{"id":16487,"date":"2018-10-10T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2018-10-10T16:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=16487"},"modified":"2018-10-05T14:23:32","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T21:23:32","slug":"camosun-instructor-ken-steacy-collaborates-with-margaret-atwood-on-new-comic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2018\/10\/10\/camosun-instructor-ken-steacy-collaborates-with-margaret-atwood-on-new-comic\/","title":{"rendered":"Camosun instructor Ken Steacy collaborates with Margaret Atwood on new comic"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the world becomes a dark, cold, and unforgiving place, people turn to what comforts them. In Canadian author Margaret Atwood\u2019s short story Oursonette<\/i>, that comfort is comics for protagonist Al Zurakowski. Camosun Comics and Graphic Novels program co-founder and instructor Ken Steacy says Atwood\u2019s story\u2014which is based on a style of Canadian comic books called Canadian Whites\u2014got into him and wouldn\u2019t let him go.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAny good piece of fiction or literature or art or movies or TV series, when it does have its hooks in you, when you leave the theatre… you\u2019re a little sad because there\u2019s a yearning,\u201d says Steacy. \u201cYou want more.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Camosun College Comics and Graphic Novels program co-founder and instructor Ken Steacy (photo by Adam Marsh\/Nexus<\/em>).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Steacy decided to try to get in contact with Atwood after being inspired by her story; one thing led to another, and he found himself spending an afternoon with her going over character development for what became War Bears<\/i>, his comic collaboration with Atwood based on Oursonette<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPinch me; I\u2019m dreaming,\u201d he says with a laugh, reflecting on that afternoon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Steacy and Atwood would exchange emails and meet to discuss the story, and Atwood would provide tweaks in terms of character development and plot. Steacy says he followed the original Oursonette<\/i> story in this comic adaption, and says that Atwood is a great cartoonist who is a real history buff and deeply invested in Canadian history and Canadian culture and identities.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this is what she chose to write about,\u201d says Steacy. \u201cAlso, people don\u2019t know this, but she\u2019s a great cartoonist. She\u2019s incredibly funny and does these wonderful little cartoons. It was just very serendipitous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steacy says that, stylistically and thematically, the adaption is in keeping with the original Canadian Whites. It has some black and white pages and some colour, but, first and foremost, it\u2019s patriotic, says Steacy. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very Canadian story. When I count my blessings, very near the top of the list is that I\u2019m Canadian. I live and work in the best country in the world. Of course, as a Canadian, you\u2019re not supposed to say that; we\u2019re much too polite,\u201d says Steacy, with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Canadian Whites contributed to\u2014if not completely formed\u2014a distinctly Canadian subculture within the comic industry, Steacy says. Both the original and the adaption of the story reflected the time period the nation was in. It was total war, says Steacy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe entire nation\u2014everyone\u2014is somehow directly or peripherally involved in the war effort,\u201d he says. \u201cEveryone was pulling together.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Steacy says Atwood\u2019s original story reflected that. It was about a boy, Zurakowski, who couldn\u2019t serve in the war. He sat at home, ridiculed by those around him for being lazy; he found solace in comic books, and eventually they became his contribution to the war effort.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be his contribution to the war. He will boost morale; his characters will encourage people to buy war bonds… he has a very pure heart,\u201d says Steacy. \u201cThe character he creates is also a reflection of his desire to show his support for our allies.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Steacy says that Canadian Whites became an integral part of the war effort in the story and boosted morale for those on the frontlines.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was all about fighting fascism and punching Nazis and all that good stuff,\u201d says Steacy, \u201cbut also, of course, there\u2019s a very Canadian flavour to them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the world becomes a dark, cold, and unforgiving place, people turn to what comforts them. In Canadian author Margaret Atwood\u2019s short story Oursonette, that comfort is comics for protagonist Al Zurakowski. Camosun Comics and Graphic Novels program co-founder and instructor Ken Steacy says Atwood\u2019s story\u2014which is based on a style of Canadian comic books […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,220],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus","category-october-10-2018"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16487"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16489,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16487\/revisions\/16489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}