Check out these great interviews with Richelle Mead!!
First up is this great interview on USA Today!
Joyce: Welcome to HEA, Richelle! Whose idea was it to do comic books of your Dark Swan urban fantasy series? Or are they more accurately graphic novels?
Richelle: It’s both, actually! Individual comics come out first, and then every four issues, you can get a bound graphic novel of all of them. Adapting the books into this format was always something I’d been interested in. I love this art form, and it’s always fascinating to see how others interpret your work. It all started when I met some of the great staff from Sea Lion at a convention. They later approached me about doing an adaptation of the Dark Swan series, and everything unfolded from there.
Joyce: How did you go about adjusting a novel-length book to the small blocks of inner dialogue? That must have been tough!
Richelle: It is tough, and fortunately, I didn’t have to do it! The books were adapted by Grant Alter, who has a really good eye for pulling out the main beats of a story and streamlining key dialogue. It’s great having someone who has those skills, since mine tend to be about making stories longer, not shorter.
Joyce: A problem that most novelists have, I bet! How closely did you work with the artists on the look of the story? (It looks amazing, by the way!)
Richelle: I got to be involved every step of the way. They sent every page to me for approval, in both the initial black-and-whites and then the color versions. They were very open to any feedback I had, but really, I didn’t have much to give. Everything was always so wonderful that I didn’t need to make many suggestions.
Joyce: Please tell us about the Dark Swan comic series and what readers can expect to see from you next.
Richelle: The Dark Swan comic currently is retelling the first novel in the series, Storm Born. Four issues have come out so far, which are available as individual issues or in a bound graphic novel. There are four more issues to come, which will finish off the book, and I’m really excited. So far, the whole series has been really beautiful.
Joyce: Is there anything you’d like to add?
Richelle: People who are fans of the Dark Swan novels will really love the graphic novel adaptation. Even if they’ve never picked up a comic before, they should check this out. The graphic novel adds a whole new dimension to the series that really brings the characters and worlds to life. I originally envisioned the story in my head, but seeing it on the page, in all that color, is amazing even for me!
See the entire interview at US Today’s website here
Where is the other interview you may ask? Have I lost my mind or forgotten how to count? Nope, check out the podcast from comic booked here for the 2nd interview and sit back and enjoy!
I think it’s great that Richelle has made herself so available for interviews as everyone is buzzing about the Dark Swan series being made into graphic novels. They look awesome!!
