Five years ago, I was fortunate enough to be in the spotlight Elaine Tippin’s Queer fantasy epic Pathway: Tuvana Chronicles for beat‘s “Year of Free Comics” feature, now this story is being printed for the first time by Dark Horse Comics.
way Explores the aftermath of an archaeological dig that revealed hundreds of ancient humans trapped in pods deep underground. A temporary truce between Tuvana’s four nations to support the excavation was shaken by the discovery, plunging the surface into chaos. Climate changes suddenly, land moves, family members disappear, communications are disrupted.
To save Tuvana, a group of seemingly reluctant heroes must solve the puzzles of the past and create a sustainable future for their world.
Pathway: Tuvana Chronicles Volume 1 It is expected to hit shelves in September, bringing the comics to a whole new audience, while Tipping continues to publish regular updates to the series on Tapas. Ahead of the book’s release, I spoke with Tipping via email about where the series was going, whether they knew how the story would end, and how the Dark Horse version would differ from the webcomic.
beat: How has Pathways evolved since you conceived the idea for this story?
Elaine’s tip: The basics of this story have remained pretty much the same since I started imagining it. Perhaps the biggest change is fleshing out the characters and their designs more, as well as the points between the main points of the story and all the little details and other smaller moments. Other than that, the initial concept and framework is pretty much what it ended up being in the comics.
What is your biggest fantasy inspiration? How do they influence your comics, especially way?
tip: I’ve always been a big fan of fantasy, but my core origins are probably Enchanted Forest Chronicles go through Patricia C. Wilder. This series is the foundation of my love for dragons, who are more than just the big bads. Tamora Pierce It also had a great impact on me, and then when Lord of the Rings Once the movie came out, I quickly got into creating fantasy worlds and stories.
These special effects way This is my favorite series, given the role of the dragons in the series, the personal relationships between the characters, and I love a good fantasy epic where the characters travel throughout the world, seeing all kinds of beautiful places and meeting different people.
I would say the Ghibli films also had an influence on my work, especially Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononokeand Laputa. In addition, there is an anime that impressed me deeply, called final exileWeirdly (highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet).
Recently, later planning waymy favorite is probably dragon age game series, key role shows and comics, and dungeon grid comics. They gave me a new perspective on fantasy worlds, opened me up to this type of storytelling, and helped me find more of what I love about fantasy. Another comic, Dr. Tongari’s Studiotogether with dungeon gridwas really inspiring about the paneling, art techniques, and inks of my work.
Art-wise, I spend a lot of time doing fan art and fan comics for all the series I love, and it really pushes me to draw some things that I’m not so confident about, which definitely influences my work and allows me to draw anything I possibly can Something needed to tell the story I wanted to tell. It really pushed me out of my comfort zone!
Have you planned the series’ finale yet?
tip: I do! When I first came up with this story, I had all the framework laid out so I knew exactly how it was going to end.
What was the biggest challenge you faced on this series?
tip: OMG, draw all eight main characters together in the same scene.
No, but seriously, probably script writing because when I write text I tend to see visuals in my head, so I have to storyboard chapters at the same time as I’m building the script, which takes a long time and is focused Do it together.
Can you talk about the process of translating a web comic into print?
tip: Thankfully, this isn’t too difficult as I always plan to print my comics at the end of the series. I really had to choose a size that would look good online and that I could print out and look good too. That’s actually why I chose gray instead of point tones, because when I did my peter pan Adapt, I’ve found that some printers have a very difficult time printing dot tones, and you can’t shrink the page to fit the random online dimensions without some moiré (an effect where the dots pick up some weird patterns, which is a Common phenomenon) digital tone problem).
I really miss the dot tones, so I’d like to continue using them in future comics.
What readers can expect way Online Looking forward to the print edition?
tip: They’ll get tons of updated art for the pages they’ve already read (all of Volume 1 and most of Volume 2)! I was able to restore my old art to be able to tell part of the story better and fix some paneling that I wasn’t 100 percent happy with. (There’s also some rough art from Elaine from a few years ago, but not as good as Elaine from now.)
Also, I didn’t edit the first few chapters of this book, so there will be a lot less commas in the first nine chapters this time. I like commas a little too much.
Do you have a favorite moment or scene from Volume 1?
tip: OMG I love this comic so much it’s hard to choose! Spoilers for the last two chapters aside, I think I really have a soft spot for the first chapter. In particular, I really enjoyed Talia and the twins meeting before going to the festival. I had done this scene in a similar way many times when I was planning this series, and since they were my core trio and the first of the cast I created, it really was a warm, lovable moment, has a special place in my heart.
Is there a character that you resonate with the most?
tip: Oh my gosh, what an interesting question, considering how I was searching for the voices and characteristics of these characters when I first started this series. I actually go through and try to find what I have in common with each character as a starting point.
However, as I tell the story, I think Thalia was a character that I more related to when I first planned this story, when I was younger and didn’t really understand the world as well as I do now, but I think , and by the end of the story, I did connect with Netis in a way I didn’t expect. A lot of this probably stems from the fact that my relationship with my wife inspired many of the Nattis and Zana Wife moments.
What do you hope readers take away from this story?
tip: Honestly, I just want them to have fun reading it! If they can take some time out and escape into this little world and adventure that I’ve created and have a lot of fun there, that’s what I’m hoping for.
Beyond that, I do hope that I can be a part of the path for other creatives to create their own worlds and stories. It’s so important to give many types of stories the space and inspiration to bloom.
What does your script/illustration schedule look like?
tip: I usually write my scripts a month in advance before I start chapters so that my editor has time to go over them and not feel rushed before I need to start drawing them. I also work a month before my publish date so I don’t have to worry about finishing a page in time. Once the script is complete, I make larger thumbnails to determine panel composition and page layout, which are then scanned into my computer and used as rough sketches for the pages.
Next, I position the panels, text, and speech bubbles so that I know how much art space I need to use. I start with pencils, then all the inks, then all the toning and shading. Then the next month, I started the process again.
Apart from waycan you tell us what you are doing?
tip: Absolutely! I’m currently working on a film called Destiny is uncertain About a knight errant who just wants to do his job and help out from time to time without being noticed by too many people. But then he accidentally rescued (adopted) a child, met a fellow mage (husband), and was involved in a dangerous and unexpected adventure. This is another fantasy story, but with a hint of horror.
once i wrap it up way I will add updates Destiny is uncertainand will begin work on my next webcomic: a shorter comic about monsters and (cursed) monster hunters, and my next full-length comic, a genre-bending sci-fi/fantasy adventure novel.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
tip: I really hope you all like my comics! way It’s really special to me because this is my first full-length (aka more than a volume long) original series. Everything before this was either done by a team, an adaptation or a fan comic, or a single volume story, so this is a first for me. Not to mention, I grew up watching Dark Horse Comics stuff and it was really cool to be able to work with them way There.20
Please give it a read, I really hope you all enjoy it! Keep an eye out for more stories to come, I have so many and I’m excited to share them with you all!
Pathway: Tuvana Chronicles Volume 1 The book will be available on September 3rd wherever books are sold, and in local comic shops on September 4th.
