So at the end of last year I applied for a Master of Creative Writing course at the Auckland Uni of Technology. I mostly applied because I heard that Dylan Horrocks was going to be one of the supervisors, but also because it looked wicked.

Anyway, I submitted a proposal and got accepted to the course! So in a couple of weeks time I’ll be moving up there. So, if my comics get a bit sporadic over the next little while, and if you notice lots of comics about how much I miss Joe (he’s staying here until he finishes his masters – *sadface*), then this is probably the reason why.

Below, my comic proposal! Coming to a masters programme soon:

(This comic is in black and white.)

Panel 1:

Sam: (A person wearing a white, collared shirt and a checked vest, who is looking directly at the viewer. Eyebrows are raised and mouth is open, with slightly upturned edges. Arm is bent up at the elbow, palm facing the viewer. There is a pencil behind Sam’s ear.) I want to write stories about queer identities in New Zealand.

 

Panel 2:

Sam: (A person who is looking directly at the viewer, with raised eyebrows and an open mouth. Arms are raised at the shoulders and bent up at the elbows, palms facing up.) Using words and images to create narratives.

(To Sam’s side is a circle that has a speech bubble within it. Inside the speech bubble are wavy lines, representing text. To Sam’s other side is another circle, which has a stick figure within it. The stick figure has one hand on its hip, and the other pointing straight up.)

 

Panel 3:

Sam: (A person who is looking directly at the viewer, with raised eyebrows and an open mouth, which has upturned edges. Sam’s fingers are holding the bottom of the panel, as though it were a window sill.) It’ll be a graphic novel with short pieces

 

Panel 4:

Sam: (A person who is looking directly at the viewer, with raised eyebrows and an open mouth, which has upturned edges. One arm is raised at the shoulder and bent up at the elbow, in Sam’s hand; a pencil.) Telling stories from various identities, across ages, ethnicities and abilities.

 

Panel 5:

Sam: (A person who is looking directly at the viewer, with raised eyebrows and an open mouth.) Each story will have a different voice, and a different style

 

Panel 6:

(Panel 6 is comprised of 6 squares.)

(Square 1: Has three small pictures, with wavy lines alongside each, which represent text.)

(Square 2: Shows a person wearing a collared shirt, who has closed eyes and whose mouth is open, with very upturned edges. There are three large exclamation marks surrounding said person.)

(Square 3: Shows two people looking into each other’s eyes, both of who have closed mouths with upturned edges. One person has dark, curly hair and the other has pale, straight hair. There are three love hearts above the two of them.)

(Square 4: Shows a white silhouette of a person’s head, and two dark shapes filling most of the background.)

(Square 5: Shows a stick figure alongside five squares, one of which it is indicating to. There is a shape in each square; a star, a crescent moon, a square, a triangle, and an exclamation mark.)

(Square 6: Shows a silhouette of a person, who is wearing a cape, and has a capital ‘Y’ on the chest.)

 

Panel 7:

Sam: (A person who is looking directly at the viewer, with raised eyebrows and an open mouth, which has upturned edges. Arms are raised at the shoulders, bent at the elbows, and hands are outside the panel, palms facing each other.) So, then, it becomes as much about how we tell stories, as the stories we tell.

 

Panel 8:

Sam: (A person who is looking directly at the viewer, with raised eyebrows and an open mouth, which has upturned edges. One arm is raised slightly at the shoulder and bent up at the elbow, hand closed, with one finger pointing up.) Because telling our own stories, as varied and diverse as we are, is really powerful.