A Different Kind of Super Power

The cartoonist Scott McCloud, who wrote about what makes comic books tick in “Understanding Comics” and speculated about their future in “Reinventing Comics,” is returning to fiction for his next project, “The Sculptor,” a graphic novel to be published in February 2015 by First Second.

“The Sculptor” is about an artist in his 20s who has hit rock bottom creatively. Making things worse is his name. He’s David Smith, but not the artist (1906-1965) known for his abstract and geometrical sculptures. When Mr. McCloud’s David encounters Death (in the form of his deceased uncle), he makes a deal for a special ability dreamed up during childhood: “It’s the power to sculpt anything with his bare hands,” Mr. McCloud wrote in an email, an ability David came up with as a 9-year-old, during Hanukkah or Christmas (he can’t remember which), when he imagined his entire family with super powers.

But with great power also comes a great deadline: his deal with the grim reaper gives him 200 days to leave his mark on the world. Despite the fantastical premise, the story is still very much ground in reality, and also a romance, Mr. McCloud said.

Source:http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/a-different-kind-of-super-power/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Arts&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body&_r=1