Weinersmith and *Build, Baby, Build*
Weinersmith and *Build, Baby, Build*
Talking to my first illustrator about my new graphic novel.
When I was writing my first graphic novel, my dream artist was Zach Weinersmith of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. And my dream came true. He and I wound up creating Open Borders together.
By the time I was writing my second graphic novel, Zach was so famous I couldn’t get him to reenlist. Instead, I found another stellar artist, Ady Branzei. But Zach still took time out of his crazy schedule — his Bea Wolf was an Eisner Award nominee (!) and his A City on Mars was Hugo Award winner (!!!) — to discuss my new Build, Baby, Build.
Our conversation explores the close overlap between immigration policy and housing policy, top topics I neglected to address in Open Borders, what Zach is allowed to build on his ranch, his favorite visuals from the new book, and the optimal division of labor between writer and artist.
Talking to Zach reminds me that the one big downside of finishing our book is that I don’t get the pleasure of working with him anymore.
Zach Weinersmith, I love you, man!
Here’s the full interview.
One note about HDB in Singapore. They're not even really subsidizing it anymore. The government owns the land. The sale price of the condos is enough to recoup construction costs. I suppose the government doesn't put too much red tape in its own way, but I guess hwhen you consider the land value or the resale value of similar units (They can be resold to even ineligible buyers, like foreigners on the open market which creates a fun little arbitrage game for eligible Singaporeans), they are below market price. But, considering the government already owns the land, it's not really turning a loss. We should also consider what fun it will be when those 99-year-leases start expiring in about 50 years...
As for "luxury" homes, I find it's often a gimmick. Developers will almost always market their new condos as "luxury" even hwhen they really cut corners! hWhat? Do you think they'd market them as "ghetto"?
Your link for "Bea Wolf" actually goes to "A City on Mars".