Please tell us your author origin story...
I have always loved comics. I lived in England when I was little, and read weekly gag comics like The Beano and Dandy religiously. As I got older, I started reading Marvel and DC books. Eventually I discovered art comics and literary graphic novels. I love reading comics in any form, and I also love to write and draw my own. For me, making comics is the way that I engage with the world. I love the idea that people are complex and have both good and bad qualities, and I try to express that notion throughout all of my work.
With The Fifth Quarter, I wanted to tell a story about a young girl who is passionate about her sport, but has some growing to do not only as a player and a teammate, but also as a daughter and a friend.
What is your creative process like?
I try to draw one or two short diary comics every week, which I publish online, most often at my Instagram. Making diary comics helps me continually refine and strengthen both my drawing and cartooning skills, but also my storytelling chops. The more I have been making short strips, the better I have become at telling a story quickly and clearly.
When I am working on a long-form graphic novel, I spend a lot of time thinking about the characters and the situation they are in. I “write” rough drafts of my comics in thumbnail form, which means I draw out a loose version of the whole graphic novel as my “script”. Once I’ve made one rough draft, I go back and do a second pass and then a third. Eventually it becomes finished.
For me, comics is the language I tell stories in, and it works better to write through drawing. I can’t type out a script, that is a different part of my brain working. It needs to always be done in comics form.
What is your message for young comics creators?
When I speak at schools and libraries, I share a slideshow presentation called “Cartooning Lessons, How Comics Work and What They Have Taught Me”. The first part of this lecture is about the nuts & bolts of making comics, how drawings are used to tell a story, and what gets shown and not shown to the readers.
The second part of my presentation is about encouraging young aspiring cartoonists to see the world as a writer. I share excerpts from my own private diaries, from when I was ten years old and only beginning to write. I encourage kids to start their own journal practice, whether it’s written in text or in comics.
One of the messages in The Fifth Quarter is “Hard Court beats talents”. This means, it doesn’t matter where you start, if you can put in the work, you can become great at something.
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