shelidonOctober 4, 20232 Comments on #Spooktober 4 – Snow, Glass, Apples

Today’s feature is a comic books and as soon as I started thinking of a haunting graphic novel, browsing in my mind for something special to give you, this adaptation of a story by Neil Gaiman kept popping up in my mind, pressing for attention. So I had to give it to you. And though it might not seem very dark to you at first, I guarantee you it will haunt you for a very, very long time.

In his masterclass on writing (I published some notes for the folks in the Patreon middle tier a while ago), Neil Gaiman talks about this story when he talks about the writing process of starting from something known and looking at it with new eyes. So the question is: what kind of creature is white as snow, and can lie in a coffin for months without being really dead?
Yeah, you got it.

Take apart a story you’re familiar with, and inspect it new. See how it ticks, see what makes it work, look at the things that people take for granted. A lot of the time, if you look at something you’re very very familiar with, but just look at it as if it’s the first time… suddenly it can open up into a story… see where the bits are that don’t quite make sense. See where it could be completely reinvented. And then write your own take on it. Try and make people people.

Marvellously illustrated by Colleen Doran, this graphic novel retells the story of Snow White from the point of view of the “evil” stepmother, a woman who finds herself battling an impossible battle against the cursed offspring of her husband the king.