My favorite page
There's a page in Shaolin Nun™ #3 (currently funding on Kickstarter) that's my favorite.
Let’s get this out of the way first:
(but seriously, if you haven’t backed us, do it today)
Onto the reason for the posting:
As I wrote (and rewrote) the first arc for Shaolin Nun™, there was one page that I honestly fell in love with after writing it. It was one of those rare moments where I was proud of my work and the emotions that it generated. I was even prouder that I was able to write this page with no* dialogue. It’s the page that I would go back a re-read any time I started to doubt my ability. “I’m the guy who wrote that. These rewrites aren’t that big of a deal.”
Even when I decided to rewrite this page, I wanted to convey the same emotional impact, even if I was changing some of the imagery. Having that feeling called up each time I read the page helped me keep it in mind.
You want to see it? Cool. Here it is:
Page 3 - 5 panels
Panel 1: It’s a few days later at dawn. MEI YIN is in the courtyard where they were training on pages 1 and 2. She is embracing a fellow nun (decide what this nun looks like, I’m going to tell her story in issue #9 and have her show up in California around issue 19 or 20). The nun is slightly younger than Mei Yin and has just earned her Jieba. Others have gathered around, including a few lay people. BAI LIANHUA and the elders are smiling in the back. MEI YIN is in her long grey robe, brown cassock and Buddha beads. She has a cloth bag slung over her shoulder, carrying the meager possessions that she is permitted to carry, but it’s quite full, as she now has a new saffron robe and red cassock inside.
NO COPY
Panel 2: She is about to push open the gate. The other sisters are all smiling behind her. She’s looking at it with some astonishment at what she can see, but we can’t.
NO COPY
Panel 3: We see a close-up of the gate with MEI YIN’s hands on it. The board that she broke in the previous scene has been replaced. It’s clearly a newer board, waiting for time and weather to stain it to match the rest of the wood. In the center of this board is the Chinese character for “arrow” 矢, expertly carved through the wood.
1. CAPTION (ED): Arrow
Panel 4: MEI YIN’s face, still looking at the carving. She is smiling at this parting gift. A tear is running down her cheek. They will never forget her as long as this gate stands.
NO COPY
Panel 5: In the foreground, the sisters are leaving the courtyard. In the background MEI YIN is walking down a mountain path, about to begin her next adventure. The “arrow” gate has shut behind her.
NO COPY
***
*I decided I would need an editorial caption for the Chinese character, so there is some work for the letterer.
This is a page I’ve been excited to not only see how Greg interprets it, but also to share with everyone. Of course, he can’t draw that page until I’ve raised the funds to pay him and the rest of the art team. And until I do that, I can’t share it with the rest of the world.
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