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Main Junction: [Closed] The Kelly Sue DeConnick Residency
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CommentAuthorwarrenellis
- CommentTimeJan 25th 2010
I've known Kelly Sue for so long that for a while we referred to each other as "samebrain." Until it really started freaking her husband out.
Kelly Sue's a writer. She does "manga adaptation" (what happens after translation but before you read it), which is nowhere near as easy as it sounds. She used to be a professional actor. She co-wrote a 30 DAYS OF NIGHT series with Steve Niles. She's published prose, edited, was one of the co-founders with me on the artbomb.net project, was in COMIC BOOK TATTOO like Em and various other anthologies, is just about to start some new projects at Marvel, used to have the job description "Smut Peddler" on her business card, and is currently cooking her second child.
I had to kind of twist her arm to do a week here, but the Marvel stuff is popping now, and she's had such a varied career, and has so many stories, that I thought it'd be a good idea 1) for her to show you what she's doing and talk about her work 2) for you, especially the budding writers, to be able to talk to her and ask questions.
Say hello to Kelly Sue now.
-- W -
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Hello Kelly Sue, glad to see you here.
Two questions, one that I've seen mentioned many times but never got the full story and one that I've never seen addressed.
I am aware that you and Fraction met on the old Ellis board. Was it just that simple, met, became friends, fell in love, or is there a juicier story there that's worth public consumption?
Second, in what ways has having child(ren) affected your work, both in the obvious ways, such as scheduling, and maybe less obvious, like what sort of projects you take on?
I look forward to reading this week. -
Hello Kelly Sue,
I have just started working on a graphic novel with a writer. Its my first one. Do you have any advice that can help keep this process smooth and productive? -
Howdy, Kelly Sue.
I've always wondered: how does the whole "manga translation" process work? Do you translate the dialogue straight from the Japanese, or do you receive a rough, literal translation, and then go through and stylize/remodel the translated dialogue? It seems like it would be interesting work.
Thanks in advance. -
Hey, residency partner *hug* ^_^
It's going back a little, but I adored your Demon Diary adaptation. It genuinely had me laughing out loud in places ('How DARE you admonish ME, demon?!'). I've always wondered just how much you, as the adapter, have to add to the script - beyond the localisation. Especially in terms of humour; as different cultures are bound to have different senses of humour. As the words match the images perfectly, I'm assuming not too much changes in terms of context, but what would a line like that I've quoted start out as in the Japanese?
Keep up the awesome work! Can't wait for your new Marvel releases :) -
- CommentAuthorericMesquivel
- CommentTimeJan 25th 2010 edited
Ms. Deconnick,
As Ellis points out in the introduction to this thread: you're pretty much a bundle of talent: you've acted, edited, composed comic scripts, written prose, taken photos, created human life, curated for the world's most celebrated paint-by-numbers museum, etcetera.
Do you think it's important for creative types to branch out into other mediums of expression? Is your comic book writing informed by your time as an actress, erotica author, editor and vice versa?
Also: I want you to know that whenever I reread that Agua Pesada scene from Casanova in which a super scientist murders a guest for insulting The Fab Four (written by Mr. Deconnick) I flash back to our Twitter tête-à-tête & weep a little bit.
Your super fan,
eric M. esquivel
www.ModernMythologyPress.com -
First, I should thank Papa "samebrain" Ellis for being the best corner man any easily-distracted and rage-prone gal could ask for, and no doubt a better one than she deserves.
Second, I should apologize up front: I'll be more out than in today. I've got three appts on the books--in addition to needing to hit my page count--Fraction's away on business and my Monday stress level's elevated a tad above normal. Threat level orange or somesuch. Not that I expect there to be a real run on this thread, but those of you who do stop by... well, I'm not going to be able to get you your answers in the timely manner that would most please me. Things will calm down considerably tomorrow however.
Oh hey--HL's awake! Must go be a mommy for a bit. -
- CommentAuthorSigridEllis
- CommentTimeJan 25th 2010
Hello --
1. I didn't know you did Demon Diary! I love that one! Which leads to my first question, is there a list, somewhere, of the work you've adapted? (I've done some cursory Google searching and couldn't find anything, which may simply mean I'm looking for the wrong things.)
2. Thanks, hugely, for the time you take to talk to people you don't know particularly. Here and in email you've been damn gracious, and I appreciate it. I especially appreciate because I am not always that gracious, though I'm trying to learn. Which leads to question two, do you consider yourself and introvert or an extrovert, and how much of each? I would guess you as extrovert, but people often look different online than offline.
3. Is there any way I can get advance copies of your forthcoming stuff so that Fantastic Fangirls can preview and review it?
4. Are you at all concerned that "Talullah" will become a trendy name? My son is named Miles, and suddenly I know a handful of kids a couple years younger than him all named Miles. Which isn't a crisis, but I personally *love* having a name no-one else has, and sort of wish "Miles" retained its original scarcity.
5. My partner and I split the housework, kid care, free time, and our jobs as evenly as we can make it. My days off from air traffic control are full of kids and school and home, so that J gets time for her job (she works from home mostly) and time to play Dragon Age, etc. How do you and Matt work it? Do you both work from home offices? Do you split things up by who has deadlines, or by day, or what? What's the hardest sticking point for you guys on time allocation?
6. You said in Matt's Internship a few weeks back that you live your life publicly because secrets are poison to you. What are the most positive things this approach -- no secrets -- has brought to you, and in what way?
7. Your career path as described by Warren is varied, but looks to always be creative. What are some of your creative goals, realistic and unrealistic both?
Thanks again for you time -- -
Hey, Kelly Sue -- it's me. I keep meaning to hassle you with questions about process when you're doing adaptations. Might as well do it here, where everyone can watch!
What's your approach to adaptation, from when you receive a translation to when you hand it off?
That's the big question, really, but I have a smaller, sillier one as well:
Do you spend more time on character voice or onomatopoeia? (I ask because I love doing sound effects, but I struggle too hard not to repeat myself. I probably waste too much time on something that maybe doesn't impact the reading experience much.)
I have tons of other questions as well, but I don't want to be a chat hog.
Cheers,
rich -
(Derp! I just basically re-asked Josh Bales's question. Note to self: read thread more closely before posting.)
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- CommentAuthorsamhumphries
- CommentTimeJan 25th 2010
HI!
What are you looking forward to in this round of the Winter Olympics? Athletes, events, match ups, ceremonies, etc? -
- CommentAuthormimi-evelyn
- CommentTimeJan 25th 2010
Wow this is awesome!
this is the first time I've come across an adaptor@o@
Pleased to meet you, I'd always believed that the people behind the english publication of Japanese manga I've read were like a mysterious force that never surfaces. I've been deceived^^
Could I please ask: what is your standing on OEL manga??
Do you read much?
How involved are you?
How do you think the balance between the import of popular Japanese series and the internal development of new western manga should be handled?
I found out about the residency through a post on Emma V's LiveJournal and I've been kinda involved with just chatting to some fellow new small press comic creators via Sweatdrop. I've started looking into the British manga scene and I'm just starting to come to terms with the how much is going on out there^^
What advice would you give to new OEL comicker's like me about working in the industry, and how can you see the situation changing over the next few years? -
I am aware that you and Fraction met on the old Ellis board. Was it just that simple, met, became friends, fell in love, or is there a juicier story there that's worth public consumption?
Jessie! Weren't you on the WEF? Am I misremembering? Was it The Engine? It's not possible that I only know you from Twitter, is it?
Anyway, I wish I had time to write out the whole thing, but THIS IS THE FIRST QUESTION and, as I mentioned, today's a nutty day. So here are a bit of random details; you can sculpt your own narrative.
-- Because we met online, at one point in our courtship I thought Fraction was an older black man with a mustache.
-- Later I thought he was much younger than me, had bad teeth and wore a mullet. (He has Han Q. Duong and Charlie Chu to thank for that last one.)
-- I still have a t-shirt that says BLACK FRACTION.
-- We were married one year to the day from the night of our first phone call.
-- Our first phone call lasted 9 hours.
-- When Charlie gave Fraction my AIM handle, I chided him for it.
-- Most of our courtship is documented, either in AIM transcripts, emails or Delphi forum archives.
-- Honestly, when I look back at some of the gifts I bought Fraction in our first year or so together, it almost seems I didn't know him at all.
-- Because of a mixup with airport security, I very nearly got off the plane in KC and got right back on another plane headed back to NYC without ever seeing him.
-- Fraction's first gift to me was a pack of index cards wrapped in brown paper.
-- The first thing on our wedding CD is a recording of Jim Rockford's answering machine message. These last two items are related.
-- Seven (eight?) years in, he remains the one thing in my life I never second-guess... His is the voice that's always been inside my head.Second, in what ways has having child(ren) affected your work, both in the obvious ways, such as scheduling, and maybe less obvious, like what sort of projects you take on?
Aaaaand--ha ha!--I have to go prepare for a phone call now. I'll get to this one next.
(I suck. Sorry.) -
Sigrid,
I'm going to skip ahead and answer this one of yours out-of-order because it's super-easy:1. I didn't know you did Demon Diary! I love that one! Which leads to my first question, is there a list, somewhere, of the work you've adapted? (I've done some cursory Google searching and couldn't find anything, which may simply mean I'm looking for the wrong things.)
Yes, there is! My almost-current CV is up on my site:
http://kellysue.com/about/
Okay, back in a bit--
xxx,
Kelly Soup -
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CommentAuthorMattDemers
- CommentTimeJan 25th 2010
Hey Kelly.
I've posted in some of the other residency topics about working to become an opinion columnist. Just wanted to get your view on what it takes for a person's work to grab your attention enough to follow them.
Thanks! -
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CommentAuthorwarrenellis
- CommentTimeJan 25th 2010
-- Fraction's first gift to me was a pack of index cards wrapped in brown paper.
-- The first thing on our wedding CD is a recording of Jim Rockford's answering machine message. These last two items are related.
If only people knew how peculiarly sweet this is. -
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- CommentAuthormichaelavolio
- CommentTimeJan 25th 2010
Thanks for doing this, Kelly Sue and Ellis.
My questions are...
What would surprise people most about translation gigs?
What was it like working on Matsumoto's Blue Spring?
What's it like being one of two professional writers in a family?
What can you tell us about your upcoming projects? -
- CommentAuthorhelloMuller
- CommentTimeJan 25th 2010
I keep thinking of something to ask, but I can't come up with anything useful. So, in the meantime I'm gonna ponder over photos of HL's awesome lunch boxes.
Hi Kelly Sue! -
- CommentAuthorSigridEllis
- CommentTimeJan 25th 2010
You'll have to excuse me as I squeal over the fact that you did Sensual Phrase. I love that series, in all its deeply melodramatic glory. And "Tropical Butterflies Alive in Winter" is one of my favorite stories in 24Seven. (Fraction's "Static" is deeply, deeply disturbing.) -
Mme. DeConnick;
First off, thanks for doing one of these.
Secondly, I had a question about your upcoming Sif one-shot. Did you in particular pick Ryan Stegman as an artist, or was he someone Marvel recommended? I ask because I'm excited, I liked his work on The Riftwar adaptation.