In the October
Author Spotlight,
Amir Barda and Rob Walcott,
Authors of
Yonder

 

 

The year is 1200 A.D. Dark days indeed. Days when misbegotten Crusades and a desperate Church have laid a pox over the land. Days when law is meted out by fast swords and well-regarded superstition. Days when only the treasure-seeker and cutthroat dare to venture underground, into places where even God has taken leave. In their new graphic novel Yonder, authors Amir Barda and Rob Walcott tell the story of a man who can has the ability to illuminate the darkness and enlighten the world, the Twilighter.

Combining serial adventure with magical wonder and eye-popping visuals, creators Amir Barda and Rob Walcott developed their graphic novel out of their shared passion for motion picture imagery and story-telling. "The novel was originally a screen play, but we realized But the cost for special effects that could properly showcase our ideas was prohibitive at best," Barda explains. "The graphic novel format was the best format that we could present the story to its fullest without losing the visual parts of the story."

Yonder and its tale of a Twilighter is a very personal story for Amir. Born in a small town near Tel Aviv, Israel, his earliest memories are watching cherished movies. After his mother died at the age of 8, his father - a police officer - was left to care for Amir and his brothers. "As a police officer, he was other people's 'Twilighter', but did not do a very good job at home being a good father to us," Barda says. "This is the core that I drawn from for the main character in Yonder."

At the age of 16 he enrolled in Alon High School for the Arts, home to a top-flight film program. His love of film consumed his life. Devoting all his time and energy to film class, Barda’s other studies began suffering. He was eventually expelled. Barda realized school wasn’t going to help him achieve his dream of creating films. In 1993 Barda was drafted into the Army and served three years. Refusing to put his dreams on hold, he created a short film while on weekend passes. He moved to California in 1997 and now writes full time.

The creation of Yonder has seen its own long journey. Using a pain-staking synthesis of layout artists, pencilers, real-life models and Adobe Photoshop Wizards, Barda and Walcott feel confident they’ve created a highly unique visual adventure that will enchant and thrill. “It’s been a labor-of-love,” said Walcott. “Every day we would pour our creativity and devotion into this book. And we’ve delivered something that Amir and I both feel proud of. It’s the quintessential story we’ve always loved.”

 

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Scheduled Book Signings:

October 17th, 1:00 p.m.
Long Beach Town Center
Barnes & Noble
7651 Carson Blvd
Long Beach, CA

November 7th, 1:00 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd. Suite 1340
Woodland Hills, CA

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