The following is an interview with writer/producer/director Sara Kenney (Planet Divoc-91, She Could Fly: Documentary Escape Game) regarding the recent launch of her Kickstarter campaign for the graphic novel, Acid Box, in association with publisher Avery Hill. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Kenney about her shared creative process in bringing this concept to life on the page, the incredible backer rewards available to supporters of the campaign, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: You recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for Acid Box in collaboration with publisher Avery Hill. What can you share with us about the genesis behind this groundbreaking project?
Sara Kenney: Firstly, thank you for describing it as a groundbreaking idea. This made me smile as literally the ground breaks in this story! So, the origins of the comic are inspired by my time living in Brighton in the early ‘90s when I was studying for a BSc. in Ecology and Conservation and not being a great student. I was out and about at free parties and clubs, navigating leaving home for the first time and finding my people. There was a night we went to called Acid Box.
Lots of chats happened in club toilets, partly because it’s one of the only places you could hear each other and the long queues meant you were sometimes forced into conversation! This inspired the location for the time travel portals. I chatted about the idea with artist Jimmy Devlin and he had experienced the scene in Glasgow. Our protagonist Jade Nyo and her friends evolved from our conversations and love of dance music/ club culture.
So, Acid Box was born – a darkly comic adventure through club culture, spanning space and time. We describe it as 24-Hour Party People meets The Wizard of Oz!
BD: How would you describe your shared creative process in working with the multitude of talented creators involved in this story?
SK: I was very lucky to work with all these incredible creatives. The project ran over a long period, as we were all working on this along with other jobs. Each dynamic was different depending on how the artist liked to work. With three artists it was important that they could interpret the characters in their own way, so it’s almost like we’re in slightly different parallel universes as the baton is handed back and forth between creatives. I think this works as we’re crossing time and space in the story. We describe it as like a comic-mix tape.
Sofie Dodgson (colourist) and I share a love of electronic music, so it was amazing to have them colour all the chapters. Katie West was our editor who came on later in the project (known as the mid-point in the Hero’s Journey, a point where you feel like you’re teetering on the brink of failure) and really helped us to make sense of what we were trying to achieve. There was a lot of back and forth to get all the moving parts working. Joe Stone sprinkled gold dust on the project with the design (actually neon yellow and pink dust).
BD: Additionally, as part of this endeavor, you collaborated with 20 young adults from the UK, India, Kenya, and South Africa to explore the history, science themes, and art within this story. What can you share with us about these Acid Box workshops and how they aided in crafting the story’s narrative?
SK: The workshops were designed to help us all explore the themes and come up with our own creative responses. The young people created articles, art, and music. Some of this material is in the back of the book. (nb. They were paid to attend workshops and for their creative pieces.)
From my perspective listening to the intergenerational/ interdisciplinary conversations helped me think about how those themes could be reflected in the book. How our concerns might change over time, but ultimately, we all have to balance what’s happening in the world with remembering to have some fun. They also helped me think about the diary pages that I wrote at the beginning of each chapter. These are protagonist Jade Nyo’s scrapbook, where she’s collected flyers, badges, factual information that inform the story. There are some Easter eggs hidden in these pages, about what’s going on and they are expertly designed by Joe Stone.
BD: As a writer, your work has brought attention to and welcomed conversation for necessary topics like biological global events, the COVID-19 pandemic, and destigmatizing mental health. What enticed you to tackle the topic of climate change, and what conversations do you hope that this graphic novel may initiate with readers?
SK: I started my studies and career working in environmental sciences, so climate change is something I’ve been working on in various forms for decades. I’ve written/directed quite a few TV programmes exploring this territory (BBC, Channel 4, Discovery etc.).
I have a view that we need to be better at thinking about our duty of care when engaging with young people around climate change. I have worked on a lot of doomy material, so I am complicit in the disaster storytelling narrative. But I’ve been recalibrating and thinking about how we tell stories, create science-fiction or speculative fiction that inspires and shapes positive futures. My conclusion is that doomy, apocalyptic stories are not automatically a bad thing. Fear is not a bad emotion. But doom and fear are one note in a story and it’s how we weave them in with other elements (hope, fun, bravery, humour) and the note we end on (teams standing in an X-Men-style victory stance, in very tight pants) that’s important to consider.
BD: What makes Avery Hill the perfect home for this collection?
SK: When I read Avery Hill’s website it says, “Avery Hill is a publishing company based in London that helps aspiring creators reach their potential and is a home to the geniuses that the mainstream has yet to recognise.” I mean, obviously, as an aspiring creator, this appealed to my ego on many levels!! (See Acid Box comic and the importance of ego death.)
I just love their work and saw that they were into a lot of sci-fi. We need spaces that allow creatives to experiment and not be perfect, so Avery Hill’s existence is vital for our industry. We’re also amongst some extraordinary talent at Avery Hill, so I think it’s their approach of working with pros and learners that works for us. Our team is made up of a mixture of comics pros (Emma Vieceli, Hassan Otsmane-Elhauo, Katie West) and comics newbies (e.g., me, Ria, the young adult work). Ricky, Kat, and Gina from Avery Hill are super smart, lovely people to work with and in a world full of a-holes we thank our lucky stars when we get to work with people like that!
BD: In light of the Kickstarter campaign, are there any particular backer rewards for which you are most excited?
SK: I’m really excited for you to see our trailer, which was created by a legend in the world of satire and features a track from a legend in the world of electronic music.
I’ve also created a load of playlists, which we’re excited to share.
Also excited by the eco-merch of bookplates, coasters, and a tote bag, featuring some brilliant art from the team.
My excitement peaks when I think about some of the signed sketches, you’ll be able to get from Ria Grix!
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Acid Box?
SK: Please visit the Kickstarter here.
For all your Acid Box updates: https://linktr.ee/acidbox
Avery Hill website: https://averyhillpublishing.com/
