Interview: Benjamin Marra Talks What We Mean By Yesterday Vol. 1 - Fantagraphics

Benjamin Marra is a Montreal-based cartoonist whose acclaimed work includes Terror Assaulter: O.M.W.O.T. (One Man War on Terror), Night Business, American Blood, and Disciples. He’s also a Grammy Award nominee for his art on Numero Group’s Wayfaring Strangers: Acid Nightmares. Earlier this month, Marra’s What We Mean By Yesterday Vol. 1, based on the daily comics he still releases to this day on his Instagram, was collected by Fantagraphics.

The story of a man driven to the edge — and beyond — by the world around him. But if he's the good guy, then who is the bad guy?

Bruce Barnes is a schoolteacher having yet another shit day. His students are a disrespectful nightmare, gleefully relishing the misery they put him through. But today is even worse than usual, and after a particularly grim run-in with a student, he heads to the break room to bum a smoke of another member of the faculty. After lighting up, he's told the cigarette is laced with amphetamines. From there, Bruce rides his "rage snake" from the classroom to the ends of the cosmos and back — fighting, fucking, shooting, racing, and tripping his way from one impulsive move to the next. Reminiscent of films like Falling Down and shows like Breaking Bad, What We Mean By Yesterday is a black comedy descent into madness, a revenge horror/fantasy that gives new meaning to the phrase "bad trip."

What We Mean By Yesterday began as a daily comic strip, one page per day, posted on Marra's Instagram (@benjamin_marra). Originally begun as an experiment in drawing faster and looser, it quickly became one of the more popular pandemic era webcomics, followed by over 20,000 readers daily.

We spoke with Marra about the project and his reaction to seeing it collected — check out the conversation below.

When What We Mean By Yesterday began, did you have any idea if it would have the longevity and following it's since gained?

No. I didn't think anyone would keep reading it. Maybe a strip here or there. But some readers have been reading it from the beginning. One reader wrote me and said they'd been reading it since they started high school and they've since graduated. When I started, I didn't know how long I'd keep writing and drawing the strip. It was an experiment. I was about six months in when I realized this would be how I make comics from here on out.

Considering the original format and release schedule, do you have a suggested way to read the newly collected version? Is it fine to read straight through? Was there any apprehension in putting it into one collection?

I do: I recommend people who pick up the book read one strip daily at 3 PM. They'll have to cover the opposite page's strip with an index card to avoid accidentally reading that one. This was how readers initially consumed the strip, which was the optimal experience. However, I expect most people will read the book straight through. I had no apprehensions about collecting all the strips into a single volume. I like books.

What has the experiment of working fast and loser taught you? How did the exercise of creating each page differ creatively from your usual art process? The work here is intentionally crude, while your more polished work (style-wise) is hyper-realistic, even if the subjects or stories aren't.

Working fast and loose taught me (or confirmed for me) that comics can be drawn very simply but still tell a complex narrative. When I started WWMBY, I wanted to see if people would still be engaged by the stories I had to tell, even if I drew them fast and loose. The process was much less precious than crafting other comics. I drew most of the first arc of WWMBY in Mead composition books with Uni-ball pens. I wanted to get faster at making comics, and I love cartoonists like King Terry, Gary Panter, and Lynda Barry. Their work is free. While I draw fast and loose for fun, I only sometimes use that approach for larger projects. WWMBY gave me a chance to do that.

Speaking of Bruce, has anyone had a more eventful bad trip? When it comes to bizarre experiences, nothing is off the table.

Someone out there probably had an even more eventful trip, and I'd love to hear about it.

Now that you're over 1000 posts in, do you see an endpoint in mind, or is this creative experiment going to continue as long as the creative juices remain flowing?

It will continue as long as I have the energy to draw it. I have stories (and keep thinking of more) that will take me years to tell with the strip, so there’s no shortage of narrative. I’d like to do at least 10 volumes. But we’ll have to wait and see how things go.

You can order What We Mean By Yesterday Vol. 1 at your local comic book store or from Fantagraphics at this link. Thanks, Benjamin, for taking the time to speak with Comic Frontier.