New Work From Bryan Lee O’Malley
It has been a busy week for Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley. The first issue of Snotgirl from Image Comics was released on Wednesday, and a teaser image for a new graphic novel Worst World was revealed on Tuesday.
Snotgirl
Snotgirl works as a first for a lot of things for O’Malley. Co-created with artist Leslie Hung, it acts as his first major collaboration on a project. Also, it is the first long form series since Scott Pilgrim and his first comic to be released in the traditional monthly format.
In an interview with CBR News O’Malley describes the story as “Very character-driven”. The protagonist, Lottie Person, is a glamorous fashion blogger. But her perfect online image doesn’t match up to her gross, allergy-filled personal life.
Additionally, O’Malley spoke about inspiration, writing obstacles, and visual influences in the interview.
When asked about the specific inspiration that sparked the story, he revealed that:
“…the first question was how we could create a comic where we [Hung and himself] could draw pretty girls and flowing hair and stuff like that”
Regarding setting a story in the ‘real world’ for a change:
“…it’s certainly not going to get that wild. It doesn’t have the same anarchist spirit as Scott Pilgrim. But not everything is quite as it seems.I’ll hold my tongue on that until a few more issues come out”
And when asked about whether or not there were a lot of visual influences or if he gave Hung free reign, he admitted that he “let her go with it…”
“Leslie’s art is just so full of life, so in terms of directing her, I’ve had almost no input. I don’t need to have any input. I’ve never given a color note on this series, because Leslie and her colorist work hand-in-hand. She does what she wants, and it’s very much her world visually, which I love.”
O’Malley also suggested that fan feedback will help shape the second arc of the story.
Worst World
Worst World was announced on Tuesday, with a teaser image released on Entertainment Weekly. It comes as an exclusive print for San Diego Comic Con this weekend.
Not much is known about the story yet but we do know that it is set in present day Los Angeles and centres around 30-something Benney and 20-something Aubrey.
It is the first planned in a trilogy of graphic novels by Ballantine Books. Each novel is said to be over 300 pages each, quite different to Scott Pilgrim which never exceeded 250 pages.
The trilogy will see O’Malley work once more with art assistant Jason Fischer and colourist Nathan Fairbairn. The three previously worked together on the graphic novel Seconds.
We hope that more will be revealed about this new project this weekend at SDCC.
