Susan Lee: Artist, Filmmaker, All-Around Awesome

Susan Lee is a busy, creative person wears a lot of hats. (That's probably why we get along.) As a playwright, a filmmaker, a screenwriter, a teacher, and a painter, Susan has made her mark in many different fields. I know she's made her mark on me as a director and as a friend.

I recently interviewed her at length about her new graphic novel and webseries - both based on Mastermind by Michael Patrick Sullivan - as well as other projects she has lined up.

I thought readergirlz would like what she had to say about strong characters:

"What motivates me is when a piece speaks to me. As a director, it's always the language first. If something isn't well-written, I won't do it. [...] So I always want something that's smart and intelligent. Something that has characters who are complicated and rich. Characters you want to spend not just two hours with but want to take them home and make them dinner and dig even deeper into them. It has to make me want to explore why the characters are the way they are."

- and why she finds being a teacher so delightful:

"What I love about working with kids is how open and vulnerable they are. They're not afraid to tell you what they think. And when they grab on to something, they hold on for dear life. My favorite part is when they have a breakthrough and they achieve something they never thought they could. And to have them step back from their drawing or their painting and have them gasp in wonder at what they've created, there is not enough money in the world to compete with that. They astound me with their ability to create and with their openness and access to their emotions. They make very single day at work a pleasure and so very worthwhile."

Read our full-length interview at Bildungsroman! Share the link and help get the word about Susan's works so she can get an awesome publishing deal for the Mastermind graphic novel!

Important links...

Life On Its Side Productions: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Mastermind: Website | Webseries on YouTube | Facebook | Twitter

Susan's Blog: Diary of a Mid-Life Crisis

More about MINX

Our July 2009 pick, The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg, was our first graphic novel spotlight. It also was the first book published by DC Comics on its MINX imprint. Promoted as "the first graphic novel imprint designed exclusively for teenage girls" and featuring new works by a variety of artists and writers, Minx was launched in 2007...and, sadly, canceled in 2008.

Here's a list of all of the Minx titles in order of publication:
The P.L.A.I.N. Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
Re-Gifters by Mike Carey, Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel
Clubbing by Andi Watson and Josh Howard
Good as Lily by Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm
Confessions of a Blabbermouth by Mike Carey, Louise Carey, and Aaron Alexovich
Kimmie66 by Aaron Alexovich
Burnout by Rebecca Donner and Inaki Miranda
Water Baby by Ross Campbell
The New York Four by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly
Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Rolston
Token by Alisa Kwitney and Joëlle Jones

I've read them all. Which ones have you read? What were your favorites?

As we wrap up July and clean up our Art Saves easels, here are a few more things to consider from other sources:

Connect With Your Teens asks: Do teenage girls read comics? (YES!)

Is art vandalism? Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the "Hope" poster of President Barack Obama, plead guilty to three vandalism charges in Boston.

Google now offers iGoogle themes from daily comic strips, manga, comic books, and graphic novels. Superman, Mutts, Peanuts, Iron Man, Beat Girl, Robot Dreams, and more - take your pick!

Make Your Own Superhero!

Hey, readergirlz - in this month of JANES and heroes, try making your own superhero at the Superhero Factory!

I made a readergirlz superhero...The Impossible One-Eyed Lash, who lashes her way through awesome YA books in a single sitting!

If you make one, post a link!

Twilight graphic novel in the works

Speaking of graphic novels - which we are all month long here at readergirlz, with a special feature on The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg - Entertainment Weekly has reported that there will be a Twilight graphic novel with art by Young Kim. Click here to see a sample panel.

Do you think that Twilight will translate well in graphic novel format?

The Plain Janes art gallery

Thanks to Jim Rugg for this art gallery, which includes images from The Plain Janes, Janes in Love, and never-before-seen pages from Janes Go Summer, the third volume which Cecil & Jim had started working on before the Minx line of comics was cancelled.

Click any thumbnail below to open the full-sized image in a new window.

   
   
   

To learn more about the books and see even more images, check out the July issue of readergirlz!

Have questions about the art of Janes, or about drawing graphic novels? Ask the artist directly! Jim Rugg will be joining author Cecil Castellucci for this month's rgz LIVE! chat, which will be held right here at the readergirlz blog on Wednesday, July 22nd at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST. Hope you'll join us, too!

Sara Easterly on Writing a Graphic Novel, Part 5

This week we have author, readergirlz PR specialist, and former SCBWI WWA co-Regional Advisor Sara Easterly guest-blogging about the process of writing a graphic novel and working with her illustrator co-hort, Jaime Temairik. Today we have Where to Start. (All illustrations are copyright Jaime Temairik!) Welcome, Sara!

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While I’m not yet finished with the first (re)draft, the final manuscript page count for this first book in our series is probably going to wind up around 50 or 60 pages… which reminds me that things could’ve been much more catastrophic with the saved-over manuscript. Had I made it to 500 manuscript pages and the same percentage had been deleted, I most certainly would have listened to that bullying inner critic telling me it was a sign to give it up.

In the meantime, I’m reminding myself that countless writers finish a draft (or three) and then start completely over—as a writing exercise! I’ve always thought those kind of writers were a little south of sane, but I’m finding that once I let go and stop trying to recreate every single scene down to the exact word choice, the re-write really does seem stronger. Having a rough sense of where I’m going makes the process faster, too.

Of course, I still need procrastination breaks, so then it’s time for reading. Here are some of my favorite graphic novels and how-to books, in case you’re interested in giving any of them a read:

How-Tos:
Drawing Words and Writing Pictures by Jessica Abel and Matt Madden (First Second)
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel by Nat Gertler and Steve Lieber (Alpha/Penguin)
Writing for Comics with Peter David by Peter David (Impact Books)

Pleasure Reading:
Biker Girl by Misako Rocks! (Hyperion)
Nancy Drew series by Stefan Petrucha and Sho Murase (Papercutz)
Peach Fuzz by Lindsay Cibos and Jard Hodges (TOKYOPOP)
Robot Dreams by Sara Varon (First Second)
The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon)


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This concludes our five-part series - thank you so much, Sara, for guest blogging on graphic novels! Now, to come up with a story...

 

Sara Easterly on Writing a Graphic Novel, Part 4

This week we have author, readergirlz PR specialist, and former SCBWI WWA co-Regional Advisor Sara Easterly guest-blogging about the process of writing a graphic novel and working with her illustrator co-hort, Jaime Temairik. Today we have Turning to the Experts. (All illustrations are copyright Jaime Temairik!) Welcome, Sara!

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When I interviewed Disney’s comic experts Steve Behling and Rich Thomas for the graphic novel article I mentioned earlier, one of the things that I found most interesting was their vision for the future, where graphic novels won’t fall under a separate category in the publishing world. They’ll simply be another form of storytelling, like novels in verse, for example. The vision, ultimately, is that graphic novels won’t sit on one or two bookshelves in a separate section of the bookstore, but would be intermingled as appropriate with other novels or biographies.

The other thing I really like about writing a graphic novel is the company I’m keeping. I’m stretching it, I know. But it’s pretty cool thinking about all the other great writers who are also writing graphic novels. The iconic Jane Yolen has two graphic novels soon to debut. And Avi, of course, was on the bandwagon early with City of Light, City of Dark, published by Scholastic in 1993.


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This will be a five-part series all this week on the why's of writing a graphic novel, illustrator collaboration, graphic wordplay, turning to the experts, and where to start. Tomorrow: Where to start!

 

Sara Easterly on Writing a Graphic Novel, Part 3

This week we have author, readergirlz PR specialist, and former SCBWI WWA co-Regional Advisor Sara Easterly guest-blogging about the process of writing a graphic novel and working with her illustrator co-hort, Jaime Temairik. Today we have Wordplay for the Graphic Novelist. (All illustrations are copyright Jaime Temairik!) Welcome, Sara!

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With any writing, every word counts. But with a graphic novel, every word really counts! I didn’t realize until trying my hand at the process just how teensy each of those speech balloons is. Naturally long-winded, it’s a real challenge for me to remember that each panel is like a billboard, where I’ve got a max of about 8 words to use—and sometimes that’s pushing it! In fact, some of the best graphic novels are completely barren of words, such as Robot Dreams by Sara Varon (First Second).

While I’ve never written a screenplay, I imagine the script looks somewhat the same—heavy on the dialogue. It’s tricky to look for ways to balance that out. But it’s the fun part, too! That’s where sound effects come in. BRRRAM! YOWWSA! And then there are thought balloons and narrative captions—setting or plot-advancing tools. The writer can also indicate entire panels, pages, or spreads where the plot advances only by the visuals. It’s liberating to learn to think that way.


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This will be a five-part series all this week on the why's of writing a graphic novel, illustrator collaboration, graphic wordplay, turning to the experts, and where to start. Tomorrow: Turning to the experts!

 

Graphic Novels on the Illustrator Side

For those of you following Sara Easterly's guest series on writing a graphic novel, check out her illustrator cohort Jaime Temairik's post on creating sketches for their project's main characters, Sana, Mischa, and Dano, pre- and post-pooberty:

(Illustration copyright Jaime Temairik, all rights reserved.)


And here's what she says about them: "In my world, a boy becomes a man when he switches from Super Big Gulps to Tall Americanos."


I totally agree. Read the rest at Jaime's blog!

 

Sara Easterly on Writing a Graphic Novel, Part 2

This week we have author, readergirlz PR specialist, and former SCBWI WWA co-Regional Advisor Sara Easterly guest-blogging about the process of writing a graphic novel and working with her illustrator co-hort, Jaime Temairik. Today we have Collaborating with an Illustrator. (All illustrations are copyright Jaime Temairik!) Welcome, Sara!

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Unlike with picture books where it’s atypical to collaborate with your illustrator, with graphic novels that’s not always the case. And often, the writer, illustrator, penciler, and letterer are all the same person.

But I’m no Jackie of All Trades. So I collaborate with super-artist Jaime Temairik (cocoastomp.blogspot.com), one of the most creative and funny peeps I know. The best part about working on a book together (for the second time) is all the wacky brainstorming we get to do. We’ve spent countless hours at coffee shops and sushi restaurants, in hotels, over email, and on the phone chatting about our characters, plotlines, sequels, villains, and red herrings.

Then I run away and try to capture it all in words, leaving room—lots of room—for Jaime’s illustrations to finish, and usually make better, the job.

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This will be a five-part series all this week on the why's of writing a graphic novel, illustrator collaboration, graphic wordplay, turning to the experts, and where to start. Tomorrow: Graphic Wordplay!

 

Sara Easterly on Writing a Graphic Novel, Part 1

This week we're over the moon to have author, readergirlz PR specialist, and former SCBWI WWA co-Regional Advisor Sara Easterly guest-blogging about the process of writing a graphic novel and working with her illustrator co-hort, Jaime Temairik. I (Holly) am already a huge fan of both Sara and Jaime, having met them both in children's writing/illustrating classes at UW (in fact, I wrote an article five years ago for the SCBWI Bulletin all about meeting Jaime and her amazing drawings). Welcome, Sara!

This will be a five-part series all this week on the why's of writing a graphic novel, illustrator collaboration, graphic wordplay, turning to the experts, and where to start. So we'll start today with The Why's of Writing a Graphic Novel. (All illustrations copyright Jaime Temairik.)

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Right now I’m writing a middle-grade graphic novel. To be accurate, though, the word is “rewriting.” That’s due to a dumble-fumble where I saved over my almost-finished draft with an older copy, cutting the whole thing back to a whopping nine pages.

But I won’t get into that sob story right now—which would be easy to do, believe me. Nope. Instead, as per Holly’s request, I’ll talk about the process of writing a graphic novel… with a tidbit or two about the exercise of starting over.

Why write a graphic novel? For me, I’d been dipping my toes into graphic novels ever since I wrote an article about them for the SCBWI Bulletin. The initial inspiration started there, but what struck me in the course of research was how with graphic novels, just about anything goes. No rules. No boundaries. No set format, even. I didn’t realize I had a rebellious alter-ego, but it was stirring with excitement at the possibilities.

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Tomorrow: Collaborating with an illustrator. Stay tuned!

 

A new Realm in YA

There's a new girl in town, about to take the graphic novel industry by storm. Readergirlz, check out Realm Lovejoy, author, illustrator, and videogame artist, including for the very cool "Portal" game.

Realm just launched her brand new, shiny website (with the help of our own designista, Little Willow) and blog. Read all about CLAN (hint: three teen clones who have the same body but nothing else in common...) and see her cool art!