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Tara Tallan was a self publisher back in the 1990s doing a unique sci-fi with romance comic book called Galaxion. She took a break from comics in 2000 when she had kids. Tara has been back at it since 2006 doing Galaxion as a webcomic. Rather than repost her old comics and continue from there, she restarted the story over again from scratch. She has just published volume 1 of the new webcomic version of Galaxion.
Coville:
With sci-fi space settings there are many different aspects to use, the future world and it's norms and technology, alien races their personalities and how they interact, the more realistic smart "real" way of dealing with space travel, or the just plain action adventure ray blaster fun stuff. What "camp" do you see Galaxion falling into?
Tallan:
Galaxion is very much a people story. I set the story in space because I've always loved science fiction, but when I'm writing it's all about the characters-- their lives, their troubles, and their romances. If I were to categorize Galaxion into a sub-genre, I would probably call it either a space opera or a science fiction romance.
Coville:
Some Sci-fi stories use "hard science" in their technology. Did you do any research into that for Galaxion?
Tallan:
Oh, I do lots of research, but Galaxion is unabashedly "soft" sci-fi! My approach to the science behind my science fiction has been to keep it safely behind the curtain as much as possible. As much as I enjoy reading a well-written "hard SF" story where the technology is carefully documented and researched, I know any attempt I could make to explain FTL drives and other such things would quickly be shot full of holes by all my very smart readers (many of whom have degrees in physics and/or engineering)! So I concentrate on the plot and character elements of the story, and let the readers make their own assumptions. As long as I can avoid making any blatant scientific factual errors (and I have several times taken advantage of my very smart readership by asking for their scientific advice) I'm doing OK!
Coville:
What Sci-Fi authors influenced your writing?
Tallan:
My favourite SF author, the one whose books I return to again and again, is Lois McMaster Bujold. Miles Vorkosigan is one of the most interesting characters I've ever read! Bujold's books all stand alone, but The Vor Game is a nice place to begin, for those who don't know her work and who would like to give it a try. Other SF writers who, for better or for worse, have been big influences on me over the years have been Larry Niven, David Gerrold, and Michael Flynn.
But since I work in the graphic field, I should mention the SF comics that have influenced me as well-- Baron and Rude's Nexus was great space opera, and Planetes by Makoto Yukimura is excellent.
Coville:
Your self published company name is Helikon Comics. What is the story behind that name?
Tallan:
You know, I think this is the first time I've been asked about that! My cousin Franz de Leon and I came up with the name in 1993, when we first started self-publishing minicomics. We wanted something that sounded grand and enduring, and Helikon seemed to fit the bill-Helikon (also spelled Helicon) is the name of the mountain in Greece made famous in mythology for being the home of the Muses.
Coville:
A lot of creators say they want to go back and re-do their old work. You actually re-wrote and re-drew the first volume of Galaxion Vol. 1 from scratch. Do you have any regrets in doing it?
Tallan:
Wellll . . . no, I can't honestly say I regret it, even though I do feel badly for the returning readers who have to wait to find out what happens! I'm very pleased with the new version of the story-it feels right to me, and I'm excited by where it's going.
Having said that, though, I wouldn't recommend starting over to other creators! Not without some serious thinking it over first, anyway.
Coville:
I've been going through both volumes of the book looking at the various changes. In your first book you start things off with a bang. In the second it's more of about the characters and getting to understand them and their relationship with each other. Why the change?
Tallan:
The characters are really the heart of the story, and I felt strongly that I needed to devote more time to exploring their personalities up front before the plot takes over and everybody gets swept up in events. Speaking as a reader, I need to be emotionally invested in the characters in any story before I can begin to care about what happens to them!
Coville:
All your main characters have unique strange names. Why is that?
Tallan:
Heh . . . they do, don't they? The quick answer to that is, because we came up with them when we were twelve. "We", by the way, refers to myself and Wendy Linkous. We were in grade seven together when we decided we would collaborate on a science fiction novel. We each contributed-and drew pictures of-about a half-dozen characters to get us going. We chose names that we thought sounded futuristic and spacey. (At the time it was first names only-last names came later.)
All these years later, I wonder from time to time if the somewhat odd names are a good fit for this kind of story. But I've since concluded that if the names are a little weird that's OK- plenty of people dislike the names they were given at birth. Why should my characters be any different?
Coville:
I've noticed between the two versions Aria has been given a new love interest, going from Zandarin to Darvin. Why the switch?
Tallan:
Aria's love interest isn't exactly new-hints of it were there in the earlier version. I just . . . put a different emphasis on it this time around! We'll see what becomes of Zan a little later on. Spoiling you no spoilers, of course. ;-)
Coville:
Zandarin also comes across as more of a roughhewn character this time around. What was the reason for that change?
Tallan:
I like to think of that particular change as me simply nudging him back to being the sort of character he was meant to be in the first place. Zan was always supposed to be a bit of a loose cannon, but in the earlier version his personality was inadvertently shifting toward someone calm and responsible. Heck, that wasn't right at all! This time around I made sure to give him some of the qualities of a weird genius, the sort you worry will grow up to be just like Dr. Emmett Brown from Back to the Future. With wanderlust.
Coville:
I imagine switching from 32 page comic books to webcomic format has made you rethink the way you pace and tell the story. How does it alter the way you tell the story?
Tallan:
Absolutely! When I first started the webcomic it felt wonderful to toss all notions of being confined to a certain chapter length right out the window. There is some benefit to being forced to work within those limits, since it teaches you to be concise, but for now I'm enjoying the freedom.
I've also found I need to pay more attention to each page as an individual piece, as opposed to one small part of a chapter or book. That's the nature of the web; each update needs to stand on its own to some degree while still working toward the whole. I'm still adapting to that.
Coville:
With your first self published run on Galaxion, you did 11 issues, 6 of which were collected into a Graphic Novel. What about the other 5 issues? Will you be making them available anytime soon?
Tallan:
There were actually 13 issues, counting the two short stories (both of which are now available to read online). A print-on-demand collected version of the other five issues might be possible, I suppose, but it would involve a lot of tedious scanning! Eventually, perhaps, but not soon. (We just got finished putting together the new book-we need a break!)
Coville:
Your first Galaxion GN ends further down the road plot wise than where the webcomic is now. Have you changed the long term plot of the series at all?
Tallan:
Well, yes . . . .
I don't want to spoil anything, but there are things that are different both in the short term and in the long term. When I was developing the new version, small changes quickly led to bigger ones, and I adjusted the storyline to fit. Not that it will ever be apparent to anybody, since I never got there the first time out, but the ending is now quite different!
Coville:
Does the Galaxion story have a definite end?
Tallan:
It certainly does! My current guess is that I am about one-fifth of the way there. Although I may be severely underestimating things . . . .
Coville:
Right now you are doing Galaxion on the web and in the books in black and white. Do you have any desire to see the work in colour?
Tallan:
It's a funny thing . . . I've discovered that after ten years of working almost entirely in black and white, I have lost all colour sense. I've made a few efforts at colouring Galaxion art digitally, and I haven't been happy with any of it. I don't really want to make the regular series in colour because it's expensive to reproduce in print, but it would be nice to do some stuff in colour every once in a while. I'm considering working with a colourist to help me develop a palette for the difficult stuff like the ship's bridge and corridors.
Coville:
In doing the webcomic you are on both Girlamatic.com and you have you're own GalaxionComics.com. What is the reason for staying on with Girlamatic?
Tallan:
Partly I stay out of loyalty-they were a wonderful venue to launch my webcomic back in 2006-and partly I stay because of the community that still exists there. Even though the number of readers who visit the Girlamatic.com site is much smaller than the number who visit the galaxioncomics.com site, I get almost as many comments! Also, it's reassuring to know there's a mirror site around, just in case things go haywire on the main one.
Coville:
When you were self publishing you didn't have an editor. Now that you're with Girlamatic.com you have Lisa Jonté editing your book. Why did you agree to have an editor?
Tallan:
Lisa Jonté didn't really perform the same jobs as a traditional book editor-she didn't have any editorial say over the stories told by Girlamatic's contributors. She had control over which comics were accepted to the site, though, and made sure the quality of stories published on Girlamatic was consistently high. She managed the site and made sure we all updated on time, and she also organized online group activities like the Halloween celebrations. Lisa has since stepped down from the position, however.
Coville:
You have been getting more freelance work as of late. You've done a book called Roberta's Space Adventure about Canadian Astronauts and a comic about Spenco insoles. How are these jobs coming about? Have you been seeking them or are they coming to you?
Tallan:
I'm also doing some comic pages for an economics textbook! So far, these jobs have come my way either through word of mouth or from being at the right place at the right time. I haven't been actively seeking out freelance work because Galaxion keeps me so busy. I was lucky enough to have been given a lot of free reign in these assignments, rather than being told specifically what I must draw and/or write. The book on the Canadian Astronauts-which was part of Scholastic Education Canada's Moving Up with Literacy Place program, one of six different graphic novels all about space, written for grade six students-had some hectic deadlines, but was a lot of fun to do!
Coville:
I know you've just recently printed the new Volume 1. On your blog you weren't sure how you were going to get them printed. Which way did you choose?
Tallan:
I really had to think hard about what route to take. I'd been worried about how solicitations through Diamond would go even before I learned they'd raised their minimums to the point where most self-publishers wouldn't be accepted into their catalogue. In the end, on the recommendations of Von Allan (author of the graphic novel the road to god knows), I went with Lightning Source. I was a little leery of print-on-demand, having heard some horror stories about shoddy quality, but Lightning Source offered distribution through Amazon-all the Amazons, be it .com, .ca, .co.uk, etc-and also major US wholesalers Ingram and Baker & Taylor. This means any bookstore, comic shop or otherwise, could order copies, thereby bypassing the need for distribution through Diamond. Theoretically, anyway. I'm still examining the alternatives! But also, most convincingly, Lightning Source offered excellent POD rates. I think it was the right choice for me.
Coville:
I assume you are going to attempt to distribute the books via Diamond?
Tallan:
Well . . . Diamond is not an unknown quantity to me, since they distributed all 13 issues and my graphic novel in the '90s, but I have my doubts that it's the place for me in this day and age. Frankly, most of the stories I've heard from webcomickers trying to get their books distributed through Diamond have not ended in success. That doesn't mean I'm not interested in getting my book into stores, though! At the moment I'm doing it the old-fashioned way, talking to the shop owners about whether they'd like to carry it and bringing the books by in person, when I'm in town. Bit by bit, we'll get there!
Coville:
Are you planning on selling the book through your website?
Tallan:
I certainly am! As much as I enjoy hand selling books to fans at shows, there's a somewhat limited scope for that . . . I want to make it as easy as possible for readers to get the book, which is why I'll offer sales through Amazon (and also Barnes & Noble) as well as direct from me. The "Store" page will be up soon!
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