GRAPHIC NOVEL CLUB: Georgia Webber and Vivian Chong talk process in DANCING AFTER TEN

Webber and Chong work together to tell a true story of living with blindness.

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The Beat is a proud sponsor of Comix Experience’s Graphic Novel of the Month Clubs, which bring comics fans a curated mix of the best of new release graphic novels and conversations with the creators who make them.  Each month, the staff of Comix Experience votes on two sets of upcoming books they are most excited—one gets presented to adults and another to middle readers. Each club provides swag like original signed custom bookplates for adults or buttons and magnets for the kids (in this case, the former, to support the featured book, Dancing After Ten).

danving after ten

Most excitingly, the Graphic Novel Clubs bring in the creators of selected books to talk exclusively to GNC members in interviews conducted by Comix Experience owner Brian Hibbs, who brings 30 years of experience in comics to the table. These talks are livestreamed to members all over the country and are a fun and informative mix of conversation on craft and form, as well as on the business of making comics. The Graphic Novel Clubs make a point of being inclusive, inviting creators from a wide variety of age, race, sex, and cultural perspectives to speak to members.

Membership is what propels these conversations, so if you like what you see, please support these discussions of comics, and the creators who make them, by joining the club.

Today: Brian Hibbs talks to Georgia Webber and Vivian Chong about their graphic novel, Dancing After Ten, which depicts Chong’s struggle with TEN (Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis), and her resulting loss of sight. She works with Webber to recount how she forged a new identity in the face of her trauma and discovered new ways of expression through singing, stand-up, drumming, running, and dance. After waking up from a coma and undergoing cornea surgery, Chong’s eyesight improved, and during that time she drew 100 pages of this graphic novel. But a month later, her sight disappeared again. Webber, having previously authored her own experience with disability in Dumb: Living Without a Voice, came in at that point and offered her cartooning abilities to ultimately finish Dancing After TEN.

Make sure to check out the full interview on Comix Experience’s official YouTube page.

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