Here’s my chat with Renee Nault. Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts.

Renee is an artist, illustrator, and graphic novelist. She is known for her vivid watercolor and ink illustrations. Her work has appeared in books, magazines, newspapers and advertising around the world. In 2019, Renee’s graphic novel adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian classic, The Handmaid’s Tale, was released. The book received critical acclaim and quickly became a bestseller, with several new international language editions in the works for next year.

During our chat, Renee talked briefly about her work on The Handmaid’s Tale and the experiences she’s had during its promotion. She also spoke about her ongoing comic witchling that’s hand painted in watercolour and ink. Renee also offered her thoughts on women in the comic book industry along with the age-old question about whether comic books are art.

You can discover more about Renee on Twitter at @reneenault ‏and online at http://www.reneenault.com

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Here’s some of the current news about Canadian comic book creators and supporters.

Den of Geek recently interviewed Faith Erin Hicks along with author Rainbow Rowell about their new book Pumpkinheads. When asked about the value of depicting worlds that reflect the qualities of hope, kindness and empathy, Faith said: “I believe in a Star Trek future, where humanity eventually gets its sh*t figured out, and a better, more positive world is created. I’ve never had much taste for dystopia (although I did enjoy the Hunger Games books, back in the day) or stories that revel in misery, mostly because I find them exhausting, and as unrealistic as stories where everything goes perfectly according to plan. I think the world and other people are worth fighting for, and I want empathy and kindness to be the backbone of the stories I create … at least at this stage in my life. Maybe I’ll develop more of a taste for darker stories when I’m older, but right now I want to offer encouragement to readers, rather than grind them down.”
You can read more at DenOfGeek.com
https://www.denofgeek.com/us/books/283050/pumpkinheads-an-interview-with-rainbow-rowell-faith-erin-hicks

ComicsBeat reported about a panel about writing for comics that took place at Fan Expo in Toronto. Along with Matthew Rosenberg, Ed Brisson, Jim Zub, and Meredith Finch offered their own personal experiences when it comes to writing for the four-panel business. When asked about frustrations about working in comics, Meredith said: “it’s very easy to lose sight of your writing voice, and that setting yourself up to do a Marvel book means that you might come up with an idea that you’re not passionate about. A writer’s biggest successes are those that come from the heart. Passion tends to be what readers respond to.”
You can read more at ComicsBeat.com
https://www.comicsbeat.com/fan-expo-writing-for-comics-panel/

 

Newsarama recently interviewed Mariko Tamaki along with Steve Pugh about the new graphic novel Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass. When asked about the choices faced by Harley and framing those choices for young adults, Mariko said: “The classic superhero story is, you know what’s right and you know what’s wrong, and so you do the right thing. Right? You fight for the right people.But I think often, especially when you’re younger, it’s not really clear what that is. You take into account what you think is fair, and what hurts your feelings and what hurts the feelings of the people that you love. And so I think it’s much easier to go on that.”
You can read more at Newsarama.com
https://www.newsarama.com/46723-harley-quinn-breaking-glass-takes-teen-harley-joker-ivy-through-tough-choices.html

 

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True North Country Comics Podcast is copyright True North Country Comics. Copyright 2019