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Sara Braun’s A DISTANT SOIL shrine!

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Really nice A Distant Soil fan art by Ella Lohan.

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My retailer also told me it was sold out when I wanted to go back and get the new editions.

A DISTANT SOIL DIAMOND ORDER CODES

I’ve had a number of people, including retailers, tell me they have been unable to order A DISTANT SOIL from their comic shop or Diamond Distributors because the books are sold out or unavailable. That’s not true.

For some reason, it is not listed under A DISTANT SOIL but under DISTANT SOIL. Just one letter off, and you can’t find the freaking book. This has been a nightmare to deal with and I have no doubt this has adversely affected people’s ability to get the book.

I am working on the final volume of the series now and truly appreciate your support. If you are a retailer, the Diamond codes are right there in this image. If you are a fan and want to try it out, please ask your retailer to order it and giving him/her the Diamond code would be a real help.

Retail sales are critical, so ask for A DISTANT SOIL at your comic shop, and use the Diamond order code!

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This is cool. This page wasn’t in the original comics editions. It was added later and does a lot in just a couple of pictures.

I like the stylised approach to these panels, and the contrasts between the two depictions (moon vs sun, space vs earth, light vs shadow). They are perhaps not images integral to the story, but they help create an atmosphere and a sense of the other-worldliness at play in the series. They remind us that there is something both elegant and alien about much of the cast, indicating that the human cast members are witnessing something quite breathtaking- like the elves of Tolkien, these are not earthbound figures, and have a different quality about them, which isn’t necessarily apparent through appearance alone, as they are predominately humanoid in that respect.

Thus images like this work to remind us of the essence of the characters and give the reader a sense of what it might be like to be in the company of such aliens- the first panel evokes the beauty of the world of the Hierarchy; the elongated patterns suggest aloofness as well as something attractive; unrestrained by gravity or any limitations of practicality, their appearance is one of a pure aestheticism. It also clearly places them in the heavens- the moon, the star patterned skirt, the distance from the bottom of the panel to the figure proper, all evoke someone above us, that we can only gaze upon in wonder.

The contrast of sun, clouds and shadow in the second panel marks D’Mer as different but still alien- viewed as little more than a slave in Ovanan society, he does not have their ethereal appearance, and the association with ground and shadow firmly places him on a lower level than the Hierarchy’s celestial iconography, earthy rather than heavenly. Yet from our perspective- Earth-bound readers- he is still quite different: we must look up to see his outline and be dazzled by the light, so that we only see a mysterious shadow, in some sort of rock god pose, a primal evocation of charisma and power, of something other than our mundane selves.

From A Distant Soil Volume Two: The Ascendant, by Colleen Doran

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Another good analysis of A Distant Soil!

This panel is an excellent piece of condensed storytelling, from conception through to the events that lead to Liana and Jason being confined in the Institute we find them in at the start of A Distant Soil.

These sorts of elements are too often seen as the starting points of comic book stories, an unhealthy obsession with ‘origin stories’ often resulting in stories being less interesting- there is a clear reluctance to end stories (chiefly amongst licenced properties, of course, for clear financial reasons) but no such reluctance to incessantly visit and re-visit the ‘how it all started’ moment, despite the fact that this is not a key ingredient of most works of fiction, and certainly doesn’t need to be recounted first as though stories are obliged to be recounted in chronological order. Presumably a lot of this is driven by nostalgia, from when all the early superheroes were introduced with an explanation as to why they had special abilities, but that was presumably born from a lack of audience familiarity with the concept of superheroes- we are now so used to the concept of abilities and powers in the medium that it is highly unlikely that we are going to greet the appearance of a new one with incredulity unless we get an immediate explanation of the source of their abilities, no matter how implausible.

An insistence on continuing to follow this decades old model leaves a lot of comics feeling generically structured, and it unfortunately seems to have spread to other media (as the superhero virus has spread to TV and cinema it has become very clear that this structural idea has come with it- it certainly seemed a lot less common in the past), as you hear talk of the need to tell someone’s origin story, even those without abilities. It devalues the idea of a character’s origin to the point of absurdity- the ‘origin’ of Alfred Pennyworth, which I have heard mentioned a couple of times as something that has been pitched (is perhaps even in production?), for example, would really be the same fertilisation sequence seen here, just as it would be for most people who are ‘normal’. A look at their earlier years is not an ‘origin’, it’s a story about an existing character in a different period of their life- it may be worth telling, it may not, but most great works should have made it clear to us long ago that it is not in anyway crucial to the story to fill in all those details from birth to now. A good storyteller fills us in with what is necessary to the themes and narrative of their work, and the rest is, for the most part, redundant in narrative terms and so not required.

Which is a very long detour (prompted, to be honest, by recently reading a very bad review declaring a film a failure for not being an origin story. It is just a ridiculous criticism- damn that Shakespeare, he failed to account for the full however many years of Prospero’s life or show us how he learned magic and tamed Caliban, what a crappy writer- and betrays a complete lack of understanding of how literature/storytelling works) to get to the point that A Distant Soil knows what it is doing in storytelling terms- we don’t need to see the previous 10 plus years to situate the story in chronological terms for the reader, or to elaborate on the initial mystery around the identity of the two youngsters.

A familiar criticism of bad writing (particularly sci-fi/fantasy) is the ‘info dump’- the insistence on filling in the reader on all sorts of background detail, world-building details, etc., either because the author has spent so much time on this they want to make sure the reader knows it, or because the storytelling struggles to share the relevant details in an organic manner. Jason is effectively using his ability to deliver such an ‘info dump’ into another’s mind, but crucially not the reader’s: the scene leaves the details open for interpretation or subsequent development, takes mere moments of narrative time, and tells us about his abilities, all in one panel. It makes it clear to the reader that the creator knows the history of her world(s) and characters, but also knows what matters to the narrative. It’s the story that readers come for, and moments like this tell you that this is a creator that knows exactly how to tell her story, and so it’s going to be one worth waiting for.

From A Distant Soil Volume One: The Gathering, by Colleen Doran

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This analysis of A Distant Soil is very good, very thoughtful. It’s great to see people understanding and respecting its complexity.

There’s something about Colleen Doran’s art in this book that makes me think of Aubrey Beardsley. I had a paperback Complete Works of Oscar Wilde, and the cover was Beardsley’s The Peacock Skirt, which is somehow brought to mind when I see panels like this.

I suppose it is partly the great use of white- there are large patches of pure white here, where the outline is the only trace of black. When a black line is used within the shape, to mark the fold of a dress or the curve of a body, it is used very sparingly, and is perfectly judged to create a very clear impression of the figures we are looking at. There’s simply no need for an abundance of lines- a multitude of lines often indicates a struggle to depict a clear image, where constantly increasing detail marks an attempt to capture a sense of form, rather than a depiction of the form itself. Here we have a very pure sense of form, a complete understanding of each figure conveyed in only a handful of lines.

Like The Peacock Skirt, Doran saves most of her extra line-work for the details of the outfits, using the patterns and their flow to suggest something of the elegance of the Ovanan culture, as well as of the individual personalities of the wearers. Bast’s dress is patterned as though flames lap at her arms and legs, indicative of her passionate nature, while Rieken/Seren’s outfit’s loops and whorls suggest a more confused and uncertain personality.

The background seems to indicate the emotional tone of this exchange- rather than a predominately clear background, as is used for most exchanges, we suddenly have a very dark background, made of countless circular shapes, with each character caught in the frame of a picture, again seeming to emphasis their feelings. Bast is in front of a picture we can barely make out, relatively bright against the background, while the flower pattern behind Seren is as dark as the panel background, the floral whorls mirroring the pattern on his clothing. The smaller rectangles behind the pictures again echo the characters: black for Seren, lighter for Bast (almost the same tone as her skin, whereas Seren’s skin is the tonal opposite of the darkness behind him).

Overall, the suggestion is of dark, clouded thoughts occupying Seren- concern for D’Mer, as per the dialogue, but also the greater concerns of the cause in which he is deeply involved- and the implication that Bast is generally free of such concerns, her passionate nature burning away this darkness.

From A Distant Soil Volume Two: The Ascendant, by Colleen Doran

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A Distant Soil 16 cover!

It’s been a long time since I updated the fan page. I lost my log in and just couldn’t get back to the page, and finally found my info. Then RL got in the way, and I didn’t have the energy to get things done.

I found a lot of fan art and some old zines that I’ll be posting. Thanks for sticking around!

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Live Draw: I work on Neil Gaiman’s SNOW GLASS APPLES and discuss the great cartoonist Rose O’Neill.

Rose O’Neill was born in 1874, and she is one of the most successful and important cartoonists of all time, yet most modern creators know nothing about her. Isn’t it about time she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Eisner?

This is three short videos spliced together during a live draw, so be sure to keep watching even if the video seems to end twice.  

SNOW GLASS APPLES graphic novel, coming in August 2019 from Dark Horse.

This chat answers a question from Patreon supporter Journeyman Studios https://www.instagram.com/journeyman1… (feed may include art that depicts nudity and violence).

Drafting dots! Get ‘em here! https://amzn.to/2VpUdF3

Since I’m fuzzy on the details about those early movie inventors, for a good read on the Latham’s and the Latham Loop and the complex business relations which I’m not really qualified to get into, go here: https://www.theatlantic.com/technolog…           

https://www.patreon.com/ColleenDoran                  

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In about a month, I’ll be finishing up a major graphic novel for that nice man Mr Neil Gaiman, and I’ll be getting back to my space opera graphic novel series A DISTANT SOIL which I am financing on my Patreon. I’m only about 15% per month away from where I need to finance a full time goal of finishing off the finale. I hope you’ll consider supporting me!

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Featured today on Atrocity Guide, a new YouTuber who has shown great promise with her dives into obscure and semi-obscure online rabbit holes.

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gorgeous.

SEREN in the snow. From my space opera graphic novel A DISTANT SOIL. Pencil.

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Too Explicit for Tumblr?

Nothing on our site has been flagged, but we do have some mild, adult content in some of the fan fiction here. I’m not sure how Tumblr’s new rules will affect us, but I’ll be looking around just in case.

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New video! If anyone has ever had an overwhelming desire to see me draw a picture from start to finish, I made a video. Also, I name check everyone in this thing, from Rantz Hosely, to Val Trullinger, to Alan Harvey, to Stan Lee, to George Perez. I talk my love for comics, archival art tools, Reeve Carney and David Bowie, and lots of other fun things. 

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A DISTANT SOIL digital editions, volume I and II big sale on Comixology, nearly 70% off! Only $4.99 per volume!

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A Distant Soil fan art by Joe at Absurdly Comics. This is a copy of a splash page from A Distant Soil Volume I. This is a picture of Lord Raven.

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FINALITY. By Warren Ellis. Art by me. Free to read NOW on Linewebtoon.

Direct link HERE. Thank you for rating and sharing!