By: Nicole D’Andria
The first
Kickstarter from comic book writer Pat Shand (Robyn Hood, Charmed, Van
Helsing, Grimm Fairy Tales), Destiny, NY is a graphic novel
about “love, loss, magic, cats, coffee, sex, growing up, and the way we build
our own destinies every day.”
This 120-page
graphic novel takes place in a version of New York City where magic is accepted
as a fact of life. Readers follow the life of Logan McBride, a Prophecy Kid.
Unfortunately, the fate of a Prophecy Kid is often the same as a child star,
especially where Logan is concerned. You can check out the first chapter for
free here.
Writer
Pat Shand has had several long runs on Zenescope projects and some of his
upcoming projects include the novels Iron Man: Mutually Assured Destruction and Avengers: The
Serpent Society, both out in late
2016. Artist Manuel Preitano studied art in Rome and has worked for Zenescope
Entertainment, Graphic India, Dabel Brothers, and for some regional Italian
publishers. Letterer Jim Campbell has worked for Black Mask, Boom! Studios, and
Zenescope Entertainment.
The goal
of this Kickstarter project is to raise $20,000 by November 2nd,
2016 at 8:00 PM EDT. There are numerous rewards ranging from $5 all the way up
to $300! These include digital editions of the comic ($15), paperback copies
($20), full color prints ($35), a sketch bundle ($70), a commission special
($150), and many, many more rewards. Destiny,
NY is planned to be completed by February 2017 and all the rewards will be
mailed out in May 2017. View the project on Kickstarter.
I
interviewed Pat Shand and Manuel Preitano about the book:
 |
| Pat Shand |
Me: How would you describe Logan McBride and the other supporting
characters in the book?
Pat Shand: Logan is in her mid-twenties, and she is
bursting with directionless creative energy that she is desperate to find an
outlet for. Because she completed her prophecy at an incredibly young age, she
has been told all of her life that she has already done the greatest thing
she’ll ever do… and now she’s faced with the idea of living life after that.
Logan is prone to living life in big, sweeping gestures, burning any/all
bridges in attempts to fix what she perceives is wrong with her life.
Lilith,
who is Logan’s romantic interest – well, one of her romantic interests – is a
mysterious chain-smoking woman who comes into the story when she sees Logan
being cat-called on the street. She is profane and wears her heart on her
sleeve, though her origin is a secret. She has a lot of issues, though, some of them dangerous.
Gia is
still matriculating at Destiny University, and the fact that her prophecy is so
huge (she will “fell the most ancient evil on this plane”) makes her incredibly
popular. She is friends with Logan, with whom she has a casual sexual
relationship from time-to-time, but that friendship turns sour when Gia learns
of Lilith’s connection to her prophecy.
Our
supporting cast is made up of a seer from Brooklyn named Anthony, Logan’s
ex-fiancée Bailey, a barista with marital problems named Augusten, and even
more unique characters that make up the world of Destiny, NY.
Me: You compare Prophecy Kids to child stars and
how they burn out. Was this an intentional parallel you wanted to make and
explore in the book? What about this interests you?
Shand: Absolutely. I kept thinking about how so much
fantasy revolves around prophecies, but the stories always end when the central
prophecy is complete. And so often the kids who are part of this world-changing
prophecy are just that – kids. I started to wonder what it feels like to be
told that you’ve already peeked, essentially, before you even hit your
twenties. What that could do to someone. I mean, after being famous as the
Chosen One, can someone like Harry Potter become an accountant? The parallel to
the child stars of our world was pretty clear to me from the start.
Me: Why did you decide to put this project on
Kickstarter?
Shand: Honestly, I pitched Destiny, NY a little, and there was good feedback, but no bites.
The biggest reason that I wanted it to happen was that I was in the middle of a
lot of work-for-hire when I conceived of Destiny,
NY. I wanted to work with an artist on something that was ours, something
that no one could tell us to cut parts that we loved. Because Destiny, NY is a 120-page graphic novel,
which is a REALLY big project if you’re self-publishing, we need help making
that happen. Kickstarter has been great for the comics community and we have
seen friends and peers succeed using it, so we figured we would give it a try.
Me: What is the number one reason you think people
should back Destiny, NY?
Shand: I think it shows when a writer and an artist
are passionate about a book, and that passion can often transfer to readers. I
think there is something to be said about a comic that uses magical elements
but focuses on the relationships above all else. Destiny, NY is much more Blue
is the Warmest Color or Strangers in
Paradise than a traditional fantasy book. I also think there is a audience
out there waiting for characters like Logan, Lilith, Gia, and Bailey.
Also, the
entire first chapter is available to read for free here before backing:
Me: One of the rewards for this project is HEARTS
SPECIAL, which includes a copy of the previously digital-only short comic Hearts.
What is this short comic about and why did you choose to include it as a
reward?
Shand: Manuel and I contributed Hearts, a four-page comic, to Our
Hearts Still Beat, Margins Publishing’s zine to benefit the Orlando queer community.
I also did a short Vampire Emmy story
for the second issue of that. Hearts
was just something we felt was in the vein of Destiny, NY. It is set in NY, it focuses on queer identity, and it
is drawn by Manuel. It has never been printed before, so we figured it would be
an interesting tie-in to the Kickstarter.
Me: What inspirational words do you have for
aspiring comic book writers?
Shand: Create as much as you can, right now. Don’t
wait for publishers. Instead, show them that you are ready by producing work.
 |
| Manuel Preitano |
Me: What was your favorite part of Destiny, NY to
illustrate and why?
Manuel Preitano: The final sequence of
the first chapter. No spoilers here but you really feel something big is
happening and Pat's script was very effective in this regard! I felt like
watching, and drawing, the first episode of a cool TV series!
Me: What is the number one reason you think people
should back Destiny, NY?
Preitano: It's something different, and it’s very
grounded in modern society for its themes. Go check the series’ first chapter –
available for free on our Kickstarter page – to see if I'm right!
 |
| Full-Color Prints By Manuel Preitano |
Me: You’ve worked with Pat Shand before. How did
you two meet and what is your collaboration like?
Preitano: We met working on Wonderland where he was my editor, but we soon jumped on working as
writer-artist for the Robyn Hood
ongoing series. Being in direct contact with him means I can storm him with
questions on each issue and he can improve his karma by not getting mad at all
my questions. That's a win-win situation, then! My questions mostly regard the
mood he wants get from a scene, so that I could do layouts with that in mind.
Me: Your Kickstarter bio mentioned you studied in
Rome. What would you consider some of the most important things you learned
there?
Preitano: I learned that the city has some of the
best food in the world. Seriously, go check yourself! Oh yes, and I also
studied graphic design there so I apply my studies to the layout composition
for pages and covers, which is the underlying structure that makes a page shine
to me.
Me: You were born in Italy and work with regional
publishers there. Are there any differences between working on American comics
and Italian comics?
Preitano: I mostly work on book covers for Italian
publishers, so it's a slightly different approach we take; there's a
brainstorming skype meeting where the editor tells me everything about the book
and we discuss what we think may be the core scenes that could be represented
on the cover. Let’s say this method allows us to focus on some themes to
develop, so I already have quite an idea of what to do.
The
method I use for American covers is sending 9-10 colored rough layouts with
different ideas, and from there we talk about which one can work best for a
cover. Both methods are very good for me and work best when the whole team
works nicely together in a productive and inspiring synergy.
Me: What inspirational words do you have for
aspiring comic book artists?
Preitano: Never. Give. Up. And get as many critics
(from editors, other pros and so on) you can on your works because they may
hurt a little but they teach you a lot as well.
Me: Thank you for your time Pat and Manuel, and
best of luck with your project! If you’re interested in Destiny, NY, check out the
Kickstarter.
Do you
have a Kickstarter? Want to be interviewed about it and have the project
featured on "Kickstart the Week?" Let me know in the comments below
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