Zeros 2 Heroes - The People's Publisher

It's odd, you know, to be a writer of a web comic while I'm busy reading up on indigenous oral storytelling and how Natives are reworking traditions into literature. Here, we have something different, but perhaps not so entirely different from our oral ways.

Storytellers, if there are even such a thing (as opposed to tellers of stories), bring visuals alive in our minds with the power behind their words. In comic books, there they are--the characters are alive, but their motions are in the viewer/reader mind. It allows that place for imagination and "leaving the story open."

The West Was Lost is an homage to non-linear and circular storytelling, to stories with open spaces where your imagination is meant to fill in, where you have the answers, or there simply are none. Where there may be explanations that you will realize only after repeated readings and inspiration to think on more.

This is for my family, for the contemporary Indians exploring multimedia and making it our own, and for everyone ready for a new genre I intend to keep developing, a genre that calls for re-imagining the past--Native Steampunk.

Hau.

Hello all! I wasn't expecting quite so much attention directly on me following the interview with The Escapist, but I'll take it in the name of passing on information about Native efforts in the mediascape. Z2H gets a mention too!

"Native Resolution" by Chris LaVigne at The Escapist:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_184/5652-Native-Resolution

I have to say, at first I was admittedly nervous about the idea of trying to get across the concept of The West Was Lost Issue #1 North Wind, since I've envisioned Native steampunk as a genre since I was a little girl. I probably even look it, on a casual level, with my chokers made from jingle dress copper bells and bone, brown pants with coppery clasps, and arrangement of suede jackets and long coats in various browns and tans. I live it in the modern day, dreaming of what it would've been like with steam technology, done in an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) way.

To entrust this to an artist I hadn't ever met was a definite concern for putting the idea out there to begin with when the APTN initiative started, but I went for it anyway, and I'm so so so glad I did. Andrew Foley, the editor, got it right on his very first pick--Frank Grau Jr. couldn't have been a better artist for this book. He got the concepts, the feel, the tone, and most importantly, the colours. Oh wait, more importantly, the props and accessories! He walked right into my imagination and brought my thoughts to life.

Thank you, miigwetch, and all that good stuff. I couldn't have done it without a fantastic artist open to a Native steampunk broken narrative!

http://www.zeros2heroes.com/property/the-west-was-lost

Have you read "The West was Lost" by BethDillon?  It's a brilliant read with beautiful artwork.

Separate from Beth's great story is the last page of the book which has a collage of all the CCN, D2D and future APTN winners... "Wall of Wonders" - love it.

Fantastic - I would love to see a contest where we vote on already created books to create a second issue... winner gets there second issue created it's that simple.  I think it would be awesome.

K - that's it... I have to go do some writing... it has been too long and goddarn it... work can wait.

I was recently asked for an interview for an article on Aboriginal video games at The Escapist. The interviewer, Chris LaVigne, actually lives in BC and snuck in a few questions about comic books as well. Here's a sneak peak at some of what he asked, at least what has to do with comics and The West Was Lost. I'll link up the article when it's published but since he is interviewing other people, not sure this stuff will get in there.


Q: What role do you think non-traditional media like videogames and comics can play in Aboriginal culture?

A: When my husband and I were visiting family at the Hobbema reserve in Alberta, there was a group of kids playing Halo together--a 13-year-old girl, a 7-year-old girl, and a 15-year-old boy, and all of them were equally excited about playing and skilled at the game. That?s it right there to me. Videogames can cross genders and ages. They can create experiences of co-operative play, competitive play, imagining one?s self in another role, and exploring other landscapes, depending on the kind of videogame. Just imagine what it would mean to be an Aboriginal kid on the reserve playing out the part of an Aboriginal character.

Comics, as a visual medium, fill much of the same role of expanding our imaginations. The Healthy Aboriginal Network put this to use by getting comic creators like Steve Sanderson (Cree) to make comics to expose youth to concepts like diabetes prevention (in a fun but warning way, of course). In the case of my own comics--The West Was Lost and Fala, put out by Zeroes2Heroes and the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network--they contrast quite a bit in appropriate audience and message. The West Was Lost is an Aboriginal Steampunk story re-envisioning colonialization, while Fala is an Aboriginal Urban Fantasy rendition of Alice in Wonderland.

In both videogames and comics, incorporating Aboriginal culture can empower the Aboriginal audience as well as share our stories with non-Aboriginal audiences.

Q: What kinds of characters do you like to create when you write?

A: I?m into strong, beautiful (but not explicit), smart women as the leads in my own writing. I?d love to have the funds to create a game with a strong female lead, but I know it?d take having the quality of next-gen technology. Ironically enough, I was told that when High Moon Studios was first developing Darkwatch, an industrial gothic vampire western, the female Native character Tala was their lead, but marketing decided that wouldn?t sell as well as positioning her as the dark character who tempts Jericho to the vampire side.

Q: What kinds of reactions do you get from combining Aboriginal myth with genres like steampunk?

A: My comic book The West Was Lost has the most exposure as of late. People of all races have responded positively so far, largely in part due to the amazing artwork of Frank Grau Jr. It?s a prime example of Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals working together to realize an aesthetic. In anything I do, I never consider the stories myth, but ever-changing truth. Our stories speak to many factors in life and entering other places during the storytelling experience.

-          What appeals to you about merging and mixing genres in that way?

Steampunk has always been my personal aesthetic and I wear it as much as I write it. From my chokers made of copper and bone to my bowler hat and long suede coats. The way I think of it is that the absence of Native culture in steampunk is a huge oversight on part of the current authors and creators behind the genre. I?m quite happy to step in and help readers bring to life a reimagining of the past and technology in a way that educates them about Aboriginal scientific literacy.

-          Would you like to see more Aboriginal storytelling that embraces hybrid genres like that?

Personally, I want to delve into Aboriginal cyberpunk, steampunk, and anything else that fits and inspires. I?m excited to see Native Science Fiction such as the work of author Stephen Graham Jones. As long as the storytelling comes from Aboriginal people, it will be to the heart. As Native people, we are naturally hybrid.

The baby Malcolm is asleep on his own for the first time at night. And right now, I can't drive myself to keep working on my annotated bibliography at night. I just want to imagine something else, just a moment in time, or a few times.




The sun warmed Nezette's face as she closed her eyes. Kewatah stood behind her, kicking stones along the lakeshore beside Nezette's discarded bow and arrow pouch. His tall form shadowed hers as the light shifted.

'So, when are we moving on, anyway?' Kewatah snipped as he snapped branches and tossed them beside Nezette into the water.

Nezette was ankle-deep in the lake, just watching the ripples around the ends of her long, heavy brown coat. It weighted her down and cemented her in place.

'When the time is right.' Nezette sighed out and reminded herself to be patient--Kewatah had always been this way.

--

'I'll play you a game,' Kewatah challenged as he threw stones at the icy lake.

He was a scruffy youth, tall and slim; with awkwardly thin arms and a strong Cree face. Some would just outright call it a big head, but Nezette always kindly assured him that his head was the right size for his body--proportionate, even. He was just right the way he was.

'What kind of game?' Even then, Nezette was a bit thicker than Kewatah, but she played the part of the follower. Her hair was loose and her eyes wild with curiosity.

'My uncle says there's this rock in the lake, a special one, and only someone who deserves it can find it,' Kewatah explained. 'I bet you that you can't find it.'

'Not a very fair game. What if even you could not find it?' Nezette folded her arms and furrowed her brows.

'That's not the bet! The bet's that you can't find it!' Kewatah barked.

Nezette never was one to turn down a challenge, especially in a time when she was growing ahead of the other youth and still had a few good inches on Kewatah. She stared him down and then spun around on her heels. She stomped her way to the water and went the path through the ice that Kewatah had broken apart with stones.

As Nezette was halfway into the cold water, Kewatah let out a yelp.

He'd taken a backhand to his head.

Wahbaun, who knew well enough that he needed to keep an eye on all the youth when they snuck off from the safety of the Sovereign's camps, rushed after Nezette and dragged her out of the water.

'Nezette,' Wahbaun said worriedly as he grabbed her cold, wet hands. 'You know better than to test yourself with winter arriving.'

Kewatah shied away as Nezette, cold but resilient, stubbornly ignored him while she was pulled back to the fires to be warmed by Wahbaun.

--

Nezette stepped forward, one stride after another, as Kewatah watched her with a puzzled look on his face. He picked up her bow and arrows, ready to head on.

'Hey...' Kewatah hesitated.

And just like that, Nezette dipped her whole body into the water while wrestling to slide her thick coat from her shoulders. It floated back towards the shore as she disappeared into lake. The ripples of water glistened while the sun beat down.

As soon as Kewatah went after her, she began to emerge again. Droplets of water fell from her braids. Her clothes were drenched and stuck to her.

'We can go now,' Nezette stated firmly.

She held a large perfectly rounded gray rock with a flat bottom that fit in both of her hands.

And she smiled, if only a little.

Gasp! 

There are no magnets yet for Bat & Wolf or The West Was Lost!  How did this happen? 

It must be something pretty big they're cooking up at Z2H for the magnets not be available yet. 

First off, I love your pitch and the finished book.  The story is wonderful and the art turned out amazing! 

In one of Beth's previous blogs she mentioned her wardrobe and how she dresses in the browns with copper and what not.  I too have a love for Canadian Native art and attire.  My favourite winter coat is a long faux suede with faux fur on the inside.  If you (Beth) don't think it would be ridiculous for a pasty white chick to don my winter coat, cowboy hat and my bow for more of my mediocre fan art, let me know and I'll get right on it!  For those of you who have seen my fan art, do you want to see me in my get up? 

great story.  the art was amazing, especially the colours. 

How does this "Heat" thing work and why did I go down -5? Sniffle.

- Beth

Sweeeeeeeet!!
Very nice setting and characters, I want MORE!!!!