Posted in: Comics | Tagged: boom, boom studios, Cecil Castellucci, girl on film

BOOM! to Publish Cecil Castellucci's Graphic Memoir, Girl on Film

Published Wed, 01 May 2019 16:32:55 -0500

Explosive publisher BOOM! Studios has announced that they will publish Girl on Film, the graphic memoir of writer Cecil Castellucci (Female Furies), with art by Vicky Leta, Jon Berg, V. Gagnon, and Melissa Duffy, in November. A press release describes the story:

Based on the true story of her own free-spirited coming-of-age as a young, independent creative who fell in love with the art of storytelling, Cecil's memoir also depicts the nuanced connection between experience and memory.

In 1977, Star Wars released in theaters nationwide and changed young Cecil Castellucci's life forever. From that moment on, she knew that she would one day become an artist and storyteller who brought her own imagination to life. Thus began the evolution of the young starstruck fan into an aspiring theater kid (who was childhood friends with Jennifer Aniston and Chaz Bono), a teenage artiste running wild in '80s New York, an indie musician in the Montreal punk scene, and finally the acclaimed author and bestselling comic book writer she is today. Along the way, she found that even though nothing ever went according to plan, everything happened the way it should have.

Chronicling the life of award-winning young adult novelist and Eisner-nominated comics scribe Cecil Castellucci, GIRL ON FILM follows a passionate aspiring artist from the youngest age through adulthood to examine the arduous pursuit of making art, while exploring the act of memory and how it reshapes what we think we truly know about ourselves.

Cecil Castellucci is the New York Times bestselling author of books and graphic novels for young adults including Shade the Changing Girl, The Plain Janes, and The Year of the Beasts. In 2015, she co-authored Star Wars Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure. Her short stories and short comics have been published in various anthologies and literary journals. In a former life, she was known as Cecil Seaskull in the '90s indie band Nerdy Girl. She has written two opera librettos Les Aventures de Madame Merveille (World Premiere in 2010) and Hockey Noir: The Opera (World Premiere 2018). Castellucci is currently writing The Female Furies for DC Comics. She is the former Children's Correspondence Coordinator for The Rumpus, a two-time MacDowell Fellow, and the founding YA Editor at the LA Review of Books. She lives in Los Angeles.

And Castellucci had this to say:

When I think about it, I have always been most fascinated with telling stories. At first, I thought I would become the next Steven Spielberg. But turns out that early dream of aspiring filmmaker was just the first in a series of surprising creative aspirations that led me to where I am today. I wanted to trace the path that brought me to this moment in my life but recalling the past is always a tricky thing. You could be remembering something exactly as it happened or looking at it through the lens of hindsight and other lived experiences. So this is me putting together the story of my life, mining my memories and very excited to work with four such talented artists to craft something between memory and fiction about dedicating my life to making art in every form I could in order to fulfill that childhood dream of one day becoming the girl on film, on vinyl, on paper, and preserved in the memories of others forever.

Each of the artists involved also commented on their part in the graphic novel, starting with Leta:

I'm absolutely thrilled to work on GIRL ON FILM, where Cecil takes us into New York in the '80s through the lens of an aspiring young artist. Her story is one that certainly relates close to home, so I'm excited and honored to be a part of it!

Then Berg:

GIRL ON FILM is a unique perspective on the fascinating process of pursuing an artistic life. I'm grateful and excited to be a part of bringing Cecil's journey to the comic page.

Gagnon:

We all partake in these unique life-long journeys that shift and change when we look back on them, and there's so much to learn there. I'm excited to have the opportunity to work with this great team and bring Cecil's journey to life!

And Duffy:

Let's talk about GIRL ON FILM. Is the backdrop of a legendary arts high school in 1980's New York an incredibly cool time and place to be? Yes. Is it an honor to be bringing YA heavyweight Cecil Castellucci's own memories to new life on the page? Yes. Is this the artistic coming of age memoir that I'm excited for the world to read? YES!

And finally BOOM! Executive Editor Sierra Hahn:

GIRL ON FILM is Cecil's love letter to her young artistic self and to all the other creatives who want to leave their mark on the world. With her as a guide, we get to explore a slice of New York City preserved in her memory and follow her wondrous journey as it twists and turns, culminating into the vision of an artist who's done it all. And as if the details about growing up in the heart of Times Square, avoiding Cher, and skipping over Keith Haring chalk drawings aren't compelling enough, you'll find photographic evidence of her childhood right next to the amazing illustrations of artists Vicky Leta, Jon Berg, V. Gagnon, and Melissa Duffy.

Girl on Film will hit comic stores on November 13th, published via BOOM!'s Archaia imprint. It hits bookstores the following week, on November 19th.