Come to East Side Mags on September 5th and meet Taylor Esposito (letterer/designer) and Josh Hixson (artist) as they promote their Kickstarter for a new book called Strange Wit.
About Strange Wit:
Meet Jane Bowles: incredible author, inspiring woman, tortured mind.
Jane may have been marginalized by the cultural canon, but her contemporaries considered her “one of the finest modern writers” (John Ashberry), “the most important writer of prose fiction” (Tennessee Williams), and further, a “genius imp, [a] laughing, hilarious, tortured elf” (Truman Capote). Jane drank more than she wrote, worried more than she worked, and had more epically disastrous love affairs than completed books. By almost any measure, Jane led a fascinating life filled with literary giants and great adventure and I want to bring her story to life.
This Kickstarter is going to help fund the creation and publication of chapter one of an original graphic novel written by me, Katy Rex, about Jane’s life. This book will be published as a standalone issue and follow Jane’s life from childhood up until a freak accident on a horse that led her to be diagnosed with tuberculosis of the knee. It includes art from Tyler Jenkins (Peter Panzerfaust, Neverboy) on the main biography, and June Vigants on the short story, in full color with a stunning and evocative palette from Kelly Fitzpatrick (Sensation Comics). EditorKirsten Thompson contributes a unique perspective on history and feminism. It will also include Jane’s short story, A Stick Of Green Candy, about the nature of love and childhood innocence and the death of imagination. An inset medical diagram art piece from artist Kate Lacour will detail the intricacies of joint tuberculosis. This campaign will allow the project to continue and build into a full length book, and will be an opportunity for backers to get the exclusive rewards that will not be available once the book is fully produced. This single extra thick issue, coming in at a full 28 printed pages, will also feature an essay from Lauren Spohrer, editor of the online magazine Two Serious Ladies, which publishes original poetry and prose from women around the world.
This original graphic novel will follow Jane Bowles' life in ten chapters. In each chapter, there is an adaptation of one of her short stories, and each short story is adapted by a different artist. The artistic team adapting short stories includes art from Dom Sole, Betsy Peterschmidt(Boys with Wings), Ines Estrada (Ojitos Borrosos, Lapsos), June Vigants (Chainmail Bikini, Tales of the Night Watchman), Joshua Hixson (The Rebel Gun), Anne Maxson, Beatrice Penco Sechi (Lady Doll), Ryan Kelly (Lucifer, Local), Adam Gorham (Zero, Kill Shakespeare), and Sean Von Gorman (Toe Tag Riot, Pawn Shop), with a Kickstarter-exclusive cover byMarguerite Sauvage (Thor, Ninjak, The Wicked + The Divine). In order to tie together her life and stories, colorist Kelly Fitzpatrick (Sensation Comics) is creating a unifying palette and letterer/designer Taylor Esposito (Ghost Glyph Studios) will be facilitating the flow of the work.
Very few accounts of Jane’s life exist in the realm of public consumption. Some things are broadly and culturally agreed upon: She had many sexual relationships with women, she wrote sparsely and strangely but with genius and style, and when she met her husband, she said to a friend, “He is my enemy.” But the cultural mythos about Mrs. Bowles does very little to capture the very real and very unique person behind her strange persona.
So come meet Taylor and Josh, get some cool stuff signed, hear about their new project with some of the tops writers and artists in the industry and support an AMAZING project!
You can find information on the Kickstarter (and donate) here.
See you there! Well, here. You know what I mean...