Above: Nice Day For a War: Adventures of a Kiwi Soldier in World War 1 by Chris Slane & Matt Elliott. Copyright Chris Slane & Matt Elliott 2011.
Launching today, Nice Day For a War: Adventures of a Kiwi Soldier in World War 1 by Chris Slane & Matt Elliott, is the second New Zealand graphic novel to be released this year. It chronicles the wartime experiences of Corporal Cyril Elliott, co-author Matt Elliot's grandfather. The book itself is part graphic novel and part historical document; with Slane's vivid watercolour story sequences accompanied by actual photographs, letters and cartoons from the soldiers in the trenches themselves. It's an engaging combination, which I'm sure will make this a bestseller come Anzac Day.
Earlier this month, I asked Chris if he could talk a little about it's unique shape (landscape) and format:
Chris Slane: I was inspired by old wartime photograph albums, created by veterans, which are often landscape-shaped. Our initial proposal to the publisher used the cover of an old album with a cartoon window. I expected this shape would also suit comic-style story-telling, as well as historical details like photographs, cartoons, and ephemera. We also hoped that our book would protrude awkwardly from bookshop shelves and trip up and possibly wound innocent civilians passing on their way to the Dan Brown section.
AK: How do the graphic novel parts of the story fit together with the text pieces and other information?
CS: The war experiences of Matt's grandfather, Cyril Elliott was the basis for the book. It starts when he left New Zealand and ends on his return, but covers in more detail his time at Messines. We considered having footnotes on every page, but it seemed cleaner to separate comic pages from the historical material. That way incidental information didn't interrupt the flow of the narrative, gave breathing spaces, and allowed time to pass between chapters. In the end, the book evolved until there was about one third fiction, two thirds non-fiction.
To celebrate it's launch, tonight there will be an author signing upstairs at the Grey Lynn (RSA) Returned Services Social Club, 1 Francis Street, Grey Lynn/Westmere, Auckland (kids allowed). From 6.00-8.00pm you'll be able to buy a signed copy of the book, grill the authors about obscure historical details, enjoy a drink and support the RSA by buying a poppy too!
Nice Day For a War: Adventures of a Kiwi Soldier in World War 1 by Chris Slane & Matt Elliott is available at all good bookstores nationwide today, and you'll also be able to pick up a copy of it this weekend at the Wellington Armageddon Expo alongside Ant Sang's Shaolin Burning at the New Zealand Comic Creators stall.
-AK!
Launching today, Nice Day For a War: Adventures of a Kiwi Soldier in World War 1 by Chris Slane & Matt Elliott, is the second New Zealand graphic novel to be released this year. It chronicles the wartime experiences of Corporal Cyril Elliott, co-author Matt Elliot's grandfather. The book itself is part graphic novel and part historical document; with Slane's vivid watercolour story sequences accompanied by actual photographs, letters and cartoons from the soldiers in the trenches themselves. It's an engaging combination, which I'm sure will make this a bestseller come Anzac Day.
Above: a page from Nice Day For a War: Adventures of a Kiwi Soldier in World War 1 by Chris Slane & Matt Elliott.
Chris Slane: I was inspired by old wartime photograph albums, created by veterans, which are often landscape-shaped. Our initial proposal to the publisher used the cover of an old album with a cartoon window. I expected this shape would also suit comic-style story-telling, as well as historical details like photographs, cartoons, and ephemera. We also hoped that our book would protrude awkwardly from bookshop shelves and trip up and possibly wound innocent civilians passing on their way to the Dan Brown section.
AK: How do the graphic novel parts of the story fit together with the text pieces and other information?
CS: The war experiences of Matt's grandfather, Cyril Elliott was the basis for the book. It starts when he left New Zealand and ends on his return, but covers in more detail his time at Messines. We considered having footnotes on every page, but it seemed cleaner to separate comic pages from the historical material. That way incidental information didn't interrupt the flow of the narrative, gave breathing spaces, and allowed time to pass between chapters. In the end, the book evolved until there was about one third fiction, two thirds non-fiction.
To celebrate it's launch, tonight there will be an author signing upstairs at the Grey Lynn (RSA) Returned Services Social Club, 1 Francis Street, Grey Lynn/Westmere, Auckland (kids allowed). From 6.00-8.00pm you'll be able to buy a signed copy of the book, grill the authors about obscure historical details, enjoy a drink and support the RSA by buying a poppy too!
Nice Day For a War: Adventures of a Kiwi Soldier in World War 1 by Chris Slane & Matt Elliott is available at all good bookstores nationwide today, and you'll also be able to pick up a copy of it this weekend at the Wellington Armageddon Expo alongside Ant Sang's Shaolin Burning at the New Zealand Comic Creators stall.
-AK!
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