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ENTRY TYPE: new
WORK TITLE: Freestyle
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://galesaur.com
CITY: Rockland County
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME:
Gender should be “They.”
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in FL; married, husband’s name Patrick; children: Robin.
EDUCATION:Savannah College of Art and Design, M.F.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Comic artist/illustrator and writer.
AVOCATIONS:Knitting.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
[open new]An illustrator and author of graphic novels for middle graders, Gale Galligan has adapted time-honored baby-sitting tales and has also showcased original storytelling. They were born in Florida to a Thai mother and a white father. Owing to their father’s work, they lived in Bangkok, Thailand, and Frankfurt, Germany, during elementary-school years. About their early artistic development, Galligan told C.K. Stewart of Publishers Weekly: “I started getting into reading comics pretty young. My dad would bring home the newspaper and I got really into Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, The Far Side. I would try to draw my own comics inspired by that stuff. I’d do my goofy mutant cheeseburger comic and show it to my family, show it to my friends. And if they laughed, it was the best feeling in the world, and that meant that I kept on doing it.” Galligan later enjoyed longer works by the likes of novelists Diana Wynne Jones and K.A. Applegate and manga artist Rumiko Takahashi. Galligan’s family ended up settling permanently in Virginia, where they attended middle and high school. About the transition to stateside living, Galligan explained to Stewart: “I had to figure out how to make but also keep friends. … And I also got to deal with a lot of cultural identity feelings. Growing up going to international schools, everybody’s from somewhere else. Everybody looks different. And then you move to a place where there’s a lot of white people and they are a little bit confused why you’re kind of Asian looking, but not really. … All of a sudden I had this whole other conception of how other people saw me and also what I needed to do as a person to survive.”
During their undergraduate years, loving to draw as well as tell stories, Galligan intended to become an animator, at the time the readiest medium combining the two forms. But the twenty-first-century upsurge in the popularity of graphic novels ultimately led her in that direction. After earning a master’s degree in sequential art from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Galligan pitched their work to Scholastic and was enlisted without further ado.
Galligan commenced their career by contributing several volumes to the “Baby-Sitters Club” series of graphic novels—adapted from the classic books by Ann M. Martin. The series received plenty of attention when kicked off by the accomplished Raina Telgemeier. Galligan took over for Telegemeier with the series’ fifth title, Dawn and the Impossible Three, about double-sided drama arising from divorce. New club member Dawn has just arrived in Connecticut from California with her brother and newly single mother. When Dawn’s mother and fellow club member Mary Anne’s single father start dating, the two girls get closer—and Kristy gets a little jealous. Meanwhile, Dawn finds herself babysitting the Barretts’ three difficult children in the midst of their parents’ bitter divorce, eliciting emotional challenges all around.
School Library Journal reviewer Mahnaz Dar affirmed that Galligan’s narrative “easily shifts between giggles with friends and more emotional scenes, always retaining the upbeat, earnest tone of the original.” Dar found that Galligan’s illustrations are reminiscent of Telgemeier’s but have their own “charm” in this “light, breezy read.” A Kirkus Reviews writer appreciated how Dawn and the Impossible Three, “slightly more serious than its predecessors, … tackles the weighty issues of divorce and kidnapping but manages to resolve things tidily,” making for a “worthy addition” to the series. After publishing several “Baby-Sitters Club” adaptations, Galligan was featured in the 2020 Netflix documentary The Claudia Kishi Club, about the significance of the book series’ Japanese American character Claudia to Asian American readers and artists. Reviewing Galligan’s first original work for School Library Journal, Emilia Packard affirmed that their “emotionally nuanced, endlessly entertaining” “Baby-Sitters Club” editions made them a “cartooning sensation.”
Having taken breakdancing classes in college, Galligan puts a b-boy front and center in their original debut, Freestyle. Speaking about the art of breakdancing with Stewart for Publishers Weekly, Galligan downplayed their own talents before affirming, “The focus on individuality, on flavor, on kind of putting yourself out there, I really admire.” For the novel, Galligan also did research with the New York Yo-Yo Club.
In Freestyle, eighth grader Cory Tan is a member of Eight Bitz, a breakdancing troupe that hopes to win the annual Bronx Kids Battle. While captain Tess Reyes tries to get everyone to toe strict routines—not easy among freestylers—Cory finds his ability to participate compromised by sinking grades. When he gets tutored by hijab-wearing classmate Sunna, he is delighted to witness her extraordinary talents with a yo-yo. When Cory is forced to choose between this new interest and breakdancing, relations are strained and the crew’s togetherness is threatened.
A Publishers Weekly reviewer affirmed that Galligan’s “timing–both comedic and emotional–is impeccable” and that they aptly capture the “flow and energy” in “dynamic” dance and yo-yo scenes. The reviewer also appreciated how the diverse main and supporting characters’ issues are “empathetically captured” and how the narrative highlights “open and vulnerable communication.” The Publishers Weekly reviewer praised Freestyle as “thoughtfully rendered” and “uplifting.” In School Library Journal, Packard affirmed that through Galligan’s “manga-influenced visual language … each moment resonates.” She proclaimed that Galligan’s “visually kinetic, emotionally complex story” is “fun and full of heart.” A Kirkus Reviews writer remarked that the “cartooning instincts on display are superb,” as Galligan’s “inviting, heartfelt story will get readers into the groove of self-expression and lasting friendships.”
Concerning her beginnings as an artist, Galligan once told Geeks Out interviewer Michele Kirichanskaya: “I drew comics about things that were going on in my life. I drew collaborative stories with my friends. I made a lot of fan comics and posted them online. Comics really were a way for me to connect with people and share big feelings with them, and I think that’s still what drives me today.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2017, review of Dawn and the Impossible Three; August 15, 2022, review of Freestyle.
Publishers Weekly, August 29, 2022, review of Freestyle, p. 108; November 23, 2022, review of Freestyle, p. 120.
School Library Journal, July, 2017, Mahnaz Dar, review of Dawn and the Impossible Three, p. 81; October, 2022, Emilia Packard, review of Freestyle, p. 84.
ONLINE
Gale Galligan website, https://galesaur.com/ (June 1, 2023).
Geeks Out, https://www.geeksout.org/ (October 14, 2022), Michele Kirichanskaya, author interview.
Publishers Weekly Online, https://www.publishersweekly.com/(October 6, 2022), C.K. Stewart, author Q&A.
Gale Galligan is a New York Times-bestselling cartoonist and shrimp chip enthusiast. They are the creator of four BABY-SITTERS CLUB graphic novel adaptations (books five through eight!) and have written for IDW’s Sonic the Hedgehog. You can also spot them in The Claudia Kishi Club, a wonderful short documentary on Netflix.
A hard question for Gale to answer is “where are you from?”, because the answer is a little long! Gale was born in Florida, spent their elementary school years in Bangkok, Thailand and Frankfurt, Germany, and then moved to northern Virginia for middle and high school, where they were distressed to learn that Americans measure things in “inches” and “feet.”
Gale somehow survived that harrowing transition and now holds an MFA in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design. When they aren’t making comics, Gale enjoys knitting, reading, and spending time with their zoo: Lemon the leopard gecko, rabbits Dipper and Penny, Artemis the cat, Patrick the husband, and Robin the child. They live in Rockland County, New York.
Gale’s first original graphic novel, FREESTYLE, is on shelves now and makes a fun holiday gift, impulse purchase, or way to support your favorite local bookstore/comic shop! Wink!!
They’re currently hard at work on their next book – please look forward to it!
Frequently Asked Questions
How long have you been drawing?
Ever since I was very small. I loved Garfield a lot, and tried my best to make funny comics like that. I was also really into drawing eyeballs for a while. Just eyeballs, over and over. Were my parents worried about me? Maybe?
Which authors and books inspire you?
SO MANY!!! I was a huge reader when I was young, and some of my big inspirations growing up were Diana Wynne Jones (Howl’s Moving Castle, The Chrestomanci Quartet) and K.A. Applegate (Animorphs), as well as Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes) and Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha).
Right now, I really love N.K. Jemisin (The Broken Earth Series), Sarah Rees Brennan (In Other Lands), Jen Wang (Prince and the Dressmaker, Stargazing), Yuko Ota and Ananth Hirsh (Johnny Wander, Barbarous), Ngozi Ukazu (Check, Please!), Cathy G. Johnson (Breakaways), and sooooo many more. I could go on forever.
Will you be making more Baby-Sitters Club books?
The eighth BSC graphic novel adaptation, Logan Likes Mary Anne!, was my fourth contribution to the series, and my last for now. I’ve stepped away from BSC to work on my original graphic novels – but that doesn’t mean it’s over! Chan Chau, Gabriela Epstein, and Cynthia Yuan Cheng are all incredible cartoonists whose contributions to the series are blowing me away. I love being a part of this club, and I am so excited to read their books along with you. ♥
What tools do you use to make comics?
This is an evolving answer! There are tools that I like better to convey different moods, and some feel easier than others because I’ve practiced more. I love to play around and find new tools and methods that work for what I’m trying to show. So don’t feel like there’s one thing you need to use if you want to make comics – the answer is different for everyone.
That said! Right now, I thumbnail and pencil my pages digitally in two programs, Clip Studio and Procreate. When I inked BSC pages, I was using 11×17 vellum bristol paper, a G nib (for most of my lines), Deleter 4 black ink, a brush pen (for thicker lines), and Deleter 2 whiteout, which I would then scan in, clean up, and letter with Photoshop (complicated!). I went fully digital for my most recent graphic novel, and would love to go back to using paper again soon. Point is, processes keep changing, and figuring out what you like is part of the fun.
I have a great idea for a book! Will you illustrate it for me?
Unfortunately, my projects are very time-consuming, but may I give you a suggestion? When I was in grade school, I also loved to tell stories, and wanted to make comics very badly. So I tried to draw my own comics! Even when I didn’t think they were as good as I wanted, I still learned a lot, and I got to show them to all my friends afterwards. I also liked to team up with my friends to make comic books together! Is there anyone you know who might be interested in creating a story with you? It’s a lot of fun, and you’ll make some wonderful memories. (If you’re an adult, please reach out to my agent. Thank you!)
Will you come visit my school or library?
I’d love to! The best thing you can do is tell your teacher or librarian when there’s an author you’d like to see. Sometimes they can arrange visits, virtual or physical! (If you are an adult: hello, and thank you for your interest! Please visit this page.)
Who is your favorite BSC character?
It’s Claudia!! I’m jealous of her style, and I also love candy very much. I still remember when I was a kid reading the original Baby-Sitters Club books by Ann M. Martin, waaay back in the 1990s, and realizing for the first time that Claudia was an Asian-American person like me. It was a very special feeling, because it was the first time that had happened for me. And she was so creative and cool!! (You can also see me talk about my Claudia Feelings in The Claudia Kishi Club, a short documentary by Sue Ding. It’s on Netflix! Ahh!)
Did you write the Baby-sitters Club graphic novels or draw them? How did you come up with the ideas?
The BSC was originally a series of prose books that were coming out when I was a kid (I’m a long-time fan!), so what I did was adapt the original books into graphic novel format. This means that the story existed already, but I had to figure out ways to tell it visually – kind of like when you watch a movie and find out it was a book first. So I had to take out some events, swap others around, and write entirely new ones to make everything fit together. It’s a big story puzzle! The adaptation process involves both writing and drawing, and I talk a little more about it here if you’re interested in making comics based on your own favorite books!
I want to learn how to draw!
I’m still working on this myself! The best advice I can give you is to draw mindfully and often. What this means is that it really helps to practice a lot, while also taking the time to think about what you’re drawing and why. Do you want to draw more like somebody? Do you want to draw hands or horses better? Learning to draw is kind of like getting better at a sport – if you’re thinking about what muscles you want to strengthen, or trying to get better at one part of your game, you can do exercises focused on improving those things. But also, don’t be afraid to mess up! The best thing about drawings is that you can always make more, and every drawing you make is going to be a little bit better than the last one. Especially with comics, where you have to make so many drawings!!
How long does it take you to make a book?
This is a question that everyone has a different answer for! Some people take ten years, some people take six months (how??), and there’s nothing wrong with either of those options. So please remember that it’s perfectly okay to take as long as you need on your own comics!
With that caveat in mind, my own answer to this question is: a bit over a year for each BSC book. For me personally, I took about three months on scripting and thumbnails, and then the rest of the bit-over-a-year went to pencils, inks, cleanup, and lettering. Because I was adapting books that already exist, I didn’t have to come up with the whole plot from scratch (although there is writing involved in adaptations!); and because the series has a wonderful colorist, Braden Lamb, I didn’t have to do the hard work of coloring the book – that would have taken much longer. Books are a lot of work, and they’re also a team effort!
(Now I’m working on my own original books, and they are definitely going to take a bit longer! Please look forward to them.)
Can I mail you a letter?
Absolutely, I love getting letters! Ask your guardian to reach out to me via this contact form first.
Q & A with Gale Galligan
By C.K. Stewart | Oct 06, 2022
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Gale Galligan is best known for their work on the bestselling Babysitters Club graphic novel adaptations. After several years and four successful Babysitters books, Galligan’s first original graphic novel will be hitting bookstore shelves on October 18. Freestyle follows breakdancing middle schooler Cory as he navigates his parents’ expectations and friendships with his dance crew in their last year of school together before high school. We spoke with Galligan about transitioning from the Babysitters Club to original work, childhood passions, and what’s coming next.
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What was it like to transition to something totally fresh with Freestyle?
I first pitched Scholastic when I was getting out of grad school, and one of the things I pitched was Freestyle. Originally, they signed me up for two Babysitters books and two originals, and Freestyle was one of those. So it was always at the back of my mind. I’d been waiting for it for a long time and I was definitely intimidated to get to it!
It felt like when you have a little pack of four markers, then all of a sudden someone hands you a whole bunch more markers and says go to town. All of a sudden I could make whatever it is I wanted. If I didn’t feel like a story I made up was working, I could change it to literally anything. There is a lot of freedom in that, but it is also difficult at the same time because you really can do anything. So, figuring out what I wanted from this story, where I wanted to go with it, was pretty important. I had a great time. I’m really glad I got to do it.
With Freestyle, going from a visual medium like dance or a visual medium like yo-yo throwing to a static medium, was it challenging to illustrate something so centered around movement?
I actually went to undergrad thinking that I was going to be an animator. I knew that I love to draw, I knew that I love to tell stories, and here is the one job I know about that combines those things. I’d read a lot of comics but didn’t realize that people were getting paid to make comics. So studying motion was something I got into pretty early.
And it helped me a lot, even though I obviously didn’t end up getting into animation, just thinking about how to show people moving, acting, how to guide people’s eyes where I wanted them to be [on the page]. You’re trying to point someone to look at something on a screen in the span of 12 drawings a second. So that’s something that’s always been on my mind as I work on comics. How can I tell this kind of visual story, how can I take advantage of the medium I’m using?
Whether it was getting into breakdancing or getting into yo-yo slinging, did you do any particular research for this one?
When I was in undergrad, I did take some breaking classes. I had always seen b-boys on the street and thought, this looks like so much fun. I want to learn how to do this! And listen, I’m horrible. I’m very bad! But there’s something just so incredible about the craft itself that I am deeply fascinated by and love so much. The focus on individuality, on flavor, on kind of putting yourself out there, I really admire. So I’ve watched a lot of competitions online, listened to a lot of interviews.
For yo-yo, similarly, I fell into it. I was cruising around online as one does and stumbled across a competitive yo-yo video. This was the first time I’d really watched someone throw since the ’90s when it was a really big thing, right? You know, walk the dog, Eiffel Tower, super cool. But this was completely different.
The person had this whole routine set to music, it was on the beat. They were using their whole body, throwing the yo-yo behind their legs, over their head, behind their back and it was really dance-adjacent. You could tell they put this whole thing together and were thinking it through in such a cool way. And I rabbitholed so hard from there! I became deeply fascinated, I bought a yo-yo for myself, I started teaching myself online. Again, I was very bad. I was having a lot of trouble just figuring out how to do some of these tricks on my own.
That’s when I found out about the New York Yo-Yo Club. As it turned out, there was this whole club of people who just love yo-yos, and meet up every Sunday, and I walked on in. I was terrified. I had no idea what to expect, but they were super-duper welcoming. There were kids. There were adults, everybody just hanging out together, comparing tricks, showing off their cool yo-yos.
I started talking to this one older guy in his 60s about that one trick I’d been having trouble with, and he loaned me a yo-yo, saying, “Hey, I feel like you’ll probably have an easier time with this one. So I tried it and he was right. I finally started getting the hang of it. When I went to give the yo-yo back he was like no, just keep it.
That was something that really stuck with me. This group of people who all got together because they like this thing so much and are just really excited that other people are getting into it too. That was a feeling that I really loved and wanted to bring across in this book.
Freestyle is so deeply about finding your own outlet and finding your own way to navigate everything that’s going on in life. What was that hobby for you?
This will not come as a surprise, but it was drawing. I started getting into reading comics pretty young. My dad would bring home the newspaper and I got really into Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, The Far Side. I would try to draw my own comics inspired by that stuff. I’d do my goofy mutant cheeseburger comic and show it to my family, show it to my friends. And if they laughed, it was the best feeling in the world, and that meant that I kept on doing it.
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I think that there's something so wonderful about just taking joy in anything, whether it's loving to learn about mushrooms or trying to make cheese or growing a plant or dancing or yo-yo.
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Originally, Freestyle was called Breakaway and it was more focused on Sunna dealing with the grief over her brother’s death. In Freestyle, Imran is alive and he’s a little busy with college, but he is here! How much would you say Freestyle evolved over the years?
I originally started working on Freestyle as my thesis for grad school. Originally, I had less of an idea of the middle grade market. I conceived it as more of a young adult series. When I talked to Scholastic, they were like, “Hey, listen, we love this concept. But how do you feel about it in terms of that direction, that age idea? Are you committed to these people being in high school? What is your sense of what you want the story to be?”
I thought about it and realized the core of the story was that feeling of growing into yourself, of feeling out who you are, while becoming part of a group that can be stronger together. Being a good friend. And that isn’t something that's necessarily tied to any age range, but it is something that works really well in middle grade.
So I went back and revised my concept a little bit. I felt like if I want to talk about these things, it might actually make more sense. If Cory is dealing with all these different expectations from his family, from his old friends, maybe Sunna is dealing with other kinds of expectations, where she’s comparing herself to her brother and it just makes things a little bit less complicated story-wise. I felt like that would be a good way to thematically bring things more together, and I’m genuinely really glad with how it turned out.
Each of the 8 Bitz crew members – they’re all their own people. You managed to find some space for each of them to have their own individual stories or these moments where they’re working through their own thing. Was that a difficult balancing act?
It was really important to me to show that kind of friendship and also to have them be people. I think that, again, the Babysitters Club was a really good training ground for that. But also I was drawing a lot on my deep and abiding passion for manga and anime, because sports stories do so well with that. When I was working on Freestyle, I was watching a lot of this volleyball anime Haikyuu!! which is all about this high school volleyball team getting to know and trust each other and becoming really good at volleyball together. And as it progresses, you get to know every single character. You know what type of volleyball they’re best at. You know what they’re worried about, what they’re really trying to do as individuals.
It’s something that I really admire and wanted to work on myself. I did a lot of thinking about who these people were, what they were doing in their free time, and what they each brought to the group as a whole. Because people are different in a group than they are on their own, and I wanted to kind of explore that. It was definitely tricky trying to make sure that I gave each of them a little bit of time while not feeling like a really long fantasy epic, where you go off to another character and everyone’s like, “Hey man, what’s happening in the story though?” I wanted to keep the main story flowing at all times. I hope I did a good job of that.
What do you hope that readers take from Freestyle?
I just feel like if I am looking directly into my phone at these children, I’d say, if there is something you really like? That’s awesome! Go for it. Make your thing, enjoy your craft, find people to talk about it with. I know that sometimes it can be hard to put yourself out there, it can be hard to feel like something is worth doing or like you’re good or worth it. But I think that there’s something so wonderful about just taking joy in anything, whether it’s loving to learn about mushrooms or trying to make cheese or growing a plant or dancing or yo-yo. It really is amazing that there are so many things that people can get into and share with each other, and the sharing is always going to be so worth it in the end.
As you mentioned, Freestyle was part of a multi-book deal with Scholastic for two original graphic novels, and one of those is what is tentatively titled Hazel. Can you talk a little bit about that or what else is coming up for you?
I have actually put that project on the back burner for now. I’m going to keep on developing it a bit more because it is a broader concept fantasy that I’m super excited about, but need to cook. So I swapped in a story that I was also excited about. Now I’m working on an untitled story inspired by my childhood—not memoir, but memoir adjacent. I moved around a few times as a kid because of my Dad’s work. When I was growing up we lived in Florida briefly and then moved to Bangkok, Thailand and Frankfurt, Germany and then moved back to the States to northern Virginia right in time for me to start middle school, so I was dealing with a lot of feelings.
I’d always been really excited to move. I was always super ready, because I felt like every single time I did something super embarrassing it was time to go. Let’s drop everything. Let’s bail. New life, new me, let’s party. And then Dad was like, “Hey, so we’re living in Virginia and we’re going to stay right here, and you can go to school forever.”
So I had to figure out how to make but also keep friends. I had to figure out what all the 50 states were; that was horrible. And I also got to deal with a lot of cultural identity feelings. Growing up going to international schools, everybody’s from somewhere else. Everybody looks different. And then you move to a place where there’s a lot of white people and they are a little bit confused why you’re kind of Asian looking, but not really. My mom is Thai, my dad is white. All of a sudden I had this whole other conception of how other people saw me and also what I needed to do as a person to survive. It’s a story that is inspired by that but definitely not about me. So please look forward to that as it continues to develop and hopefully it comes out in a few years!
Freestyle by Gale Galligan. Scholastic/Graphix, $24.99 Oct. 18 ISBN 978-1-338-04580-2
OCTOBER 14, 2022 BY MICHELE KIRICHANSKAYA
INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR GALE GALLIGAN
Gale Galligan is the creator of the New York Times bestselling Baby-sitters Club graphic novel adaptations of Dawn and the Impossible Three, Kristy’s Big Day, Boy-Crazy Stacey, and Logan Likes Mary Anne! by Ann M. Martin. They are also the creator of Freestyle, an original graphic novel that they both wrote and illustrated. Gale was featured in The Claudia Kishi Club, a documentary now streaming on Netflix. When they aren’t making comics, Gale enjoys knitting, reading, and spending time with their family and adorable pet rabbits. They live in Pearl River, New York.
I had the opportunity to interview Gale which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Thank you for having me! I’m a graphic novelist named Gale Galligan. I love comics, shrimp chips, and animals. My family adopted a kitten recently, qualifying us for actual menagerie status. The count is now: two rabbits, one elderly leopard gecko, several fish, a toddler, and the aforementioned cat. They’re all very fun to draw.
What inspired you to get into comics, particularly those for younger readers? Were there any writers or stories that sparked your own love and interest in storytelling?
There’s something so special about the stories you can get your hands on as a kid. You read them over and over again and they lodge themselves deep into your brain as a sense memory. Sometimes, they seem so accessible that you can’t help but try to make one for yourself.
What I’m saying is, I was really into Garfield growing up.
I started off drawing my own comics inspired by that, as well as other favorites like Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side. My favorite part was sharing them with people and seeing their reactions. As I grew older, I kept finding new stories to fall in love with. I was especially into Animorphs, the Chrestomanci quartet by Diana Wynne Jones, and all of the anime I could get my hands on in the early 2000s.
And I kept drawing the whole time! I drew comics about things that were going on in my life. I drew collaborative stories with my friends. I made a lot of fan comics and posted them online. Comics really were a way for me to connect with people and share big feelings with them, and I think that’s still what drives me today.
As an artist, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration?
I could go on forever but will respect your server space. Here’s a brief list of things I keep coming back to:
The works of Fumi Yoshinaga, particularly What Did You Eat Yesterday? and Flower of Life (sadly long out-of-print). Her storytelling style is so special – it’s gentle, bittersweet, and funny, and her characters always grow so naturally. It seems effortless when she does it. Ugh!!
Everything by Jen Wang. The acting, the panel work, the flow… the feelings! When I’m feeling stuck with my own work, one of the first things I do is pull out Prince and the Dressmaker. “Oh, I want to make comics! Let’s go!!”
My friendsssss. I’m very blessed to know so many incredible people. They’re excited about a billion different things and have all kinds of amazing talents. It’s hard not to come away feeling inspired about something.
What can you tell us about your upcoming book, Freestyle? What inspired this story?
Freestyle is about an eighth-grade b-boy named Cory Tan who’s been with his dance crew – his best friends – for years. They’re trying to win a big competition together before high school, but their captain is being really controlling and bringing everyone down. When he develops a newfound passion for yo-yo, he starts spending less time with his crew and more with his tutor-slash-friend-slash-yo-yo-mentor, Sunna. Will things come to a breaking point right around the end of the second act? You bet!!
There are a lot of big feelings (my jam), as well as yo-yo, b-boying, and the most gorgeous colors from K Czap. Please look at the book so you can compliment K’s colors, if nothing else.
As for where it came from… there were a few things I knew I wanted to do. I wanted to tell a story about young people navigating all kinds of expectations. I wanted to make something really, really fun and goofy and kinetic. And I wanted to take inspiration from things that bring me joy. Sports anime. Dance movies. The really special feeling of getting really into something and finding people to share that with. Yo-yo really pulls all of that together, and I am saying this very sincerely. It is such an incredible, personal form of expression. People are coming up with their own routines, inventing their own tricks, sharing with their communities – it’s really cool. I absolutely love watching people throw but am still not very good myself, so I’m living vicariously through drawings.
For those curious about the process behind a graphic novel, how would you describe the process? What goes into creating a script and translating that into panels?
The great thing is, there’s no one way to make a graphic novel. You could ask five different people and get five different answers. So here’s mine!
Outline. Once I’ve pulled ideas from the ether, I write them out. The outline is like a short essay about the story I want to make, beginning to end, nothing fancy. Then I take it to my friends, writing group, and editor, get great feedback, return to my cave, and revise until I get something I like (hopefully).
Script. Some people draw their scripts right off the bat. I write mine with words first, just because that’s how my brain happens to organize itself. My script is broken down into pages and panels, and since I’m the one who will also be drawing from this script, I’m writing with Future Me in mind. This can mean that parts are incomprehensible, or that there are fun little notes like “Sorry for the huge crowd, get yourself a treat.”
Thumbnails. This is the visual version of a script. I sketch my pages out very roughly, just to give an idea of where people are, what they’re doing, and where the balloons and panels will go. During this part, I’m focusing on making sure that everything reads clearly. I want every aspect of a page to help guide the reader from balloon to balloon and panel to panel. As I draw, I’ll realize that parts of the written script aren’t working and improvise on the fly, adding panels, cutting dialogue, and splitting pages up as necessary. This is the next thing I send out for feedback – it’s always easier to make edits earlier in the process.
Pencils. Once I have my thumbnails set, I can start really drawing the book. At this stage, I’m going into more detail: what people are wearing, how they’re acting, where I can put the camera, what’s in the background. I’m giving myself all of the information I’ll need for final lineart, and since my memory isn’t great, my pencils end up being fairly detailed. I also lay down rough word balloons at this stage.
Inks. Now that the visual information is laid out, I can focus on drawing effective lines. Inks can convey lighting and add a sense of distance, point the reader’s attention at important parts of a page, add drama, and a billion other things. Once I’ve finished inking the art, I finalize my balloon placement as well.
Actually, this is the part where I’m done. I’ve been fortunate to work with incredible colorists for my graphic novels – Braden Lamb on The Baby-Sitters Club, and K Czap on Freestyle – who really take them to a whole new level. So, when I finish inking, I get to sit back, wait for any edits that might come in, and cheer on the rest of the production team as they make the book into an actual book.
This all happens over the course of several years. Rinse and repeat!
What are some of your favorite parts of the creative process? What do you find to be some of the most frustrating/difficult?
My favorite part is inking because at that point, I’ve done all of the hard brain work already. I get to put on a podcast or TV show I’ve been meaning to catch up on and zone out for hours at a time. It’s very peaceful.
The parts that are most frustrating are the ones where I know a drawing looks wrong but haven’t quite figured out why yet, like a panel with complicated perspective. Or an unusual pose. Or a shoe from behind. Or a horse. Or a spiral staircase. Anyway, I love my job, and at those times I’ll take a little breather, jump ahead, and come back with fresh eyes. That usually helps.
And if not, well, it’s one panel out of thousands. It’s okay to let the shoe be bad sometimes! It’s okay!!!
As a graphic novelist, you are known for your work illustrating a few volumes of The Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel series, including starring in a documentary on the series called The Claudia Kishi Club. Could you talk to us about what it meant to you working on this series as well as perhaps your own personal connection as a fan?
I was a huge fan of the BSC growing up! I still remember my first introduction to Claudia. I had to flip back a few pages to reread everything when it slowly occurred to me that she wasn’t white because this was the first time I’d encountered an Asian-American character like myself in a book. I remember having a bunch of complicated feelings all at once. On the one hand, I was delighted that she was there; on the other, I recognized for the first time that I was assuming every new character in a book would be white because that was what I was used to.
So, the series is very memorable for me in that way. I also just sincerely adored the characters and stories. When I was asked if I’d be interested in drawing test pages to continue adapting where Raina Telgemeier left off, I had to go outside and yell at a tree. I’m very grateful that the BSC team placed their trust in me, and that I was able to share something I love so much with a new generation of readers! One of my favorite memories of working on the series is a signing I did with Raina and Ann M. Martin because we got to see people of all different ages who had been affected by this long-lasting series. It’s the coolest thing.
Aside from your work, what are some things you would want others to know about you?
I love learning about all the different things that people can get really deeply invested in. Like, I was gifted a subscription to a cheese magazine and think it’s just the greatest. Cheese can take so long to mature, and there are so many different factors involved when it comes to how the cheese will turn out – I love that there are people out there with the passion to keep cheese traditions alive, and that there are people excited about innovating cool new cheeses, and that there are cheesemongers doing their best to share all of those cheeses with everyone! I love that it’s a thing!! Stuff like that. I think that everybody should make zines about whatever they’re into and then send their zines to me. That’s what I want you to know.
What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were asked?
“Hey, Gale, what would you say if you were going to step on a soapbox for five minutes?”
Well! Let me just… okay… one, two, here we go.
More people should be able to make a long-term living off of comics! It’s unfathomable that there are cartoonists working for huge publishers, putting in absurd amounts of overtime to make tight deadlines, who still can’t make ends meet on that work alone. The number of people who have pushed themselves to the limit, burned out, and had to leave – it’s heartbreaking.
I love comics. I want the art form to continue to grow and flourish. And for that, creators and the publishing teams supporting them must be able to grow and flourish. Good pay, good working conditions, health insurance. Resources and opportunities for aspiring professionals, especially those from underrepresented communities. I want comics to be an open door, and not all of that is about the skill it takes to make a comic, but also about the circumstances that comics are grown in. I think that’s true for basically everything. It’s all connected. It all matters. Let’s keep working to make things better.
Are there any other projects you are currently working on and at liberty to talk about?
I’m working on my next original graphic novel! This will also be for middle-grade readers (and older readers of excellent taste), and it’s very loosely inspired by the experiences I had when I moved back to America just in time for 7th grade. I was a dweeby little multiracial Thai-American kid who was super used to international schools, where every one of my friends was from a different country, and all of a sudden every white kid desperately wanted to know “what” I was. So not only did I have to adjust to life in a new place again and suffer through the trials of early puberty and figure out how to actually keep friends now that we wouldn’t be moving anywhere else – but I also had to deal with a sudden identity crisis on top of that.
That’s all very dramatic, but I promise it’s going to be very over-the-top weird, and silly.
What advice might you have to give to aspiring graphic novelists (both to draw who draw/write, or simply one or the other)?
Make thing! Make thing!! I’d highly recommend making some minicomics. One page, four pages, six pages, eight pages. They’re easy for other people to read and satisfying for you to make. You’ll figure out what methods work for you without having to commit to a full book first, and you’ll be able to share them with people for feedback. (If you’re just a writer or just a drawer: do it all anyway.)
Also, if you have feelings about something… ask yourself why! Why did you like a book? Why did you hate a movie? What would you have done differently? What could you steal for yourself? Taking the time to interrogate your reactions can be so useful for your own craft.
Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/ comics would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
I’m writing my response in September, so this is a bit early, buuuut I’m going to go ahead and say every single LGBTQ+ comic available at the Shortbox Comics Fair. It’s a digital event that runs through the whole month of October, so you can literally just go to the website whenever, buy some PDFs, and indulge from the comfort of your own home. If it’s anything like last year, there will be queer comics in abundance, and I will, uhhh, spend less on coffee for a few months.
And then as long as I’m here, I’d also recommend Our Dreams At Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani and Fanlee and Spatzle Make Something Perfect by Pseudonym Jones.
Header Photo Credit Courtney Wingate
Martin, Ann M. DAWN AND THE IMPOSSIBLE THREE Graphix/Scholastic (Children's Fiction) $24.99 9, 26 ISBN: 978-1-338-06730-9
In the fifth installment of the graphic adaptation of the beloved series, one of the members of the Baby-Sitters Club copes with a family that's struggling through an acrimonious divorce.Dawn Schafer, white and a recent transplant from California, is the newest member of the club. Her mother is dating fellow member Mary Anne's father, and Kristy, their club president, is jealous of Mary Anne and Dawn's new bond. When Dawn begins to sit for a new family--the Barretts--she is immediately struck by their household's general disorder and rambunctious kids. She learns that the Barretts are in the midst of a tempestuous separation, and their growing rancor soon has serious implications for the entire family and Dawn. After a harrowing event, Dawn must confront Mrs. Barrett and voice her concerns despite her apprehension at broaching such a difficult topic with an adult. Slightly more serious than its predecessors, this offering tackles the weighty issues of divorce and kidnapping but manages to resolve things tidily in the comfortably episodic manner that fans of the series expect. This volume introduces new artist Galligan, who replaces veteran Raina Telgemeier. Although Galligan's style is subtly different than Telgemeier's, fans should not be alienated by the smooth transition. In her full-color panels, the principal characters appear to be white, save Asian club member Claudia. A worthy addition to the series, albeit a bit more somber than its forerunners. (Graphic adaptation. 7-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Martin, Ann M.: DAWN AND THE IMPOSSIBLE THREE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2017. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A498345195/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fb1aea6a. Accessed 12 Apr. 2023.
MARTIN, Ann M. Dawn and the Impossible Three. adapted by Gale Galligan. illus. by Gale Galligan. 160p. (BSC Graphix: Bk. 5). Scholastic/Graphix. Sept. 2017. Tr $24.99. ISBN 9781338067309; pap. $ 10.99. ISBN 97813 38067118. POP
Gr 3-5--Galligan translates the fifth volume in this long-running series, which focuses on a group of teens who run a babysitting business, into a graphic novel. Dawn, the newest member of the Baby-sitters Club, has just moved from California to Connecticut with her recently divorced mother and her brother and has more than enough on her plate. She's become close with her fellow club member Mary Anne, but Mary Anne's best friend, Kristy, feels threatened by the girls' bond. Plus, the club's new clients, the Barretts, are keeping Dawn busy: there are mountains of chores to do, the kids (the "Impossible Three") are still reeling after their parents' divorce, and frazzled Mrs. Barrett is too distracted to be much help. Relying on a bright palette and closeups of the expressive, large-eyed characters, Galligan easily shifts between giggles with friends and more emotional scenes, always retaining the upbeat, earnest tone of the original. Judiciously used first-person narration, interspersed among the speech bubbles, injects a poignant touch into this light, breezy read. The winsome illustrations are reminiscent of the artwork of Raina Telgemeier, who adapted the first four installments in the series into graphic novels, but with a charm of their own. VERDICT While this title is bound to attract fans of the series, newcomers will eagerly dive right in. Recommended for readers seeking friendship tales in the vein of Telgemeier's books.--Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Dar, Mahnaz. "Martin, Ann M.: Dawn and the Impossible Three." School Library Journal, vol. 63, no. 7, July 2017, p. 81. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A497611132/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=47f6ef08. Accessed 12 Apr. 2023.
In an uplifting tale from Galligan (the Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel series), the Eight Bitz dance crew seeks to make the most of their eighth grade year before splitting up for different N.Y.C. high schools. Tan-skinned Cory and his crew, portrayed with varying skin tones and body types, plan to win an epic annual dance competition, Bronx Kids Battle. Brown-skinned captain Tess Reyes, who sports a backward cap and braid, requires a strict practice regiment, and her austere routines, which leave no room for improv, put her at odds with the freewheeling crew. When Cory's grades slip and his parents hire hijabi classmate Sunna Ahmad to tutor him, extra study sessions cut into his practice time. But after Sunna shows him her superb yo-yo throwing skills, the pair become fast friends, and Cory is caught between established relationships and newfound joys that could split up the Eight Bitz for good. Galligan's timing--both comedic and emotional--is impeccable, and dynamic paneling paired with vibrant technicolor hues artfully complement the flow and energy of the Eight Bitz's routines and Sunna's yo-yo prowess. Supporting characters' individual troubles are empathetically captured alongside Cory and Sunna's emotional hurdles, and the cast is given space to experience and navigate big feelings via open and vulnerable communication, making for a thoughtfully rendered portrayal of friendship, growth, and joyful self-expression. Ages 8-12. Agent: Judy Hansen, Hansen Literary. (Oct.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Freestyle: Gale Galligan. Graphix, $24.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-338-04581-9; $12.99 paper ISBN 978-1-338-04580-2." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 36, 29 Aug. 2022, p. 108. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A716641344/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=cb7a1aa5. Accessed 12 Apr. 2023.
GALLIGAN, Gale. Freestyle. illus. by Gale Galligan. 272p. Scholastic/Graphix. Oct. 2022. Tr $24.99. ISBN 9781338045819. pap. pap. $12.99. ISBN 9781338045802.
Gr 5 Up--Galligan, already a cartooning sensation thanks to their emotionally nuanced, endlessly entertaining work on Ann M. Martin's "Baby-Sitters Club" graphic adaptations, brings that same gleeful energy to their first original graphic novel. A commitment to representing the joys and ultra-specific struggles of adolescence shines through in this story about break-dancing, bad grades, and yo-yo masters. The main story is that of Cory, a so-so student who's part of a high-achieving dance team. When it becomes clear that his grades are tanking, his dance dreams are put on hold, and he's paired up with Sunna, a quiet, overlooked classmate, for tutoring. Initially resistant, he discovers that she has her own avocation--the yo-yo--and begins to take an interest in her passion too. As the story moves through family expectations, middle-school social negotiations, and questions of doing your best versus doing what you love, Galligan's manga-influenced visual language for characters' emotions and a brightly colored urban universe mean each moment resonates without dragging the story down. It doesn't hurt that in dancing and yoyo, someone is always on the move. Galligan's diverse cast includes Cory, coded as Filipino, and Sunna, who wears a hijab, and depicts a mixed-gender friend group free from romantic entanglements, which is a breath of fresh air. VERDICT A visually kinetic, emotionally complex story of finding a sense of self while navigating relationships and expectations. Fun and full of heart.--Emilia Packard
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Packard, Emilia. "GALLIGAN, Gale. Freestyle." School Library Journal, vol. 68, no. 10, Oct. 2022, p. 84. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A720065723/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3b20fcfa. Accessed 12 Apr. 2023.
Freestyle
Gale Galligan. Graphix, $24.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-338-04580-2
In an uplifting tale from Galligan (the Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel series), the Eight Bitz dance crew seeks to make the most of their eighth grade year before splitting up for different N.Y.C. high schools. Tan-skinned Cory and his crew, portrayed with varying skin tones and body types, plan to win an epic annual dance competition, Bronx Kids Battle. Brown-skinned captain Tess Reyes, who sports a backward cap and braid, requires a strict practice regimen, and her austere routines, which leave no room for improv, put her at odds with the freewheeling crew. When Cory's grades slip and his parents hire hijabi classmate Sunna Ahmad to tutor him, extra study sessions cut into his practice time. But after Sunna shows him her superb yo-yo throwing skills, the pair become fast friends, and Cory is caught between established relationships and newfound joys that could split up the Eight Bitz for good. Galligan's timing--both comedic and emotional--is impeccable, and dynamic paneling paired with vibrant technicolor hues artfully complement the flow and energy of the Eight Bitz's routines and Sunna's yo-yo prowess. Supporting characters' individual troubles are empathetically captured alongside Cory and Sunna's emotional hurdles, and the cast is given space to experience and navigate big feelings via open and vulnerable communication, making for a thoughtfully rendered portrayal of friendship, growth, and joyful self-expression. Ages 8-12.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Freestyle." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 49, 23 Nov. 2022, p. 120. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A728494047/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c06a9f8f. Accessed 12 Apr. 2023.