Colonial Comics New England: 1750-1775 is here, and it is a great looking book. I’m humbled to be in the company of so many talented comic creators. The variety of styles, voices, and stories assembled by Jason Rodriguez and his team really makes this a unique and special collection.
My contribution is titled “The Call Up” (the Clash are never far from mind…) and features artwork from Noel Tuazon and colors by Rob Croonenborghs. It tells a story of civil disobedience that took place in Central Massachusetts in 1774. Two years before the events of Lexington and Concord, the working class people of Worcester County wrestled independence from the world’s most powerful empire. Not a shot was fired.
I took an approach you might call “cinematic dreamy” for this story. With the guidance and support of Jason, I stripped the original script of its considerable verbiage and produced a silent piece focused exclusively on the actions of those in 1774. I looked to Terrence Malick and Stanley Kubrick for inspiration, in the sense that without captions or dialogue balloons it was essential that my script made every frame count, every shot a potent sigil of feeling, light, tone, and life. I was frankly startled by how readily and immediately Noel and Rob brought my vision into reality. Sometimes you get lucky, and this time I got extremely lucky.
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