Comics Experience alum Shaun Manning is about to launch a new original graphic novel from Archaia!
Interesting Drug, Shaun’s collaboration with artist Anna Wieszczyk, will be available in May. Shaun developed an earlier version of this story while he was a student in the Comics Experience Advanced Writing course, and cites his experience with CE as a significant step in its development.
In a recent interview with Comic Book Resources, Shaun says:
“What actually gave me the motivation to push forward with it as a comic was my workshop at Comics Experience. This was in its early days, when [President and CEO] Andy Schmidt was running it as an in-person thing in New York. CE is now all online, which is great since I’m no longer in New York. But the first chapter of “Interesting Drug” was my project for the Advanced Writing Workshop, where we had to script a full issue. What’s actually published is a far cry from what I presented, but it was a great feeling to finish a comic script and get useful feedback on it.”
The story centers on Andrew, a retail worker whose life is disrupted when a shady figure named Tristram enters his life and taps him to create a time-traveling drug. It explores themes of nostalgia, addiction and the dangers of living in the past.
Shaun’s CBR interview details the story’s evolution, and discusses his process from concept to published book. We also appreciate the CE shout-out!
Shaun is a staff writer for CBR, and his other comic credits include short stories in the Hope: New Orleans benefit anthology, Looking Glass Wars: Hatter M, Top Shelf 2.0, and Hell, Nebraska. Interesting Drug will be in stores in May. Congrats to Shaun on launching the new project!
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