So anyway...

Sorry about the long gap in posts... So much has been happening lately. Obviously, the Eisner nominations are huge, and we've been really enjoying the attention they've brought to Amelia.

Also, Volume 4 debuted at New York Comic Con to a very enthusiastic response from the crowd at the show. And of course, yesterday was Free Comic Book Day.

If you’re one of the people who discovered Amelia yesterday, welcome aboard! You can download the entire issue of the Eisner nominated story “The Things I Cannot Change” by clicking here. The story is available for free through the Wowio site, which allows you to download all sorts of cool books and comics (Scott Sava’s way cool Dreamland Chronicles) absolutely free.

Also, after a slight delay, Project 21 will debut at tweeniezeenie.com tomorrow, and continue every Monday thereafter. it will detail the entire creative process behind the creation of the upcoming Amelia book The Tweenage Guide to Not Being Unpopular.

Now, I know we were in the middle of discussing Volume 4 story by story, but since I’ve discussed “The Things I Cannot Change” in other places, I’ll just point you here, here and here, and pick up with “When the Past is a Present” next time.

Amelia Rules the Eisners!

The nominations for the 2008 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are out, and Amelia and I have been nominated for FOUR! This is tied for most nominations by an individual along with Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughn, James Sturm, and Fred Chao.

The nominations are for:
Best Single Issue or One Shot: Amelia Rules! 18: The Things I Cannot Change
Best Publication for Kids: Amelia Rules! and Amelia Rules! Funny Stories
Best Letterer: Jimmy Gownley
Best Colorist: Jimmy Gownley

This is a huge honor, and I'd like to thank the nominating committee and I'd just like to say...

Y'know, I really don't know what to say...

FOUR!
WOW!

Runaways

Continuing to discuss the stories in Volume 4...

So, I was pretty pleased with the way "Funny Story" came out. Everyone on "Team Amelia" (Michael, Karen and Harold) seemed to think it was the best issue so far, and I was excited to get to work on the follow up.

We were coming up on the fifth anniversary of the publication of issue one, so I thought it would be neat to do a special issue featuring five separate short stories. This was really me taking my New Adventures in Hi Fi plan one step further. Short, short stories without any forethought given to how they might relate thematically. But then something weird happened...

As I started working on the stories (and I worked on them all concurrently. I tend to skip around a lot while writing and drawing. I used to worry about that until I read Jaime Hernandez does too.) I noticed that despite my best intentions, they all seemed to be related by the theme of running away. Amelia literally, Tanner from her past, Reggie from school, Rhonda from her nerdy reputation. Plus there was the scene when Amelia literally called Kyle out on running away when she needed him in Superheroes. At this point I thought, well maybe I should take this synchronicity as a sign and tie the different stories together into one big 48 page tale that moved back and forth in time, jumped to different locations, but somehow still all tied together under the general theme of running away.

It took a lot longer than I had hoped, and I once again took heat for a late issue. But you know what? I don't care. This issue came out great, and I was pretty sure that at this point I was on a roll. All the mail and reviews were extremely positive too. The things I like best are the polar bear call back gag, Tanner walking out of the store in a daze, "Why are you here?," the "old paper" effect I used on flashbacks, and Amelia's story about running away to find Snoopy. That part, believe it or not, is autobiographical.

Okay, now next up should be "The Things I Cannot Change," but y'know what? I have a feeling we may be discussing something else on Monday.

I really, really, do...

Writing a "Funny Story"

Picking up from last Thursday's post.
So anyway...

I realized that a lot of the success of the New Adventures in Hi Fi record came from treating the songs as individual units, rather than worrying about an overall album theme and structure too much. So for my first issue in what was to become Volume 4, I wanted to write a story that was as stand alone as I could make it, but that played off as many of the strengths of past Amelia stories as possible. I made a list of things I wanted to include: Wisecracking jokes, poignant moments, semi-gross humor, Rhonda's jealousy, Pajamaman's coolness, Reggie as Superhero, Tanner's guidance, pop culture references.

The one element I wanted to add was an increased focus on Amelia's relationship with her mother. Once or twice, I'd seen the series criticized for showing a disconnect between Amelia and her parents. I always thought this was weird. The criticism made it seem like this was a flaw that was there ACCIDENTALLY, when to me it was THEMATIC. I mean it's not by mistake that we go hundreds of pages into the story before we find out Amelia's mom's NAME, for cryin' out loud.

"Funny Story"was one of only three Amelia stories that was scripted and thumbnailed entirely in advance of any artwork being produced. It's also one of my two or three favorite Amelia stories.

Next time, we'll discuss "The Runaways."

International Intermission

I'll get back to volume 4 on Monday, but I got these

covers in yesterday, and wanted to share them with you. They represent the Italian, Spanish and German editions of Amelia.

Cool, huh?

The Spanish and Italian books are due out in May, and the German edition is out now.

New Adventures in Funny Stories

Continuing from yesterday's post...

So anyway, I was in the middle of this writer's block. I remember that the block was caused by being depressed about something. I can't remember what exactly, but I know it began in November 2004.

It lasted almost a year... seriously. And then, one day, it was gone. Just like that. Determined not to let it happen again, I was looking for a strategy to approach the next book. I've always been a music fan, and a fan of R.E.M. in particular, and for some reason I began playing their record New Adventures in Hi Fi a lot around this time. I was just looking for some "rockin' tunes" for background music, but it suddenly struck me that this might be the template I was looking for.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the group, one of R.E.M.'s great claims to fame is their willingness to experiment. As a fan, you never quite know what to expect from them. I've always loved artists who were willing to grow and change...The Beatles, Charles Schulz, Brian Wilson, y'know, people like that. But what I found special about this particular record was that it somehow managed to move forward by taking all of the elements found in the band's previous output (strong melody, jangly guitars, brooding lyrics, riff based rock, etc.) and mixing them all up into a new musical stew. Where previously one or two of these elements might be the focus of an entire record, here it was their synergy that made the record pulsate.

So I thought to myself; Can I do that with Amelia? Rather than going off in a completely new direction, as I had tried to do with Superheroes, could I take what people had already come to expect and heighten the work by allowing all of the elements I typically worked with to bounce off each other in new and interesting ways? With that thought in mind (and New Adventures playing in the background) I began writing "Funny Story."

Which I will deal with in greater detail tomorrow...

World Premiere of Volume 4 at NYCC!

When the Past is a Present will make it's world premiere at this April's New York Comic Con.This is very exciting for me, as I think this book represents probably the best work I've ever done. It was very pleasurable getting my advance copies, and thumbing through the pages. Ask any artist, and they'll tell you that that is the kind of experience you always want, but rarely get. More often than not, all the creator of a particular work is able to see is the struggle and the failings. Now, to be sure, I see the struggle all over WTPIAP, but it seems somehow less prominent than usual, and that feels great.

So, what I thought I'd do over the next few postings, is go over the book chapter by chapter and talk a little bit about what went into creating the individual stories, as well as the concept for the book as a whole.

See, the thing is, I don't very often sit around thinking; "Man, I just gotta do a great Little Lulu style comic." Or, "Gosh, what would Len Wein do in a situation like this." Even though I like both Little Lulu and Len Wein quite a bit, I'm far more likely to be inspired by something from a different medium entirely. Like music, for example. There must be 4 or 5 issues of Shades of Gray where I was trying to capture the feel of Strawberry Fields Forever in comic book form. Now, when I started planning the stories which make up WTPIAP, I was just coming off a massive writer's block which lasted for months. Up until this point, I didn't really believe such a thing existed, as I had never experienced it before. But having gone through it, I didn't want the same thing to happen while working on Volume 4. The solution I came up with was to go back to writing short stories. But I was afraid this would become a retreat, that I would just be doing easy jokes and stories I could write in my sleep as a means to avoid failure. What I needed was a template. A piece of art that was somehow both reflective and comfortable, but also radical and forward thinking. That was when I rediscovered a wonderful piece of music; 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi by the rock band R.E.M.

Check back tomorrow, and I'll explain how you go from listening to "Electrolite" to writing "Funny Story."