"LENNON AT SEA":GRAPHIC NOVEL - BEATLES MAGAZINE INTERVIEW WITH THOM DONOVAN

Thom Donovan, an artist, a Beatle fan and author of the graphic novel "Lennon At Sea"... BEATLES MAGAZINE conversed with him about his book and the untold story of John´s  world travels and visit to Bermuda in 1980...

 

Thom Donovan: "I am a 57-year old artist and musician living in Boston, USA. I saw the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in February, 1964, and like many Americans, my life was changed forever. I play a rare Rickenbacker guitar, like one George Harrison bought in the US in 1963. I own about 200 books about the Beatles, as well as about every recording ever made by Lennon & the Beatles".

Lovely Rita: How was born your project of "Lennon at Sea" ?

Thom Donovan :   This project began with a simple, rough sketch I made in 2005, of John Lennon screaming through a mid-Atlantic storm, at the wheel of a sailboat. By the time I had finished it, I had a title, 'Lennon At Sea,' and a plan to illustrate a little-known, but pivotal, moment in John Lennon's life. I intentionally meant it both as 'at sea' creatively and literally. In a Playboy interview, taped in September, 1980, John spoke briefly about a sailing trip to Bermuda, the previous June.His 2-month vacation there produced a wealth of 'new' songs, or so he said.This is a work-in-progress. A much more comprehensive volume 

will be published in the near future

What I found, after compiling many stories from books, interviews, recordings & 
online sources, is a fascinating story that has never before been told in this fashion. I have used rare photos & artwork, bootleg listings of John's home demos,maps & travel routes, media reports and other sources

I decided to draw out a very dramatic event, the sailing story, 
and somehow this grew into a much larger story.

I was an art director for several magazines, in the pre-computer era of cut-and-paste. 

I am presenting a rock history graphic novel.

I have used various drawing & painting styles to portray a series of narrative stories, 

in chronological order, using as many first-person witness accounts as possible. 

I have tried to report accurate dates, places and accurate discussions, 

sometimes edited, most are from published sources.

John Lennon was one of the most photographed, quoted and documented people ever, and yet, what I am presenting is largely unknown to the general public.

This volume is a work-in-progress prototype of a much longer, 400 page graphic novel, 

still being developed, that goes into much more detail about both John & Yoko's life, mid-1980

In early 1979, Fred Seaman became John Lennon's personal assistant. 
For the next 2 years, he likely spent more time with John Lennon than anyone else, including Yoko Ono. In 1991, Fred published a book called 'The Last Days of John Lennon,'
based on his diary accounts of life with the Lennons, encouraged by John.
Fred's uncle, Norman Seaman, produced events by John & Yoko,
his aunt Helen Seaman was Sean's nanny

I contacted Mr. Seaman, asking for permission to use his experiences as part of my story. 
He generously agreed to allow me use of his book material [now out of print],
and he invited me to meet with him. After staying with Fred in his NYC home,
he has shared unpublished photos, colorful stories and background details on John Lennon.
Without Fred's cooperation, this project would not be possible. I am thankful for his friendship

I have also used stories, images, interviews and other details for source material

Lovely Rita: This graphic novel format, with rare pics,maps and documentation of Lennon's recordings during this period, is very interesting. In your book what would you consider the most interesting part to the public?

Thom Donovan: Very few people know about John's private life after 1975, when he 'retired' and raised his 2nd son, Sean. I used many books that were published after his death, and wrote a 500 page manuscript about that period. He went to Japan 3 times, traveled around the world on his own, wrote & did artwork that was later published in 2 books [Skywriting By Word of Mouth, Ai - Japan Through John Lennon's Eyes], along with books by others describing his life.

Page from Thom Donovan's graphic novel

I decided to write about his dramatic sailing adventure, leaving from Newport, Rhode Island on June 4, 1980, with a small crew, going southeast to Bermuda. Mid-way through the trip, they hit a huge storm in the Atlantic, everyone became seasick but John, who was supposed to be 'the cabin boy,' but he sailed the boat through the storm and sang sea shanties, calling to his father Alfred 'Alf' Lennon, who had been a merchant seaman himself. John said it was the most exciting time of his life. 

Once in Bermuda, he bought 2 recording boom boxes and recorded his last batch of 'new songs,' although many had been written 2 or 3 years earlier, then improved and renamed in Bermuda. All of this is included in Fred Seaman's book, mentioned above. ['The Last Days of John Lennon' - US version, is now out of print, in the UK, Europe and elsewhere, it is known as 'Borrowed Time' and has color photos.] 

John, Sean, Fred and some staff were in Bermuda until late August, 1980, then they returned to New York, where he immediately went to the studio to record 'Double Fantasy.' Originally, that album was meant to be a solo album, and he wanted to record it in Jamaica, because he loved Bob Marley and reggae music. How Yoko became involved, and her personal life at that time is a very long story, not included in this current book, but will be later. The reason very few people know about this story is that Yoko was not there, so she doesn't talk about it [she planned to divorce John, she later got re-married privately in 1981]

I began to illustrate this story in a comic book format, intending it to be published as a graphic novel, and also serve as a storyboard for a future film, I am hoping it is animated [there are flashbacks & drug episodes]. It got to be a much bigger project than I first imagined. The new book is 60 pages, but I have 400 pages sketched out and am finishing that now.

Lovely Rita: Tell me about your artwork

Thom Donovan:Yes, definitely. I composed, laid out, drew and edited every page myself. The artwork is a mixture of pen & ink, watercolor, colored pencil & mixed-media, with maps, photos and articles from the Bermuda Royal Gazette.

There are also very extensive notes on John's private tape recordings never seen before. The demo tape he sent to producer Jack Douglas became known as 'Bermuda Shorts'

Lovely Rita: "Lennon at Sea" will be in the Fest for Beatles Convention in New Jersey...

Thom Donovan: Good question. Unfortunately, I don't think so. I have an agent helping me, named Jennifer Vanderslice, who told me about that Fest, so I wanted to complete a book by that deadline, but the Fest is now sold out. She will be there with a copy but we don't have a booth ready to sell them to the public. They are available online - click the link to the book on Facebook [MagCloud.com, the self-publishing company - part of Hewlett-Packard]. Book in print is $19.95 US, digital file of the book is $5. 

The next Fest is planned for August in Chicago, and I plan to be there then with books.

 

Lovely Rita:  Do you have planned more books about The Beatles or solo?

Thom Donovan:Yes, definitely. Because this was done as a shorter version of a much longer story [covering Feb - August 1980], I will be publishing either a 2nd volume or a larger book by then. 

I also have plans to publish other volumes showing the time periods before & after this book in the future.

Lovely Rita:Thank you very much Thom,has been a pleasure to talk with you about this attractive book!

Thom Donovan:Great thanks and appreciation to you Lovely Rita of Beatles Magazine in London [I once lived in Shepherd's Bush and Canterbury during the mid-1970s], and all the Beatles fans everywhere. Thanks for allowing me to tell my rare and unique story. I invite everyone to read the book, in either format, and see a chapter that is likely new to you, no matter if you are a die-hard fan or just like to hum along.

 

Contact:

Thom Donovan

donovanthom@yahoo.com