystery story so it naturally had to be kid clean. I was a little worried whether it could be funny and interesting without dirty and sarcastic humor, but it worked pretty well I think. I just got rid of the adult responses and put in what a kid would say. I still kept in plenty of sarcasm. That is the bread and butter of my humor.
THE PULSE: How were the two projects similar?
LOUX: I think similar in the fun and pacing. Even though Sidescrollers is a teen slacker comedy there are a lot of goofy nonsensical stuff going on that isn't adult. I just put more of that sort of thing in Salt Water Taffy. I really want my work to be funny and fun. Enjoyable. I'm not in to writing dark stuff or uncomfortable situations. I'd rather have a good time and laugh at a story. There's not enough of that in comics today.
THE PULSE: Congrats on having the aforementioned Sidescrollers listed as one of the top ten YALSA graphic novels for teens. What was it like getting that recognition?
LOUX: I was totally surprised and very honored. I really didn't expect much in way of recognition for Sidescrollers. It was a book that made me laugh and that I suckered Oni into publishing, so I was thrilled to find out that the YALSA comity also enjoyed it. Really I couldn't be more pleased by the general response Sidescrollers got. For the most part very positive and only a few Scott Pilgrim comparisons.
THE PULSE: What other projects are you working on?
LOUX: Just the next Salt Water Taffy. I am a quarter of the way into the art and it should be ready for the fall. The third one, well, I'll get back to you on when that will be done. They're gonna be awesome though.
PULSE readers can learn more about Matt Loux and his projects here:
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