GRAY - Graphic Novel & Audiodrama; Oscar Wilde reimagined
Created by Prodigal Entertainment
The Picture of Dorian Gray, but not as we know it. Our Gray is a violent criminal in NYC. She’s also an immortal creature of magic.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
A Brave New World
about 1 year ago
– Tue, Mar 21, 2023 at 03:05:35 PM
Dear Sisters of Gray,
So actual update:
Vol 2 of the graphic novel will go for final lettering next month. Arvind just needs to do a quick lettering harmonization on the script (the process in which the original script is cut and tweaked to fit in with the space available in the final art) - which is scheduled to happen this week.
Audio drama has ONE PERSON LEFT TO RECORD!
OK, with that out of the way, here’s a more leisurely look into the process of adaptation!
The initial challenge in adapting the comic script was keeping the core of the story intact while telling it through a new lens. How could we show the audience the panels that have been so beautifully drawn by our artistic team in a medium that relies on imagination alone? The solution was simple: bring them into a recognizable framework, which for us is the ever-popular true crime podcast. The story of the comic would be told as a retrospective on the podcast of an amateur sleuth, our fearless narrator.
Armed with that premise, we created a pitch deck to present our ideas to potential collaborators. This provided an overview of the project, the credits of the creative team, and a dazzling cast to tackle the roles of Dorian Gray, Hank Wutan, Baroness Laura Arnheim, among several others.
Pitch Deck Overview Slide
Pitch Deck Cast Slide
The cast expanded as earlier drafts of the scripts were rolled out, and in May of 2020, a couple of months into the first lock down. In those early pandemic days, we hosted a table read in the only space that was open to us at the time: the digital world of zoom.
The reading was brilliant and moving–however, it was also clear that we hadn’t yet found a way to transpose the story in the audio medium. In this, the reading served its purpose - it informed a major rewrite. What became clear was that to properly tell this story in the audio medium, we needed a framing device, a way to make the story native to audio.
That was found in the character of Speranza (named for Wilde’s mother’s pen-name), a new mystery narrator telling the story of Dorian Gray from 20 years in the future. Thus was born DORIAN GRAY: an (Un) True Crime Podcast.
Draft of a Script Page
That’s all for this update, but please check out these incredible projects that our friends and partners have been working tirelessly on. Our other kickstarter campaign, Mother of Frankenstein – a groundbreaking puzzle game that combines the best of escape rooms, board games, immersive theater, and novels – is available to order now at this link, and use code GRAY for a discount at checkout. Estimated delivery for this masterpiece is May 2023.
“A perfect puzzle experience.” - Forbes
“Mother of Frankenstein is pretty much the definition of out-of-the-box thinking.” - Publishers Weekly.
Mother of Frankenstein Game
Lastly, our dear friend Madeleine Holly-Rosing, writer/creator of the steampunk-supernatural prose, graphic novel, and audio drama series, Boston Metaphysical Society, has a campaign that is currently LIVE on kickstarter. They’ve only got 9 days to go and have reached stretch goal #4!
Fleeing arrest in Boston, the team (Samuel, Caitlin, Granville, and Alma) arrive at the only safe haven they have--Tesla's Experimental Station in Colorado Springs. There they meet Tesla’s most unlikely partner, Meihui Zhou, a scientist from the Great House Zhou in California. Life gets more complicated when an attempt is made on Tesla’s life and Caitlin’s psychic abilities take a dangerous turn. Now, they must figure out who is trying to kill Tesla and what Caitlin’s visions are trying to tell her before anyone else dies.
Boston Metaphysical Society - Mystery at Pike's Peak
Yours in Gray!
-- Arvind, Brittany, and Izzie
A Retrospective Of Sorts
about 1 year ago
– Thu, Feb 23, 2023 at 02:03:54 PM
Lords, Ladies, & Lovers,
What a journey it's been. From that first spark of inspiration, to the excitement of the Kickstarter campaign, and then the – let’s be honest – slow, COVID-impacted, but nevertheless steady progress being made both on GRAY the graphic novel, and its Audio Companion, GRAY: The (Un)True Crime Podcast, the world of Gray is being brought to glorious life by our phenomenal teams of artists and actors.
We want to acknowledge this has all taken longer than any of us thought when we started this journey. The world has turned slow and in pain these past few years, and the dystopian existence of Gray has come closer to truth. Yet, the grind continues and the work now is almost done. We’re pleased to say we are confident we’ll get you the digital Vol 2 within 6-8 weeks, even if the hard copy is going to wait for release alongside the Audio Companion later in the year.
To make up for that delay, we wanted to give you regular and detailed behind-the-scenes updates over the final months towards fulfillment. This starts today - with a process update on the artwork. We will follow it every few weeks, with a behind-the-scenes view of a different part of the process - the writing, the casting, the recording, the post-production, etc.
HERE WE GO - PROCESS UPDATE !!
We’ll be looking back at how the comic script was transformed into beautiful artwork by our international team of artists, but first, allow us to introduce you to the writing team–Arvind David, the Oscar Wilde of the modern world, our brilliant and amazing producer, Brittany Chapman-Holman, and Arvind’s writer’s assistant, Izzie Cava. Before any of our talented collaborators were on the scene–back when we were young enough to know everything–the first thing the writing team did was pull together a proposal that outlined who Dorian and Hank were, what the world they inhabited was like, and the evils they would face in the form of a society that is cruel to outsiders and violent towards women. This included tonal comparisons, a plan for the graphic novels, some tid-bits about the man who inspired it all, and why we were drawn to this story.
From there, the writing team began researching artists who would be best able to capture the spirit of GRAY and all of its complexity. Soon after, the team of artists to tackle this work was assembled: Eugenia Koumaki, a brilliant artist from Greece and our esteemed penciller; Diana Greenhalgh, a dazzling designer from Canada and our invaluable inker; Joana Lafuente, a fantastic illustrator from Portugal and our magical colorist; and Taylor Esposito, our dear friend and incomparable letterer.
Together, Eugenia and the writing team created the initial design for Dorian based off of the proposal (see above) and the early script pages. Joana provided some color palettes for each of these characters, and we all continued these early design conversations with some of the other characters: Baz, Bracknell, Gwendolyn, Celily, Bunbury, etc. These initial conversations also stretched over locations and proposed layouts, with Diana jumping in with exciting ideas on how to make these very early pages sing. From there, Taylor provided us with samples of the text, pulling all of these elements together and bringing GRAY to life.
Having constructed the world and met the characters, the artists were off! Using a series of slack channels to account for the time differences, we would upload our work to specific channels and provide notes for one another within those digital spaces. The sequence of events was that a script for a chapter would be uploaded, then Eugenia would fearlessly pencil and layout the exploits of Dorian and Hank that were set before her. Once the pencils were set, Diana would ink over the pencils, adding invaluable details and texture to the world of our story(often based on real locations! Such as the 1st District Police Precinct in NYC). Then Joana took that world of black and gray, and let there be color! We discussed the color scheme at length - what flashbacks would look like, what each character’s environment looked like, and how to represent the time of day in color. She put her magic on the page, and it was off to Taylor for all the dialogue, captions, sounds, poetry, and songs. With the text on the page, the last of the script had been entirely transformed by this talented team of gifted artists.
We’re continuing boldly ahead with this process to bring you GRAY: Volume 2. We could not be more proud of the efforts of this team, and I cannot wait to share the fruit of our labor with the thrilling conclusion of Dorian’s story. As our friend, and silent collaborator, Oscar Wilde would say: “Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known." It’s been a joy to explore our “individualism” with a retelling of his timeless novel, and thank you all for your support on this journey.
Yours in Gray!
-- Arvind, Brittany, and Izzie
We're THANKFUL for all of you! News on GRAY!
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Nov 22, 2022 at 01:10:32 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Timeline Updates!
about 2 years ago
– Tue, Apr 26, 2022 at 12:00:05 PM
Dear Supporters,
We have a timeline update on GRAY Audio, Graphic Novel Volume 2, and all other supporting materials!
First, as you may have seen in our last few updates, the Audio drama production is coming along in stride! We’ve been having a ton of fun in the studio, and are hoping to get this to your ears later this year.
Have you met Jose, our stellar Audio Engineer? (He likes close-up photos!)
Second, as long as the stars continue to align, we now have an estimated delivery date for all remaining rewards! That includes the digital Vol 2 graphic novel, hardback vol 2, postcards, tarot cards, enamel pins, print sheets, etc etc!
We estimate all we will be to you at the end of Sept / beginning of Oct 2022, ahead of anyone else, including bookstores.
We are responding to each of the JAGGED LITTLE PILL VIP backers - if you backed at this level, and haven't yet attended a performance or chosen your "replacement" reward - please send us a message.
Also -- JAGGED LITTLE PILL: THE NOVEL - comes out tomorrow! Get your copy here https://jaggedlittlepill.abrams.link/
Finally - please check out this incredible - currently LIVE Kickstarter project from our friend Madeleine Holly-Rosing, writer/creator of the steampunk supernatural prose, graphic novel and audio drama series, Boston Metaphysical Society.
If you are new to the series, the original six issue mini-series (Volume 1) is about an ex-Pinkerton detective, a spirit photographer, and a genius scientist who battle supernatural forces in late 1800’s Boston. They live in an alternate steampunk history where ghosts and demons are a normal part of life. Families known as the Great Houses control the economy of the Great States of America while the middle class and lower classes sole purpose are to serve the Great Houses.
Please let us know if you haven’t received your survey / are missing rewards, and we’ll help.
As always, thanks again for all your support!
-Brittany, Producer
Another Great Day in the Studio + some unexpected bonus content
about 2 years ago
– Tue, Mar 29, 2022 at 12:14:31 AM
We've been having great fun in the studio these past few weeks, bringing GRAY to full throated life!
Sessions included a memorable and moving day with our Dorian, the astonishing Lara Pulver ( yea, she of SHERLOCK fame, amidst much else) as well as more work with Lexi as Speranza.
But last week was especially wonderful because we got to combine in one session Neil Brown Jr. playing all 3 ages of Hank Wutan, and our director Milena Govich who is also inhabiting the role of the Baroness.
These two have such amazing instincts, such gifted larynx and are such wonderful people that I scarcely have words to describe the work.
Not only did we knock out all their scenes in GRAY, but because we had some time at the end, we improved a little bedtime story for my daughter Odetta. As Oscar put it, "all father's should write fairy stories for their children" - so we did. & Here it is for you - fully improvised and unmixed, so not to the standard that GRAY will hopefully reach, but nevertheless, it gave much joy to one 4 year old.
Listen by clicking on the dropbox link or on the photo.
