MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Winter Spring 2019

42 MLCM WINTER/SPRING 2019 Many of these findings are outlined in a 2013 book released by author Adrienne Mayor. For Aro, who had been researching Amazons since 2008, this book, the world’s first on Amazon history and theory, was a turning point for the project. “I was scouring the world and internet for anything to do with Amazons,” she says. “I would stumble upon a statue in Berlin, or a mural in the Vatican and think, ‘holy crap! That’s Hippolyte,’ or ‘this is the same scene I just read about.’ I was researching a lot of the same stuff as Mayor so her book was like a gift from the gods.” Originally Aro was going to write her Amazon story as a movie script but a friend suggested doing it as a graphic novel because it’s such a large and encompassing saga. “I had zero experience with comics or graphic novels,” she admits, “and hardly any experience in writing, but I’ve been taking my time and learning as I go.” “We both have,” says artist Lani Imre, who originally joined the project to illustrate just the title pages but was lured into drawing the entire book, despite having no graphic novel or comic experience. “I begged her,” Aro admits. “I’ve always loved Lani’s art and I pursued her for a couple years. Eventually the timing worked out and we agreed to figure out how to do it together. That felt right and it’s become a labour of love for both of us.” Formally trained, Imre is best known for her detailed, emotive oil paintings of the female form. For Amazone she’s forging new ground, creating rich, luscious line work and using creative panel and page layouts to bring Aro’s story to life. “I’ve dreamed about what these characters look like,” Aro says. “To see them come to life in Lani’s art helps me form their personalities in the script. Her art makes the story better.” The duo expects to have the first two chapters of Amazone (Aro is using the ancient Greek spellings wherever possible) ready by summer 2019 with the rest of the book completed by 2020. “It’s been almost a decade in the making,” Aro says. “And we’re both learning so much. Comics are a complicated medium, and a lot of people don’t give them the respect they deserve. Lani and I want Amazone to be one of those big, thick art books people leave out for others to flip through. The Amazons make for such an incredible story.” One thing is for certain—heads will roll… facebook.com/amazonethemovie Instagram @amazonegraphicnovel Lani Imre (LEFT) and Maja Aro look over their latest (blood splattered) pages. MARK GRIBBON