Some of you have probably noticed me occasionally mentioning a project called The First Reich. This is a graphic novel collaboration I’ve been working on for a number of months with the very talented Shannon Brady. She wrote the incredibly compelling script/storyboard for The First Reich, carefully plotting out each panel to the best of her artistic ability — stick figures though they may be. It’s my job to transform her wonderful draft into a finished illustrated work.
The First Reichis more or less a biographical account of the Jewish-Austrian psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, and deals thoughtfully with a number of subjects including the history of psychology, World War II, Nazism, Communism, McCarthyism, and beyond.
Currently, The First Reich‘s website (thefirstreich.wordpress.com) is bare bones, but you can hop over there and read a fascinating and eloquent statement by Shannon about this project. At the moment, I’m working on the first 10 pages of the graphic novel and hope to post them online sometime in the coming months. Below are details from the progress I’ve made so far.
It’s really a pleasure and honor to work on this project. It’s an absolute joy collaborating with Shannon. And it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on my own Jewish heritage and family history.
Any questions or comments are gladly welcomed!
Preliminary Character Designs: Wilhelm Reich
Preliminary Character Design: Shannon
“The First Reich” Cover Detail
Detail from Page 2
Detail from Page 3
Detail from Page 4
Detail from Page 4
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I started this blog in March of last year, not knowing where it would take me. It’s quite incredible how many amazing people are here on WordPress and that they have and continue to visit my humble blog.
For my 100th post, I’d like to share a drawing I’ve been meaning to squeeze in somewhere for a long time. This drawing is from August 2011, but really marks the point at which I discovered, after a long hiatus due to college, that I could enjoy drawing again.
For my 100th post, I’d like to ask two important but simple favors from my readers:
If you’d like to receive notifications on Facebook about my new WordPress posts, please follow/like me at www.facebook.com/gegallas!
By the way, if you’re interested in checking out my 99 previous posts, head over to the contents page by either clicking on “contents” at the top of this blog or by clicking the following link: gegallas.wordpress.com/contents.
Thank you very much and I look forward to writing the next hundred posts of this blog!!!
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What, another award!?!?!?! Many many many many many thanks to the incredibly talented Kiki Lanbac (laofli.wordpress.com)!!! She has a wonderful aesthetic and a wicked sense of humor. Check out a sample of her amazing work below.
This image belongs to Kiki Lanbac!
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Rules
Post the award pic on the blog.
Tell everyone about who gave you the award with a link to their blog.
First and foremost, I’ve been working on goal #1, making progress on some of the finished illustrations for Elias & The Cityof Cats. I’m hoping to make a bit more progress in the coming days and then meet up with Gabe on Friday to show him my work.
In the meantime, I’ve been brainstorming on goals #6 and #7, my first self-printed zine and my online storefront!
Possible envelopes for first zine.
The other day, I decided that my first self-printed zine will be an illustrated poem.
I was doing some research on The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and came across the perfect poem for my first zine! I think this poem will be unexpected and exciting while still tying in with The Poet and the Flea. The poem will remain a secret for now, but I’ll give a free copy of my zine to the first person who can correctly guess which one it is. Hint: The Seven Deadly Sins. I’ll be truly impressed if anyone gets this!
As far as production goes, I’d like to keep this zine relatively simple since it’s my first: about 6 to 8 pages, black and white with simple lines, a number of special hand-watercolored copies, all packaged in a lovely envelope. I’ll probably print about 25 or 30 copies, but I’d love to know if anyone is seriously interested in purchasing a copy so that I can figure out if I need to print more or less.
I’ve been planning my online storefront for a while now, but I’m waiting for the right time to set it up and launch it.
I’ve decided to use Storenvy, because it seems user-friendly and stylish. And it helps that it’s free.
Other than my first self-printed zine, I’d like to offer a wide range of products including The Poet and the Flea merchandise (prints/posters, t-shirts, tote bags, badges/pins, etc.). For prints, I’d like to keep them high-quality but made-to-order so that one can request any page of The Flea or whatnot.
The most ambitious product I’d like to see in my store is a The Flea plush toy. I’ve been playing around with many ideas for this, but know it has to remain relatively simple. The plush toy will definitely be handmade in black fabric, possibly with buttons for eyes and silver/gold (maybe glow-in-the-dark) fabric paint to add texture/scales. It will take me a while to get to this project (and I might recruit some help for it), but I’m excited to see how everything turns out.
Also, I’d like to offer commissioned illustrations, but I have to work out the details on that!
Again, feedback is very welcome! Just leave a comment below or send me an e-mail at gegallas@hotmail.com!
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Here is a brief update on my current creative projects and endeavors…!
Saturday, December 29th
Did some more research on fellowships/internships/jobs.
Sunday December 30th
Happy Birthday, Wes! Classic pizza and ice cream celebration in Haight-Ashbury. Wes loved his presents — a doodle of his future corgis, a ramen noodle chocolate bar, and a Moonrise Kingdom T-Shirt. (´ε｀ )♡
Continued to work on an idea for possible first self-printed zine.
Worked on some new posts and other blog content.
Saturday, January 5th
Did some research on children’s book publishers.
Visited local fabric store to scope out materials for future project.
Sunday, January 6th
Went with Wes to “Out of Character: Decoding Chinese Calligraphy” at the Asian Art Museum. Ate lunch at this amazing restaurant called Absinthe. Later, ate phở for dinner. Such a fun day!
Monday, January 7th
E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!
Helped with editing a family project.
Wes sent me his newly finished full-length screenplay to read — so excited!!! (^-^)
Tuesday, January 8th
E-mail correspondence for potential internship. Hoping I’ll get an interview!
Wes bought tickets to Lewis Black in February — we’re gonna laugh ’til our stomachs hurt and I can’t wait!!!
Etcetera
The Poet and the Flea: 63 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
The First Reich: about 1-10 pages of illustrated work in progress.
I’d like to thank Daniel Budiarto/Sky Sairyou of Bottomless Sky (skysairyou.wordpress.com) very very very much for nominating me for The Beautiful Blogger Award for the fourth time! Don’t forget to check out his intriguing short stories.
January 4th:
I’d like to thank the amazing Gabrielle (illostrophy.com) and the wonderful Jiandra (thingiemajingie.wordpress.com) for nominating me a second and third time for The Beautiful Blogger Award! Words cannot express my appreciation!!!
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I’d like to thank Bhutan Girl (karmakrazy.wordpress.com) very very very much for nominating me for The Beautiful Blogger Award!
How is it that I keep getting all these awards? I know they’re all a little silly, but I really appreciate them because I feel that my blog is at least reaching somebody!
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Rules
1. Link back the person who nominated you.
2. Post the award on your page.
3. Tell seven facts about yourself.
4. Nominate seven bloggers and let them know they have been nominated.
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Facts
Check out these other posts for more than seven facts about me!
Sent out some more fellowship/internship/job applications.
Worked on The Flea script.
Received e-mail informing me I have a phone interview, yay!!
Worked with client on translation job.
Etcetera
The Poet and the Flea: 53 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
The First Reich: about 1-10 pages of illustrated work in progress.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following images or video!!
One of my favorite operas is Jacques Offenbach‘s The Tales of Hoffmann(Les contes d’Hoffmann). This opera is a fantastical retelling of the life of the German Romantic author E. T. A. Hoffmann, casting Hoffmann as the protagonist of his own stories.
Placido Domingo performing the “Chanson de Kleinzach” aria.
Désirée Rancatore performing ”Les oiseaux dans la charmille.”
Through The Tales of Hoffmann, I developed an interest in Hoffmann and his stories, quickly leading me to Sigmund Freud’s The Uncanny. In Freud’s essay, he uses many of the same Hoffmann stories as Offenbach, but in this case to prove a psychological point (not that Offenbach’s opera isn’t deeply psychological). If I remember correctly, Freud even mentions Offenbach’s opera.
Portrait of E. T. A. Hoffmann
I’m sure you are all wondering, “What does all this have to do with The Nutcracker?” Well, little do most people know, E. T. A. Hoffmann wrote in 1816 one of the earliest versions of The Nutcracker story, entitled The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (Nussknacker und Mausekönig).
Alexandre Dumas was also a fan of Hoffmann, employing allusions to Hoffmann’s stories in The Count of Monte Cristo. Dumas even went as far as creating a revision to Hoffmann’s Nutcracker in 1844 called History of The Nutcracker (Histoire d’un casse-noisette), or The Tale of the Nutcracker.
Towards the end of the 19th Century, Hoffmann’s Nutcracker was adapted to ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, perhaps the most famous incarnation of the tale. I write this post because my dad purchased tickets to the San Francisco Ballet to see The Nutcracker at the end of the month. Perhaps later I’ll add my thoughts on the production to this post.
Tchaikovsky’s music is always wonderful, if not a little too overplayed for the holidays. A lot of people tend to associate The March from The Nutcracker or The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy not with Tchaikovsky, but with the thousands of Christmas commercials that use these pieces. This also happens with The Chinese Tea Dance from The Nutcracker with Disney’s Fantasia and The Sleeping Beauty Waltz with Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.
I believe the most creative and exciting production of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker is Mark Morris’s The Hard Nut. The Hard Nut is set in 1950s America with a very retro feel inspired by the comic artist Charles Burns — a strange but brilliant compliment to the classical music. I hope to one day be able to attend a live performance.
Advertisement for The Hard Nut.
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Answer the questions the tagger has set for you and create eleven questions for people you’ve nominated
Choose eleven people to give this award to and link them in your post
Go to their page and tell them
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Eleven Facts about G. E. Gallas
I’m going to cut corners a little bit since I already answered a ton of questions about myself for other awards. So check out more than eleven facts about me on my posts Reader Appreciation Award and Very Inspiring Blogger Award. (^-^;;)
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Denises’s Questions
1. What makes you laugh?
I laugh at any number of odd things, especially at awkward situations I may find myself in. Oh, I can keep myself endlessly amused.
2. How do you like to spend your spare time?
Spare time? What spare time?
3. What’s your favourite book?
This question is impossible to answer. Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Facesis practically my bible (I mentioned I’m a Jewish atheist, right?). I’m also quite fond of Robert Graves’s I, Claudius, Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo, Yukio Mishima’s Spring Snow (Haru no Yuki), E. L. Doctorow’s Ragtime, etcetera, etcetera. My bookshelf looks frighteningly like a Penguin Classics library!
4. What inspires you most?
Artists who are extraordinarily dedicated to their work inspire me the most.
5. If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?
Wouldn’t change a thing!
6. Has blogging an impact in your real life?
Hmm, let me think about that one — not sure yet.
7. Would you meet in your real life someone you’ve met on the internet?
I have already met in real life a number of people I’ve met on the internet.
8. What do you find annoying?
Hypocrites — they are the bane of my existence.
9. Do you blog often?
Yes, I suppose so.
10. Which place of the world would you like to visit?
I would love to visit all over Scandinavia!
11. If you win, how are you going to celebrate on the blog sphere?
Check out a sample of her amazing work below.
Portrait of E. T. A. Hoffmann
“The First Reich”: Behind the Scenes (Part 1)
Related Post: “The Poet and the Flea”: Behind the Scenes (Part 1)
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Some of you have probably noticed me occasionally mentioning a project called The First Reich. This is a graphic novel collaboration I’ve been working on for a number of months with the very talented Shannon Brady. She wrote the incredibly compelling script/storyboard for The First Reich, carefully plotting out each panel to the best of her artistic ability — stick figures though they may be. It’s my job to transform her wonderful draft into a finished illustrated work.
The First Reich is more or less a biographical account of the Jewish-Austrian psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, and deals thoughtfully with a number of subjects including the history of psychology, World War II, Nazism, Communism, McCarthyism, and beyond.
Currently, The First Reich‘s website (thefirstreich.wordpress.com) is bare bones, but you can hop over there and read a fascinating and eloquent statement by Shannon about this project. At the moment, I’m working on the first 10 pages of the graphic novel and hope to post them online sometime in the coming months. Below are details from the progress I’ve made so far.
It’s really a pleasure and honor to work on this project. It’s an absolute joy collaborating with Shannon. And it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on my own Jewish heritage and family history.
Any questions or comments are gladly welcomed!
Preliminary Character Designs: Wilhelm Reich
Preliminary Character Design: Shannon
“The First Reich” Cover Detail
Detail from Page 2
Detail from Page 3
Detail from Page 4
Detail from Page 4
***
For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.
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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas
12 comments | tags: Ability, Account, Announcement, Artist, Artistic, Artwork, Austria, Austrian, Bare, Beyond, Biographical, biography, Blog, Bones, Carefully, Character, Character Designs, Collaborate, Collaboration, Comic, Comic book, Comments, Communism, Communist, Compelling, Cover, Detail, Details, Doodle, Draft, Drawings, Eloquent, Ethnic, Ethnically, Europe, Eva Reich, Family History, Fascinating, Finished, Freud, Germany, Graphic Novel, Heritage, Historical, History, Honor, Illustrated, Illustration, Illustrator, Immigrant, Immigrated, Incredibly, Jew, Jewish, Jewish Heritage, Jewish-Austrian, Job, Joy, McCarthy, McCarthyism, Months, Nazi, Nazism, Notice, Number, Online, Pages, Panel, Pleasure, Plotting, Post, Preliminary, Progress, Project, Psychoanalyst, Psychology, Questions, Script, Shannon Brady, Sigmund Freud, Statement, Stick Figures, Subjects, The First Reich, The Poet and the Flea, Thoughtful, Thoughtfully, Transform, Web Comic, Webcomic, Website, Welcomed, Wilhelm Reich, William Blake, Wonderful, Work, Work in Progress, World War II, Writer, Written, Wrote | posted in Graphic Novel, Illustration/Design, The First Reich