Black Panther

The Black Panther (T’Challa) was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciler Jack Kirby. He first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966). Black Panther the movie is set to be released in 2018. That makes the character fifty-two years old. Fun fact. When the Black Panther character was created, Chadwick Boseman, the actor that portrays him in the movie, wasn’t born yet. It’s a sobering thought, isn’t it?

Fun fact. When the Black Panther character was created, Chadwick Boseman, the actor that portrays him in the movie, wasn’t born yet.

The character was originally called Coal Tiger, but Stan Lee decided on Black Panther. Many people mistakenly thought that the character was a reference to the then Black Panther party, so they briefly changed the name to The Black Leopard. But no one liked the name so it went back to Black Panther. But I digress. The point is, that it took a number of years for Black Panther to move from a sketch on Jack Kirby’s desk to a feature length movie. Something to think about. Of course, this may be a bit extreme and Black Panther has had a measure of success in comic books as well as cartoon adaptations. Also, I’m sure there are examples of projects that achieved success in fairly shorter amounts of time. However, these are the exception rather than the rule and it’s easy to find numerous other examples of creators who had to wait a long time and go through a journey of sorts, for their projects to achieve any measure of success.

This is a concept art sketch of the original Black Panther character by Jack Kirby. The character was first called Coal Tiger

Valerian

Valerian and the City of A Thousand Planets is a fantastic sci-fi ride with mind blowing special effects by the great folks at Weta Digital.

It is based on a novel created by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières and it was first published in Pilote magazine in 1967. It was then called Valérian and Laureline. So it took 50 years to get its movie adaptation. The movie was even marketed with that tagline “Valerian Featurette: A Movie a Lifetime in the Making”. It didn’t receive very good reviews, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it has not instantly become a sci-fi classic. The point is, it took a long time for the creation to go from book to movie. If its creators weren’t marathon runners they would have given up the idea a long time ago.

Valérian and Laureline as drawn by Jean-Claude Mézières

Blade Runner

An example of a title that wasn’t initially well received and had to wait a long time to achieve a measure of success is one of my favourite movies of all time. Blade Runner.

The posters for Blade Runner 1982 (left) and Blade Runner 2049 (right)

Blade Runner (1982) is a science fiction film, released in 1982, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos.

It was written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, and is a loose adaptation of a 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. The movie cost about 28 million and only made about 6.5 million in its opening weekend. Part of the reason for this is that on the same weekend the movie was released two other huge movies were also playing. They were Star Trek: Wrath of Khan and the juggernaut knows as E.T: Extra Terrestrial. So no one had any time for Blade Runner. How many of us indie creators can identify with that. You share your work and it’s overshadowed by other amazing work that’s out there. Blade Runner, however, went on to enjoy a renaissance of sorts during the 80s as people found it on VHS. The show went on to take its place in the sci-fi canon and today is one of the most influential movies ever. Now a new Blade Runner movie is set to be released in 2017 and it stars Ryan Gosling and the star of the original blade runner Harrison Ford.

Celflux

I’ve written about how Celflux began before but it’s worth mentioning here again. The characters of Celflux have been with me for a long time. I had the idea way back in secondary school. It is only after Dixie Ann and I got married that we decided to work on publishing the book. This was in 2013. Now four years later and with the help of an awesome voice team and composer, we are set to independently release the Celflux Animated Short. It is possible that the film can become an instant success. That would be great! But reality teaches me that it might be years before people really start hearing about Celflux. The point is I have to be prepared for that and just keep moving forward.

Okira. The leader of the Celflux Team.

Be sure to check out our first trailer if you haven’t already. If you have, go ahead and watch it again.

Conclusion

If I have an unrealistic expectation of how long it’s supposed to take to achieve any measure of success, I will quickly become discouraged and despondent and look for the next stop to get off this crazy train. But if I appreciate that Rome was not built in a day, nothing good comes easy, and many great creators who went before me had the same struggle, then I’ll dig my heels in, put my shoulder to the grind and prepare myself for the long haul. A marathon runner’s training regiment is different from that of a sprinter. They’re built differently. Unlike the sprinter, the finish line for the marathon runner is not seen for most of the race and must be visualized. To finish requires a sustained effort over a long period as opposed to a burst of energy that lasts about 10 seconds. My advice to all indie creators is to maintain a steady pace and keep working on your creations. So when that opportunity of success comes along it will find you in full stride and prepared to appreciate that success. May we all learn to run that creative marathon.

Till next time.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

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We have some really great news to share about our Celflux short film project. A while ago there was an open call for small marketing and development grants by FilmTT and CreativeTT here in Trinidad and Tobago. We decided to take a leap of faith and make a submission for the grant. Our leap of faith paid off.

The Trinidad & Tobago Film Company Limited (FilmTT) is a state agency established in 2006 to facilitate the development of the film industry in Trinidad and Tobago. As a subsidiary of the Trinidad and Tobago Creative Industries Company Limited (CreativeTT), FilmTT provides logistical support and film commission services such as location scouting and research and acts as a liaison with industry partners, the community, production houses and Government agencies. We submitted a proposal for our Celflux project. On May 12th we received an email from Ms Nneka Luke, the General Manager of FilmTT, informing us that our proposal had been accepted. We are happy to announce that the Celflux project was selected to receive a grant towards its marketing and development. We are extremely grateful and humbled by this and we would like to thank Ms Nneka Luke, Ms Raycy Rousseau, Ms Maya Cozier and the rest of the FilmTT team for the confidence they have shown in the Celflux project by awarding us this grant.

We are humbled to be among some of the most talented veterans in the Trinidad and Tobago film industry and realise that this affords us a great opportunity to take our Celflux project to the next level. I want to also thank the Celflux team of voice actors and the musical score composer for the encouragement they have given us and for the work they have put into this project. We could not have done it without them. We also want to single out Tony Black, who is the voice of Raymond, as he was the one who first suggested that we take Celflux further than we initially planned. Thank you for looking out.

Dixie Ann and I (far left) alongside the other recipients of the FilmTT marketing and distribution grant at FilmTT’s office.

So stay tuned for more updates as we move forward. Follow us to stay updated and be sure to help spread the word about the Celflux project. Great things are in store.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

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As you guys know for our recently completed trailer I did everything. This includes the music. I can play music by ear so I just created something that I was hearing in my head and that I thought sounded good. I cannot read or write music and I am by no means a professional. So the music for the trailer left a lot to be desired. You can have another look at the trailer here:

I had planned to do the same for the Celflux animated short and hope for the best. However, Matthew Curtis (The voice of the High Councilor), on his own initiative, shared the Celflux project with a friend of his. This friend was a classicly trained musician who, according to him, fell in love with the project and expressed an interest in coming on board.

His name is Gwenael Mario Grisi and he started playing the piano at the age of six. He’s studied composition at the Conservatory in Belgium and graduated with three (3) master’s degrees. He’s also studied film editing with the purpose of learning how to better use music to tell stories. As with our amazingly talented voice cast, we are overwhelmed by how lucky we are to have such a talented and professional individual as part of the Celflux team. We would again like to acknowledge Matt’s role in making this happen. Mario had this to say about the Celflux project.

Your story is very touching and I’m still completely down for this project.
Your art is absolutely amazing, it gives me a lot of good vibes and I’m really happy I can help you for the music. It reminds me some old animated movies I was watching when I was younger, I’m in love with this project!

Here’s a sample of Mario’s work performed by the Brussels Phil Harmonic.

You can find out more about Mario and support his work at the following links:

Gwenael Mario Grisi on IMDB
Gwenael Grisi on Soundcloud
Gwenael Mario Grisi on Facebook

I always say when we first started working on Celflux we did not have any distinctive plans. We just wanted to do something as the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. We never imagined that Celflux would grow into what it has become and seems poised to become. Thank you to all our fans and those who have given of their time and energy to make it happen.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

ww.gemgfx.com

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When Dixie Ann and I began this Celflux journey in 2013, we had no idea where the road would take us. We just ventured out in the spirit of enjoyment and experience. We didn’t have a specific plan or goal other than to finish our book and share it with the world. Our motivation has never been and will never be the pursuit of fame and fortune. We’re not here to “make a name” or “change the game” as we hear a few folks saying. We’re just along for the ride to see where the journey takes us. That’s why everything that happens along this road, is a huge deal for us. So far we’ve had some really memorable and wonderful experiences and have been blessed to meet quite a few awesome and outstanding individuals from all over the world. All because we published our own comic with our original character Okira. Furthermore, the journey keeps getting more and more interesting.

One of the outstanding individuals that we’ve had the pleasure of meeting is Ms. Camille Selvon Abrahams. Ms. Selvon Abrahams is the CEO and founder of Full Circle Animation Studio and the Creative Director of the Animae Caribe Animation Festival. She extended an invitation to us to be special guests at Animae Caribe 2016. To explain how this came about, I need to tell a story.

Ms. Camille Selvon Abrahams. CEO and founder of Full Circle Animation Studio and the Creative Director of the Animae Caribe Animation Festival

As many Celflux fans know, I’m a child of the 80s and grew up on Saturday morning 80s cartoons. I have always loved traditional animation, in particular, the action cartoons of the 80s and 90s. Most notably among them were Thundercats, Gi Joe, Transformers, and Visionaries: Knights of The Magical Light. So you can understand that I’ve always had in my mind the desire to one day see the characters of Celflux in an animated format. When we were planning the second trailer for the release of Celflux issue no. 3, I made the decision to do something in the style of an 80s cartoon intro. I shared a sneak peek of that trailer on Facebook and Ms. Selvon Abrahams saw it and liked it. A huge deal for us, given the fact that she has years of experience in the animation industry. Ms. Selvon Abrahams then graciously extended to us an invitation to be featured guests at this years Animae Caribe Festival.

We cannot really express how much this opportunity means to us. It is a priceless opportunity for two key reasons. Firstly, we have the outstanding privilege of being among some of the most talented, qualified and experienced individuals in the creative industry and secondly, it gives us a powerful platform from which we can share the story of Okira and Celflux. We’re really looking forward to this event, the amazing people we will meet and connect with, and the great experiences we will have. Also, who knows where the next stage of the journey will lead? So if you can make it, come visit us at Animae Caribe 2016. We would love to meet you.

Find out more about Animae Caribe at their website: http://www.animaecaribe.com/
Have a look at the prestigious guest list: Animae Caribe Guests
Follow our journey to Animae Caribe on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Till next time.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

ww.gemgfx.com

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When we first started the Celflux project, it was more a project of love. Just to realize a childhood dream of creating your own characters and stories and sharing it with others. We really did not have any stated goals or directions we wanted to go in other than knowing we had six volumes that we wanted to create. Let me say here that it’s not always a good idea to start something without a plan, but sometimes the journey of discovery is the most rewarding. Celflux has grown into a lot more since we first started. The research we’ve done has helped us create solid achievable goals that we can work towards. So we’ve decided that we’ll be creating six volumes with approximately four issues each. When we’ve completed the volumes, we’ll be compiling them into the graphic novel for that volume. May be hard cover, may be soft cover, we’re not sure yet.

So we recently completed Issue no.1 of Vol.I, and we’ve made digital copies available on DriveThru Comics for sale. We’d also sent it off to the printers to get print copies ready. Recently we received the proofs for the print copies. We were blown away by how fantastic the book looked. No, it’s not me tooting my own horn, it’s me genuinely surprised at how cool the book looked. It did not look like something we did. It looked like someone else did it. It gave us a really good feeling. A feeling like the thing you created came to life. Which brings me back to the Oprah moment I was having earlier. Holding the print copy in our hands we realized that we were not in this for the money. We felt a sense of accomplishment just by being able to create something and see it in physical form in our hands. We’d done it.

So our goal is to finish all six volumes, which is approx 24 issues and bring them all to print. If we can do this we will be content. We’re already satisfied with completing the first one and feel a sense of accomplishment. This little print comic book is a big deal to us. So it’s good to set goals, and work towards them, but find your accomplishment in the little things. This would make it even better when you achieve the big goals and you’ll still feel accomplished even if you don’t reach them.

Oh and The print copies of Celflux will be available on DriveThru Comics soon.

Till next time.

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And so we begin our journey to more great fans. If you like Celflux already, spread the word so others can become a part of the journey.

Till next time.
The Celflux Team.

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