Heidi MacDonald interviewed Dean Haspiel at The Beat about his graphic memoir, BEEF WITH TOMATO, and showed an exclusive preview of a comix story called “Snow Dope.”

Excerpts:

“Ever since I discovered Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor as a young teenager in NYC, I’ve been a fan of memoir comix. Everything from Joe Matt, Joe Sacco, and Gabrielle Bell to Seth Kushner’s posthumous Schmuck, and Jennifer Hayden’s upcoming, The Story Of My Tits. In the 1990s, I expanded my superhero trappings and dabbled in my own semi-autobio comix within the pages of Keyhole, a two-man anthology I did at the behest of my then-high school buddy Josh Neufeld, who has grown to become one of the premiere non-fiction comix journalists. I remember discovering the power of true life conversations within the pages of David Greenberger’s Duplex Planet Illustrated, and contributing my own rookie sensibilities to that wonderful project. I’ve always been enamored by the auteur voice and their thinly disguised avatars the likes of Jessica Abel, Adrian Tomine, and Bob Fingerman. BEEF WITH TOMATO is my way of contributing to that literary library.”

“I’m a died-in-wool believer in sharing stories. More important than money, stories is our universal commerce. Were benevolent aliens to land in Prospect Park today, we wouldn’t be throwing gold at each other, we’d be huddled around a fire trading stories; the very currency of community. BEEF WITH TOMATO is a book meant to honor a NYC that no longer exists while helping spark a conversational flame between you and me.”

Read the entire article/interview here: http://www.comicsbeat.com/fall-preview-dean-haspiels-beef-with-tomato-sparks-a-conversational-flame/