| Sequential Maida |
[Apr. 11th, 2008|10:37 pm] |
I admit it, I regularly google myself. It's a bad habit, I'm sure. As people say more and more about me online I might start to find more things said that I don't like. But then again, how else would I have found the following? I didn't know I was mentioned on Sequential Tart! And quite favourably, too! Here's the excerpt:
Among all the hubbub, I passed by a table where an artist was sitting quietly, doodling in his notebook; on the table in front of him was a small booklet entitled Maida Kilwa and showing a young girl wearing the hijab, standing with her mother. Intrigued, I picked it up and flipped through, instantly enchanted by the rounded, textured artwork as well as the presence of people of colour in the book.
It turned out that Jonathon Dalton (the creator of Maida Kilwa) lives locally in the Fraser Valley but has spent extensive time across Canada, in Taiwan, and in England. This lends a deliciously cosmopolitan feel to his stories, which explore the current-day diasporic nature of identity using characters of different colour, ethnicity, and nationality with an unusual twist: the time-frame is set slightly in the future, and these issues are explored through a lens of sci-fi dislocation rather than a strict focus on "character x is black, and therefore character x has black issues".
The Maida Kilwa book I picked up was just a wee character study, so I picked up his series A Mad Tea-Party as well. I haven't yet had time to read them, but I have no doubt that I'll enjoy them and will be bringing you all a more in-depth interview with Jonathon Dalton as soon as I can!
And the source. She must have written this months ago. How did I miss it? |
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| Is this spoiler-free enough for a public post? I hope so. |
[Mar. 27th, 2008|03:36 pm] |
Oh, blah. Despite not having any work today it's clear I'm not going to get any drawing done (I'm heading into Vancouver in a half hour anyways). Plus I went outside and got snowed on? What the heck?
But that's okay. I stayed up (too) late last night and worked through my writers' block on Maida! Want to know my secret? Adding new characters! No, I'm serious! It worked for Lords of Death and Life. The current version of LODAL is a revision of a previous unfinished comic. Most of what I added were new characters- Mol's neighbours at the beginning, and the snotty Mixtec woman. They solved a lot of problems for me.
Well it's working for Maida too. Look at it this way. My problem (without going into details) revolved around how to demonstrate aspects of Maida's character before certain events take place, to put said events into context. But how to do this? Well, by having Maida interact with characters whose quite different personality traits throw Maida's own into contrast. Thanks to a helpful suggestion from a LiveJournaler, I also made a point of figuring out what exactly Maida wants in the first part of the book, because she does indeed have to want something. Otherwise the story feels like it's going nowhere. What does she want? Wait and see.
I must also... erm... attribute some inspiration to having watched Maid in Manhattan on the weekend. Please stop laughing. It's not like it's the most original screenplay ever written. I consider its content fair game. I trust you'll never notice the reference in my book apart from somebody working as a maid. Plenty of people work as maids, yo. No, Maida isn't a maid. Nor does she have a maid. The new characters aren't maids either. Stop speculating already.
The bad news (for me) is, the book is shaping up to be longer than I'd expected. I was aiming for 150-200 pages, but my best estimate right now is more like 400. That's a lot of drawing. That's like four years if I can do 100 pages a year, and I don't know that I can in fact do 100 pages a year. Crap. But so far I've packed so much plot into each chapter that I don't know if there'll be anything I can bear to cut. We will see. A painful editing stage may have to take place. I'm not looking forward to it.
I now have the story plotted through to the start of chapter three, and (finally) a rough plan for the rest of act one. I wrote until I got stuck again, but this time the roadblock is a lot smaller and should be easier to work around. |
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| Accidental writing. |
[Mar. 18th, 2008|09:47 am] |
I've always had great luck writing while traveling. I wrote a large chunk of Lords of Death and Life, for example, while on a plane from Britain to Canada. The other day on the ferry to Victoria I sat down and wrote out the plot for the first chapter and a half of Maida Kilwa. I just started writing and then I couldn't stop! It fell together so easily! At least it did until I got halfway through the second chapter, then everything ground to a very quick halt.
What I've got so far only takes up one sheet of paper, but my writing is rather small and this is the last stage, I think, before I start in with thumbnails. Basically what I've got is an event-by-event listing of the plot. I'm guessing that one line of the text I've got works out to be about one page of comic. So this is the plot for the first thirty pages or so of my book. Not bad for an hour and a half's work!
Now comes the hard part, though. I have bits and pieces in mind for what needs to happen between now and the beginning of the second act, but only a vague notion of how to string them together. I'm worried that the story as it stands isn't interesting enough. I understand the need to only include things in the book that are essential to plot and/or character development. But is it enough to just string together a bunch of isolated events that reveal elements of my characters? Or does there need to be the sense that the story is actually going somewhere? As I've said before, this is a story that's all about characters with very little action. I've never written anything quite like it. I need to read some other books for inspiration. That usually works.
I'm also having trouble keeping a handle on Maida's character. She changes so much over the course of the book. While writing Maida at the beginning I feel Maida from the middle creeping in, or Maida from the end. But no! Maida at the beginning needs to act like herself, not like those other girls! Keeping her life in chronological order is surprisingly difficult.
I'm heading home on the ferry today but I think I'll probably have to spend the time drawing instead of writing. I've still got this other comic that's not quite finished. One thing's for sure though. I need to find ways of recreating the conditions of being trapped in transit that are so conducive to writing, without having to pay for plane or boat tickets all the time. Is this perhaps why so many writers like to write while hanging around in coffee shops? Does Abbotsford have any coffee shops that will do the job? Hurmmm. |
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| News, news, news. |
[Mar. 9th, 2008|03:48 pm] |
>> I do not have an update this week. I suck.
>> I did get to present a WCCA, though, so if you've ever been curious about what Mol would look like fully dressed, now's your chance. I think I'll also post the comic here in a larger version (sans text) so that you can see the cameos of other people's characters in the comic. I like drawing other people's characters. ( It's under this here cut thing. )
>> I have recently joined an online comics collective called Sage Comics. More on that later.
>> Since I've posted it a few times I might as well make it public knowledge. A Mad Tea-Party will not be continued any time soon. I know, I know. This is a sucky thing to do. For a while I was planning on at least finishing book three, but that would leave readers at an unbearable cliff-hanger and I just can't do that. Trust me, it's better to end it before the really bad stuff starts happening. I could go ahead and finish the whole thing, but that would take another two years of my life and the story just isn't good enough to justify that expense of time. The characters are good enough, the world is perhaps, but the plot is not. Again, you'll have to trust me.
All I can say is, my next comic will be better than A Mad Tea-Party, better than Lords of Death and Life, and better even than Cloud-Leapers. I'm going to take my time and do it right. And I'm going to do it online.
I was worried for a long time that it might be a mistake to post what I consider to be my first fully publishable book on the internet, but... at this point I can't imagine not posting it. There is a precedent. Templar, Arizona, Perry Bible Fellowship, American Elf, and Mega-Tokyo all exist simultaneously on- and off-line. Sorcerers and Secretaries posted chapter excerpts online while it was still in production. If I need to take my comic down at some point I will. True Loves did this, and Jellaby stopped updating when Kean got a contract but the original pages are still online. I guess it's different for prose novels which are easily redistributed, but I think most comics publishers would not decide against publishing a book simply because it existed online. Not if they really wanted it. Maybe it's a risk to post my comic, but it's also a risk not to post it. I've only got one small published comic under my belt so far. Would any publisher sign me up to do a graphic novel based on that and a written proposal for a book? No, I need to prove I can do the whole book first. What if it doesn't in fact get published? Then I will feel as though I have wasted years of drawing effort. Or at the very least I will continue to live in obscurity as my online presence disappears until I have no credibility as a comicker-who-ought-to-be-published. If the comic exists online, those years will never be a waste. Because you can read what I make.
I'm rambling now. I'll stop. More on all this later, I'm sure. |
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| Now THAT'S an art week. |
[Dec. 16th, 2007|04:53 pm] |
As previously threatened, there is no new page this week. I spent too much time doing other artsy things.
( Click here to see the cool art I made! ) |
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| The movie of the screenplay of... |
[Sep. 16th, 2007|02:42 am] |
Guess what I did today instead of drawing Mol?
I'm not one of those people who only draws comics as a stepping-stone to film, but once in a while it's fun to muse over the possibility of one of my comics being adapted for the big screen. It would be kinda cool, assuming whoever did the movie didn't ruin it (which is highly likely). For example, a Maida Kilwa movie would be awesome (once the graphic novel is finished). :) And here's what the poster will look like.
Starring that girl from Children of Men. She'd make a passable Maida. The other actors I've cast are all real people as well, but I haven't actually seen them in anything so I don't know if they're any good or not. I'm just satisfied with having found anyone on Google Images who looks vaguely like the characters in the comic. It was a challenge. Ang Lee has signed on as director apparently, and the soundtrack absolutely must consist of original music from Nitin Sawhney. We're still awaiting approval of the special effects budget. There's a lot of blue screen stuff going on, but the sets will still be expensive.
P.S. My Photoshopping skillz rawk. |
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| Maida, Maida, Maida! |
[Aug. 29th, 2007|01:47 am] |
I just did something very dangerous. I wrote the outline of a Maida Kilwa graphic novel. Inspiration struck while driving home from Vancouver around eleven PM, my veins filled with coffee and my head filled with grand discussions on the future of comics.
It's only a very rough outline. If you saw it it wouldn't look like much. But it's divided into three clear acts each with a list of important events, and most importantly, the story finally has a definitive climax. I know what happens and I know who all the major characters are- even if you've never seen most of them and a lot of them don't even have names yet. Just because Maida goes to a girls' school doesn't mean the main characters will all be girls. The book will likely be between 100-200 pages long, manga-sized, and possibly black and white to make it more print-friendly. Or maybe I should make it duotone. It is possibly the least action-oriented comic I have ever written- which for me is really saying something. But Maida is a shojo queen. Or at least a product of my own warped version of shojo which is really nothing like true shojo at all. Like a lot of my stories, the ending is slightly sad. Though I already know it needs to be the first book of a trilogy.
The true danger is still probably some ways off. There are a lot of gaps in the story that need to be filled before I can draw anything. I want this to be a proper science fiction story and that means doing research- specifically on sociology, I think, since I know next to nothing about it and it is vitally important to the plot. My next step will be to come up with a list of necessary books to read, read them, and see what I can do to flesh out Maida's world. If we're lucky that won't happen until Lords of Death and Life is completely done. Though I'm worried about what will happen to Connie and Matilda. Oh, Maida! Why won't you leave me alone? |
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| Vaisya-Sudras? |
[Jun. 25th, 2007|02:23 pm] |
More Maida. |
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| A hierarchical society indeed. |
[Jun. 18th, 2007|12:02 pm] |
New Maida is up. The class system where Maida lives is very complex and well-defined, as she is just discovering. At the top are the Amelu (the ultra-wealthy long-established families, aristocrats by default) and the Shidafu (the civil service, the ones with the real political power). Many of the Shidafu in fact come from the Amelu families so the lines can become blurred. The Vasiyas and Sudras come next. They are the ordinary business owners and employees, and anyone whose job requires specialized knowledge but is not a part of the massive civil service- anything from a hydroponics farmer to an architect. The Vasiyas and Sudras are often lumped together because they are considered equal in rank and fairly interchangeable. At the bottom are the Expats, the servants. All those whose jobs are undesirable but not easily replaced by machines. There are a couple of other smaller classes as well, but I haven't even got names for them yet. As time goes on I hope to flesh out this system a lot more. I've already spent too much time on Wikipedia today. |
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| I drew this on an airplane |
[Jun. 11th, 2007|09:38 pm] |
Here's Maida! I'll post a lengthy account of my Toronto trip tomorrow. |
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| Zzzzzz |
[Jun. 4th, 2007|10:24 pm] |
Blah. Maida's late, I'm tired, and I'm going to bed. Next weekend, Toronto! |
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| Ibrahim Kilwa |
[May. 27th, 2007|09:56 pm] |
I looooove markers. I could colour all day. Which today I did. The only problem is they run out too quickly! Tomorrow I'm going to have to make an emergency trip to Opus in Langley and hope they have the replacement markers I need. Otherwise, I've got to go all the way to Vancouver. How did I ever end up living in a town with no art store?
Dried up markers are still useful for some things of course.
Why can't I get my regular comic drawings to be this loose? This is Maida's little brother Ibrahim. He has found himself someplace quite different from his sister. And she has no idea where he is. |
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| Wiped |
[May. 20th, 2007|10:55 pm] |
I'm behind schedule and completely exhausted. I got nothing done today. Blah. But Maida's done at least. |
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| Like a sore thumb |
[May. 13th, 2007|09:07 pm] |
You would probably be paranoid too if you went to Maida's school.
I did mention I was going to the Toronto Comic Con next month, didn't I? It's coming up soon. Please come visit me? This will be the fourth con I've been to in a row where I don't really know anyone in advance (not including people whose websites I stalk). |
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| Maida |
[Apr. 29th, 2007|09:14 pm] |
Wait, what's this? Is it? Could it be? A comic featuring the ongoing adventures of Martian drama queen Maida Kilwa???
Yup, Maida is back. At least until Mol can get off his butt and stop moping around in Xibalba. Oh, oh! Also! That poster I was working on? Now you can buy it and stuff. |
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| Blind Leading the Blind- A Long Demonstration |
[Feb. 26th, 2007|07:52 pm] |
I already posted all this on my website and due to circumstances I only now have time to post it here. Circumstances being report cards which are now nearly done. More on that later, though. For now- art!
More specifically, fan art of Maida Kilwa courtesy of Caroline Parkinson. I miss Maida. I should do more stuff with her.
Also, I finished my next tutorial- which is in fact not a tutorial so much as a demo of my rather lengthy comic making process.
And good news! If everything goes well, I should be able to start updating Lords of Death and Life again starting on the 11th! |
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