The Huffington Post kindly invited me to write about A.D. on their site, which I did. It’s not much, basically just an introduction to A.D. for those who have yet to read it, but you can check it out over here. If all goes well, I’ll be posting on HuffPo each time SMITH debuts a new chapter of A.D.
I’m hoping the exposure will bring more eyeballs to our little true-life graphic novel of Hurricane Katrina.
After a bit of a hiatus, A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge is back, with a new installment, “Neutral Ground.” In this chapter, we check in with Hamid & Mansell as they wake up from a long night on the roof of Hamid’s maintenance shed. The mosquitoes were out in full force — and other critters are about as well. Meanwhile, Denise & her family have momentarily escaped the water, and are waiting for transport out of the flooded city. And in Houston, Leo & Michelle are using the Internet to determine how much water hit their neighborhood. It is Wednesday, August 31, two days after Katrina.
The comics site Newsarama just posted a new Q&A with me. Interviewer Chris Arrant makes a real effort to link my Red Cross volunteering experience with the eventual creation of A.D. In that way, I think the piece delves into territory which hasn’t been covered by the media in a while. The interview also features tons of images from the comic, which is cool. Anyway, something new to read while whetting your appetite for Chapter 9 (which I hope to get up by the end of this week)…
Chapter 8, the latest episode of A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, is now up at SMITH. Titled “The Bowl Effect, Part 2,” it shows the post-Katrina flooding of New Orleans — through the eyes of grocery store-owner Hamid and his pal Mansell. Reluctant to abandon the store and fearful of looters, the two men hunker down in the rising waters.
Check it out here (where you can also catch up with the whole story, from the very first chapter, as well as read a sampling of some of the wonderful media coverage we’ve been receiving).
Please leave a comment on the site, if you’re so inclined! We love feedback.
Also, if you’re in NYC this evening, why not drop by the Comic Book Club: A Live Weekly Talk Show about Comic Books. Hosted by Justin Tyler, Pete LePage, and Alex Zalben, it features dangoldman aka Dan Goldman (Shooting War),jahfurry aka Jeff Newelt (SMITH Comix Editor, Heeb), and 4_eyez aka Josh Neufeld aka yours truly (A.D., American Splendor)
Tuesday, November 20 @ 8:00 PM.
The Peoples Improv Theater: 154 West 29th Street, 2nd Floor (between 6th and 7th Aves.)
Tickets: $5
Phone: 1-800-838-3006; Questions? 212-563-7488
In A.D. chapter 7, “The Bowl Effect (Part 1),” just posted on SMITH, Hurricane Katrina has finally passed New Orleans. Hamid & Mansell emerge from the store, blinking in the sunlight, ecstatic to have survived the storm.
In A.D. chapter 6, “Flotsam & Jetsam,” we discover how Denise withstands the hurricane in her apartment. (Answer: just barely.) In addition, we check in with our other characters, including The Doctor and his guests in the French Quarter, Hamid and Mansell at the grocery store in Uptown, Kevin and his family in Tallahassee, and Leo and Michelle in Houston. It is Monday, August 29, 2005, and no one is aware that the levees have been breached.
I worked my butt off to get this new chapter done in time for Katrina’s second anniversary. In fact, to get it done for the Sunday before Katrina’s second anniversary. And it paid off, as the outside world has really begun to pay attention to A.D. In the past week alone, A.D. was featured in:
And I was interviewed by NPR and Canada’s CityNews International.
… with the L.A. Times, the American Prospect, and CityTV WebNation coming soon.
I can’t say how gratifying it is to know that new eyeballs are coming to the strip just as it’s beginning to hit its stride. Some of the reader comments have really made me proud to be a comics storyteller. I’ll always be able to go back to them for inspiration the next time I’m working 14-hour days, sitting up ’til 3 A.M. nightly to get the next chapter done. Thanks, everyone!
Better late than never, now up at SMITH is A.D. Chapter Five: “Katrina Comes Calling.”
As the hurricane’s pre-winds hit New Orleans, The Doctor hosts friends for a hurricane party. Meanwhile, Hamid and Mansell hunker down at the store. And Denise learns just what a mistake it was to foresake the refuge of the hospital for her apartment.
Comments are welcome at the site.
Hey there, where y’at? I just finished, and SMITH just posted, the latest chapter of my serialized graphic novel, A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge. It’s chapter 4, but is pretty much the second part of chapter 3, as our characters do what they can to avoid and/or prepare for the hurricane.
So go now, please, and check it out. And feel free to comment (at the site), if you feel so inclined…
Check this out, a video interview with yours truly (and SMITH editor Larry Smith, and A.D. character The Doctor) on Pulp Secret. And I love this little embedded video whatcha-ma-hooie:
Chapter 3 of A.D., “…Or Should I Go?”, is now live on SMITH.
Hamid sends his family off to Houston, Kevin fills the bathtub with water, and Denise seeks shelter — but finds only chaos. It is Sunday, August 28, the day before Katrina.