Jen says: Five Wounds

Published by Allen and Unwin, in all good bookshops now

Hybrid novels (sometimes called illustrated novels or hybrid texts) are very popular in children’s publishing (think Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants) but have yet to successfully make the shift to older audiences.

Five Wounds is a gothic-toned “illuminated” novel for older readers about five severely damaged individuals including an assassin raised by dogs, a leper alchemist trying to create an antidote to death and an angel whose wings were cruelly cut off.

Author Jonathan Walker has successfully created a grubby and brutal other-worldy tone reminiscent of Patrick Suskind’s Perfume.  Dan Hallett’s illustrations are either beautifully detailed and constrained, or loose and disturbing, but always in synch with the text.

Additional visual design elements (including Bible-style chapter and verse notation and hand-drawn editorial notes overlaying the printed text) at first add a feeling of richness to the book.  However, although they make the book beautiful to look at, they quickly hamper readability.

Five Wounds won’t be the one to bring the hybrid novel out of the monopoly of children’s publishing, but it does herald some interesting new possibilities for combining words and pictures.

First appeared in The Big Issue #357, 19/06/2010

This arc is drawn by the talented Andrew Fulton who is currently travelling with Jen across the grand old United States (actually about now he’ll be in Toronto for TCAF). Andrew’s comic Mumblier is sometimes NSFW, sometimes strange but always beautiful and delightful. Jen and I are huge fans of both his comic and his resplendant beard. Sadly he’s not such a great mario cart player but we still love him.

Today is free comic book day. It’s a day when you can pop into your local comic shop and get more than 40 books designed especially for the day FREE! But it’s more than that. It’s an opportunity to discover comics, find your local store. Engage with comics. For the industry it’s about getting new readers. Comic buying is steadily decreasing even though there has never been a better time for comics as far as the quality of the writing and art. So please give titles you’d not usually read a look, if you see a comic a friend’s kid might like pick it up for them, get them reading!

For my part I’ll be supporting FCBD by doing sketches at All Star Comics in Melbourne between 2-3pm along with 17 other great comic creators. Here is the full list. Hope to see you there.

Sawbones began 5 years ago as Sawyer and Bones appeared as background players of a bunnified version of Poe’s the Raven.

Recently I realised that that story wasn’t on the site and went looking for it. Turns out i don’t actually have a copy on any of my computers. Technology moves so fast i’ve been through 4 of them in that time. So I used my moderate google-fu skills and found it online. Apparently nothing dies on the interwebs.

Anyway reading through the story I was struck by two things.

1. Jen’s storytelling was just as delightful 5 years ago. Reading the story with so much water under the bridge was like reading it for the first time and I loved the turns of phrase and way she balanced the horror tone with the comedic twist.

2. There was no way I could bear putting that art up online now. I don’t know a single artist who doesn’t cringe at old work and i’m no different. So over the last few weeks I’ve redrawn the comic. Tightening it up a little and adding a little more mood. I’m sure in another 5 years I’ll hate this too but it’s a start.

I do however want to aknowledge how this started so as this story progesses there’ll be a link at the bottom of the comic where you can look at the original version.

I hope you enjoy this.