"Snowfall" Progress

 



I have completed the first six chapters of my story "Snowfall" and I'm fitting my scenes into Comic Life. I'm working on concept art for the upcoming chapters and finalizing my ideas. Below I am posting the first scene of my story, as well as some character profiles.

SnowFall, Scene 1

"It is a frigid, snowy night in what appears to be a remote wooded area. There is a strange sound echoing through a clearing of the forest, in a small hill, we see a large house, with the appearance of a place well-loved, but worn with age. Through a first floor window, an elderly man cups his hands to the glass and peeks through.

“What on Earth do you suppose, Rigby?” Dr. Light said, addressing the goldfish that swam in a bowl by the table, as the howling wind whistled and the snow swirled. The sound outside was a terrible strangled cry.

The Doctor furrowed his brows. 

“Well, if something’s hurt…” The Doctor thought aloud, not finishing his sentence as he walked to the door, throwing on a heavy coat. From a table beside the door, he grabs a doctor’s bag and a lantern and heads out the door. The elderly man fights the heavy wind and journeys deeper into the forest, towards the wretched sound.

After walking a ways, he spots a light through the trees where the sound seems to be coming from. As he approaches, he sees a stunning sight. There is a gigantic circle of icy stalagmites, glowing and jutting up from the frozen ground like a crown, as a sort of barricade. In the center was a figure, doubled over, making the sound. It is bent down and it appears blood is gushing from between its legs. It is attempting to give birth. Dr. Light steps backwards, frightened and makes a sound. The creature turns and looks at him. It is a terrifying creature with a icy, crown-like head and frosty, blank eyes. It is at first fearsome, then pathetic. Dr. Light cautiously approaches it.

“Hello! I’m a doctor,” He called out, stepping forward. He held out his bag with the tools. “You see? Please allow me to help you!”

The monster seems to ignore him until he comes closer. Up close, the monster is even more terrifying. Towering over him, even when bent over slightly, she was well over six feet and would roar and thrash her head about. Finally she drops to the ground, trying to hold herself up.

“Let me help you.”

He cautiously puts a hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him through wincing and roars in his face, a burst of icy snowflakes on his face. He looked down and could see something emerging.

“It’s not going to come out that way, it needs to be turned!” He says, loudly. She tried to swipe at him with claw like hands but has become too weak. Dr. Light grabs the clawed hand and holds it.

“I’m not going to hurt you, I’m going to help so the pain’ll be over.”

The creature looks around wildly and then cries out in pain again. He directs her to turn onto her back as he grabs his bag. She starts to whine and groan as he spreads her legs and helps deliver the child.

From the creature, emerged not a baby, but a small, bloody child, who appeared as a human-looking girl of no more than two. The doctor had seen horrors this night, and this was not least among them. Never in all his born days, more than fifty years practicing as a physician all over the world, had he seen or heard of something like this. How could something have grown so old within the creature’s womb? The doctor removed his cloak and wrapped the child, whose eyes remained shut, but cried weakly, in his brown rag coat.

“Your…your child.” He said, attempting to hand the bloody bundle to the mother.

But the creature had already began to stand, the gush of blood between her legs slowing.

“I never want to see it again.”

Then with a rush of wild ice and snow, wind flared up around her, whipping around her icy-looking garments. Her power seemed to surge so powerfully, the protective crown of ice cracked and split. She took off, fast as can be, seeming to run a top the air, just above the ground.

Dr. Light was left standing there, holding the child that cried softly. He wondered if the child knew how unwanted it was because when she opened her bleary eyes, she looked in the direction her mother had fled and shut them again.

As Dr. Light fled the circle, back towards the house, a woodrat, who had witnessed everything, runs into the forest."

 

I have also been organizing little character profiles.

 

Snow

Snow is the protagonist of "Snowfall." She is a child born from the wild and dangerous "Snowfaller." Snow is adopted by the kindly Dr. Light and lives with him for many years. After the doctor's death, Snow finds herself thrown into a frightening world filled with magic, tragedy and wonder. With the help of her friends and a magical doctor's bag, Snow grows and learns to courageous and strong, think for herself and be kind to others.

The Snowfaller

The mysterious ice monster that gave birth to Snow. This ethereal, but dangerous creature seemed to come from nowhere, using her elemental powers to destroy anything in her path. Her fury has destroyed railways, villages and countless lives, making her the biggest natural disaster in the world's history. She flees after giving birth to Snow, who later begins to come to terms with just how dangerous her mother is.

Dr. Light

Dr. Xandrius Light is a wealthy, world-famous doctor, now retired and living on his own island. His world traveling days have come to an end and the Doctor has grown accustomed to a comfortable life in his house with his goldfish, Rigby. He delivers Snow and adopts her when she is abandoned by the Snowfaller. Even after he passes, the values that Dr. Light has instilled in Snow persist and influence her decision-making and what type of person she will become.

Chairman Rose

 

While Dr. Light is raising Snow, on the other side of the world, Chairman Icarius Rose is the most powerful man in the world's biggest city, Vizarro Grand. An extremely popular politician nearing the end of his first term in office, Chairman Rose is facing his biggest problem yet: dealing with the Snowfaller. The fallout of the creature's reign of terror has caused an economic depression and widespread panic. When Chairman Rose learns that the Snowfaller gave birth, he decides to have it destroyed. Chairman Rose is the antagonist of the book, but it is later revealed that there is an important element that ties Chairman Rose and Snow together in a way that neither would ever expect.

 

Mr. Squelge and Barker

The bumbling baddies of the story, Mr. Squelge, a man who can speak to rodents, and Barker, a half-man,, half-dog character, are charged with hunting down and bringing Snow to Chairman Rose. With a crew of frightening soldiers with masks for faces and Lucinda, a rat the size of a dog, they travel across the world to catch Snow and turn her in for a huge cash reward.

Rigby

Rigby is Dr. Light's goldfish, who is then turned into a man. Rigby becomes Snow's guardian after Dr. Light's death and her first "true friend." He is a tall, gangly man with wavy copper-colored hair and gigantic, circular glasses. He is highly intelligent, rather nervous and completely neurotic. When he and Snow become separated, it is her duty to find him again.

Bertie

Throughout her travels, Snow accidentally encounters a rare and beautiful creature, a Quetzle Bird named "Bertie." Bertie is an enthusiastic and proud (if not slightly boastful) young bird who allows Snow to stay in his nest home with him when she is injured. Bertie is Snow's second "true friend" and the friendship between them hints a romantic relationship. Bertie is small and light, graceful like a dancer and covered in brilliant blue and green feathers.

Strongheart

Another animal-turned-human friend, Strongheart is Snow's third "true friend" found throughout the course of the story. Strongheart saves Snow in a perilous situation and swears herself to Snow as a bodyguard and, eventually, a surrogate mother-figure. Strongheart, as a dog, is sleek and athletic. As a human, she is an Indian woman in a guard's uniform. She is six feet tall, with a extremely long, raven hair wrapped into a huge bun at the back of her head and two scimitars on her back. Strongheart provides Snow with a sense of peace and clarity and Strongheart is fulfilled with having someone to love and protect.

"Blankets" of Snow

I was going to use a source mentioned in my proposal, but after I met with my teacher Monica and I was embarrassingly unprepared, I was given “Blankets” by Craig Thompson to refer to when working on my project and I’ve found it much more helpful than the source I originally referred to. This story is beautifully and creatively structured, as is the story and dialogue. This graphic novel has been giving me ideas of how I should be approaching my novel.

Generally, when I am telling a story, my mind is the lens of a film camera and I am attempting to think of all of the interesting ways to show the action. Of course, though, this is not a film, it’s a graphic novel and I’m trying to break myself of my habit to layout my stories as a storyboards.

I generally err towards larger panels because, for aesthetic purposes, a cluttered page with about fifty panels and crammed dialogue bubbles just turns me off. I am taking note of this novel though. The layout of each page is varied, some with lots of panels, but it is never over-crowded.

Moments in the story with real weight demand a fair amount of attention, so I can’t just have each panel be the same size. It takes away from the importance of the moment, so I really need to figure out appropriate sizing for each panel.

There are a lot of moments in the story of this novel that demonstrate a valuable story-telling lesson: show, don’t always tell. There are many moments when nothing is said at all in the main character’s internal monologue, but simply shown in an image or in reaction shots. There is one particular section of the story that really sticks with me. The main character is leaving a girl that he has really fallen for. They have to separate after a visit and there is a page of the car he is in backing out of a parking lot and then just falling off the face of the earth. Translating that heartbreaking feeling into a single image is just so much more powerful than explaining it and giving it the space of an entire page adds to the impact of it.

 

This story has been helpful when helping think of how to approach my story in terms of not only the layout and my artistic decisions, but also the story and dialogue, creating a meaningful story that shows, and doesn’t just tell. This author has his own unique style, which is something that I hope to create and begin to lay the foundation for in this project.

"Snowfall" and the Great Depression

I’ve always had a fascination with the 20th century in America, particularly through the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. It’s a time that begins as so frivolous and silly and just gets worse and worse with the Depression and a war brewing.

My graphic novel is an allegory for the Great Depression, which is what this article by Peter Termin covers. The article discusses the causes of the Depression (real and imaginery) as well as deflation, the gold standard and the first and second New Deals.

I’m trying to collect as much info on it as possible so that I have not only an understanding of the Depression, but also what sets it up and what set up WWII afterwards, as I have thought about possibly doing other parts of my story based before and after the events of this novel.

 

This is still a world that is sobering up from the raucous Roaring 20’s. I wanted to show the change that people were experiencing, through Snow’s eyes. There are some areas of the world that seem not to be affected yet, so experience is different. For example, Snow passes entire towns that seem to be destroyed or filled with lines of people waiting for jobs or food, and then there are others that seem to barely even acknowledge what has been happening.

The Great Depression left many unemployed and bankrupt. In the story, the depression is personified in the wild and other-worldly “Snowfaller,” an Ice Queen-like beast that has seemingly come from nowhere. She, like the Great Depression, has nearly ruined the world’s economy. She has destroyed the railways, a main source of transportation of goods and people, as well as villages, small towns and crops. Many are panicking as nothing like this has ever happened before and they are turning to those in positions of power for help.

One of my main antagonists is Chairman Rose, the president of the large city “Vizarro Grand,” the New York/Washington D.C. hybrid of my world. In my story, he was a young politician that was very popular and rose to power during the “Greycliff War,” a war that preceded the events of the story and is a reference to the WWI. He then serves for seven years as Chairman and his term is coming to an end. Enter the “Snowfaller” from out of nowhere and he is in a panic, having never dealt with anything this massive before. When he learns of the Snowfaller giving birth to my main character, Snow, he is intent on having her found and brought to him. I am using Hoover and FDR as influences for him, as well as reading up on other politicians around the time of the Great Depression.

Also, in my story I am interested in showing the corruption of those who have money and don’t want to let go of it. There is a factory owner, named Mr. Greene, who has orphaned children forced to work in his factories as a means of saving money on employing adult workers. In fact in my story, green, a color often associated with money, wealth and vitality, represents tragedy.

As this is from a child’s perspective, a lot of what Snow knows about world events are overheard from adults around her. I will be mentioning many things that would have been a real problem during the Great Depression (people mentioning unemployment, the stock market, bankruptcy, etc.) and she will slowly be learning and understanding the older she gets and the farther she goes.

Allegories of Oz: Symbolism to inspire Snowfall

This article discusses symbolism in “The Wizard of Oz” as the blog that I wrote last week covered the second edition of “Alice in Wonderland,” which features an introduction that discusses the history, characters and symbolism in the story.  

The story of a little girl named “Dorothy” being swept away in a twister to the magical land of Oz has inspired my imagination ever since I was a child. The books and film adaptations (especially the 1939 “Wizard of Oz” and 1986 “Return to Oz”) have always held a special place in my heart. It’s a nostalgic and emotional journey, with moments of terror, but also whimsy and heart-warming moments. It is this balance of light and darkness that I think pulls you into the story and makes you care for Dorothy and her friends. Her struggle to get back home and for her friend’s to get their courage, heart and brains becomes the struggle of the audience.

This article mentions “symbolic allegory” in the story. The article goes on to explain the possibility that Oz author Frank L. Baum used his characters to symbolize the economy at the time the book was written. The three friends that little Dorothy makes friends with are said to be based off of three different kinds of people. The Scarecrow is the farmer, the Tin Man is a the “dehumanized” factory worker, and the Cowardly Lion represents “social reformers” of the time.

I am interested in symbolic allegory in my story. I am loosely basing this story around the events that follow the very beginning of the Great Depression (so this is perhaps a magical, elseworlds version of 1929). There is a creature known as the “Snowfaller,” a dangerous, Ice-Queen like creature that destroys everything in her path. She is an allegory for the Great Depression. Her reign of destruction has destroyed the world’s main railways, a means for people to buy and sell goods, as well as a means of transportation. The world has fallen into an economic crisis and people are disgusted, looking back at themselves years before. I want there to be a sense of people waking up from a frivolous fantasy (the Roaring 20’s) to a horrible nightmare where there is little to go around.

I also am interested in symbolic allegory to represent current social issues as well as those of the late 20’s/early 30’s. I am interested in depicting gender, gender roles and the expectations of men and women in this world, as well as defying those stereotypes. I especially enjoy exploring the inner strength of women and the secret vulnerability of men.

I also have characters called “Squealers,” portrayed as men with the heads of boars (literal “chauvinist pigs.”) These characters represent the idea of sexual aggression and machismo is today’s American culture and how harmful it can be to men. These characters are similar to the street harassers that I personally have had to avoid in my own life and I want to represent just how frightening this can be, through the eyes of a child.

Going back to the article, there is also the use of “racial allegory.” it is also suggested that there is use of racial metaphor within Oz. The article suggests that Baum used the flying monkeys as a metaphor for Native Americans. The stories feature many different kinds of characters living amongst humans, such as the Munchkins, the Winkies and the creatures that live in the forests of Oz.

I am interested in representing race and racism within my story. In my world, there are humans, Gods, animals, wood creatures, and humanoid creatures with animal features. This story is an allegory for the United States around the beginning of the Great Depression, so I thought it would add complexity to my world to reference the racial tensions and segregation that existed at that time.

One of the main relationships in my story is between Snow, the main character, and her friend Bertie, a “Quetzle Bird,” a rare creature with the body of a young man and the wings and feathers of a bird. When they meet, they are alone. Snow and Bertie form a close friendship and romantic relationship. However, when they are in the big city filled with humans, it is assumed that Bertie is Snow’s “pet.”



Bertie concept

 Snow’s develops other friendships with animals who are turned into humans. Her childlike point of view is used to examine the silly and dangerous behavior of the adults in the world, just as Dorothy’s or Alice from “Alice in Wonderland” does.  



Bertie is colored pencil

 

The story of the “Wizard of Oz” has been very useful in inspiring my world and reading more about the allegories hidden within its pages adds a complexity that I hope to add to my story as well.