Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Rema: The Graphic Novel Series


Hello! It’s been a long time since I blogged, but I might as well get right to it...

I’m so happy to announce Rema will be a YA graphic novel series put out by Scholastic Graphix, starting in 2019! I am directly adapting the novel I serialized online a few years ago, art and all, and I’m so proud of the work I’ve put into it so far.


Some quick facts: The series is currently untitled, and I only use REMA as a work-in-progress title. The book is planned to be in color, but I will not color it. Colorist is to be announced. The first prose novel, for those few who read it, is being divided into two parts. I’m about halfway through the roughs and can say for the first time in a decade it truly feels Rema is in its destined final form. As an author, it is such an amazing relief!!! Every page drawn is like “yes! Finally!!” Is anyone really surprised Rema is ending up being a GN series, given my history? Well, I guess I am a bit surprised, but here I am!


The journey to complete this puzzling story is far from over, but many micro steps were taken to get Rema here, pulled along by many friendly forces. I’m compelled to give some thanks! 

First, I have so much gratitude to my agent Judy Hansen, whose patience with me knows no bounds. Many thanks also to the wise, talented editors who gently rejected the novel version so I could find my way to THIS version, and to my colleagues, friends, and family who always had faith in me (especially Kazu, who was hinting at Rema’s comics potential way back when it was an online novel). I'm so grateful to Rema's new editor, the brilliant Cassandra Pelham, who gave this story more chances than I can count. I know for sure this book is in good hands. :)

 
Developing Rema has been such a long, intuitively-guided journey, I have so many people to thank that it would require an entire book in and of itself. More than anyone though, I want to thank the handful of readers who have followed Rema’s progress through the years – from when it was a webcomic in 2003, to when it was an online novel in 2012, and through its quiet travel home to Scholastic. 

Your enthusiasm for Rema’s characters and world have carried it through many rough spots, and part of the reason I’m so passionate to work on it is because of you. So many times when I felt down about Rema’s progress, I would get a message or an email from a Rema reader, and every time it was like my energy was revived. 

I haven’t met many of you, but I feel we share this world in this imaginary space, and I never felt alone while creating it. As I illustrate the action and romance in comics form, I think of how you might feel about the pages and I can’t wait to share them with you. 2019 seems so far away, but it will be here before we know it. I truly hope the graphic novel series will be, finally, worth the long, long wait!

In the mean time, I will be posting WIP snippets on my twitter account, and you can add the temporarily titled Tabby Charon #1 to your goodreads list, if you’re so inclined. Until next time, I hope your days are filled with love and peace!

21 comments:

  1. Well if no one is going to post a comment, looks like I'll be the first one: I've been a fan of Reman Mythology back when it was still a webcomic. I found it through one of the now defunct webcomic portals (onlinecomics.com I think?). Every so often, when nostalgia hits, I look up Reman Mythology to give it a new read or see if there is any chance of a new update. I don't know where everyone is now, but I can't wait for the new format. I'll be looking around for new updates come 2019. Is there an email list that I can sign up on for this?

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    1. Hello Galgano! Thanks so much for being first to comment!! And thank you for remembering Reman Myth. :) I don't have an email list, but you've reminded me to make one. In the mean time, I update my twitter account frequently (@amykibuishi) and you can subscribe to blog posts on the left. Thank you again, and see you in 2019! ^^

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  2. Wow, this is excellent news!! I am so glad we will finally get to see Rema published! :D I'm also a fan of Reman Mythology (and Sorcerers & Secretaries) since the old days and while 2019 seems like a while from now, I'm very excited! Keep up the great work!

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    1. Thank you Particle Man! I'm so excited to share the pages with everyone in the not-too-distant future. :) Thanks again for remembering my work! ^^

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  3. I found REMA as a webcomic a long time ago, and was there when it was switched to that jaunt as a web serial. For the longest time after that disappeared I consigned this to my bin of discontinued webcomics and serials. I am so ECSTATIC that this will be coming back in a solid form! I can't wait.

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    1. Thank you so much for leaving me this comment!! I don't know how I missed it. I'm sorry for being so wishy washy with the project in the past. This is definitely it's final form (I mean it has to be! I'm under contract now haha ^^) and I truly can't wait to share it with everyone. Finally it feels like it's the book/story it was always meant to be. Thank you so much for following its rocky progress over the years. :)

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  4. I'm screaming! Not literally, but in a good way. I just had a random thought about Rema and decided to see what news there was, if any. I've been a fan since the webcomic and remember eagerly anticipating updates. When it went on hiatus, discontinued webcomics being common, I never expected anything, but something about the characters, art, worldbuilding, and story really stuck with me because I'd think of it again randomly and go to reread. I was so excited when the illustrated novel was announced and was back to following Rema attentively for updates. 2019 seems a long way but it's honestly worth the wait. I'm so happy you have the opportunity to tell the story in the form you always envisioned it in and thank you for your passion and dedication to it!

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    1. Aaah I really have to check into this blog more often! ;_; Thank you screaming anonymous for leaving this sweet note back in 2016! My goodness I've been working on this thing for a long time... I had to push the release date back to Spring 2020 so just a bit longer on that wait. :/ But this time I can say it was needed. The book is coming out so well and I'm so very excited to have it out in the world! It's growing into the fully realized world/story it always wanted to be and I feel grateful to bring it to life. Hopefully you'll have another random though of Rema when it's in bookstores in the next few years. :) As I mentioned in another comment below, you can see a collection of preview images on my twitter, for now: https://twitter.com/amykibuishi/status/877953283125460992 All the best to you.

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  5. I vaguely remember this as my comic. One of my first. I'm glad you still work the story. I will await this eagerly. :)

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  6. Omg that's so exciting! I remember following this as a high school kid and wishing for the story to conitnue. Congrats!

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  7. Found some old notes from my college days over 10 years ago with all the links and stories I was into at the time, and decided to look you up see how the story was progressing. So happy to hear you're being published! I will definitely be on the lookout for your book. Your comic brought me a lot of inspiration and was a pleasure to follow. :)

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    1. Thank you Vicki! What a wonderful thing to come across. Sometimes I wish I took better notes of all the webcomics I followed back in the day. There were some real gems! :) I look forward to sharing the world of Rema with you again in the coming years!

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  8. As a fan from way back when this was a webcomic, I'm so excited! Been following your works for so long (Sorcerers & Secretaries, read the short comics on your website more times than I can count, the novel version of Rema...) and I am so so soooo happy to hear that Rema is gonna be a GN series!! Cannot wait to get my hands on it and visit that world again!! You have such an amazing way with comics and have been a huge inspiration to me. <3

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    1. Oops! I'm sorry to have missed your comment! I keep forgetting to check back in here. Finding your comment gave me a much needed confidence boost. I'm so grateful you've been following my comics through the years, as scattered as they are! I'm really excited to share the Rema GN particularly with readers like you. Hopefully it will be worth the epic wait... ;_; Thanks again!

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  9. On a whim I decided to go back through my old old webcomic bookmarks and I was reminded about how much I loved reading Reman Mythology back when it was still updating! A quick google search led me to this amazing news! I dearly hope the book is still going well and I cannot wait to read about the Reman world again. I've been so very nostalgic lately and now I have something Im VERY excited for to look forward to next year! Best of luck and thank you for all of your work!

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    1. Hi Danny! Thank you so much for this surprise comment! The book is coming along so well, and I'm so happy with it. A first for me! I can't wait to share with everyone. It had to be pushed back to Spring 2020 (or was it Fall??), but diving back into graphic novels has been a learning process for me all over again. If you'd like, you can see a collection of work in progress images on my Twitter account here: https://twitter.com/amykibuishi/status/877953283125460992

      This reminds me, I really really need to update this blog. XD Thank you again for thinking of Rema and taking the time to let me know! :)

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  10. I found some old sketchbooks at my parents place the other day and saw some sketches I made of Reman Methology years back, I just had to look it up again so I found and bookmarked this blog ^^ I loved reading it as a webcomic and am very sorry I didn't get to read the novel version in 2012/2013, but I'm glad it will be in comic form again in a few years!~
    Good luck with the whole process!

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  11. I can't put it into words how much joy this news brought me, I was a teen when I read it as a webcomic and I bought the? 2 volumes? bookshop romance you published with tokyopop, and what I noe recall is your soft and profound voice of storytelling. Your fleshed out environments and the great engagement and emotional depth of ypur characters. It's been over a decade, yet I look so much forward to experience your voice a new.

    Really it will be good to read something from from you again.

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  12. Its 2020 and I'm wondering when Rema the graphic novel will come out. ❤

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    1. Hello! There's an update on http://felaxx.blogspot.com . The short version: Book 1 is finished with a tentative unannounced date, and book 2 is 1/3 finished. I will update with another blog post when we have a solid release date that will not change. :)

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