Kelci D Crawford

March 31, 2014

Boxers by Gene Luen Yang: A Review

Gene Luen Yang’s Boxers is a fantastic read.

This volume (which is paired with Saints) follows Little Bao, a dreamer of a boy who is eventually drawn into rebellion against foreign forces, who seek to bring Christianity to China (among other things). The events that follow are a retelling of the Boxer Rebellion, a significant historical event.

With subject matter like this, it can be pretty easy to be historical and dry, or have artwork that’s dark, sinister, or brutal. Yang’s work is none of that.

The art is vibrant and the colors are well-chosen: in the story, the commoners who join the Big Sword Society are possessed by the spirits of China. The spirits are colorful and vibrant while the peasants are in dull, muted colors. The character designs are delightfully simple but unique to each and every character. While the landscape of the story is simple, that’s fine – the focus is on the characters, as it should be. In stories about war, it’s important to know the people that fought in them, even if they’re not big names.

The pacing throughout is brilliant. There can be several pages to a slow and thoughtful scene, but when the action happens, everything is bold and fast. The design of the panels is simple enough that you can read the story easily and not get lost (which is important to note, because there are an awful lot of comic artists that try layouts to be artistic – Marvel’s SIEGE, I’m looking at you – and instead it becomes an artistic mess. Boxers is not that work).

Ok, so obviously the artwork is great, but what about the writing?

It. Shines.

The art is simple and classy to let the writing shine through.

This story is still posing deep and thoughtful questions in me three days after I’ve finished it. Questions like, What is worth fighting for? What would you sacrifice for the future? Love? Others’ lives? The concept of yourself as an individual? What is fundamentalism and how does it transform people?

If you haven’t read this yet, you should. Go get it on Amazon.com or at your local library (that’s where I got mine. I have no shame).

P.S. I have yet to read Saints, the companion book to Boxers. That review will be coming up soon!

March 23, 2014

Jamie Roberts, Vlogs, and Graphic Novels

Welcome to another week!

Last week there was Validation, Johnson & Sir, and The Women Warriors Project galore.

For the past two days I’ve been writing the script for The Legend of Jamie Roberts like a madwoman. The odds are high that I can finally have the whole script finished before the end of this month! And then I can start making the art, and it will be glorious.

I’ve also been mulling over the vlog. It’ll start back up again this week since I have some videos recorded already. It’ll be back to updating every Friday.

Sometimes this week, expect a review of Boxers by Gene Luen Yang. I finished reading this marvelous graphic novel yesterday and I’m polishing my thoughts about the work.

Speaking of reviews, I am open to reviewing graphic novels, comics, webcomics, or even novels! If you would like me to review your work or any particular piece of work, shoot me an email at kelcidcrawford@gmail.com.

Expect more updates later this week!

March 16, 2014

Status Report!

Unexpected post is unexpected.

So what’s been going on lately? Well Validation and Johnson & Sir are still chugging along.

Last week was the launch of a NEW project, The Women Warriors Project! I wrote all about it in a previous blog post, which you can read here.

I’ve been posting some Johnson & Sir sketches over on my Tumblr. Here’s a few for you:

That last one is actually an in-joke on a Validation strip I did before, because half of the audience on Validation’s Facebook page saw this strip and went “I want Rubber Duck The Reckoning to be a thing!”

I want it to be a thing, too! We’re figuring it out ;D

I’m still writing The Legend of Jamie Roberts. With any luck the script will be done by March 30th.

I haven’t been working on Charlie and Clow as much as I should be. I need to fix that. And I hope to get the first 6 or so pages online once they’re done. I’ll let you know when that happens!

And I just might be making a new short story for an anthology soon…

March 11, 2014March 11, 2014

The Women Warriors Project

Yesterday was the launch of a new and ongoing illustration series called The Women Warriors Project.

This is a project that I think is very important for a few reasons.

Most history books and classes don’t really talk about women in general, much less women who fought in wars or were warriors in some capacity. It’s a shame because these women’s stories can add richness and depth to historical events that otherwise can be simplified into “good vs. evil” or some other dichotomy (I’m looking at you, World War II).
When I was a little girl growing up in a rural Ohio town, I wanted to hear more stories and read more histories about girls and women being heroes or being fighters because I wanted to be brave like they were. Everyone was telling stories with boys in the lead, whether it was Napoleon, Goku, or Huckleberry Finn. But I wanted to hear more about the Paper Bag Princesses, or the Polgara the Sorceresses, or the Cimorenes. Sure they existed, but there weren’t enough and they were hard to find.
I wanted to make a resource for those girls that are around today, who want to know the stories of real warrior women of the past like I did when I was a kid. Whether it’s for a book report or because you just really like badass women fighters, I wanted this project to be a source, a starting point, to get to know these historical women better.

In this project, I am doing my best to reference as many books and articles as possible to tell these stories and be historically accurate. However, I also recognize that this will be difficult because there aren’t too many books about women’s history that are available and accessible to the public.

The other problem that exists is that there are many women whose histories are not written down or recorded, or worse, their histories were changed by an outside perspective. This can make retelling the histories, even briefly, very challenging. But the challenge is accepted!

The books and articles I do use are going to be relevant and as accessible as possible to you, the reader, so you can read more about these awesome ladies.

This project is a jumping off point for research. It is by no means everything and every detail about the histories of these women. You are encouraged to read more about these women (as you should) and make your own conclusions about their achievements.

So who counts as a Woman Warrior?

I’m looking specifically for women (even trans women, if I can find them) who have participated in a war, battle, or revolution as a fighter and combatant. I’m also looking for women and trans women who are martial arts experts who have made a mark in history.

How often will it update with a new featured woman?

Right now, I’m planning on weekly updates every Monday, with each update on the Tumblr Page.

How long will the project last?

Into perpetuity! There are so many women warriors who deserve to be talked about that, at least at the moment, there’s no set finish line for this project.

Can other artists contribute to this project?

Eventually! I just started this recently, but in the future I’ll be looking for volunteers who want and are able to make art for this project. I’ll be making announcements when that time comes!

I’m not an artist, but how can I help?

Just reblogging or sharing posts with your friends, on Facebook and Twitter, and other sites helps out immensely. Also, try to keep any discussions that happen positive (I’m aware that there are minority groups that will try to put down this project. What they need is an education on what being a badass really means ;D).

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy this project!

March 9, 2014

Studio Redesign

Yesterday my sister and I took the time to redesign our studio space, and this is what we now have (at the moment):

At least now I don’t have my back to the door, AND I can use the natural light to my advantage!

Things have been pretty busy around here. I’ll be sharing more updates on my projects here on the site over the coming week.

Also, keep your eye on my Tumblr: I’m announcing a new project soon for Women’s History Month (yes I know it’s already the 9th of the month. It took a while).