\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

With the launch of Order of the Night Jay (Book One): The Forest Beckons<\/em> graphic novel from Top Shelf Productions, we got a chance to sit down and chat with author and illustrator Jonathan Schnapp.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hi Jonathan, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you, the pleasure is mine! <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Would be happy to. I\u2019m an author and illustrator working out of Rochester, NY. I\u2019ve come to the comics world pretty late in life, all things considered. I studied fine art photography before eventually finding day jobs in the optics world, manufacturing, R&D, and such. For some sanity and stress relief, I took up doing acrylic painting. I painted a lot of cartoon animal characters in different silly situations. As my paintings got more complex, I started thinking of them as slices out of longer narratives. It was only a matter of time before I felt one slice wasn\u2019t enough and that these characters needed more. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What can you tell us about the Order of the Night Jay (Book One): The Forest Beckons<\/em> graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Order of the Night Jay<\/em> has been such a fun venture and such a good learning experience. In some ways, I tried to do the impossible. I tried to pack in so many things. I wanted a story with mystery and adventure. But also be heartwarming and sensitive. And also be silly and cartoony. There are codes and puzzles, secrets to find, and even a few real survival skills the reader can learn, all wrapped up in a summer camp setting.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Can you tell us about the origins of Order of the Night Jay<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It all started with a painting of a cartoon bear and raccoon, dressed up like scouts, exhausted from hiking up a mountain. I can\u2019t say that was one of my better pieces (Frank\u2019s character design was so terrible!) but I loved the contrast between the two and knew I had to tell their story. <\/span><\/p>\n

Living in upstate New York, I\u2019m lucky to have the Adirondack mountains nearby. It\u2019s one of my favorite places to be. The mountains are beautiful, but also ominous and mysterious. Can we ever actually fully explore a place like that? Or will there always be new dark corners, forgotten secrets, or magical moments?<\/span><\/p>\n

And I was certainly inspired by my own experiences in scouting - camping, earning badges, and causing mischief!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Who are Frank and Ricky?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We meet our two heroes as they are both headed off to camp. They are both Tailfeathers, the starting rank at camp Jay Bird. They\u2019re polar opposites, but they bond over their love of the \u201cgirly comic\u201d Mega Bunny. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ricky, the raccoon, is spunky, energetic, and easily distracted. He follows the beat of his own drum, which leads him to some wild ideas. Frank is a bear - the only \u201clarge\u201d animal at a camp filled with squirrels, hedgehogs, beavers, and other small animals. Because he\u2019s so large, the other scouts are wary of him. Until they meet him! He\u2019s timid and unsure of himself and is scared to do anything but follow the rules. So he gets pushed around instead, especially by the two older scouts who are there to earn their Leadership badge.<\/span><\/p>\n

In terms of the cast of Order of the Night Jay, how did you create them? Did you have the visuals in mind for each character first, or did you know what traits you wanted in each character and then created them visually?<\/span><\/p>\n

Truthfully it was a little bit of both. When I first started sketching the story, I knew Frank\u2019s character needed work. He went through a number of variations - I even had him looking like a teddy bear for a bit before I realized how awkward and weird that was! Edna, the camp counselor, also took a bit of work to get right.<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing that really helped me was drawing up a cast \u201cphoto.\u201d It cemented the design for all the supporting characters and it also seeded their personalities. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How would you describe Order of the Night Jay (Book One): The Forest Beckons<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Twin Peaks<\/em> meets Looney Tunes<\/em>? Calvin and Hobbes<\/em> meets Gravity Falls<\/em>? Wallace and Gromit<\/em> meets Sherlock Holmes<\/em>?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When you were writing Order of the Night Jay<\/em>, did you write a full script?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I find writing graphic novel scripts very cumbersome. I\u2019m a very visual thinker and when I just write out words without sketching the scene as well, the results are very different. Certain actions don\u2019t make sense. New gags and silly moments pop out. I did try quite a few methods for laying out the plot structure and writing a script, but it ultimately felt like too much work and not enough fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

I did, ultimately, write a general outline for the entire story - this was before we decided to make it a small series - but in the process of sketching and doing the layouts the course of the story changed dramatically. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How long did it take for you to complete Night Jay (Book One): The Forest Beckons<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I want to say I started working on the story in late 2019. So about two, two and a half years? I worked a full time job on top of that, so I was quite busy!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How did Top Shelf Productions get involved with Order of the Night Jay<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve really enjoyed working with Top Shelf. Many publishers need you to go through an agent, but Top Shelf is very accessible and you can submit directly through their website. Of course they are still very selective, but it\u2019s refreshing to be able to email Chris (Staros) directly and get a personal response. I\u2019d sent Top Shelf<\/em> a project a few years prior to Night Jay which was rejected, but the feedback I received helped me keep going.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Night Jay (Book One): The Forest Beckons<\/em> is an all-ages story; does the story have elements from your own experiences?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I never found a cave in the woods with a secret code scratched on the entrance, that\u2019s for sure! But I was very much a \u201cFrank\u201d growing up. I always felt lost and really struggled to feel accepted. It\u2019s taken a long time to allow myself to be more like Ricky - silly and a little impulsive. The tension between the two characters (Ricky wants to explore the cave, Frank wants to avoid getting into trouble) is very much based on my real inner dialogue.<\/span><\/p>\n

And I did spend quite a few years as a kid going camping, tying knots, trying to start campfires (often with very wet firewood). The scout campground we\u2019d go to always felt old and run down, with sections that never seemed to get used anymore, like the pool or the BMX course. It very much had a sense of history, of forgotten secrets. And Boy Scouts have their own \u201csecret society\u201d called the Order of the Arrow that directly inspired the title of the series. We were never great scouts, by the way. Just like in Night Jay<\/em>, we got lost on the compass course, but mostly because we didn\u2019t know what we were doing!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As The Forest Beckons is the first of the Order of the Night Jay<\/em> trilogy, do you have parts two and three plotted out?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

So much has changed with the story since I started. Originally it was only going to be one book, but Chris at Top Shelf smartly suggested we break it up into a series. This really made it so the story could breathe and take its time to have fun. <\/span><\/p>\n

The main narrative for Book 2 is almost completely written out at this point. There\u2019s going to be lots of tweaking here and there, secrets to add, and a puzzle or two. Things tend to change even more when I start on the final art.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not to give too much away, but in the next part, Ricky and Frank get in trouble (yet again!), they meet a stranger who helps them unlock more of the history of the Order, and Jake and Spud stumble on a dark and powerful secret.<\/span><\/p>\n

And of course there will be more \u201cMeet the Tailfeathers\u201d chapter breaks, activities, and sneaky educational moments.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(If you\u2019re (at)bashing your head over this piggy penned message, the key can be found in Order of the Night Jay: The Forest Beckons!<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A big thank you to Jonathan for chatting with us; we wish him the best of luck with Order of the Night Jay (Book One): The Forest Beckons<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Jonathan Schnapp","post_excerpt":"Order of the Night Jay (Book One): The Forest Beckons","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-jonathan-schnapp","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-06 19:57:37","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-06 18:57:37","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=208233","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":208172,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-09-07 14:56:55","post_date_gmt":"2022-09-07 13:56:55","post_content":"With the launch of her debut graphic novel, Unretouchable<\/em> out on September 113th via<\/span> Graphic Universe, we got a chance to sit down and chat with writer, artist and creator Sofia Szamosi.<\/span>\n\nHi Sofia, it's so wonderful to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong>\n\nHi! Thanks for having me!<\/span>\n\nCould you please tell us a bit about yourself?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI am an artist, originally from New York City, who makes graphic novels, artists\u2019 books and zines, among other things! I am also a mom to a wonderful, not remotely \u201cterrible\u201d 2-year-old.<\/span>\n\nCan you tell us about the origins of Unretouchable<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nUnretouchable<\/em> started out as a zine I made in 2016, after doing an internship with a \u201cdigital imaging specialist,\u201d aka the person who handles the tech on photoshoots and does photo retouching. The internship opened my eyes to a whole new world behind the scenes of image creation and manipulation, and led me to do a lot of soul searching about the power these images can have. I shared my zine, which was basically an illustrated personal essay, with my agent, Jennnifer Weltz of JVNLA in NYC, and she saw the seeds of a graphic novel in its pages.<\/span>\n\nThe Unretouchable<\/em> graphic novel is black and white; when did you make that decision?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nUnretouchable<\/em> has been black and white since its conception. The original zine that inspired the book was black and white; in fact some of those early images that inspired the character of Olive and the style of the artwork ended up making their way into the final book. I\u2019ve loved drawing in black and white since childhood, so it felt natural to work in that style.<\/span>\n\nWhat can you tell us about Olive?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nOlive is a recent high-school graduate from New York City who dreams of being an artist like her grandpa \u2014 and of finally meeting her online boyfriend IRL. It\u2019s the summer before her first semester of art school, and she feels full of questions about her path\u2026 How do people even make a living in the arts? Should she get a \u201creal job\u201d? What does real connection really look like? Her mom sets her up with a summer internship with a photo retoucher, and though at first she\u2019s equal parts fascinated and horrified, it leads her to become increasingly alienated by social media and the digital world around her and to ask more and more pressing questions about the power of images, what role media should have in her life, and what her role in that media should be.<\/span>\n\nHow long have you been working on Unretouchable<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nSince 2016. While I truly love the graphic novel format, it is definitely not a quick process! The total time I spent working on the manuscript and creating the artwork was around two years.<\/span>\n\n\n\nHow would you describe Unretouchable<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nUnretouchable<\/em> is a coming-of-age story about growing up in a world where authentic experience feels harder and harder to come by, and we are marketed to more than ever on our phones and social media. Olive is grappling with how these forces shape her own perception of herself and her body, and the larger question of how these forces, distortions and pressures damage different people in society differently. Unretouchable<\/em> is a story about what it means to become an alert, conscious consumer and creator of images, and it\u2019s ultimately a tribute to self-acceptance.<\/span>\n\nWhen it came to writing Unretouchable<\/em>, did you write a full script?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nAfter writing the original zine (which was an illustrated personal essay), I then had the task of fictionalizing my story. Despite the similar internship experience, Olive really is her own bird \u2013 it took time to find her on the page. The first step was creating an outline, then I wrote a full script. Next I mapped out each page, figuring out which lines of the script would go on each page. Then I sketched the artwork, sometimes adjusting or changing the script if needed.<\/span>\n\nHow important is word of mouth for any indie project?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nThis is my first book, so I guess I am about to find out! I think it would be super important!<\/span>\n\nWhat part of the creative process did you enjoy more, the writing or the art?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nMost definitely the art! I love telling stories with images and words together. For me, the words really come alive when I am drawing them, and oftentimes I will revise or find the words as I am drawing. The script serves as a framework, but the real story comes out when I am drawing.<\/span>\n\nHas creating Unretouchable<\/em> been a challenge?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nYes, but it has definitely been a labor of love! For a good portion of the creation of this book I was either pregnant or holding a newborn, which was definitely challenging at times, but also really fueled my fire.<\/span>\n\nHow did Graphic Universe get involved with Unretouchable<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nAfter my agent urged me to turn my zine into a treatment for a graphic novel, she shopped it around to publishers and Graphic Universe came on board. My editor, Greg Hunter, and everyone at Graphic Universe \/ Lerner has been such a pleasure to work with, and really helped me craft Unretouchable<\/em> into what it is today.<\/span>\n\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nTHANK YOU so much for reading and checking out Unretouchable!<\/em> I am so excited to hear what you all think of it! :) Stay tuned for news about my second graphic novel, which I am very excited about and hard at work on as we speak.<\/span>\n\nCheck me out here:<\/span>\n\nwww.sofiaszamosi.net<\/a>\n\nIG: @sofiaszamosi<\/span>\n\nTwitter: @sofia_szamosi<\/span>\n\nA big thank you to Sofia for chatting with us; we wish her the best of luck with her new graphic novel, Unretouchable<\/em>.<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Sofia Szamosi","post_excerpt":"Unretouchable","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-sofia-szamosi","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-06 12:38:33","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-06 11:38:33","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=208172","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207878,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-06-27 14:00:21","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-27 13:00:21","post_content":"

A TALE OF TWO WAR BOTS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

From the mind that brought you \u2018Resident Alien\u2019<\/strong> <\/span><\/em><\/p>\nMILWAUKIE, Ore., (June 27, 2022)\u2014<\/strong> Dark Horse Books and Steve Parkhouse (Resident Alien<\/em>, Milkman Murders<\/em>) are proud to present War Birds<\/strong><\/em>. Steve Parkhouse along with writer Geoffrey D. Wessel (Keeper<\/em>, Takedown<\/em>) join together to bring this thrilling tale of friendship and survival!<\/span>\n\nTwo renegade AI minds want to simply make conversation\u2014not war! When a bipedal, independent robot soldier makes a unique connection with an injured, flying drone, they flee the warzone they\u2019re in to seek lives of their own. Their military builders want to destroy them, though, while a sympathetic pair of humans tries what they can to free the errant \u2019bots from military service!<\/span>\n\n<\/a> War Birds <\/em><\/strong>trade paperback will be in comic shops March 8th, 2023 and bookstores March 21st, 2023. It is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at your local comic shop and bookstore for $19.99.<\/span>\n\nPraise for Resident Alien<\/span><\/strong>\n\n\u201cResident Alien #1 is a refreshingly original take on the classic whodunit murder mystery formula, and feels a bit like a fun mash-up between Diagnosis Murder and the X-Files\u201d \u2013 Newsarama<\/em><\/span>\n\n\u201cSteve Parkhouse keeps the visuals of this book easy on the eyes and perfectly represents the quaint town lifestyle.\u201d \u2013 Comicosity<\/em><\/span>\n\n\u201cThe concept has me riveted, the art has me in awe. Resident Alien continues to be promising and I am eagerly awaiting the next issue.\u201d \u2013 Comics Bulletin<\/em><\/span>\n\nAbout Dark Horse Comics <\/span><\/strong>\n\nFounded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics is an excellent example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and transform a company with humble beginnings into an industry giant. Over the years, Dark Horse has published the work of creative legends such as Yoshitaka Amano, Margaret Atwood, Paul Chadwick, Geof Darrow, Will Eisner, Neil Gaiman, Dave Gibbons, Faith Erin Hicks, Kazuo Koike, Matt Kindt, Jeff Lemire, Mike Mignola, Frank Miller, Moebius, Chuck Palahniuk, Wendy Pini, Richard Pini, and Gerard Way. In addition, Dark Horse has a long tradition of establishing exciting new creative talent throughout all of its divisions. The company has also set the industry standard for quality licensed comics, graphic novels, collectibles, and art books, including Stranger Things, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, Minecraft, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, Dragon Age, James Cameron\u2019s Avatar, Game of Thrones, Mass Effect, StarCraft, The Witcher, and Halo. Today, Dark Horse Comics is one of the world\u2019s leading entertainment publishers.<\/span>","post_title":"Dark Horse Announces War Birds","post_excerpt":"Two renegade AI minds","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dark-horse-announces-war-birds","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 17:01:03","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 16:01:03","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207878","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207848,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-06-13 14:17:09","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-13 13:17:09","post_content":"

In early 2018, cartoonist Sofia Warren was not paying attention to New York state politics. But that summer, her Brooklyn neighborhood began buzzing about Julia Salazar, a 27-year-old democratic socialist running for State Senate whose grassroots campaign was inspiring an army of volunteers. When they beat the odds and won, Warren found herself wondering what would happen next. How does it work when an outsider who runs on revolutionary change has to actually do the job? So she decided to find out<\/span><\/p>\n

Radical: My Year with a Socialist Senator<\/em> is a remarkable graphic memoir of Warren\u2019s experience embedded with Julia Salazar and her staff during their first year in office. From candid conversations and eyewitness experiences, Warren builds a gripping and intimate portrait of a scrappy team of community organizers battling entrenched power structures, particularly to advance Julia\u2019s marquee issue: housing rights.<\/span><\/p>\n

At every key point during the year \u2014 setting up an office, navigating insider politics, public pushback, testy staff meetings, emotional speeches, protest marches, setbacks, and victories \u2014 Warren is up close and personal with Julia and her team, observing, questioning, and drawing, as they try to translate their ideals into concrete legislation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Along the way, Warren works toward answers to deeper questions: what makes a good leader? What does it mean to be a part of a community? Can democracy work? How can everyday people make change happen?<\/span><\/p>\n

All these themes are explored \u2014 with nuance, compassion, and humor \u2014 in Sofia Warren's remarkable debut.<\/span><\/p>\n

-- a 328-page, softcover graphic novel with 3\" French flaps (6.4\" x 9\")<\/span><\/p>\n

[gallery ids=\"207849,207850,207851,207852,207853,207854\"]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Radical: My Year with a Socialist Senator<\/em> hits shelves everywhere books are sold on June 14th!<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","post_title":"Radical: My Year with a Socialist Senator Preview","post_excerpt":"Graphic memoir","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"radical-my-year-with-a-socialist-senator-preview","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 20:34:35","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 19:34:35","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207848","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207738,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-22 15:04:49","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-22 14:04:49","post_content":"With the release of his new graphic novel,\u00a0Retroactive\u00a0<\/em>next week on April 26th from Humanoids. We are delighted to be joined by Eisner nominated artist and writer Ibrahim Moustafa. He is best know for his work on\u00a0Count<\/em>,\u00a0Jaeger<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0High Crimes<\/em>.\u00a0He has worked on numerous titles such as\u00a0James Bond<\/em>,\u00a0Mother Panic<\/em>,\u00a0Moon Knight<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nHi Ibrahim, we are delighted to have you here with us again.<\/span><\/strong>\n\nThanks so much for having me, I really appreciate it.<\/span>\n\nWhen we last chatted, your graphic novel\u00a0Count<\/em>\u00a0had just been released. What has the feedback been like for\u00a0Count<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIt's been really wonderful. People have been incredibly supportive of the book, and I'm so grateful for it. It was added to the Young Adult Library Services Association 2022 list of Great Graphic Novels For Teens, and as of yesterday we were nominated for an Ignyte Award from Fiyah Literary Magazine, which highlights the work of marginalized creators. And hopefully more folks will be discovering it with the release of RetroActive.<\/span>\n\n\n\nHow would you describe the\u00a0Retroactive<\/em>\u00a0graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIn short it's \u201cJames Bond x Groundhog Day\u201d. RetroActive is a time travel story with lots of heart and relatable human experiences to ground the more fantastical elements. With this book I set out to not only do a story in a genre that is fairly unique to comics, but I really tried to take full advantage of what the medium can do to tell a story like this. And just like the circular nature of time travel and time loops, my hope is that those elements will give people a lot of reasons to go back and experience the book over again.<\/span>\n\nWhat can you tell us about Tarik Abdelnasser?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nHe's an idealist when we first meet him, and over time we see how the job of being a time-traveling spy affects him and his view of things. All the while, he's trying to care for him mother with dementia by himself. So, he has this real dilemma of being \u201con-call\u201d in both his job and his personal life, and there are really high stakes for both.<\/span>\n\n\n\nBrad Simpson and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou; both join you again after working with you on the\u00a0Count\u00a0<\/em>graphic novel. What was it like working with them again?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nJust an absolute pleasure. Brad and Hass are two of the very best in the business, and to get to collaborate with them again is the best. I hope to keep them as a forever-team if they'll have me. We have a really great, intuitive flow when working together.<\/span>\n\nWhat is the Bureau of Temporal Affairs?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIt's essentially the CIA of time travel in the world of the book. They are one of five agencies in the world that act as an intelligence and counter-intelligence outfit, running operations throughout the past to avert terror attacks and thwart attempts from hostile nations to change the US's past for their own benefit.<\/span>\n\n\n\nDid you enjoy creating the visuals for the different time periods?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI did. I love a good WWII era story, and there's a lot of aesthetics to appreciate about midcentury America, so it was really fun to get to put those into the book.<\/span>\n\nWho is Lucia Olmos?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nLucia is a new trainee at the BTA, and sort of our eyes and ears as we learn the ins-and-outs of time travel from Tarik, who is giving her an orientation briefing. She's very dedicated to being a good agent, and as Tarik starts slipping, she has to call him out on his shortcomings.<\/span>\n\nWhen you started to work on\u00a0Retroactive<\/em>, did you write a full script?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nNot initially. First came the pitch document with the broad strokes, then I had to tighten that up into an outline and really make sure the time travel stuff was as airtight as time travel can be. Then came the full script.<\/span>\n\n\n\nWhat has it been like working with editor Rob Levin?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nThe best. Rob is the best editor I've ever worked with. He's always on top of things, he replies quickly to emails, and he really keeps the trains rolling on time. And he's a great person to boot.<\/span>\n\nAs\u00a0Retroactive<\/em> involves\u00a0time travel, how difficult was it to keep track of the time travel logic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nOverall not too bad. There were a lot of threads to keep track of, but I didn't want to overstuff the plot because the story itself is the important part. So I set rules for it early on and stuck with them and it was pretty smooth sailing.<\/span>\n\n\n\nHas it been a challenge working on\u00a0Retroactive?<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\n\nA little! But I feel like I thrive with a challenge.<\/span>\n\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nRetroActive is a story that is all about the cyclical, repetitious nature of time, and as such, it's made in a way that multiple readings will reward folks with stuff they may have missed the first time. I hope they enjoy it!<\/span>\n\nWe would like to say thank you to Ibrahim for chatting with us. We wish him all the best for his new graphic novel, Retroactive<\/em> releasing on April 26th from Humanoids.<\/span>","post_title":"Talking With Ibrahim Moustafa","post_excerpt":"Retroactive\u00a0","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"talking-with-ibrahim-moustafa","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:09:06","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:09:06","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207738","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207638,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_content":"We are so happy to be joined by Josh O'Neill today. Josh is publisher and co-founder of Beehive Books. As Beehive Books have launched a Kickstarter this week for the GratNin<\/em> graphic novel by Ronald Wimberly, we got a chance to sit down and chat with the editor of the graphic novel.<\/span>\n\nHi Josh, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong>\n\nCould you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about Beehive Books? Hello! I'm the publisher and co-founder of Beehive, a small-press graphic arts outfit based out of Philadelphia. We sometimes describe our project as an exercise in the possible -- we want to test the boundaries of what a book can be, and what kind of creative work we can produce. With inventive formats, visionary art and writing, and an utterly obsessive approach to design, we aim to build paper worlds. We have titles from Brecht Evens, Mike Mignola, Yuko Shimizu, Jim Woodring, Paul Pope, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ronald Wimberly, Rebekka Dunlap, Kent Williams and more. GratNin is our fourth project with Ronald.<\/span>\n\nHow did this collaboration between Ronald Wimberly and Beehive Books come about? <\/span><\/strong>\n\nI've worked with Ron several times as a contributor to books for my previous publishing venture, Locust Moon Press. So when Ma\u00eblle Doliveux and I launched Beehive in 2016, I knew Ron personally, and admired his work to no end. When Ma\u00eblle and I began approaching authors, our basic pitch was: what's a project that you think no publisher would take on? Ron, who for my money is one of the true visionary working artists of the 21st century, was literally the first person we approached. The answer then was LAAB Magazine, an experimental broadsheet art newspaper powered by the radical imagination -- we've since released three annual issues of LAAB. Now it's GratNin, this crazy accordion-folded story scroll, the next step of our ongoing work together (and part of the sort of nascent LAAB imprint). Ron has become more than an author, to us -- he's a friend and a partner, and his work is part of the DNA of Beehive.<\/span>\n\n\n\nWhen and how did you discover GratNin<\/em>? <\/span><\/strong>\n\nI just read it as a passionate follower of Ron's work. I'll read anything and everything he puts out. When I finally sat down to read the whole thing through several years ago, I just fell in -- it's full of such humor, excitement, suspense, humanity, love for its source material, love for its characters. And it has this wonderful feeling of being a huge world to roam around in. We follow the characters we follow, but there's this feeling that more intrigue is down every alleyway. It's just an outstanding comic and we're so excited to be publishing it. <\/span>\n\nCan you tell us about the Kickstarter for the GratNin <\/em>graphic novel? <\/span><\/strong>\n\nGratNin presented an exciting and singular problem -- how to present this pageless digital comic in a print format.  As per our usual ideological commitments in Beehive, we came up with the least practical, most exciting solution -- to present these remarkable stories on a series of unbroken accordion-folded scrolls, turning the downward-swiping digital read into a thrillingly physical experience. You track down four hundred feet of narrow page-space, in a format that brings to mind skyscrapers, alleyways, subway tunnels -- all the long verticals iconically representing this fantastical vision of New York. And we filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience, skulking around New York with then Namba clan.<\/span>\n\nWhat have been some of the hurdles that you have had to overcome to get the project up to this point?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nThe biggest one was just figuring out how to present this story in a readable way. It's this pageless comic that goes down and down and down. How do you do it in print? That was the problem that we faced. It's the kind of problem that our team, and especially LAAB and GratNin designer Chloe Scheffe, find most delicious. I think it's been solved beautifully here.<\/span>\n\n\n\nWe understand that the graphic novel will be an accordion style with folded pages; was this feature something that you wanted to do right from the beginning? <\/span><\/strong>\n\nNo -- we started with the problem. We didn't know the best solution. We thought about doing it as a scroll, as a giant folding map, as a long vertical book with a spine at the top.  The accordion seemed the most elegant solution, especially for something so long -- we're talking about 600 pages, printed on three pieces of paper. It's the best at replicating and reinventing that feeling of falling down into this crazy thrilling world that you get from reading GratNin digitally.<\/span>\n\nBeehive Books is releasing the GratNin<\/em> graphic novel as a box set; can you tell us about the box set? <\/span><\/strong>\n\nWe took the next step, when designing GratNin as a fully formed reading experience -- we created a little miniature space to explore. We filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience. A world for you to crawl into a skulk around. We didn\u2019t want to just present a print version of Ron\u2019s wonderful web comic \u2013 we wanted to work with him to reinvent it, and to build out his world.<\/span>\n\n\n\nAs you are crowdfunding the graphic novel and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the project more special for you?<\/strong> <\/span>\n\nWell, we crowdfund most of our projects, so it's not any different from what we usually do. But yes -- crowdfunding does mean a much deeper-than-average engagement with your audience, and we conceive of Beehive as something other than a producer of goods with a base of customers. We see our readership as a vital community, the backbone of this whole operation. They're keeping the garden cared for and the soil tilled, so we can grow the things we grow. Our practice of building books out of an engaged community of readers makes all of our projects feel a bit more special to me.<\/span>\n\n\n\nDo you have a favourite Kickstarter reward? <\/span><\/strong>\n\nBeyond the comic itself, I really love the printed cotton-cloth furoshiki wrap! I know I'll get a lot of use out of that... just a beautiful and useful object, which is all we ever really aim to make.<\/span>\n\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers? <\/span><\/strong>\n\nBe kind to yourself. And buy GratNin! (These two go together quite nicely.)<\/span>\n\nWe would like to say thank you to Josh for chatting to us about <\/span>GratNin. <\/em><\/span>We would like to wish the whole team of GratNin<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span>\n\nFeel free to check out the<\/span><\/strong> campaign<\/strong>: GranNin at<\/a><\/span><\/span> Kickstater<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Josh O'Neill","post_excerpt":"GratNin\u00a0graphic novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-josh-oneill","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:32:04","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:32:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207638","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207543,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-02 17:00:04","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-02 17:00:04","post_content":"

WHAT IF YOUR MEMORIES COULD BE FATAL?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A Tale of Tropical Noir as Enticing as it is Deadly<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nMILWAUKIE, Ore., (03\/02\/2022)\u2014<\/strong> Dark Horse Books is pleased to announce a new sci-fi graphic novel, Wiper<\/strong><\/em>. Written by John Harris Dunning (Tumult<\/em>), penciled and inked by Ricardo Cabral, colored by Brad Simpson, and lettered by Jim Campbell, Wiper<\/em> is a sci-fi journey in the vein of Blade Runner<\/em> that you won\u2019t want to miss.<\/span>\n\nLula Nomi is a Wiper\u2013a private detective who guarantees complete discretion. A memory wipe after every job sees to that. When she\u2019s hired by enigmatic robot Klute she thinks the case is the answer to all her problems. But there\u2019s something oddly familiar about Klute\u2013and the more she investigates the disappearance of journalist Orson Glark, the more she suspects that he\u2019s somehow connected to her own past\u2026<\/span>\n\nLula must face her greatest fears to learn what happened to Glark\u2026and the truth about herself. <\/span>\n\nThe Wiper<\/strong><\/em> paperback will be available at comic stores September 14, 2022 and in bookstores September 27, 2022. It is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at your local comic shop and bookstore. Wiper<\/strong><\/em> will retail for $19.99. <\/span>\n\n\n\nAbout Dark Horse Comics <\/span><\/strong>\n\nFounded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics is an excellent example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and transform a company with humble beginnings into an industry giant. Over the years, Dark Horse has published the work of creative legends such as Yoshitaka Amano, Margaret Atwood, Paul Chadwick, Geof Darrow, Will Eisner, Neil Gaiman, Dave Gibbons, Faith Erin Hicks, Kazuo Koike, Matt Kindt, Jeff Lemire, Mike Mignola, Frank Miller, Moebius, Chuck Palahniuk, Wendy Pini, Richard Pini, and Gerard Way. In addition, Dark Horse has a long tradition of establishing exciting new creative talent throughout all of its divisions. The company has also set the industry standard for quality licensed comics, graphic novels, collectibles, and art books, including Stranger Things, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, Minecraft, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, Dragon Age, James Cameron\u2019s Avatar, Game of Thrones, Mass Effect, StarCraft, The Witcher,<\/em> and Halo.<\/em> Today, Dark Horse Comics is one of the world\u2019s leading entertainment publishers.<\/span>","post_title":"Dark Horse Announces Wiper","post_excerpt":"Sci-fi graphic novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"dark-horse-announces-wiper","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:58:14","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:58:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207543","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207514,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-02-22 18:03:32","post_date_gmt":"2022-02-22 18:03:32","post_content":"We are so happy to be joined by the writer and artist Warwick Johnson-Cadwell. The very talented Mr Cadwell has worked on numerous comics. Some of the comics he has worked on include: Nelson<\/em>, Lovecraft Anthology 2<\/em>, Sold State Tank Girl<\/em>, Samuari Jack<\/em>, Dangeritis<\/em>, Helena Crash<\/em> and Mr. Higgins Comes Home<\/em>.<\/span>\n\nHi Warwick, happy new year to you. It's a pleasure to have you here with us. <\/span><\/strong>As some of our readers may not be familiar with your work, could you please tell us a bit about yourself?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nHello, and Happy New Year! <\/em>Falconspeare is my third book with Dark Horse comics and Mike Mignola, but before then came<\/em> Samurai Jack, Helena Crash, The Marionette Unit, Dangeritis, and Tank Girl. But aside from comics I have worked for publishers and in the animation industry. I\u2019m just a very enthusiastic drawer\/drawist.<\/em><\/span>\n\nCan you tell us about the origins of Falconspeare<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nFalconspeare is the third book in a sort of series (at this stage they can still be read in any order) following the adventures of a group of vampire hunters of old. In this book we discover they shared their formative years with a fourth member,<\/em> James Falconspeare, and here we discover what has happened to him since the group last met many years before.<\/em><\/span>\n\n\n\nHow would you describe the Falconspeare<\/em> graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIt\u2019s a vampire adventure of sorts. These books revel in the classic horror worlds <\/span>of Universal Studios and Hammer Horror, but have their own flavor too. They\u2019re <\/span><\/em>also inspired by Mike Mignola, who wrote the first book,<\/em> Mr. Higgins Comes Home. I <\/em><\/span>have tried to maintain a level of humor in there, too. But this is the darkest book of the three, I think.<\/span><\/em>\n\nFor our readers who are not familiar with Professor J.T. Meinhardt, Mr. Knox and Ms. Mary Van Sloan. What can you tell us about these characters?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nThese are classic vampire adventurers, like Van Helsing or Professor Abronsius. <\/span>Professor Meinhardt is an academic expert in the supernatural, and Mr. Knox is a <\/span>compassionate and careful force for good. Ms. Mary Van Sloan is a spirited fighting <\/span>force. They\u2019re all enthusiastic and brave, but also pretty lucky in a world where the <\/span>forces of evil command a strong upper hand. And in this book we find that James <\/span>Falconspeare is the honorable, law-abiding champion of the group.<\/span><\/em>\n\n\n\nWhen you were creating the graphic novel, did you write a full script?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI did, eventually. I\u2019m an artist mainly, and very interested in narrative. My process for the last two books was to firstly work out the story in sketches and thumbnails to <\/span>determine what I wanted to do. Then I turned that into a script, which I then redrew as roughs. The two sets of roughs either side of the script aren\u2019t easy to compare., <\/span>however, as the first is spread over many sketchbooks in many sizes and qualities over the course of a few years.<\/span><\/em>\n\nYou are the writer and artist on Falconspeare<\/em>; what do you enjoy being more a writer or an artist?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nAn artist I think, but that\u2019s mainly because I\u2019m more comfortable with that aspect. I love getting to grips with writing, and I really enjoy working with word and images to create stories. I like working with writers very much, but I\u2019m really enjoying being in charge of both the script and art to model the stories.<\/span><\/em>\n\n\n\nDo you have a favourite character from Falconspeare<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nAh! That\u2019s tricky, because I like them all. The main three we\u2019ve already met in the other books get a chance to develop or reaffirm their characters, which is nice. But getting to introduce new characters is great, and there\u2019s plenty in this. There\u2019s a brief appearance from Meinhardt, Knox, and Sloan\u2019s very grumpy butler (Mr. Tuphold). He\u2019s only in a<\/span>couple of panels, but he makes me laugh, and I think he could be a great character in future. Such an angry old character.<\/span><\/em>\n\nCould we see more of Professor J.T. Meinhardt, Mr. Knox and Ms. Mary Van Sloan in the future?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI certainly hope so, though I\u2019ve got away with a lot so far. Drawing these books is <\/span>amazing fun, and every page throws up more ideas for more stories to tell. So, I hope we get to follow their crazy adventures further.<\/span><\/em>\n\n\n\nWhat are you currently reading?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nMy reading goes all over the place, often a long way behind. And in that spirit, \u201cAcheron\u201d by Mike Mignola at Dark Horse was ace! Steeple by John Allison, too. I love that series. Kyle Starks and Chris Schweitzer\u2019s<\/em> 6 Sidekicks Of Trigger Keaton (Image) was also awesome! Other than that, I\u2019m mainly rereading<\/em> The Tomb Of Dracula or<\/em> Dracula Lives.<\/span>\n\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nTry out Falconspeare? Follow me for art if they\u2019re keen on Instagram @wocco or <\/em><\/span>on Twitter @warwickjc.<\/em> But mainly I\u2019d encourage ComicBuzz readers to get drawing\/ reading or making. Anything. It\u2019s awesome fun.<\/em><\/span>\n\nA big thank you to Warwick Johnson-Cadwell for taking the time to chat with us. We would like to wish him and his team the best of luck with Falconspeare.<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Warwick Johnson-Cadwell","post_excerpt":"Falconspeare","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-warwick-johnson-cadwell","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 22:04:00","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 21:04:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207514","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207179,"post_author":"5","post_date":"2021-11-08 17:07:27","post_date_gmt":"2021-11-08 17:07:27","post_content":"Written By:<\/strong> Misako Rocks!<\/span>\n\nIllustrated By:<\/strong> Misako Rocks!<\/span>\n\nPage Count:<\/strong> 272 pgs<\/span>\n\nGenre:<\/strong> Childrens\u2019 Literature<\/span>\n\nReading Age:<\/strong> 9 - 13 years<\/span>\n\nFormat:<\/strong> Paperback, Hardback<\/span>\n\nPublished By:<\/strong> Feiwel & Friends<\/span>\n\nRelease Date:<\/strong> 16th November 2021<\/span>\n\nLilico is a young Japanese school girl, who is enjoying life. She is the captain of her school's Basketball team, has a great group of friends and a loving family. Just as she begins preparing for her teams competitions, her Dad announces that he just got promoted and they will be packing up and relocating to America very soon. Devastated with the shocking news, the day comes when Lilico has to say goodbye to her best friends and the life she always knew. Now she must adjust to the American way of life, a new school, a second language and overcoming the many challenges she is sure to face. Including the school bully - Nala!<\/span>\n\n\u2018Bounce Back\u2019 is the latest children\u2019s graphic novel from the folks over at Feiwel & Friends. This story focuses on Lillico, a Japanese school girl whose life is turned upside down when her family relocates to Brooklyn, New York. Now in a different country and culture, Lillico must not only learn to adapt to the English language but also having to start all over again making friends. Inevitably she finds support in her new fashionable friend Nala and DBZ fan Henry. Through their friendship and support, as well as Lillico\u2019s pet cat Nicco suddenly learning to talk - she starts gaining the confidence needed to try and join the school's Basketball team. It isn\u2019t smooth sailing by any means, with complicated friendships, juggling new friends with teammates and trying not to fall under the pressure of being the new kid in school. There is alot going on in Lillico\u2019s life, and this is sure to act as a life lesson for many young readers out there. Either to help them through similar situations or perhaps give them a different perspective on how it feels to be the new kid in class.<\/span>\n\n\n\nThere is plenty of excitement and drama to be had in this book, including a little budding romance as well. A great book to have for young athletes who love a good story. Or even for those that have more of an unstable living situation, that tend to transfer schools fairly often. It\u2019s still a perfectly good read for those who don\u2019t fall into either of those categories. You can quickly connect with the characters, it\u2019s especially enjoyable for those that have an interest in anime, as the book has included references to both Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z.<\/span>\n\n\n\n\u2018Bounce Back\u2019 was both written and illustrated by author Misako Rocks! Who is the creator of other titles including \u2018Biker Girl\u2019 and \u2018Rock and Roll Love\u2019. A self-taught artist from a family of law-enforcement officials, Misako moved to the United States from Japan as a teenager and draws inspiration for this story through her own experiences. She now resides in Brooklyn, New York and has also been teaching manga at my online community called \u2018Learn Manga with Misako!\u2019 Which is aimed at teaching kids from ages 7 to 11 years old -<\/span> https:\/\/learnmangawithmisako.com\/<\/a>\n\n\u2018Bounce Back\u2019 will be available to buy from your local bookshop and your favourite online retailers from the 16th November, perfect for an extra Christmas present.<\/span>\n\nOverall:<\/strong> 8\/10<\/span>","post_title":"Bounce Back Review","post_excerpt":"Graphic novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"bounce-back-review","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-08 20:58:30","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-08 19:58:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207179","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":206979,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2021-10-05 16:37:42","post_date_gmt":"2021-10-05 15:37:42","post_content":"With the release of his first graphic novel today, we are delighted to be joined by the writer and producer Tyrone Finch. Tyrone has written for the stage and the screen; he is currently a writer\/producer for ABC's Station 19.<\/span>\n\nHi Tyrone, thanks so much for being here with us today. We would like to congratulate you on your first graphic novel. Swine<\/em> is releasing on October 5th from Humanoids.<\/span>\n\n \n\nWho are your favourite comic creators?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nWow! That would be a very long list and the names on it change at least twice a month. I will say that Charles Schulz never drops below number three on that list. I\u2019m a fan of subtlety and he was masterful with it. You probably wanted me to name someone who\u2019s more associated with comic books. Oh! I\u2019ve been reading a lot of old Jack Kirby stuff lately. He also stays near the top of my list.<\/span>\n\n \n\nDo you have a favourite comic series or graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI\u2019ve been a Spider-Man fan since I was a kid. Maybe I\u2019m just being sentimental, but I think he will always be my favourite character. As for graphic novels, I know that George Takei\u2019s They Called Us Enemy<\/em> is a memoir, but it\u2019s easily one of the most moving things I\u2019ve read in the format.<\/span>\n\n\n\nCan you tell us about the history of Swine<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nHa! I\u2019m not sure that there\u2019s much history to share. I was having lunch with a couple of friends and somehow during the midst of a relatively normal conversation, I got this idea stuck in my head. Whenever that happens, I have to put the idea down on paper or it takes up valuable space in my brain that I desperately need for other things.<\/span>\n\n \n\nDid you conceive Swine<\/em> as a graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI thought of Swine <\/em>as a six-issue comic book or a graphic novel. I wasn\u2019t sure which would work best. After a few conversations with some experienced comic book writers, I decided a graphic novel would be the best way to go.<\/span>\n\n\n\nHow did Alain Mauricet join Swine<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nA few years ago, Mauricet and I worked together on a small project for AHOY Comics. When the folks at Humanoids asked if I had an artist in mind for Swine<\/em>, I immediately suggested Mauricet and they loved that idea.<\/span>\n\n \n\nWhat has it been like working with Alain Mauricet?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIt\u2019s been great. I love his work. He\u2019s incredibly inventive and playful. Every panel is always much more fun than whatever I was picturing in my head. Receiving an email with new art from him would put me in a good mood that could last for days.<\/span>\n\n\n\nHow would you describe Swine<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI think of Swine <\/em>as a love story. I know that sounds odd, but love or the loss of it is what truly motivates these characters and explains most of their behaviors. At least that\u2019s what I think. I\u2019m close to the story so maybe there\u2019s something going on there that my perspective doesn\u2019t allow me to see.<\/span>\n\n \n\nHow did the collaboration with Humanoids come about?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI\u2019d been sitting on the idea for a while without any clue as to what I should do with it. It\u2019s an odd story and I thought it would just stay on my hard drive forever. A friend of mine suggested submitting it to Humanoids. They have a fairly easy submission process and I figured it was worth a shot.<\/span>\n\n\n\nWho suggested Lee Loughridge and DC Hopkins for Swine<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nHumanoids brought both of them to the party. Am I allowed to call it a party? I knew their work and I was very happy when I heard they were joining the team.<\/span>\n\n \n\nHow would you describe the process of creating a graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nYikes! I would describe it as panic-inducing. This was my first graphic novel and I had a lot to learn. The biggest challenge for me was learning to control the space. When you\u2019ve got a limited number of panels to tell a story, you have to be economical with dialogue. I also didn\u2019t want to cover the outstanding art with a ton of exposition and unnecessary digressions. I spent a lot of time printing out pages and spreading them across my desk to make sure I had a decent handle on what I was doing. It was sort of like writing a script and managing real estate at the same time.<\/span>\n\n\n\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nYes! Thank you for making it to the end of this interview. I hope you have as much fun reading Swine<\/em> as we did making it. And support your local comic book stores whenever you can!<\/span>\n\nWe would like to say a big thank you to Tyrone and wish him and his team the best of luck with thier graphic novel.<\/span>\n\n \n\n \n\n <\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Tyrone Finch","post_excerpt":"Swine","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-tyrone-finch","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 23:35:36","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 22:35:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=206979","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":206841,"post_author":"5","post_date":"2021-08-31 15:20:00","post_date_gmt":"2021-08-31 14:20:00","post_content":"Written By:<\/strong> Sophie Escabasse<\/span>\n\nIllustrated By:<\/strong> Sophie Escabasse<\/span>\n\nFormat:<\/strong> Kindle, Paperback<\/span>\n\nPublished By:<\/strong> Random House Graphic<\/span>\n\nRelease Date:<\/strong> 31st August 2021<\/span>\n\nWe return once again to the magical city of Brooklyn, where the young witch-in-training Effie lives with her eccentric Aunts Carolta and Selimene. As the Christmas holidays come to an end, Effie is itching to see her best friend Berrit again back at school. However Berrits attention has been completely focused on her new neighbour and sudden new best friend Garance. Leaving Effie feeling left out and jealous towards the new girl in class.<\/span>\n\nBack in her magical life, Effie gets to meet the fellow witches society of Brooklyn. Who have been lifetime friends of each of her aunts, all from different walks of life with a similar thing in common - they use their powers to help people. Effie becomes involved in a rather unusual case within the community, when serious accidents start becoming more frequent at a certain crossroads. A magical mystery to be solved, one that Effie might be able to help with.<\/span>\n\n\n\nIt is such a joy to see a second book being released in this series, as I thoroughly enjoyed the debut of Witches of Brooklyn. In the first book, we met young Effie. Who had just lost her mother and was more or less dumped on the steps of her \u2018Aunt Selimene\u2019s home by a caseworker. She not only dealt with her mother\u2019s passing, her new surroundings and getting to know her new guardians - but she also discovered magic! Something that has stayed with her ever since and now she gets to meet the fellow witches that live in her area. As Effie is thoroughly welcomed into the society, back in her everyday normal life - things at school aren\u2019t quite going so well. The excitement of Effie being the new girl in school has died off automatically after the Winter break, as a new transfer student has just started in her class. Now all eyes are on Garance, especially Effie\u2019s best friend Berrits\u2019.<\/span>\n\nThis book is filled with excitement, adventure, magic and more! It\u2019s not all purple Lions and moving statues however, as Effie also has to both confront her jealous thoughts if she wants to save her friendship with Berrit and get to know the new girl - that seems to give off an unusual prickling feeling at times. It\u2019s all a part of growing up, as Effie takes on the magical world around her and the challenges of middle school!<\/span>\n\n\n\nThe \u2018Witches of Brooklyn\u2019 series is both written and illustrated by the talented Sophie Escabasse, a French author and illustrator living in Montreal. She has done illustrations for many other books in her career, including Florence Parry Heide and Roxanne Heide Pierce\u2019s Spotlight Club Mysteries series (Albert Whitman); and the Freestyler Funnies series by Tom Easton (Hachette UK).<\/span>\n\n\u2018Witches of Brooklyn: What the Hex?!\u2019 is currently available for pre-order online now through the links below. It will also be available in your local book shops from the 31st August, so don\u2019t forget to shop local.<\/span>\n\nhttps:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/608952\/witches-of-brooklyn-what-the-hex-by-sophie-escabasse\/<\/a>\n\nOverall:<\/strong> 8\/10<\/span>","post_title":"Witches of Brooklyn: What The Hex?! Review","post_excerpt":"From Sophie Escabasse","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"witches-of-brooklyn-what-the-hex-review","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-08 01:58:14","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-08 00:58:14","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=206841","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":19},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_22"};