Out of hiding

Graham Roumieu talks Bigfoot, reality TV,
Twitter and his latest, Cat & Gnome

by JULIET WATERS

Graham Roumieu’s graphic novels Me Write Book: It Bigfoot Memoir and Bigfoot, I Not Dead have become pretty big cult hits. So when Drawn & Quarterly sent me the press release about the Montreal launch of his new book Cat & Gnome, promising “stunts,” my imagination went a little wild.

And why not? Roumieu’s take on the brutal life of a B-list celebrity is brilliant. He really should be as popular as Chuck Palahniuk. Turns out, however, that Roumieu is a little shy of crowds. Kind of like someone we know.

Mirror: So what are your book launch events like? Do people show up dressed as Bigfoot?

Graham Roumieu: This is actually the first time I’ll be talking at all. The last few times I launched a book, I just kind of sat in a corner and people just kind of swarmed around me and said nice things and touched me on the shoulder to build up my confidence.

M: So why have you decided to talk now?

GR: The timing was just right, and Drawn & Quarterly phoned and asked me, and instead of thinking about it for more than 10 seconds, I said yes, and then I was committed.

M: What’s Bigfoot been up to these days?

GR: Just kind of hanging back in the shadows.

M: I was sure I saw him at that incident at the Tony Awards when that piece of scenery knocked down Bret Michaels.

GR: I think he might be responsible for that, and also the Perez Hilton assault.

M: Did it have something to do with Rock of Love? It just seems that Bigfoot needs to have his own reality show with groupies that he gets to eat once a week.

GR: Yeah, but the only problem with a show like that is that he’s surrounded by people.

M: Could he do it with forest animals?

GR: Bigfoot has some pretty conservative views on species mixing.

M: Well it still surprises me he hasn’t had a reality TV gig.

GR: Would it surprise you to know that he’s on the set of every single episode of every single reality show that’s ever been shot? It’s just that he’s so good at camouflaging himself. But if you look at his IMDB.com credits…

M: That’s the great thing about Bigfoot. As you mentioned in another interview, you can just keep weaving him into whatever’s happening.

GR: Have you been reading the Bigfoot Twitter feed?

M: Bigfoot is on Twitter?!!

GR: It’s at twitter.com/hellobigfoot.

[Sample tweet: Don’t remember swallow lawn flamingo but sure happy it out of system]

M: So let’s talk about Cat & Gnome [a “scribble-epic” tale about the ill-fated relationship between a cat and garden gnome]. How have cat lovers been reacting to this?

GR: There hasn’t been much. There’s one sad little review on Amazon.com. But it was nice, five stars. It said something like—you’ll like this even if you’re not a cat lover.

M: Well I’m not a cat lover, and I liked it.

GR: Really? What’s wrong with cats?

M: I think you really captured it. They’re such needy poseurs. They’re always so “I’m a cat. I don’t really care about people, but still I’m here, on your balcony, staring into your window.”

GR: Yes, “because my brain is so tiny, I can see only a square block of the world.”

M: Exactly. “I’m practically brain dead, but it makes me look cool.”

GR: That’s an extremely insightful take on this book. But actually, I drew half the book while I was sitting in Pearson airport.

M: You mentioned that in the acknowledgments. And I wondered, were you mad at Travelocity or something? Does that explain the gnome?

GR: No, more Air Canada. And the Toronto transit system and that guy who gave me a ride on the rickshaw last night when I was really drunk.

GRAHAM ROUMIEU LAUNCHES
CAT & GNOME AT DRAWN & QUARTERLY
(211 BERNARD W.) WEDNESDAY,
JULY 8 AT 7 P.M. AN EXHIBIT OF NEW
AND OLD WORK WILL BE ON
VIEW UNTIL JULY 31