Hi everyone! We are officially at the halfway mark of the campaign and things are looking rosy. (I was trying to think of an appropriate, blood-themed alternative to "rosy", but "ruddy" and "bloodshot" just don't seem as optimistic... 😉) We -- or rather YOU -- have unlocked three more Stretch Goals since the last update, and we are gradually inching toward the next... It's hard for us to gauge progress on this new platform, so who knows if we'll reach this goal today, tomorrow, Friday, or later... We're fairly confident we'll hit it before the campaign ends in 9 days, but we still have several more Stretch Goals in the wings waiting to be revealed, so hopefully it will be soon! These Stretch Goals are meant to keep things interesting and active during the slower middle-weeks of a campaign, so we'll be sure that the next goals are placed within reach moving forward...
This will be a pretty fun week regardless of when achievements are unlocked. Between Star Wars Day tomorrow (May the 4th), Cinco de Mayo on Friday (we are already anticipating some weekend margaritas), and Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, there's no shortage of things to celebrate. 😎
In the meantime, author/illustrator Georges Bess was gracious enough to take some time to answer some interview questions for us this past week, and we recently posted that article on our website. Here's a brief snippet:
Creator Interview with Georges Bess
Georges Bess established himself as a premiere visionary and stylistic chameleon at the height of the European comics renaissance during the ‘70s and ‘80s. While his illustrative talent and fluidity couldn’t be denied, the direction he would take on a project was often unpredictable, an improvisational instinct that set him apart from his peers. Today, Georges has brought that immense talent to two classic horror stories, adapting Bram Stoker’s DRACULA and Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN into two bold and powerful graphic novels that retell these seminal tales through lush and unparalleled illustration. Earlier this week, we had the chance to sit down and ask creator Georges Bess a few questions about his experience as an artist and adapting these two horror classics!
Magnetic Press: How did you get interested in drawing? What made you realize this could be a full-time career?
Georges: It goes back to my early childhood. As far as I can remember I always drew, but I never thought it could be a job! To be honest, I was even far from imagining that one could earn a living by drawing! When I found myself in Sweden at 23, not speaking the language, I wondered what to do… I knew how to draw and drawing is a universal language. So I went to introduce myself to editors and I was taken on, first for a few assignments, a few replacements.
Magnetic Press: You’ve been described as a “stylistic chameleon.” How did you learn this versatility?
Georges: As other designers had to be replaced, I had to blend in with their style, which is what trained me in this versatility that you recognize in me. I studied them meticulously. I had a taste for them. Then, when I was entrusted with stories of The Phantom by Lee Falk to illustrate, (I drew almost 50 stories of The Phantom), for fun and to “challenge” myself, I made a story in the style of one draftsman after another in a different style, thus refining my apprenticeship.
Magnetic: How do you find the style you think best fits a story?
Georges: For me, the choice of a style for a story is done in an intuitive way. Style is like a language, and one would not imagine writing a joke book with an academic language; in the same way, some styles are obviously more suited to comedic stories, while others are less so.
Magnetic: Why did you choose to adapt these classic horror books? Do you have a connection with the material in some way?
Georges: As far as Dracula is concerned, it’s because my publisher had attended some exhibitions of my large-scale drawings (from 1 square meter to 8 square meters) that I had made for art galleries (nothing at all like comics) to be exhibited in galleries, fairs, and art centers. He had the idea of suggesting that I do Dracula, because these drawings concealed the aspects of what we call “Gothic,” with skulls, bones, flowers, etc. And then the black and white too, which contributes to the atmosphere.
These large drawings were also presented in the United States, at the Philippe Labaune gallery in New York.
When my editor asked me to do this adaptation, it turns out that I couldn’t find my way around with a “traditional screenwriter.” I wanted a really good story, and this was the opportunity. Naturally, once Dracula was adapted, Frankenstein was a no-brainer. Especially since I have a special connection with these two works — I literally devoured them one after the other when I was 13 years old. These are almost my first books as a young reader, and they left me with remarkable, extraordinary memories. I remember really intense hours while reading them.
