Sketchbook: Joan of Arc

This seems to be a week of making art for auctions. A couple days ago, I posted a drawing of Guan Yu that I did for an upcoming auction at ALA Chicago.  Here’s one for BEA 2013 in New York.

St. Joan of Arc also shows up in Boxers & Saints, my two graphic novels about the Boxer Rebellion (available from First Second Books this September).

There’s this strange dynamic I’ve noticed in my (admittedly shallow) study of history.  Over the last couple of centuries, Western culture has had a tendency to be pretty… aggressive.  The people groups who the Westerners encountered – and often oppressed – would sometimes, ironically, find strength in Western stories, specifically Western religious stories.  I think Steven Spielberg played with this dynamic in Amistad.  I explore it in Boxers & Saints.

St. Joan of Arc actually  has quite a bit in common with the Boxers, the young Chinese men who fought against the European powers at the turn of the century.  Both Joan and the Boxers had strange (to modern minds, at least) spiritual beliefs.  Both were teenagers. Both were poor.  Both were patriotic.  Both fought foreign incursions, and both were waaay more successful than the political elite had thought possible.  After their deaths, both were used as symbols for political purposes by their respective countries.

In my book Saints, a ghostly Joan acts as a spiritual mentor of sorts to Four-Girl, the young Chinese Catholic protagonist.  Eventually, Joan’s commonalities with the Boxers cause a lot of confusion in Four-Girl’s mind.

 

 

Sketchbook: Guan Yu

Just finished this pen and ink drawing of Guan Yu, the Chinese God of War, for an auction at ALA Chicago this summer.

Guan Yu is one of the gods featured in my upcoming graphic novels Boxers & Saints, out from First Second Books this September!

Chinese Opera Hulk

In September 2013, First Second Books will release Boxers & Saints, my graphic novels about the Boxer Rebellion. In previous posts, I’ve argued that the Boxers were a lot like today’s pop culture geeks and that the Chinese opera they watched was a lot like today’s comic books.

I’ve done some artwork inspired by that idea. Here’s the latest: Chinese Opera Hulk!

Chinese Opera Thor

In September 2013, First Second Books will release Boxers & Saints, my graphic novels about the Boxer Rebellion. In previous posts, I’ve argued that the Boxers were a lot like today’s pop culture geeks and thatthe Chinese opera they watched was a lot like today’s comic books.

I’ve done some artwork inspired by that idea. Here’s this week’s: Chinese Opera Thor!

Chinese Opera Iron Man

In September 2013, First Second Books will release Boxers & Saints, my graphic novels about the Boxer Rebellion. In previous posts, I’ve argued that the Boxers were a lot like today’s pop culture geeks and thatthe Chinese opera they watched was a lot like today’s comic books.

I’ve done some artwork inspired by that idea. Here’s this week’s: Chinese Opera Iron Man!

Chinese Opera Captain America

In September 2013, First Second Books will release Boxers & Saints, my graphic novels about the Boxer Rebellion. In previous posts, I’ve argued that the Boxers were a lot like today’s pop culture geeks and that the Chinese opera they watched was a lot like today’s comic books.

I’ve done some artwork inspired by that idea. Here’s the first one: Chinese Opera Captain America!

Sketchbook: Wacom Cintiq

Finally got peer-pressured into buying a Cintiq tablet.  I love it.  Here’s my third purely digital drawing.  (I’m too embarrassed to show my first two purely digital drawings.)

Sketchbook: Unused Cover Art

For the past several weeks, I’ve been working on the covers for my upcoming Boxers and Saints project.  (For the record, I think First Second Books’ Colleen AF Venable is Chip Kidd’s heir apparent.)

Here’s some art that ultimately landed on the cutting room floor.

Sketchbook: What I’m Working On 1/20/12

Sketchbook: What I’m Working On 12/27/11

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