April, 2004 Tar Valon Times
Events in April by Arisaema Draconis
April 3-4: Party in Houston, Texas, at the Japan Festival.
April 23-26: Party in Liverpool, UK.
New News by Arisaema Draconis
Note: Due to difficulties with a worm on the server, we were unable to post news bulletins. We have posted instead links to important topics on the message boards.
Conduct and Posting Guidelines: The Amyrlin makes a plea with TarValon.net users to abide by conduct and posting guidelines in an effort to clean up the forums and relieve some of the work load being encountered by site administrators.
New Forums Opened!: Site administration is beginning much-needed housekeeping and reorganization in order to provide cleaner, more accessible forums. The Apartments are coming back!
Opportunities for Citizens: Opportunities to serve Tar Valon are available in several areas.
Product of the Month: TarValon.net Lunchpails by Yorgi al'Demed
Flimsy paper lunch bags letting you down? Try one of our great lunchboxes. They are sturdy, fashionable, and perfect for any lunch outing.
Comic Review by Amara Danicek
Since December 2002, Ctrl+Alt+Del has been running with a quality of humor and art rarely achieved in online comics. The comic follows the lives of a couple of best friends and video game addicts, Ethan and Lucas, their roommate Scott, and his penguin Ted, plus a girl named Lilah who seems to be able to beat just about anyone at video games. Although some of the game jokes and references might be a little too obscure for the non-gamer, the humorous look at the tribulations of being obsessed is done so that nearly anyone can appreciate it.
'Member of the Month: Shyana al'Veara by Leilwyn al'Raen
Interview with Publisher of the New Spring Graphic Novel by Adriana al'Tere
As the Tar Valon Times reported last month, Robert Jordan's New Spring is in the process of being made into a graphic novel/comic. We have the privilege of being the first to interview the publisher, Ernst Dabel. Dabel is the President and Editor-in-Chief of Dabel Brothers Production, formerly Roaring Studios. Dabel says that Robert Jordan has always been one of his favorite authors. Now, instead of just reading Jordan, Dabel is working with him to develop the graphic novel of New Spring. Although Dabel says that Jordan is putting 110% of his time and energy into this project, I think other fans will agree with me that hopefully Jordan is also busy with book 11.
Adapting a novel is not as easy as it may seem. Dabel and Jordan collaborate on character sketches over and over again until they got it perfect because the sketches must be the way Jordan and fans want them.
Never fear, Jordan is on the job. Dabel says, "Robert Jordan is co-writing it. I don't think we have any room to slip. He is confident that fans will love the comic as much as the novel." Reviews of Dabel Brothers Productions adaptation of George R. R. Martin's The Hedge Knight have been positive. (For a review, click here).
The first issue of New Spring is due out in August. Each issue will be 32 pages long, with one or two chapters in each issue. No previews are available; Jordan is keeping everything under a tight lid until everything is perfect. For the DB Pros summary of the comic, go here.
Tar Valon Times: Who are the writer and the artist?
Ernst Dabel: Industry veteran Chuck Dixon, who has just recently returned to the freelance world, brings his legendary expertise to bear on this project. Having written everything from Alien Legion to Batman, Dixon's renowned passion for storytelling and his intense dedication to researching his subject matter has made him one of the most beloved and talked about writers in comic's history.
Having returned to his home outside of Rome, Italy, Andrea Di Vito has begun his first foray into the world of comic book freelancing. Comic Buyers Guide voted Andrea Di Vito as one of the Top 20 pencillers in the world in 2003. His highly-acclaimed skill, matched only by his undying devotion to his work, will provide another great facet to the artwork of DB Pro.
TVT: Some sketches have supposedly "leaked" onto the internet. Are any of them genuine?
ED: Those sketches were concepts that our artist was fooling around with. When you actually see the real art, you will be blown away.
TVT: Are there any plans for making the rest of the Wheel of Time series into comics?
ED: Baby steps. We'll take it one book at a time. We have New Spring to work on and we will give it our all and we will see what happens from there.
TVT: With The Hedge Knight's success in mind, how do you expect the release of New Spring to compare?
ED: We have a lot more experience and we also have our new publisher's support. I think this series will do very well.
TVT: Is there any way that fans of the series can participate in the making of this comic?
ED: Flood us with emails, give us feedback; we listen to our fans.
TVT: Will there be any appearances by the author/artist at conferences in the near future to promote this work?
ED: We're working on that I will definitely keep you all posted.
Thanks again; I had a great time doing this interview. I hope you all enjoy our work.
