By: Nicole D’Andria
Experience
the colourful all-ages space adventure comic, SAFFRON! In this world, you’ll
take part in the daily life of the Spacetime Academy For Fundamental Representatives
Of NEXUS (SAFFRON for short), and train to become a spacetime officer! I even
spoke with the creative team on the book to learn more about their outer space
world.
This project is for the first issue of a four issue
story arc that may go on to be an ongoing series with the help of Kickstarter. SAFFRON
is being published by Fair Spark Books, a UK publishing house known for its
all-ages family friendly books and comics. The creator/writer is Samuel George
London, who’s previous comic projects include the Bachelor inspired
superhero detective story The S Factor and another sci-fi epic, Milford Green. The
artist is Rosie Alexander, whose loves include art history, cinema, and
storytelling as well as modern technologies and comics.
The
project is trying to raise its goal of $1,935 by May 6, 2019 at 6:59 PM EDT.
Get a digital (£2) and physical (£3) copy of SAFFRON #1, as well as a coluring
book version (£5)! You can even share the colourful world of SAFFRON with the
Hospital Gift Copy level (£12), which means you'll be adding a copy of SAFFRON:
Spacetime Academy Adventures #1 to the Little Heroes Comics kit, a group that
gives comic making kits to children with long term illnesses who are in
hospital. So, help a great cause and check out the rest of the rewards on the SAFFRON Kickstarter.
Now,
let’s delve into the world of SAFFRON with writer Samuel George London and
artist Rosie Alexander.
 |
| Samuel George London |
Me: What is a typical day like at the Spacetime Academy For Fundamental
Representatives Of NEXUS?
London: The best way to describe it would be varied. A
trainee spacetime officer has a lot to learn, from how NOT to interfere with
events of the past to how to arrive at the correct time and place you intended.
However, although it's varied, like most schools or academies there is a
standard structure to their day, which follows the usual schedule of any
learning institution.
Me: How would you describe Saffron Sizemore and her friends at the academy?
London: Saffron is very energetic and enthusiastic.
She's also very practical, but this can get her into trouble sometimes because
she doesn't always think things through.
Her
friends at the academy are Flyx, Gren and Uval. Flyx is a technological genius.
If you ever have problems with your wormhole wand, he's your guy. Gren is very
conscious of being bigger than everyone else, but she covers it up through
humour. And finally, Uval is the star student at the academy and is good at
everything, but this leads him to be arrogant and overconfident. With someone
as capable as Saffron coming into the class, there could be some tension there.
Me: What do you like most about astrophysics and how do they apply to the
world of SAFFRON?
London: The best part of astrophysics is discovering
new things, of which there is an unlimited source in the universe. For
instance, last week they revealed the first photo of a black hole... HOW
AWESOME IS THAT?!
In terms
of how astrophysics applies to the world of SAFFRON, it's really the scope of
space. With SAFFRON, I'll be able to go into the basics of how (theoretically)
black holes, spacetime, wormholes and even how Dyson sphere's work, which is a
theoretical energy generator that surrounds a star.
Me: One of your reward tiers involves adding a copy of SAFFRON to the Little
Heroes Comics kit, which gives comic making kits to children with long term
illnesses in the hospital. How did you get involved with this project and what
else can you tell us about this great cause?
London: I became aware of Little Heroes Comics at a
comic con in the UK last year, and was instantly on board to help because when
I was 13, I was in hospital long term for chemotherapy. After I found out about
Little Heroes I pitched a story for their second anthology and it was accepted.
Since, I've also had another story accepted for the third anthology, which will
be published soon.
Me: Another reward is a coloring book of the comic. Why did you feel it was
important to include this reward in particular?
London: The coloring book was important because the
comic itself is very colourful and because it's all-ages, it's the ideal comic
for a coloring book.
Me: You are a collaborator on this project in addition to Fair Spark Books
and Aaron Rackley (Dan helps Aaron but it's mostly Aaron). What can you tell us
about why you chose this publisher and editor for SAFFRON?
London: Fair Spark Books is a fairly new all-ages
publisher based in the UK run by Aaron Rackley, who also runs Little Heroes,
and so there was a lot of crossover in terms of working together before. The
fact that they're based in the UK and aimed at all-ages, it was an ideal fit
for this project.
Me: How did you first meet Rosie Alexander and what about her art made you
decide she was the perfect artist for SAFFRON?
London: I first pitched the story to Aaron and he loved
it, but we didn't have an artist and so we did what we all do when we're at a
loss: we put out a tweet on Twitter for artists and Rosie put her name forward.
Her bright and colourful art was absolutely perfect for what I had in mind.
Me: What is the number one reason why you think people should pledge money to
your Kickstarter project?
London: The number one reason people should pledge
their money to SAFFRON is if they like the idea of a colourful all-ages space
adventure comic. Also, if you're into astrophysics and you have children, this
is something that you can enjoy together.
Me: What inspirational words do you have for aspiring comic book writers in
addition to the advice you provided us previously when we talked about The S Factor?
London: On top of reading a variety of subjects, I
think aspiring comic book writers should study successful writers. One of my
favourite writers to learn from is George R. R. Martin who quotes William
Faulkner to say, "The only thing worth writing about is the human heart
in conflict with itself." When I heard that for the first time it
really resonated with me, and it's something that I always try to keep in mind
when I'm writing.
Me: If you could spend the day at the Spacetime Academy For Fundamental
Representatives Of NEXUS, what would you want to do most?
Alexander: If I could run around SAFFRON for a
whole day, my first (and possibly only) point of business would be to use one
of the amazing Warp Wands! I'd suit up and warp all over the galaxy!
Me: Which character was your favourite to design in SAFFRON and why?
ZENTA!
Hands down!
All Sam
told me about Zenta was... he was the same species as Professor Zarlo, black
and red were his main colours AND he was our villain. That kind of freedom for
character design is amazing—so I leapt at each character, but most of all
Zenta; because I love a villainous bad guy!
Me: What page/panel was your favourite to draw and why?
Alexander: The wormhole page was pretty hard to
plan out, but once I figured how Saffron could travel across the page, it
immediately became THE most enjoyable page to colour! Who doesn't love drawing
WORMHOLES?! Thinking up dynamic, interesting comic panels is half the thrill of
drawing a comic!
Me: List three reasons why you think this comic book is perfect for children.
It’s fun,
adventurous and has the potential of bringing real world science into
children's life. Enjoying a fantastical story while learning about the
universe, you can't get much better than that. What's more? It's popping with
colour!
Me: Some of your interests included in your biography are art history, cinema
and modern technologies. How do they influence your comic book work?
Alexander: Art history, cinema and modern
technologies are truly at the heart of my interests. To me, it's like a weaving
tapestry of bringing together the best of the world (across time), and then
sharing it! I always believe there is intelligence, imagination, compassion and
joy from all these areas, and that taking note of it helps us continue to
understand AND create even more great things.
All in
all, it's using the knowledge and technologies we have right now, along with
all the amazing artistic history we've learnt, to most eloquently and magically
describe the world around us, or the worlds in our minds. So, any story or
script that I read which makes me feel that way, I jump on.
Me: What is the number one reason why you think people should pledge money to
your Kickstarter project?
Alexander: Because pledging to our Kickstarter will
help this comic reach children who are spending too much of their childhood in the
hospital. Through the amazing charity Little Heroes (Fair Spark Books), we have
the opportunity to bring a new exciting world to each child's imagination.
Pledge enough and more charity packs can be sent to hospitals, as well as your
own front door! It's a win-win!
Me: What inspirational words do you have for aspiring comic book artists?
Alexander: Draw every chance you get; but, most
importantly, discover the things in the world that truly inspire you. Be
interested by everything and have confidence. An eclectic pallet of the world
makes for an eclectic art pallet, too.
Me: And what additional inspirational words do you have for aspiring comic book colourists?
Alexander: Pay attention to ‘real colour.’ Pick up
the object next to you and really look at the hues. Never assume you know. And
if you can, always see things face to face, at different times of the day. Your
eyes are so much better than any camera or photograph.
What's
more—study the great artists of today, the great artists of yesterday, and even
the not so great ones throughout history. Colour theory is only ever as strong
as your inner colour preference compass, too. What do you think looks good?
Question it. Play with it. Enjoy it. Work at it. Colour is a passion, so, GO
FOR IT! And when in doubt… put the opposite colour next to it.
Me: Thanks for taking the time to help us travel
through the galaxy, Sam and Rosie! If you’re reading this and are interested in
learning more about the Spacetime Academy For Fundamental Representatives Of
NEXUS, check out the SAFFRON Kickstarter here.
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
or message
me on my website.
Other “Kickstart the Week” features:
Thanks for this great interview.
ReplyDeleteI'm already a backer, but it's very nice to read more about the comic and the creator/ artist!
Now I'm even more curious about Saffron! (and about the villainous Zenta of course!)