An Interview With ‘Parapsychologist’ Writers Mark Schey And Taki Soma

Humans aren’t the only ones in need of therapy. In Mark Schey and Taki Soma‘s new graphic novel, Parapsychologist, Dr. Richards is serving the monster community… that is if Ultimate Evil doesn’t sabotage his efforts. With art by Cat Farris and letters by Chris Northrop, here’s what Schey and Soma could share about Dr. Richards and his practice:

Rachel Bellwoar: Sometimes it can be hard to keep the different -ologists straight, like not knowing the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. What is a “parapsychologist” and what interested you in telling a story about one?

Taki Soma: Parapsychologist’s therapist, named Dr. Ron Richards, is a psychotherapist with a psychology degree like a phD (say that 3 times fast, for fun!). Ironically, his wife is a psychiatrist with an MD. It is a story about Dr. Richards and his cadre of patients who all happen to be… paranormal beings! Read as you witness the absurd issues these monsters and creatures have, all the while treating his patients, he must also balance his home life of a human wife and human kids.

Mark Schey: I love that you had to clarify that his wife and kids are human.

Bellwoar: As a fan of TV shows like In Treatment, did you always want to make the doctor your main character versus one of his patients?

Soma: Absolutely. This story is in honor of both mine and Mark’s therapists. I know without the help from my therapists over the years, I wouldn’t be who I am. I don’t know if I’d be here, to be honest. It was really fun to see the world through the therapist’s eyes in the story as I imagined how I must have come across to them.

Schey: Always. The idea that the person helping everyone else is the one who might need help most is fun. If you follow a patient, you get one story. Follow the therapist, you get all the stories.

Bellwoar: Dr. Richards reminds me a little of Mr. Rogers, or at least his cardigans. How was it coming up with his personality and style?

Soma: Dr. Richards is a mix of mine and Mark’s therapists from the past. So his personality is endearing to me for that reason. The cardigan though, that’s 100% Cat. We didn’t give her a detailed visual description, but rather, more about his personality when she produced the character designs. And she nailed it. He looks nothing like the therapist I had in mind and he became his own person to me, which is delightful.

Schey: I love the Mr. Rogers comparison. Like Taki said, the cardigan is all Cat. We gave her personality, not wardrobe notes, and she came back with someone who felt instantly familiar.  Approachable, a little old-fashioned, maybe trying too hard to put you at ease.

Bellwoar: He also has some very famous patients. I think I enjoyed your takes on Nessie and the blob the most but were there any patients you especially enjoyed writing for?

Soma: Werewolf. He’s a hypochondriac and suffers from many real and imagined conditions. And I can relate so hard with him.

Schey: I’ll go with Barb (the blob). She has this frantic, stream-of-consciousness energy that was really fun to write. My brain works that way sometimes, where everything connects to everything and you’re three tangents deep before you realize you never finished the original thought. What was the question again?

Bellwoar: For a character who is having trouble balancing work and family, when did you know you wanted to have his office be located off of his house?

Soma: It was simply that we wanted his working balance issues to permeate his home both figuratively and literally. He can’t escape his patients when at home and vice versa.

Schey: That was an early decision. Structurally, it was important to me because it keeps the action in one location. You don’t need to use phone calls and car rides to switch between work and family drama. It keeps him juggling more rapidly, not giving him a chance to compartmentalize. Aesthetically, I felt it was like a “cardigan office” in that it’s more old-school and intimate compared to a modern medical complex.

Bellwoar: In the backmatter, Taki, you shout out artist Cat Farris’ backgrounds, and one of my favorite moments is when Werewolf has a session with a different therapist and the first tip off to this is that the office looks different. It really speaks to how well Farris establishes Dr. Richards’ “cool office,” as he likes to call it. Was that heavily detailed in the script?

Soma: It was mentioned in the script that it is not Ron’s office, but it was mostly Cat and her keen sense of storytelling that made it work. She knows exactly what she’s doing, and she makes it look cool and effortless.

Schey: I mean, Cat’s awesome. The script indicated it wasn’t Ron’s office, but Cat made it so the reader feels something is off before they consciously register why.

Bellwoar: Another thing I found myself wondering during the different patient sessions is how much time is meant to be passing between panels. It’s never really defined but it can be ambiguous, sometimes, whether a time jump has happened or whether the patient is ignoring the question or whether we’re just not being let in on their answers. Was that intentional or something you thought about while writing those scenes?

Soma: Totally intentional. What’s cool about working with Mark is that we discuss everything. I know this because our loved ones would roll their eyes when we get into it ‘too much’. But that’s why Parapsychologist worked. I am really proud of everyone involved in bringing it to life. Thank you, Mark Schey, Cat Farris, Mary Brickthrower, Chris Northop, and all the folks at Comixology Originals!

Schey: Comics are unique because the space between panels is where the reader fills in whatever they need. We leaned into that on purpose because real therapy sessions feel that way. You lose track of whether it’s been five minutes or thirty. We wanted the reading experience to mirror that. Thanks for having us!

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Mark and Taki!

Parapsychologist goes on sale Tuesday the 31st of March, from Comixology Originals.