by As the popular classic “The Great Gatsby” turned 100 this year, it also came into the public domain. Graphic novelist K. Woodman Maynard is one of several to create her Minnesota native graphic novel version.
Woodman-Maynards version uses watercolor vignettes to expand on the words and emotion of the original. However, this was no small feat with the novel taking over 1,500 hours to create.
“I like the joy of kind of sticking to something for a long time and kind of seeing where it leads,” Woodman-Maynard said.
During the novels creation, Woodman-Maynard found ways to organize her time as she illustrated from home. She uses a letterpress tray and puts in rocks everytime she pencils off a chapter of a novel, and keeps detailed charts of almost everything in her life.
Woodman-Maynard’s one wish– people to respect adaptations as the real deal, not a copy, but an addition to the original.
“I really think that they’re their own unique thing that are complementary to the original text,” Woodman Maynard said.
At a recent Books and Bars event, she got the opportunity to talk to people about her novel and sign some hard copies, and had a full crowd.
For this Minneapolis illustrator, east egg is just the beginning as she has sent in her initial sketches for a potential middle school aged graphic novel of her own.
To learn more you can access her portfolio on https://www.woodmanmaynard.com/.
