Got A Letter from Donna Barr!!! Look!
I've loved comics, off and on for many, many years and this is one I'm going to share with my grade school neices. Most comics seem aimed at teenage boys, so I appreciate a book I can pass on to the girls and be sure to get approval from my brother.
Thanks for the great read!
Ken Desbonnet
The folks at Antartic sent me a copy of COURAGEOUS PRINCESS.
A wonderful, beautiful book. Lovely coloring. And
it would make a great
recruiting tool in the outside book market.
My compliments and congratulations!
Donna Barr
(THE DESERT PEACH, STINZ et al)
http://www.stinz.com -- now
capable for
CREDIT-CARD and ELECTRONIC-CHECK.
Open to all customers, Americas and Overseas!
Dear Mrs. Barr,
Thank you very much for writing
your wonderful and supportive letter. Your name sounded very familiar.
When I looked it up in the internet, there you were, SDCC Inkpot and Excellence
of fiction winner! It was also there that I also read your interviews.
The more I read on, the more I became impressed by your views on the industry
we have. I think, I too will adopt the name "drawn books". From this day
on, I too will be an author of drawn books. It has a very noble ring to
it. I am so much honored to be receiving such a pleasant missive from a
very accomplished writer/artist such as yourself.
Thank you.
Lois
Santa Ana, CA
Thanks very much for taking the
time to sign in my guestbook. I am glad you liked the story of Mabelrose
and I am looking forward to providing you with the rest of the story.
Dear Jacob,
First of all, I would like to thank
you for signing in my guestbook. I have found that different readers find
different things about my story. Prayer being the top most noted observation
followed by either Mabelrose's quick wits, or Spiky, her new sidekick.
I love hearing about all your observations and generous compliments. I
am glad that you found the story very entertaining and enlightening as
well.
You have a very nice manga style. I really like design
for 'Mabelrose'. Very
simple with her own natural beauty with a hint of freckles.
When
I started
reading the book I didn't know what to expect. The interaction
between
Mabelrose and the people around her gave me a pleasant
feeling. Her family,
although not the super rich rulers are true 'diamonds
in the rough'. The
makings of a fairy-tale. As the story progressed, with
the part of the
dragon I felt a hint of 'Beauty and Beast' but, with
a twist. I didn't
expect it. That was a great concept! I was really taken
in. Plus, I like
spiky. Who would have ever thought to put in a porcupine
side-kick. Great
work Rod!
Oh, before I end this letter let me introduce myself.
My name is Keisha
Wilkerson. I'm 30 soon to be 31 and comic artist in my
spare time. But I'm
not published, mostly it's fanzine based. Oh, and the
artist for 'Claire's
Dragon', Kenichi (Ken) Lowe, he's my friend and roommate.
He moved down here
to live with us. Well, his girlfriend. So we got a house
full or artist.
Heh, heh. Great guy and a competent artist.
Well, that's it. Keep up the good work Rod. I hope to
eventually find the
rest of he story. Thank you for your time. ^_^
Dear Keisha,
Thank you for taking the time to
write such a nice and detailed letter! I am glad that you liked the whole
story. As you may have seen at the website, work is going on for the second
installment of the series.
It is also so nice to know that
you like my casting choice of a porcupine for a sidekick. When I made the
story, I wanted an animal that hasn't been used in other films or stories
yet. So I thought really hard... Also, I wanted a sidekick that can actually
do something useful (as you will see in the next episodes...)
All in all, thank you so much for
your support and for writing in.
I liked "For Eternity" also.
-Galen
musbachgj@xtn.net
Hello Galen,
I am glad that you liked
the story of Mabelrose. The first 4 chapters of
pure text that were downloadable
were all that remains from the days that
the online book version was available.
Sadly, the whole online version no longer exists today. However, it is
only a matter of time before I will be able to set up a system of distributing
the original story on a cd rom complete with jewel case and jacket.
When it does go back up for sale,
you will be among the first to know.
Dear Mr. Corn,
Thank you very much for your very
nice letter. Praise coming from anybody else is enough to make my day but
praise from an ART TEACHER is like a blessing from above! I am deeply
honored that you like my work.
Thanks
and God Bless;
Don Corn
-------------------------------------------
Once again, my deepest thanks for
all your kind words. Your suggestion that the story be read to kids is
fantastic -- especially in school. In fact, I also have an Aunt here who
said the same thing. It is very important that the story reach as much
readers (young and old alike) as possible so that I can continue making
the series (which spans a possible 7 other books before it concludes).
I made a special trip to West LA to get a copy of your
book, but it was
worth it. Unfortunately, the stores I checked in the
South Bay didn't
carry it, which is a shame. Your story is up there with
"Thieves and
Kings," although it is quite different. You've taken
a number of common
story elements and assembled them in a fresh way along
with some very
nice art work. I bought "For Eternity" for the art work
although I
wasn't too crazy about the story; in this case story
and art work nicely
together. I definitely hope that the story is continued
and I suggest
that you consider making the prose version available
again. You might
even consider mixing some of the text with the illustrated
version.
Tinsley reminds me of the zillions of small German kingdoms
of an
earlier age that supplied princesses to Europe, such
as Marie Antoinette
and Catherine the Great. Mabelrose seems to have strong
leadership
skills and the ability to cope and innovate in high-threat
environments,
such as balls and dragon lairs. I look forward to Mabelrose
perhaps
rescuing a few princes in distress and maybe educating
a dragon in the
area of social skills.
--Doug Ikemi
As always, it is a joy to receive
such generous comments from good readers like yourself.
As I write, work is ongoing for
the second installment for the Courageous Princess. Your comments about
New Tinsley's similarities to many small medieval towns is very interesting
to note. No other reader has offered such insight. You will definitely
see her develop slowly as she finds the way to her home. It will be a long,
but adventurous journey and I hope you will be with me next time when we
pick up where we left off.
As for getting the prose version
out: Already ahead of you, there. That has been in the plans all along.
To that end, I have kept and preserved a separate set of files of all the
Courageous Princess Images without word balloons to accomodate those future
plans. Perhaps one day, we will see a large book the size of a coffee table
tome with clear, shiny pages, lots of evocative text and many colored illustrations
that make each page come alive...
Thank you very much for your nice
letter and generous praise. It has been a long road producing what you
now hold in your hands and I am glad you have enjoyed it well. With kind
readers like yourself, I will always try to produce the best quality stories
that readers of all ages will enjoy and treasure for a long time.
Hello and greetings!!!
I have just picked up the first of the CP graphic novels and found
the link to you site.
I want to say how much I and my roomates like you story.
This is a fun and wonderful book and I cant wait to get the rest of
it.
Thanks a buch for the entertaining story.
Sincerely, Chris Small.
Dear Chris,
Thank you for your very nice letter.
If I have produced such a fun and wonderful story it is only because I
knew there would be a good audience like you and your friends who deserve
nothing but the best. May there be more readers like you. It is a joy to
receive these encouraging letters which keep me focused on what really
counts: giving the best story and art for you to read, share and enjoy.
Thank you very, very much!!!
As a fellow Girls of NHS & NHS Yearbook alumni,
I have to say congrats on a kick-ass book, it looks like AP (with
the
exception of GD) has managed to crank out yet another very
cool
book...Just tell me one thing, there will be another graphic novel
or at
least a mini-series for the Courageous Princess.
yours truly,
Kenichi
e-mail addresss is natsunoyobi@hotmail.com
P.S. If you get a chance check
out 'Clare's Dragon' in Mangaphile
Dear Kenichi,
From one artist to another: thanks
for the comps!
There definitely will be a mini-series.
Think of this graphic novel as a "season premiere". Yes, the entire story
of how Mabelrose finally gets home will be told.
Thank you so much! Each one of your letters is
a wonderful gift and a joy to read.
Thanks, Tony! I have to agree with
you that I am tremendously pleased that they gave me good quality printing
as well. This was one of my concerns since it is very important that the
book hold well through many page turnings. I am glad you found everything
satisfactory.
Hello Mike, I am pleased that you
liked the story and its positive message to readers of ALL ages. When I
created the story of Mabelrose, I wanted it to be a story that both children
and older readers can relate to or read together. So many of our comics
today are unfit for children's eyes. Only a handful of kid-oriented titles
remain on our shelves. The rest contain themes too mature for their young
minds (even though much of the general readership comics we have nowadays
get away with mature themes with sly, indirect references and implied imagery).
Children are so starved for their own brand of entertainment that whenever
a phenomenon like say, Pokemon comes by, they latch onto it with a vengeance.
Thanks for writing in!.
From Rachael
E-mail.......Twi81@aol.com
Hello Rachel,
Thank you for writing your nice letter! Well, the rest of her adventures are coming up as soon as I wrap up production on the second installment of the series which comes out in graphic novel format late this year. This graphic novel series is available in most comic book shops around the country.
As for getting the original book, I am sorry to say that it is no longer available online or at Amazon.com. The only stories about her available right now is the graphic novel format. But that does not mean I will not release the book again in the future. Perhaps soon, I will be able to publish it again with the new spiffy illustrations straight from the graphic Novel.
Greetings from Arlington, Virginia. I purchased the graphic novel of
"The
Courageous Princess" at my local comic book shop yesterday, and read
it this
evening. I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable. You are an excellent
artist; I enjoy your "anime-influenced" style very much, as it seems
to
combine the best of pop Japanese and traditional American comic book
art.
Kudos to you. One question: did you do the inking? The inking job is
phenomenal. Some of the scenes (the best example is the picture of
Mabelrose running toward the reader, being chased by the gargoyles)
look
exactly like animation cels. Simply marvelous. Also, your attention
to
detail is equally superb. Scenes like the first shot of Warwick city,
with
all of the detail on the houses and the inclusion of the ship in the
harbor,
just drag me in and force me to look at the picture for longer than
is
traditional for me to do with comics.
However, I can not just gush on forever about your great book, as it
does
have one weak spot, in my humble opinion. Spiky. What is up with that?
This character comes out of nowhere, and does nothing but look cute.
Princess Mabelrose is already cute, she can handle that role. Since
the
rest of the story was so well done, I will trust that you have some
real
plot point for the little stick-ball to fill somewhere down the line,
but it
seemed like a waste in this book.
Some other comments:
1. What happened to the blue cloak that Mabelrose took from the treasure
room? It is mysteriously gone the last couple pages of the book.
2. I really appreciate the fact that Mabelrose prays, as any mention
of
religion (especially in a positive context) is rare in comics that
I come
across.
3. If you ever made a poster of the scene where Mabelrose first comes
face-to-face with the dragon (her back is to the reader, and
Shalathrumnostrium (great name) is facing her/the reader, it takes
up the
whole page), I would buy it.
Well, I believe I have wasted enough of your time. If you ever have
time to
waste, feel free to visit my website; the URL is in my .sig. Thanks
for a
good book, and I look forward to reading/seeing more of your work in
the
future.
Aaron Thorne
http://www.oocities.org/~athorne
Dear Mr. Thorne,
Thank you very much for taking the
time to write your long and generously praiseful letter.
I have enjoyed all the letters
I have received and yours is one of the best so far.
Yes, I very definitely did. I did
all the pencilling, inking, coloring and lettering all by myself.
Warwick scene took me a long time
to pre-draw and assemble. First, I drew the castle and laid out some houses.
When that wasn't good enough, I drew about a dozen individual houses, chimneys,
and grain silos and proceeded to layer them over one after another starting
at the top nearest the castle and working my way down to the front of the
city -- always pasting houses over and over again. There are even larger
houses made up of assembled small houses if you look carefully. The final
effect is the scene you see in front of you now. Many of the scenes involving
this kind of multiple pastings can only be achieved if the everything was
done by only one person. Something that the cookie cutter comics companies
would be hard put to duplicate because of their partitioned staffs and
departments. It would be hard to assemble such a complex panel otherwise.
I am happy the work paid off.
Well! I have actually given this some good thought and this is what I have come up with:
Cute animals in a story only work
if:
1) They serve a vital function
pivotal to the storyline in general. In short, they have to do something
important that affects the lead character in a positive way other than
just to look cute.
I must admit that Spiky did come
in rather late but that was because I could not have him meet her inside
the dreadful castle however much I wanted to speed up their eventual meeting.
In my test readings, I did notice that Spiky accomplished very little in
this episode and that that might cause some misconceptions about his purpose.
Spiky not only serves as a side
kick and close companion, but in future stories, his presence actually
would matter (sometimes if only to serve as a constant companion through
the hard and gritty road ahead).
2) They must appear in sufficient
numbers or appear often enough to warrant attention.
By closely observing all the Disney
movies, I have found that their animal and/or animated object characters
head count never goes below 3. Minimum of 3 animals seems to be the magic
formula. A kid-oriented flick must have 3 or more cuddlies to succeed.
Other movies like Anastasia only had 2. The Swan Princess had 3 thus ensuring
a demand for sequels as witnessed with the direct to video phenomenon.
The Land before time had 5... again a direct to video success.
While I will never add any more
characters to accompany Mabelrose, there will be times when she might be
interacting with more than just Spiky in her travels.
(okay, the rope IS semi-alive in
a wierd way.. like Aladdin's carpet but that's it!)
Thus, I still end up with only
one cuddly friend to tide her over. This places a huge burden on Spiky's
character. I have to make sure that Spiky not only takes on the role of
the only constant cuddly sidekick all by himself (a tall order since Mulan
had 3 to interact with), but he also has to contribute enough to the upcoming
episodes so that his presence will be all the more worthwhile.
Trust me, last thing I WANT is
to CREATE another annoying animal or alien sidekick like (supply name of
your least liked character here). If you did not like that character you
named, chances are, I probably studied the same movie and did not like
it either...
The cloak was in the magic bag along with the rope (which also happened to be absent at the last pages, but hopefully understood to be stored inside, anyway). It's a sunny day and I saw no need to have her wear it. Although from a layout point of view, I should have had it lying there drying on the rocks... (perhaps when we reprint... ah, the beauty of computer rendering!)
On Religion and praying characters: Thanks for finding that feature interesting and noteworthy. I too, find it odd that in our good Earth, a good 90% of all peoples believe in the existence of God/s in one form, many forms, or other manifestations, while in the comics field (and it may be argued that by extension, in many of our fiction books) we have stories where 95% of the characters apparently are all either Athiests or (at best) non-practicing congregation members. : )
Thanks again for all your comments and for writing in!
Your character, Mabelrose, is so wonderful that I wish she was my friend
and
everything works so well together. I'm desperately awaiting the
next
installment in her adventure, even though I know it won't be for a
long
while...How will I wait?! ^_^
I really love the character design and the characters are so vividly
fantastic. It's not often that I can get swept away into a fairytale
but
this story definitely does that!!! Thank you so much for such
a wonderful
comic and I really can't wait until I get my hands on more!!!
Sincerely,
Bernadette Joseco
P.S. I first bought this graphic novel at this year's San Diego
International Comic Convention, on the Sunday, but I didn't get to
see you.
I hope to meet you next year!!! ^_^
Dear Bernadette,
Thank you for writing your wonderfully
inspiring letter! You must have just missed me last Sunday!
Two days after the Convention,
I have nearly doubled the number of pages I've already plotted for CP2.
Although I still have miles to go, the tally so far is impressive: I already
have 7 pages of color and 16 pencilled.
Ah... a long wait indeed. But worry
not! I will finish it with all speed (without sacrificing the quality of
it...). Since I returned from the Convention, I am full of creative fuel
enough to last me another year.
We'll meet... one day.
Thanks again for all your kind
words and generous praise.
Scott Brown, Houston TX
Sincerely,
Rod Espinosa
Back