Sunday, January 14, 2018

Pola





Last few months i have been working on a sequel to The 9th Island. Pola, the plucky granddaughter of the protagonists of that book, has grown up and goes into the world, looking for love. Things don't go as planned. In fact, the story has as many weird twists and turns as i could think of. For instance, she will discover the mainland, where the clock has been put back to the year 1913.

For a long time, i have been thinking of doing a story that takes place in that world - men with curly mustaches and bowler hats - but was hesitant to do so, as Jacques Tardi has put so much of his mark on that era that anything you'd do, looks like a knock-off. I guess i am no longer affraid.

Also, Pola's adventure will serve as a sequel to my adaptation of Dante's Inferno.

3 comments:

Human Mollusk said...

Great pages Marcel, and cool to see you continue with your 9th Island storyline so quickly. Is it like the characters, once created, develop a life of their own and just don't want to go to rest ?

Gaspard Pitiot said...

I'd like to work on my comix. It's been a while.

Marcel Ruijters said...

FuFu: yes indeed it goes like that. It was fun to have Pola carry certain traits of her grandparents and see how that works out. She's young: plucky and insecure at the same time.
However, i can't claim that this storyline has been an easy ride like The 9th Island was. (It is fully scripted by now, all big decisions already taken) More than once, I had to think hard to come up with plot twists interesting enough - and themes that carry some significance in regard our times.