TISDALE — Rhett Stevenson, the self-published author of the graphic novel series Sokos, is giving a reading of the second installment in his series at the Tisdale Community Library.
Sokos is a science fiction story set in the age of space colonization where humanity fled on a spaceship, when the solar system came under attack from an unknown alien civilization. They travelled through the stars in hopes of finding a new home.
The second issue, The War of the Tree Tribes, delves into the political atmosphere of a planet inhabited by the people known as the Omamokos.
Stevenson grew up in Carrot River, but now lives in Saskatoon while he completes his education degree.
In 2018, while teaching abroad in Japan he published his first issue The Battle for Galactic Supremacy with German illustrator Sarah Grünebaum. Since then, Stevenson said he has gone back and made several changes for a black and white re-release.
The re-release of the first issue in 2021 was illustrated by Harriet Cornes, and became nominated for the Gene Day award for self-publishing which honours Canadian comic book creators who self-published their work during the previous year. Stevenson said the nomination made him feel like the re-release paid off.
“I think this is where you grow as a writer. There were some things I didn’t like with my writing, so I ended up bringing my brother on board to edit some of the plot,” Stevenson said. “I ended up really enjoying issue #1.”
The second issue was illustrated by Canadian artist Erick Reyes, who is also illustrating the third issue. Stevenson said he met Reyes through the website Fiverr, designed for finding freelancers for hire.
“He worked on issue #2, I really loved his work and we decided to work again on issue #3 and hopefully we can work together on later issues.”
For the second issue, Stevenson said he wanted to place an emphasis on the different cultures celebrated by the Omamokos, with three distinct ethic tribes: the Tanako, the Sonuka, and the Lakuko.
“The Lakuko and the Sonuka formed the Republic, so the earth is divided between two, you could say, ‘nations,’” he said. “The second issue really tries to give some context to that and with the third issue it will explain even more about that and the Republic’s background.”
The third issue is currently in production. Stevenson said his team is expected to complete page 15 by the end of February, marking half-way to completion with a completion goal set for August. He uses a printing company in Saskatoon, an arrangement he intends to keep using in the future.
“The people I used for printing have been really understanding with me,” he said. “They can get quite busy so taking that into note that’s where patience is needed too, especially in the comic book industry.”
In making comics, he said there are four main recommendations to start the process. The first is practice. The second is to find an editor you can trust to give you harsh feedback. During his original release of the first issue he used opinions from Reddit. While he still does that, his brother Cody Stevenson has become his official editor. His third recommendation is to write what you know, and the fourth is to be realistic.
“It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, money too, but if you really want to go for something, you should at least try. There’s always going to be ups and downs with everything, and it’s just a matter of if you want to go for it,” he said.
“There were times I felt like quitting and felt like it was too much, but at the end of the day I got two issues done… It’s just been quite an amazing process.”
Stevenson said that he would like people to take away from his talk that it takes a lot of hard work, but it’s feasible to go for your dreams.
The reading is being held on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.
