Joseph Nassise

In my last column, I talked about foreign markets and how making use of them can give prolonged or even new life to stories and works that have already been published here in the States. Today I’m going to talk about another method I’m using to expand my writing horizons.

My latest novel, HERETIC: Book One of the Templar Chronicles, will be out from Pocket Books on Sept 26th. (For more information on that, go here.) The series revolves around the idea that the Templar Knights have been resurrected, reinstated as a secret combat arm of the Vatican, and charged with protecting mankind from the supernatural enemies that surround us. I fell in love with the idea from the moment it occurred to me and hope to write a number of books in the series before all is said and done.

Recently I’ve rediscovered my love of comic books and, as you might expect, I began to think the story told in HERETIC would make a great comic mini-series. After hemming and hawing about it for a bit, I finally bit the bullet and dived right in.

Let me tell you that adapting your own work of prose into comic form is an interesting exercise. You have to think graphically. You have to be able to narrow the story down to its most important elements. You have to consider viewpoints and angles and imagery. A comic is not just a story told through pictures – it is an art form all its own and my own attempts to delve into the process made me appreciate those who have gone before me all the more. Pacing. Characterization through imagery. Understanding what it takes to get the reader to keep flipping those pages. Knowing when to start a scene and when to stop. There was a tremendous amount to learn.

I decided that the story in HERETIC could best be told as a four part series. After a fair bit of work, I had taken the first quarter of the novel and condensed it into a 28 page script. I had planned out the next three issues as well. Now it was time to find an artist.

Well, that’s not quite right. To be more specific, I know needed a penciler, an inker, and a colorist. A penciler turns the words into images. An inker adds definition to the pencils, makes them pop off the page. And a colorist make the whole thing come alive.

Lucky for me, I discovered three excellent individuals who were interested in the project and had the talent needed to bring my creation to life. For several weeks now we’ve been working on a submission package complete with the script, character art, and sample pages from the completed comic. I’ve been amazed and astounded at what my partners have come up with and it has been a real pleasure in watching other talented individuals breathe life into my words. We’re just about to begin the process of submitting the package to a variety of publishers and I have high hopes for the project. I’m sure I’ll be back to update you all on this part of the process in a later column.

For now, I thought you might enjoy a look how my artistic team took my words and turned them into eye-catching art that really brings the characters to life.

Here is a partial description of Knight Commander Cade Williams, as it appears in the novel (and as it was given to the artists to work with):

“Come,” said Michaels and a moment later the door opened to admit the Heretic.

Cade Williams was not a large man, but he was an opposing sight nonetheless. His face was all hard lines and angles, without even a hint of softness. This effect was heightened by the wide band of angry scar tissue that stretched from beneath the eye patch covering his right eye, down across his cheekbone and around behind his ear. He entered the room with a graceful economy of motion but with what also seemed to be an air of caution, as if he were gingerly moving through the world around him.

Maybe he was, thought Michaels, as his gaze came to rest on Cade’s hands. The flesh-colored gloves were professionally made and a casual glance would not have betrayed their presence, but the moment you knew what to look for they were obvious. Cade wore the gloves to protect him from even the most casual brush with the people and objects around him, and the sight of them forced Michaels to wonder anew at this man’s abilities. That he had been touched was beyond a doubt. It was the unanswered question of who or what had done so that made the Preceptor want to cross himself and momentarily reconsider his decision to call in Echo Team and its unusual leader.

And then a little later…

This close the Preceptor could see that the patch over Cade’s eye hid the majority of the damage to his face, but the scar tissue that peeked around it gave testimony to the ruin beneath. His wide shoulders and strong physique clearly showed his dedication to remaining at the peak of performance. He was dressed in a black sweater, jeans and a pair of work boots. His hair, thin and dark, hung to just above his shoulders, loose and unfettered.

Now, here is how the art team pictured him (warning – large graphic files)

Inked character art before coloring

Inked and colored character art

I’ve always pictured Cade a certain way (think Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings, but in modern-day SWAT gear) and the art team captured it perfectly. To say I was pleased would be an understatement. (Incidentally, to give credit where credit is due, sketches are by Terence Chung, inks by Gary Mitchell, and colors by Felton Allen.)

In later columns, I’ll post more character art and some of the actual comic pages if folks are interested.