Stories of World War one come to life again in Campfire Graphic Novel’s latest offering World War One: 1914-1918, that is set to launch on 7th February at 4th Indian Comic Con 
2014, Delhi.
So for Campfire, who recently bagged an Award for Outstanding contribution to Comics & Graphic Novels ecosystem at Arena Orbit Live, how challenging was it craft World War in a book?
AnimationXpress.com asks this to Jason Quinn, Creative Co
ntent Head at Campfire and he decides to unveil the entire making of this book by saying that “This was one of the first books I suggested to Campfire when I came on board as Creative Content Head.”
What is World War one: 1914-1918 all about?
We are pleased to announce not only the launch of a brand new book, but also the launch of a brand new genre. World War One: 1914-1918 is the first in Campfire’s History genre. I’ll give you three guesses for the story. No, seriously, this book is about the First World War as seen through the eyes of the men in the trenches. And when I say men, these men were little more than boys. Of course when war broke out you had to be 18 or over to enlist but the armed forces turned a blind eye to age and consequently many of these men who went through the hell of the trenches were really only in their mid-teens. This is the history of World War One told by one of the soldiers, covering everything from the first seeds of war to the final day of action. 
Please shed light on the characters?
We have many historical characters, such as Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, Gavrilo Princip, whose assassination of the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire started the whole thing, and Lawrence of Arabia even makes a brief appearance, alongside several fictional characters and the author’s own uncle and my grandfather. This book was a great chance to bring out some of the anecdotes and war stories of my grandfather and the author’s relations too. We collaborated extensively during the scripting process.
What inspired you to choose this concept?
This was one of the first books I suggested to Campfire when I came on board as Creative Content Head. It was coming up to one hundred years since the outbreak of war and I realized that schools in Europe were studying the war as a compulsory part of the curriculum and thought to myself, wouldn’t it be great if we could get the whole thing down in a graphic novel. I mean, visually it’s perfect for this kind of treatment. Steampunk biplanes, early tanks, gas masks, the horror of the mud and the trenches. It all makes for great visuals.
And the targeted audience for the book is?
Primarily this 116 pages book targets students aged 11 – 16 who will be studying World War One in school, but that doesn’t mean the author has written down for his audience. If a book for teenagers can’t appeal top adults then it’s a rotten book. I’ve read it over and over and I’m jealous I didn’t write it myself.
When did you start working on it and how much time did you complete it?
I was thinking about doing this book back in the summer of 2012 while I was writing Gandhi. Then when I suggested it toCampfire, I found that I didn’t have the time to really do it justice myself and so I asked an old Marvel Comics colleague of mine, Alan Cowsill if he would like to write it. Luckily for us, he was free and he too wanted to tell the story of his relative who died in the war.
How is the look and feel like?
We’ve gone for a simple color tone and inks for this book. The soldiers and characters have an almost super-heroic look to them. The colors aren’t exactly mono-tone or flat but they do have that effect, to give the feel of color and mood, rather than a really detailed color palette.
Lalit Kumar Sharma was the perfect artist for this title. His action style really ensures that the book moves at a swift pace and at the same time he captures the youth and innocence of the characters. With the color, we wanted to give an overall effect and mood which would depend on the setting, the mood of the soldiers, the weather or the action, rather than a realistic detailed look. If we were going for ultra realism we would have page after page of mud and blood which would become depressing very quickly. Instead, I think each page is an adventure and an experience.
Any challenges?
There are always challenges when coming up with a full length graphic novel, but one based on historical events poses different challenges. Uniforms, the colors of uniforms, weapons, armaments etc. All of these have to be authentic and so we have to research the subject not only as far as the script is concerned but also as far as the visuals are concerned. What did the interiors of the trenches look like? What did No Man’s Land look like? Everything had to be researched. Then again, with a long war, you have to decide what to leave in and what to leave out. What do you focus on? We had to pick the right scenes and the right moments to dramatize.
Research must have been very extensive, Jason?
Our editorial team made sure that we had visual reference for just about every panel of the book and of course the author had to read up on the countless books and memoirs of WWI. The editors also had to master the subject too to make sure the author hadn’t missed anything out or got anything wrong. Of course, Alan Cowsill being the writer that he is, he didn’t make any mistakes but even so, our editors had to be sure of that.
Can we have a credit run down?
Author: Alan Cowsill
Pencils: Lalit Kumar Sharma
Inks: Jagdish Kumar
Colorists: Pradeep Sherawat, Vijay Sharma
Lettering: Bhavnath Chaudary
Design: Era Chawla
Editorial: Jason Quinn, Aadithyan Mohan
From where can one buy the book?
Priced at INR 350 and will be available from all major bookstores and online retailers including the Campfire websitecampfire.co.in
Please share about the milestones that Campfire gained in 2013 and what are the other books coming up in 2014?
The release of Gandhi: my life is my message was a milestone for us. It has been extremely well received and reviewed. Also our adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, and Julius Caesar along with our biography of Mother Teresa was all special moments. Coming up in 2014 we will be seeing the launch of our Campfire Junior imprint with Magical Animals and a whole line of books for younger readers, as well as They Changed The World, a biography of Tesla, Edison and Bell, three genius who really did change the world. These are just two of the books we’ll be launching. Later in the year comes the first in an exciting new futuristic series which I can’t tell you anything about except that it is going to be awesome.
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