March’s Peculiar Person of the Month: Healer and Journalist Helen Avery

By
David Rondinelli

Helen Avery with her dog Millie

I had the chance to meet Helen Avery at a Christmas party in the newly last year. Sitting around the crowded room while munching on some pizza bagel bites, I chose to introduce myself to her. She had avid control of herself around the bagel bites that I was quickly consuming as if death row were the next stop on my party list. Not wanting to finish the whole plate, I struck up a conversation in order to occupy my mouth with something else other than cheese covered white bread and booger shaped pepperoni shavings.

Helen greeted me with a smile. Enthusiastic words followed through that same smile charming me with a refined British accent that only needed a three-piece band and a steady melody to make my conversation with her sound like a modern musical. Making use of the word “multi-dimensional”, Helen is a healer specializing in Reiki and Hatha Yoga. She is also a journalist working on her first novel and a side musician who shares a life here in New York City with her dog Millie.

Recently, Helen visited her aunt at an Aboriginal community in Australia. She also studied with a healer specializing in organ regeneration outside of Perth on the West Coast of Australia. Upon returning from her spiritual trip, Avery offers some enlightening stories about her experience.

This Peculiar Life NYC: You have just recently gone on vacation to visit your Aunt. You mentioned that she lives with an Aboriginal community. Tell me a bit about what that experience was like?

Helen Avery: My aunt lives in one of the most remote Aboriginal communities in Australia in a place called Papalankutja, or Blackstone in the middle of the desert about 5 hours’ drive from Uluru (Ayers Rock). There she helps the community manage an arts center, which places their art in galleries and exhibitions and provides them with a space and the supplies to create their art. If you are not from those lands, you need a permit to be there so I was very lucky to be able to go and spend time with the community. In addition, it was just great to be with my Aunt who I rarely get to see.

Blackstone

T.P.L. NYC: What was the community life like?

H.A.: It’s a real mix of traditional life meets modern day. There are about 160 people that live in Blackstone in basic housing. There is one shop there (the nearest others shop is about an hour and a half drive away) and that sells food – the usual - frozen meats, some vegetables, coca-cola, as well as fans and batteries and microwaves.  There is a swimming pool for the children and a small schoolroom and a police station, a health center and a small church of sorts. Everything is covered in red dust and while there is infrastructure, the village is very basic and quite run down. There are many dogs. The first language of the community is “language” but most speak English also. Because they are so remote, their traditions and culture are very strong still. They hunt kangaroos, and goannas (iguanas), they collect grasses and wild tobacco (minkel), they have many ceremonies. They have a few healers/witch doctors in the community. They believe very strongly in otherworldly entities – such as a Featherfoot – which is an entity that attaches to women. Time is not really a concept that is grasped and the shop opening is marked with a siren. Family is everything. And material objects are exciting - everyone wants an iPhone! - but have no real worth to them. Abandoned cars are strewn throughout the desert, for example.




An abandoned car in the area

T.P.L. NYC: So how do they get money for living?

H.A.:  The government helps them with subsidies towards housing, but mainly they earn money through the art that they sell. They make jewelry from nuts and seeds that they decorate by burning; they make animals from binding grasses together, and they paint. However, the art is more than just about making money for the communities. The paintings are the stories and maps of the land. In each painting is a story of their ancestors. One woman explained to me as she was painting that it was necessary almost. She said that it was to teach the young and the ‘white fellas’ about the land and share the stories. If they don’t keep painting then the stories will be ruined.

T.P.L. NYC: What is the art like?

H.A.: It’s very abstract to us I suppose. It’s often dots and lines. Circles would indicate a fire pit or a watering hole. Horseshoe shapes represent people sitting down. A picture can represent an area of Australia or an ancient story – such as the tale of the Seven Sisters – and sometimes both. The community look at a painting and say – oh yes! That’s the tale of xyz, or – oh yes that’s Warburton. I’ve been there.  But to us it would look like lines and dots with a few circles. Once you start to see what the Aborigines see, the paintings take on a depth that is really quite profound. They are maps that would have helped the Aborigines trace their way across Australia. And they are stories that the communities have used to pass on knowledge and culture. These paintings are the same drawings that have been etched in the sand over thousands and thousands of years and are still being painted today. It is beautiful.

The Aboriginal artwork that the community sells.

T.P.L. NYC: While you were in Australia you also met with a healer. What was that like?

H.A.: Yes, my friend Ken Graydon is an amazing healer who lives outside of Perth on the West Coast of Australia. He works with regenerating organs. It is quite phenomenal. I’ve had remote healing sessions with him before so it was lovely to finally meet him and he kindly shared some of his teachings.

T.P.L. NYC: You are interested in alternative healing yourself, and are a Reiki practitioner is that right? What made you pursue that?

H.A.: Since I was very small, I have always been fascinated with the idea of something much bigger than us existing, and I have studied many religions and different metaphysical teachings. Inexplicable things happen sometimes that, for me, point to a greater force at work in the universe – perhaps a God. Perhaps it is a collective consciousness. I suppose I’ve always been a big fan of – if you can’t fix a problem in this physical world, maybe you can heal it by tapping into the world beyond. I’ve seen a lot of positive results from the power of prayer, intention, ritual, and healing techniques such as Reiki, so I continue to be fascinated with it!

T.P.L. NYC: What is Reiki exactly?

H.A.: Oh I don’t think anyone knows exactly! It’s tapping into a healing energy that exists in the universe. That can sound completely abstract to most people, and so I always say – just experience a session and see how you feel afterwards. People mainly report feeling very calmed when they have Reiki. It is very good at helping to quell anxiety. Often people report a clarity or new insight that suddenly comes to them in that state of calm. I’m a big advocate of, rather than trying to wrap one’s head around something and seek explanation, just go and experience something! That’s why I love yoga too. You get to have an experience during yoga.

T.P.L. NYC: Why did you choose to study Tantra as a philosophy?

H.A.: I love the Tantrics! They believe very strongly that you should experience this life to the fullest – that this life actually offers us a means to experience different states of consciousness that give us new awareness about who we really are. So, instead of going to sit in a cave to meditate and find the answers to those most pertinent questions – Who are we? Why am I here? -  let’s also use our bodies (having sex, doing yoga postures, meditating) and let’s use our environment for guidance (including astrology, tuning into the elements of nature).

Tantrics, to me, really have juicy lives. They say – yes let’s study this – but let’s also really experience life and use that as a means towards reaching deeper understanding. We can’t just be in our heads all the time. There is always an intention behind enjoying life for the Tantrics – it’s not mindless fun. There is a real sacredness and acceptance of everyone and everything. It’s a very non-judgmental philosophy - If you think an experience will help you towards your goal? Go do it!

T.P.L. NYC: Can you explain the kind of experiences that one might have during yoga?

H.A.: Well I teach Hatha Yoga, which involves holding postures for long periods. The idea is that the longer you hold the posture, the more you have a chance to relax your physical body, let the mind shut off, and then you get to feel the subtle energies that are moving in your being. Each posture was tried and tested thousands of years ago and is designed to have a certain energetic impact on your being. After practicing for only a few days or weeks, you can start to feel tingling sensations, emotions start to come up, you can feel quite uplifted or different. I love it because I can say – let’s find out if I do this posture for 15 minutes what I will feel. Yoga is a science.

T.P.L. NYC: You mention on your website about how the west tends to miss this part of yoga.

H.A.: Yes I think in the west we are so rushed and body-focused that we have made yoga into a sport. Just think how many “power yoga” classes we have in gyms that are cardio-workouts. That is fine and there is a place for that, but yoga is so much more than contorting one’s body into shapes and sweating, and it is like we are afraid to mention this in the West lest we upset people’s religious beliefs. Yoga is not a religion! It is a healing method and a means to better understand oneself. Slow it down, experience these postures and enjoy it!

T.P.L. NYC: You mentioned that you are a journalist as well, what areas do you write and report about?  

H.A.: I write about business, economics, and finance. I have a broad beat for sure [as I have written about] investment banking, agriculture finance, film finance, city budgets, wealth. My favorite topics tend to be around philanthropy – where money can have a positive social impact - and what technology means for business and finance – so I cover crowd funding like Kickstarter, and I look at how social networking is changing the world of finance and business.
T.P.L. NYC: You have a cute dog Millie. Does she get to come with you on the different trips you take?

H.A.: Aww, sadly not. Millie goes to Vermont to a wonderful dog boarder and trainer there called Kevin Behan. She’s there right now – stuck there because he has a lot of snow and I can’t get there without a large four-wheel drive. I hope it gives her a chance to run around a forest and be a real dog once in a while.

T.P.L. NYC: With so much going on for you, do you have any new things that we can expect to see from you in the near future?

H.A.: I’m not sure about “near future” but I’m still working on my novel and hope to finish that. I’m playing a lot more music these days so I hope to do something later in the year at one of ABC Sanctuary’s Speakeasy nights. I’m hoping to have an article published about Aboriginal art in the coming months.

Children of the Aboriginal community play on a computer.

T.P.L. NYC: So this blog is about peculiar people and things, what is the most peculiar thing that you have ever seen or been a part of?

H.A.: I suppose ‘urine therapy’ is rather peculiar.  At my tantra school in Thailand part of the teachings cover amaroli (urine therapy) – where you learn about the healing powers of urine. So for a while last summer I was hanging out with people who were drinking their urine or bathing in urine – I was one of them! It’s not as bad as you think – tastes a bit like tea – again, you have to experience these things!

T.P.L. NYC: This blog is also about New Yorkers, what is the most peculiar thing you have seen, experienced, or been a part of in New York City?

H.A.:  Oh God. I live in the east village. There are so many crazy things that happen here. Parties at the squats are always interesting! I suppose my first trip to New York before I moved here would have been my strangest. It was in 2000, and I was here on a weekend vacation with my boyfriend at the time and we were staying near Times Square. On our way back to the hotel walking up to Times Square we saw a huge crowd of people all clapping and chanting at the top of their voices “Jump, jump, jump, jump”. When we looked to where they were gazing, there was a man on a ledge of a building about 15 stories high. I remember thinking – oh my God. These cold-hearted crazy New Yorkers are actually encouraging this man to jump to his death! I thought I would never live here! Since moving here in 2006, I’ve never found New Yorkers to be cold-hearted so even to this day I think about how strange an experience that was.

To learn more about Reiki and Hatha Yoga, check out Avery’s website where you can book your own session at www.alayantouch.com

December's Peculair Person of the Month: Peter Johnson of the Global Manga Initiative

Peter Johnson co-founder of G.M.I.

As a child, Peter Johnson was really into cartoons, which quickly translated into a strong passion for anime and manga. What started off as hanging out around import-stores amongst the small bloom of U.S. anime market of the mid-to-late 90’s has led to the Global Manga Initiative. As head manager and spokesperson for G.M.I., Peter, along with other professional contacts, has developed an online community for upcoming manga creators.

A graduate with a custom B.A. in Japanese Anime and Manga, Peter also spent a semester studying abroad at Japanime LTD best know for their "How to Draw Manga" books. Concluding his education at the School of Visual Arts, he was able to get G.M.I. off the ground. Peter was cool enough to site down with This Peculiar Life NYC to talk about G.M.I., the state of the anime industry, and the joys of squirrel fishing.

 

 

This Peculiar Life NYC:  What made you want to start the Global Manga Initiative?

Peter Johnson: Stubbornness. Ever since I was a kid the idea of a creator who wasn't born and raised in Japan, and particularly one from the Western-world, making any serious ripples in the anime/manga-industry was a long-shot at best, impossible at worst. That was something I always wanted to change. It was incredibly frustrating growing up with the knowledge that this art-form, this manner of story-telling, was something still very much isolated from my ambitions due to its current-place in the world; locked behind language and culture barriers that would take years or even decades to overcome, plus social-prejudices that I would constantly have to work around. Even with The Avengers blazing through the box-office, most people still raise an eyebrow at the idea of you having a successful career in comics, let alone a SPECIFIC FORM of comics from halfway around the world. Somewhere along the way I decided that I wanted to change that, not just for myself but for every creator out there with similar passions. I formed G.M.I. because I feel there are a lot of creators out there like me who are just too dedicated and steadfast in their ambitions to bear giving up on their goals, and I want to do my best to found the kind of creative-platform for success I felt was missing from the world of manga. 

 

T.P.L. NYC: What are the goals and mission statements you hope to achieve with G.M.I.?

P.J.: I guess you could say one of our primary goals is to progress/evolve manga. I've spent my education and my work seeing many talented creators who had strong-passions for making manga, but who are realistically stagnated by the state of the industry and how hard it is to find recognition/success as an artist to begin with. There's all this great content out there, but so much of it just floats adrift, isolated on the internet or dumped into massive-archives sites where there is next-to-no chance of really standing out. With G.M.I., I want to create an open-anthology that not only hosts quality work, but also incorporates the creative aspects of that work into the anthology itself; that really focuses on not just archiving these works, but letting the viewers and fans who come to our site know what's going on in these individual, epic stories. And part of that process is watching just what exactly this melting-pot of creativity will allow the world to come up with, and how that ends-up affecting the growth of the Manga-genre.

 

 

T.P.L. NYC: How long has G.M.I. been operating?

 

P.J.: G.M.I. began to form around the end of 2010, but operated primarily behind closed-doors until spring of 2011, when we announced the project on Deviantart leading up to our first major outing at New York Comic-Con. Things were very 'hush-hush' at first; we spent a lot of time speaking with various artists and writers. There was a lot of careful preparation involved; we wanted to make sure we did this project right.  The website itself launched in July of 2012, so we're still fairly young, but I'm looking forward to seeing where we go from here.

G.M.I. Homepage

 

 

T.P.L. NYC: How many people are involved in G.M.I., and what do you think makes a good team?

 

P.J. G.M.I. is made up of about twenty individuals in-total at-present. The artists, writers and other creators featured on the site make up the majority overall, with the management team holding a comparatively-smaller roster of myself and several other individuals of various-roles/specialties.

 

I think making a good team isn't all that different from forging good relationships with those around you in-general; honesty, understanding and empathy really go a long way in forming dependable-bonds, even if only through a computer. Once you make that connection, it's just a matter of knowing each individual's strengths and how best to use them in collaboration with one-another to get the job done. I'm very grateful to the absolutely-fantastic work I've gotten out of all the on-board artists and my team thus-far. 

 

T.P.L. NYC: You were just at Comic-Con. How was the experience? 



Peter Johnson and G.M.I. at NYC Comic-Con 2012

P.J.: This was our second year at New York Comic-Con; we were at the 2011 Artist's Alley back when New York Anime Festival was still part of the picture. That said, I can see why most would think 2012's show was our first NYCC-outing since this was our first time on the Show Floor-proper. The experience was probably what you'd expect; an insane blend of excitement, effort, worry, fun and amazement, but a fantastic ride when all was said and done. We were right-across from the Square-Enix booth this year, and literally next to the Show Floor entrance, so it was a little intimidating when the NYCC doors would open-up and that huge crowd would pour out in front of us, but I have to say my team did an excellent job remaining cool under-fire. I was also really glad that some of our artists made the effort to make an appearance in-person, some coming from as far-away as Argentina. Being used to working online, it was really great to see the support for the project take on a human face, and they were absolutely wonderful people to meet.

 

T.P.L. NYC: What are some of your favorite titles on the site? What are they about?

 

P.J.: I try to remain impartial overall when it comes to the works on the site (I'm not voting in the Best of G.M.I. Awards), but I have to give special-mention to Crystal Jayme and her work Nigh Heaven & Hell. She's got a really great style, has a serious knack for creating memorable/fun-characters, and is an absolute-gem to work with; she's been consistently updating exclusively on G.M.I. at about a 30-page-per-month rate, and includes some frankly-breath-taking color work to use for promotion-purposes. That kind of effort deserves recognition. It's somewhat contrary to the usual approach to story-telling, but has a sorta tongue-in-cheek approach that makes it all just work, which adds to its overall uniqueness/charm. 

 

Another work I'm excited about is a new series coming to G.M.I. in December; "Bleak" by the artist AI. Without spoiling too much, it follows a high-school student who's depressed over the stagnant-nature of his life, but then begins to experience strange, supernatural-dreams that blur the lines between fantasy and reality, and make him rethink his approach to life. I think a lot of people will be able to identify with its themes, which orbit around the idea of wanting to escape the dreary, ordinary routine and aspire to something greater in life.

 

T.P.L. NYC: How did you find your artists? Do they come to you or do you go look for them?

 

P.J.:  A little of both; we scout works when we have the time to do so (either online or through cons) but we also get approached by a wide-range of talent interested in contributing to the anthology in some way or another. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

T.P.L. NYC: What are some of the challenges that you face in putting something “Global” together?

 

P.J.: It's tough to organize something with people living in different countries, on different time-zones and speaking different languages as opposed to friends/connections you have in the neighborhood, but it comes with the concept here. One of the obvious updates we'd like to incorporate into G.M.I. is a multi-language format, so we can more-accurately reflect a "global" standing.

 

T.P.L. NYC: Why manga as opposed to other styles of comics? Why do you emphasize this particular style?

 

P.J.: Manga has always been very interesting to me because it is an art-form that is simultaneously incredibly-diverse yet still very restrained in terms of its global development. Progress has definitely been made, and this art-form is still comparatively young, but I feel the overall "soul" of Manga is something that is still very-much concentrated in a small part of the world in which it was born. So there's a great combination of huge diversity of the format combined with the exciting potential of seeing how Manga will evolve as it continues to progress through the art-world on a global-level that keeps me excited about it.

 

T.P.L. NYC: How can people be a part of G.M.I.? Who do they contact?

 

P.J.: The best way to get involved with G.M.I. is to contact us through our website and give us a quick-introduction. Nothing too fancy needed, just tell us who you are, the sort of work you've done in the past, what you want to do in the future, and your general ambitions in regards to working with us. If you want to pitch a work to be featured as part of the G.M.I. Roster, it helps to include a brief summation of the series as well as a pilot-chapter so we can get an idea of the style of the story. We're also looking for talented bloggers, critics, writers, editors and those involved in video who are interested in Anime and Manga, as we're currently working on expanding the website with new aspects like review, coverage, editorial and media-sections.

 

 

T.P.L. NYC: What all does G.M.I. offer on its site?

P.J.: For Creators:

-Complete free, quality exposure on a secure, dedicated and funded website.

-Retain full Creative and Publishing control of your work.

-Rise up to the World Stage; Post your Concepts/Ideas to our Community-Forums to attract the attention and momentum you work needs to take flight.

-Stand Strong; Have your Series featured alongside the best in the world in our Online Manga Anthology.

-A Series Hub incorporating a Personal Blog and links to your Homepage, Facebook and Twitter Accounts creates a one-stop-shop for updating your work and reaching your fans.

-Unite; In-House Networking to help you form the creative team that's right for you.

-Community Feedback and Guidance to help your work be the best it can be.

For Fans:

-A Focused Roster of top-quality manga series from the most talented rising-creators on the planet.

-Instant Updates; Keep up-to-the-minute with your favorite Series/Artists via Twitter and Facebook Notifications.

-Make your Voice Heard; Give us an aspiring creators feedback through our Community Forums, and Social-Networking.

-Witness the Evolution and Progression of the Manga-Genre firsthand as creators from across the globe come together under one roof as they strive to become the next great Manga Legend!

  

T.P.L. NYC: How do you feel G.M.I. contributes or changes the anime/manga market?

 

P.J.: I feel the open-nature of G.M.I. makes it something of a variable to the market; what it becomes is really up to the Manga-creators out there. We're essentially throwing open the doors to the world itself and saying "show us what you've got out there!", then taking the greatest works we can find and doing our best to help show them off to the entire world. I feel variables like that are good for the overall market as it's a great way to see the art-form evolve "from the front-lines."

 

G.M.I. differs from other online indie-manga sites [because] G.M.I.[‘s] …goal is to remain an online-anthology [not an] archive-site. There are hundreds of sites out there that will host original-series, but are content to simply dump these works onto a "social-network"-esque archive next to hundreds of similarly-setup indie-series. These sites merely HOST the series they receive without really engaging and promoting the creative works they've been given individually in a way that keeps fans interested. With G.M.I., when we accept a work onto our roster, we also promote it not just as yet-another entry into our database, but as a creative world that is constantly changing and is exciting; when a major battle, romantic turning-point or other major narrative event occurs in one of our on-board series, you will see it promoted right there on the front-page. This also makes it more-fun for the fans, as they can just jump onto the site and instantly get a preview of what exciting things are occurring in all these different stories under-one-roof. This is a lot easier, and in my humble-opinion a lot more FUN, then having to scour through archives trying to get an idea of what a series is really all about based solely on a cover-image. Obviously this requires a smaller, focused, tighter roster of ongoing-works, but by cycling through featured series we keep things interesting and do our best to give great stories and creators their time in the sun.

 

I don't feel a Manga Anthology with this level of focus combined with this open, global nature hasn’t really existed yet, so if I could accurately predict the response to this project, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun to watch it develop *smiles*.

 

Page from Bleak, a series from G.M.I.

 

T.P.L. NYC: Are you exclusively web based or do you plan on going into the print arena?

P.J.: Exclusively web-based...for now...

 

T.P.L. NYC: So this blog is about peculiar things, what is one of the most peculiar anime/manga titles you have seen or read recently?

 

P.J.: One of my all-time-favorite mangas is Yu Yagami's HIKKATSU!: Strike a Blow to Vivify! because of its incredibly bizarre and absolutely hilarious nature. It's about an expert martial-artist who literally beats things back into shape with a technique called the "Repair Blow"; a master-level strike designed to fix next-to-any problem with something, whether it be a human or mechanical entity. The result? This guy round-house kicks his friend across the street to fix the guy's dislocated shoulder, engages in epic-battle against rampaging malfunctioning construction-equipment and blows a hole in Mt. Fuji to "fix" the frigid conditions on the mountain's peak. Combine that with the fact that the "Repair Blow" isn't quite perfected and the primary love-interest being raised by pigeons and you get hilariously bizarre story you won't soon forget. I continue to profuse my adoration for this series here: http://gmimanga.exepicstudios.com/forum/?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=33

 

Cover of Hikkatsu Vol. 1

 

T.P.L. NYC: What is the most peculiar thing you have experienced or seen while in NYC?

 

P.J.: Squirrel-Fishin'. Basically the idea is several people sit up in a tree, or on a high-point (like a rooftop) in a park or some other environment that squirrels would inhabit with acorns, walnuts or the like tied to the end of fishing line. You drop your bait to the ground below and wait for a squirrel to grab-hold, then try to lift your furry-friend as high off the ground as you can before they either free the bait or bail; highest squirrel wins. Yes this is a real thing and no, they don't use any hooks (because that would be cheating...in addition to the cruelty). Easily the strangest thing I've seen in Central Park...

Squirrel-Fishing in the park

 

To learn more about G.M.I., or be a part of the creative team, please visit their website, as they have some upcoming events planned. They will premiere two new series for December: "Bleak" by AI and "Meeting Hearts" by Stela Canga. Stick around for their “Best of G.M.I. Awards"; a poll to determine which Ongoing-Series will be declared the best G.M.I. Series for 2012. Fans can vote now at http://gmimanga.exepicstudios.com/best-of-g-m-i-voting-page/ Polls close 2013.

 

 

October's Peculiar Person of the Month: Writer and Editor Jorel Lonesome

 Jorel Lonesome is an American comic book writer and editor best known for his independent comic anthology series, Blackout 1 & 2 for Pronto Comics. In addition, he has featured stories in other Pronto Comics anthologies such as For a Price, Kicked and Pronto Goes to War. Born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx, he is the second of two children of a middle school teaching mother and a computer-engineering father. A student and scholar at Borough of Manhattan Community College working on his associate’s degree in English, Jorel is working on becoming a better writer. He first found his love of comics by drawing his own using familiar characters such as Spider-Man, Spawn, and Blade. His appreciation for writing developed by keeping a journal, where he would add physical objects, mementos, newspaper and magazine article photos, relating to most of his journal entries. A fan of everything from hard rock bands, WWE wrestlers, and spoken word poetry, helped to influence his writing. At 16, Jorel performed his spoken word poetry at numerous venues such as Deborah Gray throughout New York City. He had a signature piece, Town Crier, a poem that depicts the social issues of his community, which was well received by audiences. From 2004 to 2010, he was an MC known as Silent Thoughts, where he featured rap cyphers called, "Spit-N-Pass" before deciding to take a break from spoken word poetry to focus on comics. Jorel was kind enough to sit down it This Peculiar Life NYC to tell us all about how he got started and his creative process.

This Peculiar Life NYC: You are involved in comics; tell me how did you become a part of Pronto Comics?

Jorel Lonesome: It all started when I enrolled in Andy Schmidt's Comics Experience courses instructed by Mike Siglain, an editor at DC comics at the time. It was a hand’s on intensive 6-week program, learning how to create effective visual storytelling. It was quite a challenge, but it is one of the best courses to take if you want to learn how to draw and/or write comics.  When classes were over, I stuck around quick enough to keep in touch with colleagues. There I was introduced to the students who took the writing courses. Achilles Yeldell, a student from the comics experience writing course and the founder of Pronto Comics, had us all join him in what he called "The Breaking In Network,"  to discuss what comic book stories we can create as a group. The writers and artists, me included, networked together and decided to create a comic book anthology about bounty hunters. We scheduled monthly meetings at a pizza shop downtown near Times Square. The meeting consisted of finding out what stories that beginning writers want to tell, pitching their stories to artists and working together to develop a five- page comic for the anthology. So we collaborated and eventually released our first book titled For a Price: Bounty Hunters And Other Scum. It features ten stories from various writers and artists in addition to other talents that were not in the comics experience courses, but joined to show their magic on a page. More comfortable taking the position as writer, I wrote a short story that is featured called "Club Banger". It was about a hard-nosed, veteran bounty hunter named Conrad Buchanan. He must capture a shape shifting bail jumper, formally created by a secret US government experiment. After the anthology was released, everyone suggested we'd make up a name for ourselves as a collective?  We called ourselves Pronto Comics. I’ve been with the group three years now.

 T.P.L. NYC: What were you doing before Pronto?

J.L.: I was reciting poems and spoken word at little cozy cafe's, bars and clubs throughout New York City.

T.P.L. NYC: You are a writer for comics. How has your experience as a writer shaped your view of comics?

J.L.: I remember seeing my first comic in print. It was interesting to go back to memory lane and realize how it began and what it takes to make a decent story for readers. I remember having to edit my script 4-5 times to get it right within a 5-page limit. It was not easy work, but when you have a passion for writing comics and enjoy the process, there is no stopping you. Seeing my story told from script form to a visual narrative blew me away. Over the years, thus far, I continue learning more about how comics should be done for the sake of our audience.  I can look through a comic book and find the fundamental development that lies within each completed page, how it relates to my process of making a comic and comparing their work to mine, whether it’s good or bad. I take into consideration of how important it is to tell a visual story and the contents that need to be there for readers. The goal of making a comic book is to keep your audience turning from page to page using dynamic visuals and compelling storytelling. Whenever I make a comic, I make it my goal to meet the standards. It is also a great accomplishment to exceed our audience’s expectations.

T.P.L. NYC: Blackout is your signature book. Tell me what it is about?

Blackout 1

J.L.: Mischievous brothers, Chester and Preston Pemberton, arrive at a mysterious tree house in the outskirts of Vineville Town. Suddenly, the brothers are welcoming guests by the lonely being as it brings them inside of its realm for a treat. Hesitant to enter it, Chester and Preston peek through a room filled with art utensils, painting canvases and magical paraphernalia as if it were occupied by a wizard of some kind. They’re captivated by it and play as long as they please, until Chester mistakenly hits Preston with a magic wand, causing Preston to spill magic ink onto a mapped painting of Vineville. As the ink trickles down, the light bulb flickers in the room. Once the black ink covers the whole painting, the entire town is out of electrical power as all sources of light become scarce. A series of mishaps occur in the town, which most of our Vineville residents concurrently experience during the first night of this particular blackout.


 

T.P.L. NYC: How did you come up with the concept for it?

J.L.: It was a hot day in the summer of 2010.  In my neighborhood, everyone had their air conditioning on, in their homes and led to me thinking, what if all the power eventually goes out? Later that night, I said it too soon. I was packing up to go out of the country for vacation. During my destination from New York to the Caribbean Islands, I began to believe that it might be interesting to have a blackout themed comic book. I pitched it to the Pronto guys and they liked the idea, so we went with it.

 T.P.L. NYC: How many issues is it?

J.L.: There is issue one and two issue three will be released in the near future.

T.P.L. NYC: When can we see the new issue?

J.L.: Issue 2 will be ready October 2012. Blackout 3 is slated for release in 2013.

T.P.L. NYC: The format has changed from an anthology to a series of one-shots. Why the change?

J.L.: Pronto is heading towards a new direction, which is writing one-shots, so after Blackout issues #2 and #3, it will then become a series. We also want to focus on the town itself and get more in depth with our characters.

 T.P.L. NYC: What is the new one- shot about?

J.L.: Despite the continuation of the Blackout series still in development process, we know that it continues where the anthologies left off. Blackout will pay more attention to the town and its cryptic past, which the founders and authority of the town try burying to maintain control. We experience how this mysterious blackout begins to wear on the residents and how Vineville's scarcity of light effects their living standards. The characters will lead our way to getting deeper into the town’s origin and the cost for doing so.

Cover for Blackout 2

 

T.P.L. NYC: Aside from being a writer you are also an editor, how do you feel the two jobs are different from each other?

J.L.: As an editor, you have to build a creative bond with the writers and artists. Staying on the same page is very important. You have to make sure the people involved in the project are on tabs with their work and doing it properly for the story to be told as well. You have responsibility over the progress of each story for the sake of the comic book. You also need to look at a page and find out what works and what doesn't. You need to find what needs to be added, taken out or changed. You should also ask yourself, “What would make this page better? Does the art flow well with the story through the panels?  Are the characters engaging? Will the reader be entertained throughout the book? What enlightenment or feelings, emotions can we get out of the reader? What relationship does the characters and audience share? I look for character development in the story so we can put ourselves in the characters shoes and immerse ourselves in the story as we find ways we can interpret it from our viewpoint. As a beginning editor, I look out for these things.  I try to avoid dissatisfying the reader or audience. Comic book editors are like the producer or director of a film, managing the project creatively with guidance, support and appreciation for the people involved in the process. A comic book writer must make sure the story is clear, properly structured and entertaining. The writer’s should also be on the same page with their artists. These are some of the things to look out for. Through experience, another difference between writer and editor is that for writers, you are given deadlines and guidelines you must follow. There’s less responsibility or tasks given compared to an editor.

T.P.L. NYC: Is there one that you enjoy doing more?

J.L.: Both duties are essential to your practice of understanding the way comics are made. I learn something new from it after each story I finish thanks to the other people involved in the project.

T.P.L. NYC: What do you feel makes a good script and story from your point of view?

J.L.: A good story must have its beginning, middle and end. It must connect with audiences on an emotional level as well as riveting. The characters must be engaging and make us feel whether we dislike him/her or not. I like to feel enlightened by stories and before I forget, a good theme for the story is very important. I like stories that provide a message and give lessons that I can incorporate in everyday life. I also like to experience the worldview of characters that I have never tapped into. When I close a story at its ending, I want to get some sort of emotion and satisfaction from the journey I take with the character(s). I believe it is better to have an interesting character working a boring job, than an interesting job being performed by a boring character.

T.P.L. NYC: How long does it take you to put a book together?

J.L.: For an anthology? It usually takes me 4 to 5 months because some collaborators fail to meet deadlines…It happens and it sucks.

For A Price

 

T.P.L. NYC: What are some challenges you have experienced as an independent creator? Do you have any advice on how to get through the challenges as an independent creator?

J.L.: Learn everything it takes to produce a self- published work. Create a goal and strategy before you even start working on the book. You'll have to network like there's no other day and be professional. Get hands on in the field that you're creatively involved with. As an independent creator, procrastination and writers block are my enemies. To break out of writers block, keep yourself busy doing something productive. Take a jog, exercise, watch a film, play music, clean or just hang out with someone. Two things that loosened me up from writer's block was exploring new places and keeping myself busy for inspiration. As for procrastination, you need to tell yourself that the more you hold something off the more it will bite you in the arse. Plan accordingly. Set dates and times when it should get done, even if you didn't get everything you wanted out of it, at least you tried to find your desire or need. It takes a dedicated disciplinary time and persistence to focus on that story or project you’re trying to get out.

T.P.L. NYC: How did you find your artists/ creative teams? What are some of the steps you take to find people to work with?

J.L.: Nonstop networking and building relationships. You have to be believable, professional and good to get along with. You might have to jump out of your shell and make friends to make connections and make connections to develop your product, unless you are a one man army.

T.P.L. NYC: You have another story in the works called Nunchuck Nancy. It is a cool title. What is it about and when will the book come out? 

J.L.: I'd rather not spoil anyone yet, but I plan on releasing it by 2014.

T.P.L. NYC: How did you come up with the idea for this book?

J.L.: Random thoughts and having a love for women that kick butt!

Splash Page Pronto Goes to War featuring Jorel Lonesome

 

T.P.L. NYC: Will you be using a lot of the same artists on it?

J.L.: If I can, I’ll stick with one artist. However working with more than one is a treat as well.

T.P.L. NYC: What are some of your other interests or hobbies?

J.L.: Writing, jump rope, jogging, exercise, Videogames, reading, and collecting comics in addition to  reading books.

 T.P.L. NYC: What do you feel readers get from your work?

J.L.: As of now, I’d say a creator who has the potential to make good comics.

T.P.L. NYC: What are some of your influences when it comes to other creators?

J.L.: In the comic book medium, I am a big fan of Frank Miller’s earlier works. Alan Moore always entertains me. I’m enjoying just about everything that Geoff Johns and Scott Snyder brings to the table in comics.  Stan “The Man,” Lee is another unforgettable storyteller. I enjoy Peter David’s work, especially his run on the Incredible Hulk. Anything Neil Gaiman is great. I always like the edginess and dark gritty crime stories from Chuck Dixon. There are many other writers/authors that I enjoy reading as well.

T.P.L. NYC: What is your creative process like? How do you best like to write and work?

J.L.: I start off with” what if’s?” I brainstorm and start with a character. Then, I set a world around them, come up with a problem they have with other characters and what characters support them. I write as much as I can to select what would work well for my interests and the reader’s interests simultaneously. I like to write and work when the other responsibilities are done and when an idea catches me during the night or day. I like to incorporate bits and pieces of what I learn in everyday life into my writing process as well.

 T.P.L. NYC: What kind of genre do you like to write the most?

J.L.: I'll go for science fiction, fantasy and horror. As of late I’ve been trying out different genres. I like all genres of film and comics. It's good to look for the best work in each genre.

T.P.L. NYC: This blog is about peculiar things. What is the most peculiar thing you’ve experienced in New York City?

J.L.: A gang of vampires in the subway station at about 3a.m. in the morning. It was the strangest, but coolest experience ever. It wasn't around Halloween either! It took place in the summer when my sister and I, along with her friends went to the movies. One leader of the whole pack was some short frail 20-24 year old with pale makeup, jumping from top of the subway steps to the bottom, showing his fangs. His friends, that were all vamps too were showing their teeth and moving around the station like actual vampires. It was the strangest thing and I feared it at first, but it just seemed like a way of life for them. In New York City, you'll see just about anything weird at night.
Check out a copy of the Blackout #2, available now from Pronto Comics at Collector’s Kingdom,and will be available online soon. His future projects include, Blackout#3 in 2013, his first graphic novel, Nunchuck Nancy , and a script that he will be producing for his first short film "The Great Soup," with director Charlton Ruddock.