53. The Making of a Comic: Amelia Sky #1-4 with Jermaine M. Boyd and Martina Niosi
An ongoing sci-fi horror series about survival
Howdy Brave Being,
Welcome back, dear readers, to The Making of a Comic. Since about 2017, I’ve been editing the ongoing sci-fi horror series AMELIA SKY and without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to the story and its creators because, spoiler alert, it’s live on Kickstarter today!
AMELIA SKY #1-4 follows an amnesiac girl with the power to save the world from a deadly alien invasion. It’s got all the post-apocalyptic thrills and chills that’ll give you goosebumps and a burgeoning sci-fi mystery that’ll keep you wanting more. Writer Jermaine M. Boyd and Artist Martina Niosi join me to chat about the latest issue subtitled “Whatever Doesn’t Kill You,” what kinds of things challenged them as creators, and why they chose Kickstarter as their crowdfunding platform.
Let’s hop to it.
Writer: Jermaine M. Boyd
Brittany Matter: Catch us up on Amelia Sky's journey.
Jermaine M. Boyd: After waking up with no memory of who she is, Amelia’s journey has led her to meet unlikely survivors both good and evil. As Amelia’s traverses this world, she’s not only finding buried memories, she’s finding a force awakening inside of her helping her stay alive.
BM: What's ahead for this amnesiac girl?
JMB: After losing Eleanor, the only ally she had in this dark world, Amelia finds possible safety in a group of mercenaries, led by Abigail and Rubi, that are tasked to find her and bring her back to the last location of her parents.
BM: Are the alien invaders, AKA the Shriekers, still around and causing Amelia trouble?
JMB: Yes they are, and they are getting progressively larger in numbers. There is a reason for this in which you will find out later in the story. But for now, you should be aware that Abigail and Rubi aren’t the only ones trying to find Amelia.
BM: How has writing this ongoing series about self-discovery and survival challenged you as a writer?
JMB: It’s made me super aware of symbolism and where and when it should be placed. You are telling a story within a story on so many levels. But it all has to tie together. I think characters in apocalypse stories need to be aware of symbolism or on their way to becoming aware. Those characters that catch on fast and can mind their surroundings are the ones that survive. This can be said of life as well. It’s all a game of survival.
BM: What are your top three favorite things about this series so far?
JMB: The unpredictability of the story. Amelia’s powers and how they’re rising to the surface. And, how even in the slow parts of the story, you always have a feeling of dread. Like something is coming or something is watching you.
Artist: Martina Niosi
BM: Martina, you're coming onto this series in its fourth issue! Welcome! What got you most excited about this story?
Martina Niosi: It’s the first time I’ve worked as a Lead Artist on a project, and this is definitely the main factor that has made this experience so special. It’s also exciting for me to mix my favorite genres, horror and sci-fi.
BM: What kinds of things inspired your art in this issue?
MN: I immediately realized that Jermaine has my same interests so we were both inspired mainly by The Last of Us and The Walking Dead for the post-apocalyptic atmosphere and also for some characters. Amelia, for example, is curious, brave and strong like Ellie was.
BM: Considering that you're drawing, coloring, lettering and translating this issue into Italian, what's your favorite part of the comics-creation process?
MN: I love taking care of the project from the beginning to the last details, but the most fun part for me is creating the composition of the pages. When I started making comics, I was focused on making good drawings. This work, instead, taught me to play more on the direction of the scenes to create the right atmosphere.
BM: How has co-creating this story challenged you as an artist?
MN: Co-creating stories is absolutely the best thing about my work. I have to translate someone else’s ideas into the drawings and this gets me out of my comfort zone and improves my skills. I like to explore other minds and then give back my vision to them.
BM: Do you have a favorite character so far?
MN: I think Abigail is a really great character. She is loving with Amelia but ruthless in front of the enemies. A sensitive and hard character at the same time.
Team Amelia Sky
BM: Jermaine, how did you find Martina and tell us about your collaboration?
JMB: When I first began looking for artists for the series, I wanted to find someone unknown, unique and immensely talented. Fortunately, when the series began I met Gwynn Tavares. We were taking a class together at The Academy of Art University. I loved Gwynn’s work right off the bat. Her dark, and gritty watercolor vision was perfect. I was in luck because I went through about one hundred artists. And there she was in the same class as myself.
When Gwynn decided to retire after three amazing issues, I wanted to go back to how I started. This time I had a double set of eyes. Looked at two hundred artists from Deviant Art and Artstation. My search brought me to the brilliance of Martina Niosi’s art on Artstation.
Her use of color, light and shadows drew my eyes. I often think about the Amelia Sky series as an animation. Martina’s art is what I think of when I think of what an animated Amelia Sky would look like.
Working with Martina is amazing. I can give Martina a script and it will come out exactly how it looks in my head. Having someone who understands you and can adapt your words perfectly is a gem on a mountain full of rocks.
BM: Martina, what did you think about first when Jermaine reached out to you about the series?
MN: I was very happy because for a long time I wanted to test myself working both on the drawings and the colors. It’s also a great story and a genre that I like to draw, so I guess I was very lucky to get this opportunity.
BM: Jermaine, tell us a little bit about the rest of the team.
Gwynn Tavares: Artist Issue #1-3
JMB: Gwynn is the amazing artist that worked on Issues #1-3. I met Gwynn while studying at the Academy of Art University. After communicating off and on I realized Gwynn had my same vision for this story. Gwynn’s eye inspired not only the look, but also the tone of the series, and she has returned as our variant cover artist for issue #4.
When chatting with her about it, I wanted it to feature our two new characters, Abigail and Rubi, front and center. A wraparound cover seemed perfect since the pair embody this issue inside and out.
Kuen Tang: Letterer Issue #2-3
JMB: Kuen’s the incredible and inspiring Canadian letterer that worked on Issues #2-3. Kuen’s background working with DC Comics made her an obvious choice for this project. Her ability to take dialogue and make it into a work of truly emotional art is uncanny.
Steffanie N. Graves: Narrative Consultant and Video Editor
JMB: Steffanie’s a brilliantly versatile Louisiana-born horror/sci-fi writer and actor. Steffanie comes from the grueling world of film. I found her working in production offices and art departments on various films I’ve worked on. Her exceptional abilities in video editing and visual storytelling are perfect for this project.
Crowdfunding Indie Comics
BM: Why have you chosen Kickstarter to crowdfund the Amelia Sky series?
JMB: The series started out on Kickstarter and it’s served us very well. I’ve looked at other platforms and they all seemed so not very favorable to comic book promoting. A good portion of why Kickstarter is still a thing is because of the comic book community.
BM: For this next issue, what are you raising funds for?
JMB: Funds being raised are to pay for the pages that still need to be illustrated, printing, and the cost of the rewards.
BM: What Kickstarter Exclusives from the campaign are you most excited about?
JMB: I’m most excited about the new metal poster, featuring Amelia Sky. Being a film geek, I love posters. But I’m clumsy and sometimes having flimsy paper posters can be problematic to keep crisp and clean. The metal poster is durable and looks amazing.
BM: If there's one teaser about the series that you could leave readers with, what would it be?
JMB: Well, one teaser that I’m willing to give up would be that this world is comprised primarily of women. There are only a few males left thanks to the Shriekers.
BM: Intriguing! Dear readers, if you’d like to know more, we hope you’ll consider backing Amelia Sky on Kickstarter today.
Here’s some information about the Amelia Sky #1-4 Kickstarter:
Benefit to Backing Early: There’s a discount on issue #4 for the first 72 hours of the campaign. If you’re hoping to get caught up on the series, all the issues are available as add-ons to your Early Bird pledge.
Campaign Length: The campaign will last 30 days and is, like all Kickstarters, all-or-nothing, which means we have to hit the goal to make the rest of the book. One way to help us have a strong start is to back it as soon as possible. The more people that back it, the more others see it doing well, and it’s a mob effect.
Proven Track Record: When we meet our goal, the comic will get made, printed, and then sent to backers by February 2024. Jermaine has successfully funded the first three issues and fulfilled each campaign with aplomb.
Spreading the Word: If you can’t back it right now, sharing this link https://bit.ly/ameliasky-4 with your friends, family, and social networks also helps us immensely. We’d love to get this post-apocalyptic, sci-fi horror series into the hands of those we know will love it.
Thanks for reading this edition of The Making of a Comic!