It Was A Dark & Stormy Bite: Pet Noir's Shannon O'Leary

Can you give us a primer on how Pet Noir started?

Pet Noir was originally started as a one-shot comic book. The comic featured three particularly infamous animal crime stories -- the San Francisco Dog Mauling, the Freeway Incident involving Leon, the Bijon Frise who was thrown out of a car by a road raging lunatic, and the infamous Petaluma cat lady who hoarded 250 cats in a suburban home. My initial interest in putting those three stories together was that they all pointed to the media's tendency to sensationalize crime stories in a kind of tongue in cheek, darkly comic way.

After the release of the comic, the animal rights community really responded to it. I saw that as an opportunity to have the project be bigger than my initial idea of an ironic critique of the media and as something that could raise awareness about the plight of companion animals being neglected and abused in our society. I was really grateful for that chance to make a difference for little critters!

What was the transition from floppies to a bigger book? Is there any new material, or is it culled from the best of the old stuff?

After the release of the comic, Manic D Press, always a pioneering publisher that does edgy fiction, poetry and comics with a social conscience, thought a graphic novel-length comics collection of Pet Noir stories as a paperback book would
be perfect for their catalog. So we worked with them to expand the original comic to the Pet Noir book. The Manic D Pet Noir book contains 9 new stories. The new book has 12 stories total -- seven of which are told in a hard news documentarian, dramatic re-enactment style and five of which are about people's personal stories of witnessing animal injustice. Some great local
cartoonists like Lark Pien and Trevor Alixopulos contributed stories for this section -- and their stories are thought provoking, heartbreaking, and hilarious.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund also provided us with material for some of the new stories. They contacted us after the publication of the comic and gave us access to their case files in the hopes that Pet Noir could raise awareness about animal rights issues like mistreatment and neglect. One of those cases is the John Weinhart tiger sanctuary case, the story of a man who was mistreating the tigers and exotic cats he was supposedly providing refuge for.

What's your favorite animal?

Dog person! I like little barky, yappy lap dogs the best.

Your retellings of news events are quite amusing--what's your writing background? Any training? Influences?

I was a philosophy major in college, which prepared me for nothing other than questioning things and thinking about them too much! I have always liked writing and drawing and have always used one or both to express myself so I guess you could say I'm self-taught. Scott McCloud is definitely a big influence of mine comics-wise - I like how he looks at comics as a science or an art form. His book Understanding Comics really breaks down comics' narrative styles for people and has had a lot of impact on how I storyboard, write, and draw comics.

I'm also a big consumer of TV and movies and that influences my comics as well. There's a lot of cool angles and subtleties of expression in film media that work well in comics too. I should probably also mention that my favorite guilty television pleasure is true crime shows like American Justice and Cold Case Files on TV. That probably more so than anything else influenced the Pet Noir narrative style.

Proceeds of the book will be used to . . . ?

A portion of the profits from Pet Noir will go to support the efforts of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization that protects and advances the interests and rights of animals through the legal system.

Future plans? Do you take submissions and, if so, how would somebody submit? (we have a lot of readers who looooove animals/pets)

We're not taking submissions or looking for artists at this time. We're mostly trying to let noir fans, pet owners, comics lovers, and vegans know that there's a book out there that will speak to all their sensibilities and interests! However, if you have a good story you think would fit with Pet Noir feel free to send it to: petnoir@yahoo.com

And if we do another book, maybe we'll use it.

What's your favorite animal-related story (whether in the book or not)?

I've gotta go with the Petaluma Cat Lady. I just think that story is so hilarious on so many levels. That's actually the story that started the whole book. Myself and the artist, August Bournique, and I were emailing about it one day and I convinced him it was totally funny and he had to illustrate it. Also, I like that it raises awareness about the absurdity of hoarding pets and how we have to make sure that animals are protected from people who have mental problems like that.

What are some of your favorite Bay Area activities?

I like going to see music, art, and literary events. The Bay Area has so many different little scenes to explore like that.

Importantly -- where can folks buy the book (physical and/or Web?)

The book is available online at the Manic D Web site (http://www.manicdpress.com) where there is a Halloween sale going on right now on selected titles, including Pet Noir.

You can also purchase it at Amazon, and it’s also available now at Comic Relief in Berkeley, and great SF indie bookstores including City Lights, Books Inc., Booksmith, Cody's, Green Apple, Stacey's, Book Passage in Corte Madera, and even the Virgin Megastore downtown.

Shannon, it's been great talking to you -- and we appreciated the sneak peek. Anything else you want to tell folks?

SFist rocks! Seriously, thanks, Jeremy and everyone at the Gothamist network for giving me the opportunity to talk about Pet Noir. [SFist note: Aw, shucks]. It’s supporting a great cause.

One final note -- Shannon asked us to spread the word that they are having a release party on Tuesday, Dec . 5, at the Cartoon Art Museum, from 6 p.m.- 9 p.m. Right on!