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| On the cover, the creators of "City Of Walls". Shaun Noel, writer (left) & Abede Lovelace, visual artist. Photo courtesy of the artists, design by K.K.W |
Even now, mainstream comics are at a higher point, thanks to the careful hand Hollywood played (& keeps playing). And yet this stream can seem tiresome, leaving you wanting something closer to reality and a story thats more human.
In 2006 Abede Lovelace teamed up with Shaun Noel to create City Of Walls; a dramatic tale revolving around the lives of 3 kids. "The story of Jin, Daniel and Ariana is EXTREMELY collaborative. I don’t just do the writing and Abede the art. Abede came to me with the concept and we expanded on it. We discuss the story together and I run with it for the script. He has great story ideas. And while I can’t actually draw, many visual concepts on the pages and varied ways of showing scenes have come from my head. And it is up to me to communicate that to Abede so he can bring to the page in the best way possible." [Shaun Noel]
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| Photo by Greg Girard - from the article "Life inside the densest place on earth: photos of Kowloon Walled City" on CNN.com |
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| Photo by Greg Girard - from the article "Life inside the densest place on earth: photos of Kowloon Walled City" on CNN.com |
The city was soon taken-over by various gangs; "..Here, prostitutes installed themselves on one side of the street, while a priest preached and handed out powdered milk to the poor on the other; social workers gave guidance, while drug addicts squatted under the stairs getting high; what were children's games centres by day became strip show venues by night. It was a very complex place.." [Leung Ping Kwan, City of Darkness, p. 120].
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| A page from "City of Walls", art by Abede Lovelace. |
The idea of children growing up in this kind of environment seems cruel, beyond-reason, and yet its similar to many other situations in the pages of history or an news article; difficult circumstances giving rise to extraordinary individuals. Recently the two has rebooted the comic by having it colored [the 1st 4 issues were in black&white], making for an even more stylish and intriguing look. "City Of Walls" is arguably one of the best comics out to date, showing the creators love of the medium, film [Radio-Flyer, The Goonies, Big Trouble in little China, Red-Hook Summer, Etc] and story-telling.
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| Photo by Greg Girard - from the article "Life inside the densest place on earth: photos of Kowloon Walled City" on CNN.com |
DANIEL – "Smart and gifted but unfocused. On the fast track to be a squandered genius, his lack of interest in academics leads to conflict with his father. He is an angry, FRUSTRATED Child. Even at this age you can tell the city has damaged him in some way. He is the driving force of the group." [info from C.O.W]
JIN – "A brilliant gear head, he spends the vast majority of his time
in the city’s junkyard. He experiments with his own designs and creations. His dad died in a racing accident and combined with an overprotective mother resulted in his very reserved LAID-BACK personality." [info from C.O.W]
in the city’s junkyard. He experiments with his own designs and creations. His dad died in a racing accident and combined with an overprotective mother resulted in his very reserved LAID-BACK personality." [info from C.O.W]
ARIANA – "Emotionally strong and pragmatic, her childhood has been derailed into a life of helping her father run a convenience store. She has no social life to speak of and when she joins the group it is the first time she gets to be a kid again since her mother DIED. She soon emerges as the rock that supports the trio when times get hard." [info from C.O.W]
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| Photo by Greg Girard - from the article "Life inside the densest place on earth: photos of Kowloon Walled City" on CNN.com |