The project
If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others? —Candide
Everybody wants to rule the world, and they’ll spin the facts as needed. The biggest spin has always been to suggest the world is perfect just the way it is. “Don’t worry, be happy.” But there is no Santa, and you’d better watch out—and take care of what’s near and dear to you. So it goes. That’s the message of the classic novel by Voltaire.
We want to turn that always-relevant book into an awesome graphic novel for a new generation. We’ve got the talent, the passion and the experience to produce a great result if enough people like you think it’s worth doing. In return we’re offering great previews and premiums for every level of contributor.
Candide is a sheltered young man suddenly cast out into a cruel world. The book runs its hero Candide through a gauntlet of woes as he slowly grows disillusioned with his teacher’s sunny philosophy that this is the best of all possible worlds. Voltaire was one of the greatest thinkers of the 18th-century, and Candide became his most well known work despite the uproar after publication. The book was banned and burned across Europe because it took on all the sacred cows—politics, religion, sex and more. It still blazes.
Why We Want To Do This, Why We’re Right For Candide
I’m Jamaal Taylor and I love to read. Candide has been one of my favorite books and this is a project that I have wanted to do for a while. This is a project that I've commited to seeing through to the end.
I’ve lined up an up-and-coming artist/designer/adapter for this project, Mark Martel. He’s done comics for writers around the world, adapted screenplays to comics and even created comics to promote a New York Times bestseller and a National Geographic documentary. With a background in advertising and marketing, Mark knows all the spin doctor tricks (and how to put some reverse-spin on them for Candide). He’s an unusually versatile stylist who understands the interplay of word and image in the unique medium of comics. He’s already done extensive visual research into a similar historical era. See the Gallery for examples of his work. We’ll be adding sketches for Candide so check back.
Be In On The Creative Process
Together we have adapted the first few pages of Candide. See how the script and original compare with actual comic pages as they’re created. As a contributor you’ll receive updates and previews as the work progresses. Be ready to be hooked.
Why Candide Is Still Necessary
It’s a story that has been around for 200 years, yet still totally relates to today. Candide falls in love, gets tricked into the army, survives wars, a massive earthquake, bounces all over the globe and ends up dodging fanatics in the Middle East. Candide gets starved, beaten, shipwrecked, swindled and nearly flayed alive before he wises up. Despite the massive satire the tale still rings true about human nature. Which is why it’s a classic.
Making The Best Possible Adaptation
For Candide we’re going for a contemporary “Marvel Comics” look and feel to appeal to younger and mainstream comics readers. Don’t worry—Candide isn’t going to become some superhero. But we’ll use the vividness, dynamics, and visual storytelling of top comics to grab the reader and pull them along on this wild tale.
It’s also perfects for a comics adaptation. Many “graphic novels” only run 10 pages. Or they’re a 32-page “adaptation” of a 400-page novel. What’s the point in that? Candide is already a short novel of a mere 100 pages. So we can make a true graphic novel adaptation, staying true to the original while coming in at a length that allows for great art, professional printing and a satisfying reader experience. When you’re done reading it you’ll feel you’ve watched a great movie that was just the right length.
What You Get—Perks & Previews!
Money raised will go toward adapting the book to script form and creating all of the artwork. That will take us about 6 months. Funds raised will also go to the first printing of the book for initial orders to comics shops and other outlets. Once on the market, the book can become self-sustaining through print-on-demand. That’s how other independent comics classics like Bone and XYZ made it.
So we need your help to get to that point.
Other ways you can help
Spread the word
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Thank you for taking your time to read our proposal!
Private misfortunes are public benefits; so that the more private misfortunes there are, the greater is the general good. —Dr. Pangloss
