Announcing New Book: Goshena: Queen of the Big In-Betweena
Premier Graphic Novel by Chuck Bright with Illustrations by Maureen Burdock
Santa Fe, NM, September 17, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Contact Judy Herzl, info@penpowersf.com Phone: 505-395-4540
The anniversary of the first published color cartoon back in 1895 is celebrated in early May of each year. Today, cartoons are more than just comic relief. Comics and graphic novels are an independent arm of publishing and have a huge impact on culture. Author Chuck Bright recognized their importance when developing Goshena: Queen of the Big In-Betweena, his first graphic novel. Bright understood that the sassy protagonist Goshena, newly deceased Soul #24, and the other colorful characters inhabiting this space between life and death required this format of sequential art to fully tell their story—and just in the nick of time to celebrate the ghoulish underpinnings of Halloween.
"Goshena is an experience—one that readers should find themselves thoroughly enjoying." —BookLife
Soul #24—aptly named after the number on his morgue drawer—is not entirely convinced he’s dead, and he keeps getting “advice” on how to “move on” from questionable sources. Some encourage #24 to go toward the Light, while one in particular keeps pushing him toward the Dark. That’s Goshena, processor of souls and companion to Jingles, a soul-eating frog. Goshena secretly plots to keep #24 too confused to move toward the Light, hoping he will instead become a delicious soul to someday serve to Jingles.
Goshena’s primary directive in the Big In-Betweena is to lure as many newly deceased souls toward the Dark as possible. She tries to get to them early on, before they have a chance to be guided toward the Light. Accepting death can free them from her grip, but moving toward the Light requires something more—the ability to pass a death quiz designed to test their honesty, integrity, and knowledge of their previous life.
As much a story of #24’s struggle to find understanding and meaning after his death, Goshena: Queen of the Big In-Betweena is also the story of his impact on the volatile and unpredictable ruler of this fog-filled terrain, who is rapidly losing interest in her job. Bright does not claim to be an authority on death and the afterlife; he merely wishes to offer, through jest and satire, an allegory capable of inspiring reflection on these verboten subjects.
About the Author
Chuck Bright holds a PhD in social work from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He resides in Flossmoor, Illinois, with his husband, Andre Latia.
About the Artist
Maureen Burdock is an award-winning transnational feminist artist, graphic novelist, and scholar. She is the author of The F Word Project: Feminist Fables for the Twenty-first Century, a series of comic books that address forms of gender-based violence in various cultures.
Title: Goshena: Queen of the Big In-Betweena
Publisher: Dr. Chucky Publications
Category: Graphic Novel, Humor, LGBT
Publication: September 2015
Distribution: Baker & Taylor
ISBN: 978-0-9907398-0-7
Price: $19.00 quality paperback with French flaps
154 pages
www.goshena.com
