The Invention of E.J. Whitaker: Issue #1 Takes Flight March 2018

(The Invention of E.J. Whitaker: Issue #1, Comic Book Cover Art. Pencils and inks by Mark Hernandez, Colors by Sharifa Patrick and June Park)

After months of production, The Invention of E.J. Whitaker, Issue #1 is set to take flight on March 7th, 2018.

With the help of an amazing team of artists, and 442 Kickstarter backers, our vision for a diverse steampunk comic following the adventures of one young woman to become a bonafide inventor at the turn of the 20th Century is finally realized and it feels so good.

We began our journey to tell the story of The Invention of E.J. Whitaker five years ago, inspired by our research of early 20th Century entertainers, including circus performer Princess Wee Wee and Broadway star Ada Overton Walker. We wrote a screenplay about Princess Wee Wee’s fascinating life, and Ada Overton Walker proved such an inspiration for us, that we named our lead character "Ada" in her honor.

Invention of E.J. Whitaker inspirations 1900's African American circus star, Princess Wee Wee (left) and stage star, Ada Overton Walker (right)

The early 1900s was such a wonderful time of innovation in this country that we couldn’t resist setting a story in it. We chose Tuskegee University in Alabama as our setting for two reasons: First, because legendary inventor, George Washington Carver lived on campus and was a teacher there, and second: Tuskegee, a university built by its students, was in the early 1900s, an education mecca for African American people and a source of tremendous pride for its community.

Our heroine, Ada, and Tuskegee Professor and Inventor, Dr. George Washington Carver

For the art style, we wanted the artwork to feel like nothing we’d quite seen before and possess a vintage quality all its own. Mark Hernandez’ pencils have such a timeless feel to them and Hasani McIntosh’s colors give the book a hand-crafted flavor. The 32 pages of The Invention of E.J. Whitaker feature inks by the incredible Shanna Lim and letters by the fabulous Emi Roze, who like us, is an alumnus of the Ladies Night Anthology collective.

Panel art from The Invention of E.J. Whitaker: Issue #1

Artist Earl Womack, rendered “Jessie Rides The Rails,” a short story featuring our female automaton character, Jessie, a delightful invention of our main character, Ada’s. The short story speaks to the complicated history of the U.S. railroads and its “chain gang” workforce. In our story’s case, children are the exploited laborers and our little heroine, Jessie is compelled to do something about it. Earl’s line work and colors are breathtaking, and we couldn’t be prouder of how this powerful short came out.

Panel art from the short story "Jessie Rides The Rails"

The Invention of E.J. Whitaker comic book series will be available for purchase on March 7th, 2018. To order the first issue of The Invention of E.J. Whitaker, please visit: http://www.ejwhitaker.com

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ABOUT THE GIBBS SISTERS

Shawnee´ Gibbs and Shawnelle Gibbs (The Gibbs Sisters) are Writer/Creators from Oakland, CA. “The Invention of E.J. Whitaker” is their sixth comic book offering. The sisters currently reside in the Los Angeles area where they write, produce and create content for comics, animation, film and television. They are members of The Writers Guild of America, West, The Academy of Arts and Television Sciences and Women in Animation.

For more about the launch of the project, see: [Comic Book Writers, The Gibbs Sisters Launch The Invention of E.J. Whitaker, Issue #1]

Talking Comics: The Gibbs Sisters Chat with Artists of The Invention of E.J. Whitaker Team

The Invention of E.J. Whitaker is an idea that has lived with us since 2011, and with the help of over 400 Kickstarter supporters last year, we are currently in the process of helping the multi-cultural steampunk comic take flight.



Along the road to making the E.J. Whitaker story, we have been thrilled to document the journey and chat with the artists who help bring the words of our comic book script to life.



Invention of E.J. Whitaker, writers, Shawnee´Gibbs & Shawnelle Gibbs

Please enjoy the below videos of our chats with Penciler, Mark Hernandez, Colorist, Hasani McIntosh and Cover and Short Story Artist, Earl Womack, as they share their approach to the art production process.


Penciler, Mark Hernandez


Rough Pencil Sketches of the Flying Machine by Mark Hernandez


Colorist, Hasani McIntosh


Cover and Short Story artist, Earl Womack

We thoroughly enjoy chatting and working with these guys and couldn't make the Invention of E.J. Whitaker possible without such a wonderful and dedicated team. We're really looking forward to debuting the comic later this year!

Our Chat with Mark Hernandez and Hasani McIntosh

Our Chat with Earl Womack

The Invention of E.J. Whitaker: The Journey Begins

We are excited to release new artwork from our latest project, "The Invention of E.J. Whitaker," a steampunk adventure. Set in 1901, the story centers around Ada, a brilliant young inventor, who very quickly finds herself on a journey full of mystery, romance and danger when her latest invention begins to generate national attention. 



More details to come!



Written by: Shawnee´Gibbs & Shawnelle Gibbs


Art: Mark Hernandez

http://www.ejwhitaker.com

A Day in The Studio

Our friend, writer & photographer, Moe Reed, dropped by and took some working shots of us in our downtown studio.



(Process board from our new steampunk comic project)

In between our jobs as television producers and writers for the comic, Fashion Forward, Shawnelle and I have been developing an awesome project that we're excited to share in the coming days. We've written about it on the blog before >here< [Black Victorians: African Americans in Steampunk and Historical Fiction], and are now underway to see it fully realized for 2014.



(The Gibbs Sisters, Comic Book Writer / Creators | Left: Shawnelle Gibbs, right: Shawnee´Gibbs)

It is "The Invention of E.J. Whitaker," an African American, steampunk comic adventure set in 1901. Here are a few recent shots of us in the studio working on both E.J. and Fashion Forward.

Black Victorians: African Americans in Steampunk and Historical Fiction

African Americans in victorian era America were a fascinating group. So fascinating, in fact, that Shawnelle and I have spent the better half of a year researching the people and period. Their stories and images reveal stoicism, impeccable style and a determination to move beyond the atrocities of their parents' generation and build a better world for their children.



Young Black Victorians in late 19th Century America were optimistic, and hungry for culture and education. Manners ruled the day (and manners ruled with an iron fist). It was an era where ladies were ladies, men were gentlemen and corsets were worn tight.



The Gilded Age of the 19th Century remains one of the greatest ages of invention, romanticism and excess, a period in America that has since been romanticized by the art, literature and fashion of steampunk. Though African Americans played a prominent and important role in 19th century American history, our place in the speculative fiction world of steampunk and historical fiction still has many stories yet to be told.



(The most recognized black figure in steampunk is inarguably Will Smith's 'James West' from the 1999 Warner Brothers film Wild Wild West over a decade ago.)

Since 1999, there have been a growing number of steampunk works about African Americans (including Balogun's The Chronicles of Harriet and the amazing Afro-Steampunk fashion of Yinka Shonibare) and there remains many stories to be written. The exploitations of Barack Obama the time traveller, for instance, may be a tale worth investigating for yours two-ly. During our research, we discovered this photo, circa 1900, of a man who bares a striking resemblance to the 44th president of the United States. Take a look and see if you agree:



But before "Barack Obama: Rockstar Time Traveller!," ever sees the light of day, we are excited to share "The Invention of E. J. Whitaker," a story that has waited over a century to be told. Inspired by the women and men who defined the generation: Booker T Washington; the love story of Paul Laurence Dunbar and Alice Ruth Moore; the countless educators and inventors of the era; and those dashingly fashionable figures in miscellaneous photos and cabinet cards who's names we will never know.



(star-crossed literary lovers Paul Laurence Dunbar and Alice Ruth Moore)



"The Invention of E. J Whitaker" is our love letter to the era. Led by Ada, our female heroine, and featuring a cast of characters inspired by the pages of history and our boundless imaginations, we're looking forward to sharing images from this mini graphic novel adventure (with gorgeous illustrations by Chul Kim) in the coming weeks.



With historical fiction experiencing a revitalization in popular culture with films such as Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter and lavish period pieces like HBO's Game of Thrones, we believe the story of E. J. Whitaker, one of fantasy, romance and enterprise during America's greatest age of Invention is timely and a tale long overdue.

Stay tuned!

To learn more about the African American steampunk comic, The Invention of E.J. Whitaker, please visit:

http://www.ejwhitaker.com

Shawnee'

Sneak Peek: Mini Graphic Novel This Summer

(A concept page from our latest steampunk comic project)

We're busy at work on two comic book projects which will make their debut this spring / summer 2012.

We're excited to show the above concept art page from our mini graphic novel project illustrated by the sensational illustrator, Chul K.

Part sci-fi adventure, part historical fiction, our story is set in the early part of the 20th Century and affords us the opportunity to blend African American history with steampunk and gaslamp elements for an experience that we're hoping will delight our readers.

Shawnelle and I are pretty imaginative by default, but writing the mini book really gives us creative license to go wild imagining American life during the Victorian Age, yet rewriting history with a science fiction twist.

We look forward to sharing so much more from both projects soon!

~Nee