Allen: Tell us something about yourself.

Queenie Chan: I was born in Hong Kong in 1980, and migrated to Sydney, Australia in 1986. I went to Meriden for nearly all of my life, and graduated from the University of NSW with a degree in Information Systems. However, I couldn’t find a job since I graduated in 2002, right at the nadir of the dot com bust, so I changed my career aspirations to become a manga artist instead.

Drawing-wise, I started drawing when I was 18, mostly to escape the sheer boredom of university life. I guess Information Systems turned me off pretty early on, and now I’m glad I took this career path.

Allen: What was the first comic book you ever read?

Queenie: Doraemon. It’s a children’s manga that I read when I was 3, and still continue to read. It’s one of those stories, like TinTin, that can be enjoyed by both children and adults. In terms of Western comic books, I didn’t read my first Western comic until I was about 24, and that was “The Sandman”. A classic, I own the whole set.

Allen: How did you get involved in the comic book industry?

Queenie: In 2004, TOKYOPOP started looking for manga artists to publish original manga. At the time, I’ve mostly drawn manga as a hobby to put on my website, so it was the first chance I’ve had to turn it into a job. I submitted to them, and eventually a mystery-horror series called “The Dreaming” was greenlit. The series has 3 books, the last one due to come out in November 2007.

Allen: Brief us about your upcoming comic book called Odd Thomas. If possible can provide links to other online articles.

Queenie: “Odd Thomas” is a single graphic novel, about 180-pages, that is the prequel to a trilogy of books written by Dean Koontz. The series is Dean’s most popular yet, and focuses on a young psychic fry cook named Odd, his girlfriend Stormy, and various other characters who live in their town of Pico Mundo. Odd can see the spirits of the dead, and he especially helps spirits who have died a violent death to capture their killers. The three books are about his adventures.

Allen: Who are some of the characters in Odd Thomas comic?

Queenie: There’s Odd, Stormy, Terri, Chief Porter and Elvis. They’re the regular characters, and apart from them, there are three new characters. Joey the boy ghost, Sherry the housekeeper and nanny, and another little girl called Angelica. And off course there’s the villain.

Allen: When can we find this comic book on the stands?

Queenie: The tentative release date is mid-2008. That’s all I can say right now – I don’t think the release date has been set in stone yet.

Allen: How did you become selected to do art for Odd Thomas comic?

Queenie: Dallas Middaugh from Del Ray contacted me after showing Dean Koontz my art, since Dean liked it. When I showed an interest in the project, Dallas sent me the first 2 books of “Odd Thomas” for me to read. This was right after finishing “The Dreaming” v2, so I scrambled to work on “The Dreaming” v3 while coming up with the concept ideas, storyline and character designs for the Odd Thomas story.

I don’t know whether Dallas showed any other person’s art to Dean – I think was chosen because their aim is to introduce Dean’s work to a younger audience, and manga was the best way to go. Dallas also really enjoyed “The Dreaming”, so that probably factored in as well.

Allen: Is author Dean Koontz also going to be writing script for Odd Thomas?

Queenie: No, I’m writing the script for Odd Thomas. I also came up with the basic concept (Odd helping a murdered boy ghost find his killer) and also the storyline. Dean was involved in every step of the way from day one (nothing gets done without with his approval), and he actually rejected the first storyline I pitched because it didn’t fit into his view of the Odd Thomas world. Luckily he explained why he felt that way very well, so I was able to get it right the second time (I just trashed the first plot and came up with a new one from scratch). Dean made some suggestions to this new plot, but he left it mostly as it is.

I should mention that I feel very flattered when Dean approved me to write the story for the Odd Thomas manga (he evaluated my art and my writing skills separately). Especially so when he already had his own version on what he thinks the story should go, but I had to reject his version because I knew it will never fit into a 180-page manga (his story seemed more suited for a novel). That’s about the only thing I disagreed with Dean on, and so far, the only changes he’s made to the script so far has been the character “voices” (i.e. How Dean envisions the manner in which Stormy would say something). Overall, Dean has been supremely easy to work with and I’m grateful for that.

Allen: How did the concept of Odd Thomas comic come about?

Queenie: I looked for something that hasn’t already been done in his trilogy of novels. I thought a murdered little boy would be a good story concept, because if you’ve read the novels, you’ll know that Odd himself was once a neglected little boy, so there is some emotional connection there already.

Allen: Is comic only going to be based on first novel Odd Thomas?

Queenie: This is a completely new story – it’s a prequel to the “Odd Thomas” trilogy, and happens one year before the events of the first novel. Odd and Stormy are about 19 in this story. I prefer original stories as opposed to adaptations. The novels are relatively recent, so the reader can go on to read the trilogy if they like the manga, and vice versa.

Allen: Is Elvis going to appear in comic?

Queenie: Absolutely. It’s not the same story without him. He appears at random intervals.

Allen: What other comic book art are you working on? Any projects with other comic book companies?

Queenie: I’m still working on the final throes of “The Dreaming” series, with TOKYOPOP. Book 3 is the last book in the series and will be out in November 2007. “The Dreaming” was my first published series, so it was probably where Dean evaluated my art and writing from. It’s gotten nearly all good reviews, but I think Dean’s approval kind of sets a new level for the kind of praise I’ve been getting for “The Dreaming”. Hey, if Dean Koontz thinks I’m good enough to write his Odd Thomas series, then I must be good enough! *laughs*

Allen: What conventions will you be attending or have attended?

Queenie: I mostly attend Australian ones, which may include Literature festivals. Recently I came back from “Voices on the Coast”, and later this year I’ll be attending Supanova. I’m hoping to go to San Diego ComicCon in 2008, for the launch of the Odd Thomas manga.

Allen: How can someone contact you?

Queenie: My website has a contact form on it.

Allen: What is your deviant art address? Do you have Myspace website?

Queenie: I don’t have a MySpace account, but my DevArt is http://queeniechan.deviantart.com/ . I don’t want too many places because I can’t keep track of them all!

Allen: What is your website address?

Queenie: http://www.queeniechan.com . It’s where I put up all the short manga I draw in my spare time. My own little corner of the internet.

Allen: What are your hobbies and recreational activities?

Queenie: I like to watch movies a lot, and I try and read as much as possible, but these days I surf the internet looking for ideas and doing research. I used to be a video gamer, but I find I just have no time these days, since video gaming is so time consuming. Still I try and put movies as my first and foremost form of entertainment.

Allen: If you can have 6 dinner guests, 3 fictional and 3 real-life from any time period, who would those 6 people be and why?

Queenie: For real people, I’ll want Ibn Battuba to talk about his travels, the Marquis de Sade to talk about his writings on Sadism, and Augustus Caesar because I used to have a crush on him. For fictional folks, I’d like to invite Metatron (the voice of God), just to hear what he sounds like, Lucifer, just to see what he and Metatron have to say to each other, and Edward Elric, so I can tease him for being short.

Allen: If you could go into any time machine, what year would you stop at and tell us why.

Queenie: I’d go to the very beginning of time, and the very end of the time. If you’ve got a time machine, you’ve gotta wonder what’s at the either ends of time, right? At least, that’s what I’ll do after I’ve visited all the other time periods I want to visit.

Allen: What TV shows, movies, cartoons do you like?

Queenie: You can’t go wrong with Studio Ghibli’s output, and I like Satoshi Kon’s work as well (apart from watching a lot of other anime mostly because I like the manga). In terms of movies, I follow directors, with guys like Martin Scorsese and Roman Polanski topping my list (many others too). And I don’t watch television, though Heroes held my attention for about 13 episode, which is amazing considering my attention span for TV programs.

Allen: What books do you enjoy?

Queenie: I don’t have much of a chance to read these days, though I profess a great love for HP Lovecraft. For some reason, Gothic stories seem to stand out in my mind a lot, such as “Rebecca” and the Gormenghast trilogy. I also love “hard” sci-fi stories such as those by Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick, and in terms of fantasy, I think my #1 love is for the EarthSea trilogy from Ursula le Guin.

Spy thrillers from John LeCarre are great, because he writes about real spies, not the James Bond variety, and also crime-gangster stories from Elmore Leonard, mostly because I love his writing style. Technothrillers I also adore, though I’m real picky about the contents. I find that non-fiction books work best if I were interested in reading about espionage and the like.

Allen: Have you ever read Dean Koontz novels before Odd Thomas comic book project?

Queenie: Yes, I read three of his books in high school, including his earliest one, “Funhouse”. I can’t remember all that much of it, but he certainly left an impression on my mind. I don’t remember much of what I read in high school, but I remember his books!

Allen: What comic books do you read now?

Queenie: I haven’t been reading many comic books or manga these days. It’s a pity, but apart from a lack of time, I also try to get my inspiration from other sources.

Allen: What gives you your creative energy?

Queenie: Hmm, I can’t really identify anything in particular, but my creative energy seems to be constantly churning. I sometimes try and make stories from ordinary everyday objects – I consider it a challenge. Other times, I may come up with an image or a character design, and create a story based on that. I also have an interest in everything, and do a lot of research on the internet. Learning about new things is a constant source of inspiration.

Allen: Do you have any projects in works with television cartoon storyboards.

Queenie: Nope. I’d like to be involved with animation someday. Both as an animator and a director.

Allen: This ends the interview, any encouraging words of wisdom?

Queenie: What can I say? Perseverance is my greatest asset, and always has been. It got me my start in comics/manga, and is probably the only one of life’s maxims that will never change.