The Princess Who Saved Herself is “Straight-Up Heroic” An Interview With Greg Pak And Jonathan Coulton

It’s great to see stories with little girls being their own heroes. How important is it for readers to see young girls as the heroes of their own narratives and how do you think PWSH is changing the landscape of princess stories?

Greg: It’s hugely important. Studies on this kind of thing come out every few months, and they all confirm the same thing — the casts of children’s books skew very male and white. Now I grew up absolutely loving tons of books with white, male heroes — got nothing against ’em! But it’s a hugely powerful thing for a kid to see someone who looks like him or herself as a proactive hero in a piece of fiction. On an almost subliminal level, it tells kids they belong in the story — and in the wider world. I’m happy to be able to contribute toward those kinds of experiences in a small way with our kickass multiracial princess.

Now, there seems to be a trend in both of your projects where the main villain is a woman, but they don’t fall into the classic female villain tropes. Is it equally important to have female villains that are not the classic villains of fairytales and comics?

Greg: That’s really interesting — I hadn’t really thought about the fact that the antagonists of CMSW and PWSH are both women! But as you say, those “villainesses” are both the heroines of their own stories in significant ways. I guess both of those things come from my general desire to take a left turn whenever I encounter any stereotype. I also loved the idea that’s already in Jonathan’s song that the princess and the witch have their conflict without any prince necessary — and they find a way towards a kind of understanding. Those were both huge things that I wanted the book to reflect.

In fact, none the characters of Code Monkey fall into conventional tropes or archetypes. Do you attribute the diversity of the characters in Code Monkey and in PWSH to Jonathan’s songs or do they sort of take on this new life beyond the music?

Greg: That’s something that absolutely comes from Jonathan’s original songs. All of his villains, for example, tend to have these soft, gormless hearts, which is hilarious and tons of fun to explore when you stick ’em in comic books. That quirky approach is one of the key things that attracts me to Jonathan’s work and made me think in the first place that these songs could turn into books.

And then I’ve nudged things along even further in terms of diversity. We made Laura the Robo Queen African American, Matilde Latina, and Skullcrusher South Asian. And the Princess is multiracial. I’m biracial myself and I live in a diverse world, so the books reflect that.

With only a few days left of the Kickstarter where do you see the future taking PWSH? Can we expect to see a follow up to Code Monkey or a crossover?

Greg: Anything’s possible!

What are you most excited to see happen after the Kickstarter ends?

Greg: I’m really excited to make the Activity Book and Script Book. I think they’re going to be a ton of fun and I’m getting increasingly excited about the digital Spanish edition and its potential to make the story accessible to more kids. But mostly, I just can’t wait to hold the actual printed book in my hand. Print! Gotta love it!

Last question, what does the Princess Who Saved Herself mean to you?

Greg: It’s my first published children’s book, so on a personal level, it’s huge. I hope to write a ton more, so I’m hugely grateful to Jonathan, Tak, Jessica, and Simon, and all of our amazing backers.On a bigger level, I’m just thrilled by the support we’ve gotten. There’s a huge audience out there for this kind of book and this kind of character. I can’t wait ’til real kids in the real world get their hands on it.

If you haven’t already, you can support The Princess Who Saved Herself here, and if you’re interested in Code Monkey Save World you can find the issues digitally on ComiXology.

[Images from Kickstarter]