What Inspired Delilah S. Dawson While Writing 'Ladycastle'?
Image: Melanie R. Meadors This weeks Geek SpeaksFiction! dips a toe into the comics world. GeekMom Mel asked author Delilah S. Dawson what inspired her while she was writing her new comic, Ladycastle! Dont miss this exciting new comic featuring strong women and heroic fantasy, coming to a comics shop near you, Wednesday, January 25! The great thing about comics is that, much like Skittles, what you see on the outside generally tells you what youll find on the inside. The cover for Ladycastle #1 shows Merinor, Aeve, and Gwyneff, three strong women, and thats exactly what youll discover once you start turning the pages. Ladycastle is about flipping the Round Table and destroying the tropes of Fantasy in a way that empowers women and emphasizes friendship and working together to overcome grief and insecurity. Ladycastle is, above all, a comic about ladies of all ages, races, sizes, and abilities overcoming hardships to triumph, together. And here are five things that inspired it. 1.A Writing Women-Friendly Comics panel that didnt have any women on it. Back in 2015, I was a panelist at GenCon, one of the biggest gaming conventions in the world. I received a frantic email: Did I have enough comics knowledge to sit on a panel on Writing WomenFriendly Comics? Because they had only just noticed that it had zero women. I agreed. The resulting panel included three guys and two girls and was moderated (and overtaken) by someone who began the panel by making clear that it was intended to be for men writing about women, not women doing anything. It was one of the most exasperating hours of my life, and the women in the audience were not shy about their own frustrations. Luckily, a columnist for The Mary Sue was in the room, and her coverage was epic. The next day, I received an email from an editor at BOOM! Studios asking me if I wanted to pitch some ideas. Considering my experience on that panel, I knew the comics I pitched would be written about women, for women.
Image: Boom! Studios 2.Monty Python and the Holy Grail. When I came home from GenCon, I was desperate for a great idea to pitch to BOOM! As it turns out, I walked into the house while my husband and kids were watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail. When I heard the famous line, Strange women lyin in ponds distributin swords is no basis for a system of government, the idea I needed arrived. Because what if it WAS a great system of government? What if a woman was the one to take the swordand not because she wanted power? Merinor was born in that moment: A strong, black woman in her 30s, she takes the sword because shes professionally interested in the metal and furthering her art as a blacksmith. Turns out she makes a great king. 3.Disney, Prince, Hamilton, and Patton. I wanted to begin the comic by turning over a Fantasy trope, so I started with Rapunzel/Sleeping Beauty in her tower, because that one always bothered me. Locking your kid away for years is not cool. Thats how Aeve was born, a princess locked in a tower whos slowly going insane and fighting it every step of the way. She begins with a parody of a song from Tangledthat includes an homage to Terminator 2. I couldnt help slipping in little hat tips to some of my favorite media, so youll find references to Hamilton, Prince songs, and pep talks from Patton and Braveheart. Ladycastle is set in
a magical past, but its got a contemporary heart and an awareness of the tropes its flipping. 4.Mad Max: Fury Road. My original vision for Ladycastle was more lighthearted and humorous, with art like Adventure Time, Lumberjanes, or Nimona. But once Ashley Woods came on board and designed the characters, the book morphed into something deeper and more serious, something with heart and depth, even with the duty/doodie and butt jokes I couldnt help making. When it came to creating the armor, our editor Chris Rosa suggested a Furiosa slant, and it was brilliant. From that moment on, when I was writing, I often listened to the Mad Max: Fury Road soundtrack. In Mad Max: Fury Road, the women are reduced to things, and they fight that. In Ladycastle, all the men are gone forever, and the women must rebuild their lives. It makes sense that Merinor would craft their armor with uniqueness and ferocity. These women are definitely not things.
Image: Boom! Studios 5.My 10yo daughter. The first time I took my daughter into a comic book shop, I was disappointed. It was around 2013, and the shops shelves felt like a sea of muscled-up, violent dudes with a few superwomen thrown in as purely sexual objects. Then I found Saga, a comic with a grown woman breastfeeding on the
cover, and I was so grateful that there were comics out there written, seemingly, just for me. My daughter found Adventure Time, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Transformers MTMTE, Cleopatra in Space. Its getting easier to find comics written just for women, but I wanted to write something with particular appeal to women ages 9 and up, something moms and daughters could enjoy together and talk about. So far, Im learning that dads and sons enjoy it, too. I included a younger princess, Gwyneff, age 11, so that the story has grounding for younger kids. All the fights in Ladycastle are solved by something other than violence. Ultimately, its about ladies lifting ladies, about ladies of all sizes, ages, races, and abilities coming together to rebuild their lives in their own way. Its about grief, familial frustrations, and overcoming fears. Its a comic that, were I to walk into a comic book store today knowing nothing, I would instantly pick up and start flipping through. And then I would give it to my daughter. I hope youll feel the same way. As of right now, Ladycastle is scheduled to have four issues, and you can find them all at BOOM! Studios, order issues http://deeptyrantmaker.tumblr.com/post/156334624546 digitally at Amazon or Comixology, or ask your local shop to start a pull list for you. Delilah S. Dawson writes the Ladycastle comic series for BOOM! Studios. As a novelist, shes the author of Star Wars: The Perfect Weapon and Scorched, the dark fantasy Blud series, the YA thrillers Hit and Strike, YA horror Servants of the Storm, various short stories, and The Shadow series, a fantasy Western written as Lila Bowen and beginning with Wake of Vultures. Her short story, When Doves Cry, will appear in the Hellboy: An Assortment of Horror anthology from Dark Horse later this year. Shes won three RT Book Awards and teaches writing online at LitReactor.com. Delilah lives in the north Georgia mountains with her family and hangs out online at whimsydark.com and on Twitter, @delilahsdawson.
Spread the wordMelanie Meadors Melanie R. Meadors is the author of fantasy and science fiction stories where heroes dont always carry swords and knights in shining armor often lose to nerds who study their weaknesses. Shes been known to befriend wandering garden gnomes, do battle with metal-eating squirrels, and has been called a superhero on more than one occasion. Her work has been published in Circle Magazine, The Wheel, and Prick of the Spindle, and she was a finalist in the 2014 Jim Baen Memorial Science Fiction Contest. Melanie is also a freelance author publicist and publicity/marketing coordinator for both Ragnarok Publications and Mechanical Muse. She blogs regularly for GeekMom and The Once and Future Podcast. Her short story A WholeHearted Halfling is in the anthology Champions of Aetaltis, available April 12, 2016. 46 yr old Solicitor Elvin Mcqueeney from Picton, enjoys to spend time squash, Best Word Puzzle Games On Android And IOS ‌ and greyhound racing. Finds travel a revealing experience after paying a visit to Generalife and AlbayzĂn.