Hey, everybody! Welcome to the home site for my first graphic novel, Charlie and Gloria! I will continue posting updates on the drawing process over at WesDraws.com, but this will be the central hub site for all things C&G-related. Here you’ll find the book synopsis and character bios as well as a 25-page preview of the graphic novel! I’ll also post any C&G fanart on this site, so if you’d like to draw one of the characters just send it to me at wes(at)wesdraws(dot)com and I’ll post it in the yet-to-be-created fanart section!
For more info about Charlie and Gloria, just read this interview I had with myself:
Graphic Novel Q & A With Myself
So what’s this graphic novel/comic book/illustrated tome called? As you can see from the image above, the book is titled “Charlie and Gloria”. It’s about a guy named Charlie and a girl named Gloria. Pretty creative, I know. I learned a long time ago that it’s best to keep your titles simple so as not to confuse your readership – case in point, You’ll Have That.
What’s the story about? The story follows Charlie and Gloria on an awesome – and rather impromptu – first date. First dates (or even second dates and third dates) can be rather intimidating, but when they go well they are absolutely amazing! Especially when you can tell right away that there’s a mutual attraction. There’s a lot of mystery as you both try to delicately pick at the “walls” you’ve built around yourselves, and the smallest things – such as a touch on the elbow or a coy smile – can be as intimate as a kiss on the lips. Those early dates are also pretty “innocent”, and I wanted to write about that fun, light-hearted vibe that surrounds a burgeoning relationship in its very early stages.
The story doesn’t seem like a huge departure from what you’ve done in the past. Weren’t you going to try to create a fantasy-based graphic novel? Yes. Originally, that was the plan. I still want to write and draw a fantasy/action story, but I decided that it might be best to play a little closer to home with my first graphic novel to lessen the likelihood of burnout.
You’ll Have That was a love story. Max vs. Max was a love story. Charlie and Gloria is going to be a love story. Are you OK with being the Nicholas Sparks of comic book creators? I guess . . . I mean . . . I never thought about it like that . . .
You said you wanted to write about the “innocent” vibe of the dating experience in the early stages of a relationship. Does that mean there won’t be any sex or boobies in your graphic novel? Yeah. That’s pretty much what that means.
Is this book gonna get all Jesus-y like Max vs. Max did? Um . . . I’m a Christian, so I guess some of that might leak into the story. Max vs. Max was more of a deliberate exploration of a man’s faith after divorce. This book isn’t exploring any elements of faith, so if that’s what you mean by “Jesus-y” then I guess my answer is “no”.
So when do we get to see this book? Will it be a webcomic? Probably not a webcomic. I’d really like to get this book published by a major publisher, so I’m going to try to court literary agents. Eventually I plan on making a dedicated site for Charlie and Gloria with a 10- to 20-page preview as well as character bios and other book info.
How can we – your adoring readership – help you promote this book? The best way would be to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ (I always follow back) and use your social-media-network-of-choice to talk about my book. I’ll be posting updates and sneak peeks along the way, so if you can retweet that stuff and post it on Facebook that would be totally rad!
Follow Wes!