Since making its debut at MegaCon this year, not much has been announced about writer, Brooklynn Prince, and artist, Aliz Fernández’s, upcoming comic book series, Misfortune’s Eyes. For Prince (who fans will know from her star-making turns in films like The Florida Project and the TV show, Home Before Dark), Misfortune’s Eyes will be her first foray into comics but that wasn’t always the plan. To learn more about the series’ development (including how Misfortune’s Eyes got its name), check out this interview with Prince and Fernández and get ready to start itching for news about this series, too:
Rachel Bellwoar: I was listening to your interview with Indie Comics Talk, where you talk about originally pitching Misfortune’s Eyes as a TV show, when it was suggested that it might work better as a comic. Now that you’ve been working on the series as a comic, are there things that you’ve been able to do in this medium that would’ve been much harder to achieve on a TV show?
Brooklynn Prince: I think the aura and gift aspect was a lot better represented in the comic.
Aliz Fernández: I personally think that comics have less censorship than movies, so we have more freedom to try to explain some things in a different way. Perhaps more violent, darker, or just less common than we usually see on TV.
Bellwoar: Did you always know you wanted to call the series, Misfortune’s Eyes, or did the title come later?
Prince: Alicia actually came up with the name as a placeholder. The more I thought about it, it actually grew on me. I am so grateful for Alicia and her amazing ideas.
Fernández: That was actually a provisional title I’ve improvised for the story, based on Brooklynn’s initial idea! But after developing the plot more with her, that name ending had more than one meaning in the story, so we thought it was a good fit for this project.
Bellwoar:: Brooklynn —in your interview with Spectrum News 13 you mention recently having fallen in love with anime and visiting a comic book store. What have been some of your favorite titles so far?
Prince: Regarding comic books I would say Pandora, It’s Lonely at the Center of the Earth, and What’s Killing the Children. As far as Anime goes, The Promised Neverland is my absolute favorite, I love love love the art and characters are amazing. I also like Demon Slayer and Violet Evergarden.
RB: Aliz —how has this experience been different from working on your graphic novel, Walking Without A Soul (the first in a planned trilogy)?
Fernández: I’m loving both experiences so far! Walking Without a Soul is definitely darker than Misfortune’s Eyes, since the readers’ target is more mature, so working on a story for teenagers is a new world to me, as it is working with an idea from another person.
I love developing my own ideas, because I’m a writer besides an artist, but I’m also having a great time working with Brooklynn because we have a similar creative mind and both of us are extremely enthusiastic about storytelling, haha!
Brooklynn and her family are being incredibly supportive with my art and ideas for this project. Probably the main difference in working on Misfortune’s Eyes than Walking Without a Soul is that I’m feeling supported and less alone… And I’m truly grateful for that.
Apart from that, my main goal is to tell a good story and make people feel emotions, so I don’t mind working alone or not if I’m successful at that.
Bellwoar: In this series, the main character, Vivian Nightingale, wakes up on her 15th birthday to realize she can read people’s auras. Of all the abilities Vivian could’ve woken up with, what excited you the most about auras and what has it been like, figuring out how to depict those auras on the page?
Prince: Vivian being an aura reader was based off of my experience at Cassadaga and getting my own aura read. I was always fascinated with auras and how they worked since I was little. I also wanted Vivian to have a gift that wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful, like all her friends have (in her mind) elite gifts like Mediumship, Psychometry, Clarvoiece and she just kinda feels like, “I see colors, whoopee.”
Fernández: About the art, I’m happy to be my own colorist, because I can play with the colors to show the different aura’s meanings. Brooklynn and I usually discuss which color we should chose to represent the auras, according to the information that we have.
Bellwoar: I’m really intrigued by the necklace Vivian is wearing on the cover, and personally love the green streaks in her hair.
Prince: Haha thank you! The green streaks really set her character. Her necklace is one of the biggest secrets of the entire series. It is everything you need to and will know going forward. It holds a secret that will soon be uncovered.
Fernández: The necklace and also the green streaks have their own meaning in the story, but no spoilers for now!
Can you tell us about any of the other characters who appear on the cover?
Prince: Briar (the redhead on the cover) will be a huge part of of the story, you will meet her in the first issue. All these characters are many of the others that will play an important part of the story.
Fernández: The other characters are mainly Vivian’s family, friends, and main antagonists, all of them created by Brooklynn.
The white cat is also an important character too!
Bellwoar: From what I understand, Hemlock Hallows (the psychic town Vivian is going to learn about) is modeled after Cassadega in Florida. Did you take any visual cues from the look of Cassadega, or is Hemlock Hallows its own beast?
Fernández: I actually went to visit Cassadega to take photos! The architecture of Hemlock Hallows is different from Cassadega, since the story happens in a Canadian forest, so I wanted something more “mountain” type, like the Swedish or German houses in the woods. But I used some ideas from the real psychic town for the coloring, and tons of small details that I think they make the environment richer.
Prince: It’s very loosely based off of Cassadega. Very loosely. We modeled the old houses and streets after it. I think the Hallows has its own vibe very different from Cassadega’s, but definitely was our inspiration for how the town should feel.
Bellwoar: Misfortune’s Eyes debuted at Mega Con in Orlando. Do you have any updates about a release date or how many issues the first arc will be?
Fernández: The first arc will be four issues, and also we’re planning a stand-alone for the next year. For now, I can’t reveal the final release dates, but they’ll be released this year for sure!
Bellwoar: Thanks so much for agreeing to this interview, Brooklynn and Aliz!
Keep an eye out for more information on Misfortune’s Eyes, which is being released by Sumerian Comics.
Since making its debut at MegaCon this year, not much has been announced about writer, Brooklynn Prince, and artist, AlizCOMICONRead More