One of Posterband's own books, Good Morning Captain, has recently been getting a bit of attention online. It's been covered in Pitchfork, Flavorpill, New York Magazine, TransWorld and a bunch of other places. New York Magazine called it the "world's most terrifying children's book" which I guess is a pretty unique distinction. In the past couple of weeks, the book has found over 8000 readers.
As just about everyone has noted, a children's book inspired by Slint's Good Morning Captain seems like a pretty strange idea, so I thought I would offer an explanation.
It should come as no surprise that it wasn't exactly on purpose. The story actually came first, before there was any connection to the band or this song. This story was originally conceived as a simple allegory of a young child struggling with bedtime as though cast adrift on scary seas. I was inspired to write it watching my own son standing bravely in his crib one night, like a sailor staring down a storm from the ship's crow's nest. My son has always really struggled with bedtime. Basically, as I was illustrating the book, the black and white artwork and the nautical theme quickly brought to mind this record, which I loved, and basically the title just leapt out at me. And it was so perfect. Then, perversely, I found myself adding sly little references to the record covers and a couple of lines from the song. I figured people who knew and loved the song would actually appreciate the subtext. And anyone else would never know what they were missing.
As for whether or not the book is too dark, I'd just say that kids are more complex than we often give them credit for. I'd remind people that the author of the "world's most terrifying children's book" has also written several colorful, cheerful books about robots (Robot Garden and Robot Workshop).
Check out the book here: Good Morning Captain.
And if you don't know the band or this album, check it out:
