The Victors is out now in the UK! To celebrate, I thought I’d take you through the process of how this graphic novel was created with the incredible illustrator Beth Fuller. But first! Some time-sensitive info that may be of interest!
- On MONDAY I’m doing a panel for Pride Month at Waterstones Birmingham with three other incredible authors – tickets here
- There is a giveaway running on Instagram to win a copy of The Victors, an enamel pin from LitPinsCo, a sticker sheet and art print set.
- I am also offering a sticker sheet/art print set to anyone (in the UK) who leaves a review of The Victors on any platform. Just reply to this newsletter or leave a comment with a link 🙂
- If you are in the US/Canada, some of my backlist books and short stories are now on Kindle Unlimited in honour of the release of The Victors!
Step 1: IDEA
The Victors was inspired by two things:
(1) I wrote a script for a Heartstopper mini-comic (that ended up being incorporated into the TV show with the character played by Jonathan Bailey, because life is crazy) and worked in the writers room for the TV show.
I LOVED the process of writing for visual mediums – both on screen and in comic format. It’s totally different to novel-writing – it’s like being a combo director and camera operator and stylist. It’s so fun, and I am greedy and wanted to do MORE of it.
(2) I was obsessed with the TV show What We Do in the Shadows. I loved its mix of mundane dullness and fantastical magic. I really like the idea of a hugely powerful being just wanting to live a boring life – there’s so much potential for comedy in that.
So I came up with the idea of an ex-chosen one who is stuck being massively famous for his success….
Step 2: VISUALS
Once I had the idea, I had to come up with the characters. I started with moodboards for Dirk, Medusa, and the world the story would take place in:
A big part of the design choices came from Dirk and Medusa being contrasts: dark vs light, boring vs vibrant, modern v ancient. It was a lot of fun creating their looks.
Step 3: FINDING THE ARTIST
My amazing team at Walker helped find an illustrator to pull off this vision: Beth Fuller. She was then tasked with turning my ideas into character designs – here’s what she came up with:
Isn’t she absolutely incredible?! I still can’t get over it. She nailed it on the first try. No notes. She has such a talent for creating characters who feel like real people. Every time I reread The Victors it gets to me.
With the visuals in place, it was back over to me to write their story. But that will have to wait until tomorrow, because this is now too long for one post. :’)
Instead, I’ll leave you today with some pictures from my quite delightful VICTORY TOUR:
Wren James 