Getting ‘Meta’ about the Graphic Novel

Kurt Kennedy

It’s time for me to take a ‘meta’ approach with the Laying Lincoln Down graphic novel. One of the requirements of having received a Weisman grant from Columbia College is to prepare a display related to the project. I’ve had several conversations with my adviser, Rob Funderburk, visual artist and Creative Industry Liaison with Columbia’s Portfolio Center, about what would not simply be an ode to the great work my artist, Dan Bauer, has done but a display that will be useful to other creators contemplating their own graphic novel. What I’ve settled on with his help is a from-idea-to-finished-product visual “tutorial” of sorts, and I have four feet across and eight feet up-and-down to do it in.

As an “intro” to the display, I’m contemplating using the intriguing painting Dan has produced for the teaser cover (a 5-10 page sampler forthcoming this fall from Wicker Park Press). Perhaps, some of my handwritten notes and preliminary page layouts would be appropriate next. After that, a few pages of the formatted script will be necessary to show how I communicated what I want the reader to see in the end.

Next, I’ll show some of Dan’s original sketches, which will introduce us to the beginnings of his process: working out the characters and the style he wants to draw in. After this, I’ll display some of the pages of the graphic novel’s “first draft.” (A few years ago in Mort Castle’s ‘Writing for Graphic Forms’ class where the comics version of this story began, we had to produce the first six art pages of our project.) After this early version, I think, would be a good place to put an abridged copy of the contract I agreed to with Dan, because it was after this juncture that he went back and redid the first six pages. And of course, the finale will be the “redone” pages that reflect the style Dan wants to use throughout the entire 72-page novel.

What are your thoughts on this proposed display? Too ‘meta?’ Not ‘meta’ enough? Any constructive feedback is surely appreciated.

*There is an exhibition featuring all the 2012 Weisman recipients at the Arcade Gallery (618 S Michigan Ave., 2nd floor, Chicago, IL 60605) from 5-8 pm on Thursday, September 6, and the showcase is open for viewing weekdays between 9am and 5pm from September 4 through November 2.

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