I was awarded runner up prize for the 2024 Guardian/Fabre graphic short story prize with my comic 'LANSA Flight 508'.
The Story
I learnt about the incredible story of Juliane Koepcke from the documentary 'Wings of Hope' by Werner Herzog. It was my first Herzog documentary and I was enthralled. Juliane recollects the tragic story, speaking calmly about the experience as flies buzz around her. Herzog films in the exact location where on December 24th, 1971, LANSA flight 508 is shredded apart by a storm, and crashes into the rainforest below. 17 year old Juliane is the sole survivor of the crash, enduring 11 days alone in the Amazon rainforest before being discovered by fishermen. Juliane was flying home with her mother, Maria Koepcke, who did not survive.
The story captured my imagination, and I immediately started doodling scenes and scribbles. I bought a copy of Juliane's biography and it was similarly inspiring, leading me to find a story of two relationships - Her relationship with her mother, and with the Amazon rainforest.
Creating the Comic
Juliane was close to her mother, and I enjoyed learning more about Maria Koepcke in Julianes book. Maria Koepcke was a passionate ornithologist and kind-hearted person. I was wanted to be respectful of the characters in this story, because these are real people! As I read her book it felt as though her relationship with her mother was intertwined with her relationship with the forest. Maria brought her daughter along with her on research expeditions, and she lived with and passed on her passion for the natural world onto Juliane. It is through her parents guidance that she was able to explore the Amazon, learning its ways.
I wanted to respect the rainforest as much as I could, and picked out specific flora, fauna and insects referenced in Juliane's book to include in the comic. I loved researching this and learning more about incredible organisms in the Amazon, it felt like I was escaping into the rainforest myself.
Visual inspirations included Quentin Blake's 'Green Ship' and Tintin rainforest scenes - I wanted to keep my drawings loose and energised but still convey a denseness of foliage.
I find it very difficult to push myself to complete personal projects, so I used the Guardian/Fabre competition as structure. This was my first 'proper' comic, so the constraint of 4 pages helped me avoid overwhelm. By 'proper' comic, I mean a comic that I have planned out and created for other people to read. Up until now, I had mostly made free flowing spontaneous comics in my sketchbook.
I shared the story with multiple people at various stages of completion. I received invaluable advice from experienced cartoonists Kai Reynolds (@thehalfdigestboy) and Suzy (@swoozy). I also showed it to friends and family who weren't comics readers, because I want it to be accessible to everyone.
Reflections
I had so much fun making this! I don't let myself work on personal projects often, because I feel like I should be working on my business. But this project gave me a lot of joy, and I felt truly immersed in what I was doing. When I wasn't working on my comic, I was thinking about it and itching to continue. It has been a good reminder that there is value in making things for fun, and fun is an adequate outcome for work of any kind.
If I was to do this again, I would make my life easier and use a waterproof ink so that I could paint on the same page as the inking. Lightboxes are a bit awkward to use, especially for colour.
I really like comics, and assembling lots of little drawings into one big narrative piece. I would like to continue making comics and possibly make more on the same topic! It's really nice to make something for entertainment and share with cartoonists whose work I enjoy too.
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