“FATHER YOD & THE SOURCE FAMILY” A NEW KIND OF COMIC BIOGRAPHY FROM BLUEWATER
Isis Aquarian lived the Age of Aquarius to the hilt: She, along with Father Yod and the Source family, took sex, drugs and rock and roll and added one missing ingredient: spirit.
This October, Bluewater Productions will debut its latest nonfiction comic book, The Source, detailing the lives and times led by the spiritual followers of YaHoWa!, one of the best known communes of the 1970s. Isis Aquarian, who co-write the comic along with writer Ryan Burton, was one of 14 wives of Father Yod, the spiritual leader of the Brotherhood of the Source. She also served, as she says, as temple keeper, high priestess and family archivist.
Today, Isis’ goal is to share the story of the Brotherhood of the Source, which also ran the first vegetarian restaurant in the country, Source on the Sunset Strip, with a new generation of readers. The Bluewater Comic is just one part of this plan.
“We were beautiful, wealthy, kind people who ran one of the most famous restaurants on Sunset Strip,” Isis said. “We had long hair. We wore robes. We were not hippies or yogi, even though most of us had come into the family that way. We evolved to a mystery school. We took sex, drugs rock-and-roll and added spirit to it.”
Artist Faricio Bohrer handled the layouts and penciling duties on the comic. His challenge was to match his art with the non-linear nature of the comic’s storytelling.
Writer Burton said that working with Isis, and learning the history of the Brotherhood of the Source, was a powerful experience.
“The entire comic is this organic, magical thing,” Burton said. “from Isis’ first-hand, living, breathing experiences to the mind-bending layouts Fabricio has created. It’s non-linear, it plays with imagery and there’s sincerity in every image. I think people will appreciate that we’ve created this charming little guide to what the Source Family was all about. I’m lucky and humbled to say that I was a part of it.”
BLUEWATER’S “FAME: LADY GAGA” BIO COMIC BOOK SELLS OUT, 2ND PRINTING ON ITS WAY
Just as she sells out venues across the country, Bluewater Productions’ bio comic on pop diva Lady Gaga has also sold out one week after its release. A second printing, with a new cover is already in production.
“I am thrilled Gaga’s fans have made our new Fame title a big success,” said Bluewater president Darren G. Davis. “Not only has the Lady Gaga issue sold out, but “Fame: Robert Pattinson” is selling briskly too. I am happy we can put fun and creative books into the hands of fans.”
The issue written by Dan Rafter and penciled by Kristoffer Smith, has received attention through its unique approach to the top-selling artist’s biography
“Lady Gaga is a different sort of celebrity. So when writing a biography of her, I didn’t want to resort to putting out a straight celebrity biography,” said writer Dan Rafter. “Instead, I wanted to take a look at how Lady Gaga’s fame could impact even the most unlikeliest of individuals. So just as she tries to be different, I too had to try something a little different with Gaga.”
To those fans desiring a more traditional telling of Lady Gaga’s biography, a sequel of sorts is scheduled for late this year. The planned follow-up will bring her life story up-to-date including her peculiar behavior at a New York Mets baseball game last week.
“Each of our biography comics takes a different approach in bringing our stars’ stories to life,” said Darren G. Davis, president and founder of Bluewater Productions. “If you compare the Gaga comic with the one on Twilight star Robert Pattinson or even with the upcoming Anne Rice bio, you’ll appreciate that these books are being crafted with a great deal of creativity, research and vision…they’re not cookie cutter productions.”
Fame offers a broad examination of strong and influential personalities who are influencing culture. In a review of the Gaga comic, the New York Times commented. “If you’re going to start a line of biographical comic books devoted to “culturally relevant celebrities and pop-culture icons,” Lady Gaga is probably a good choice to inaugurate the series.”
The second printing of Fame: Lady Gaga will be available in about two to three weeks.
ROBERT PATTINSON STARS IN FAME COMIC BOOK SERIES
Millions know English actor Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, the vampire with a conscience in the films Twilight and The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the fantasy/romance movies based on Stephenie Meyer’s famous book series.
But there’s more to Pattinson than fake fangs, faraway looks and tousled hair. Pattinson is an accomplished musician, a former model and an actor who’s played both a wizard at Harry Potter’s Hogwarts School and the artist Salvador Dali.
Bluewater Productions in May will ship FAME: Robert Pattinson to comic book shops and retailers across the country. This 32-page comic will trace Pattinson’s career from his first performance in Tess of the D’Urbervilles at London’s Barnes Theatre to his star turn in the Twilight movies.
Writer Kim Sherman said that she is eager to introduce fans to the many sides of Pattinson.
“I love having the ability to introduce high-profile people to readers through an unexpected medium that is both written and visual,” Sherman said. “These biography comics are designed to illustrate interesting tidbits to fans about their favorite figureheads, and inspire them to learn more. I chose to conceptualize A-lister Robert Pattinson from a unique perspective, immersing the reader into the life of the talented actor beyond his most famous role.”
Count interior artist Nathaniel Ooten as one reader who’s gained a new appreciation for Pattinson’s career since reading Sherman’s script.
“Working on this book has opened an entirely new level of Rob Pattinson for me,” Ooten said. “Before starting, I was only aware of the ‘teenage vampire’ Pattinson. After reading the script, studying the subject and listening to his music, I not only became very interested in Pattinson’s future work, but also discovered a new appreciation for this ‘teenage vampire.’”
Bluewater president Darren G. Davis said that he expects Pattinson’s biography to be as popular among Twilight fans as was the comic biography of writer Meyer, which Bluewater published in November of 2009. That particular biography has sold out of several printings.
“Twilight fans want to know everything about the talented people who have brought them the story of Edward and Bella,” Davis said. “I’m pleased to be able to bring them Robert Pattinson’s story. It’s our hope that even the most devoted fans will discover a fact or two that takes them completely by surprise.”
FAME: Robert Pattinson is part of Bluewater’s much-publicized, and popular, line of biographical comics. The FAME series will also include comic biographies of Lady GaGa, 50 Cent, Tiger Woods and David Beckham. Bluewater Productions also publishes biographies of influential political figures such as Al Gore, Sarah Palin and Michelle Obama. Many of these comics, too, have sold out several printings.