Epic Reading Challenge: November

Welcome back to the Epic Reads Challenge 2024, where each month select TBG members choose a book that fits the challenge's theme. Provided by Epic Reads, these challenges inspire new and unique book choices among readers. We encourage the community to join in this challenge with us and participate each month!

The prompt for November was… a graphic novel!

When you think of the word “novel,” you might imagine a thick, heavy book with pages jam-packed with dense text. But graphic novels are another form of book, one that became more common in the 1980s and continues to skyrocket in popularity today. 

Here are a couple graphic novels that TBG read this month + their thoughts!

Grace: Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

Heartstopper is a bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel following Nick and Charlie, two English schoolboys who become best friends after meeting in school and playing rugby together. The book series has also been adapted into a Netflix show starring Kit Connor and Joe Locke. 

If you somehow haven’t managed to read this graphic novel yet, then let this be your sign. The illustrations are wonderful and keep the reader fully engaged in the story, and the plotline is fast-paced and easy to follow. However, the best part is the characters, who are fun and easy to love. 

Luke: Deadendia by Hamish Steele

For this month’s challenge, I chose to read the first entry of the DeadEndia books by Hamish Stele. I really enjoy the Netflix series Dead End: Paranormal Park, and when I found it the show was based off a book series, I was eager to check them out. The Watcher’s Test, the first entry in the series, focuses on Barney who works at a theme park that’s secretly also serves as a portal to hell. Along with his friend Norma and his talking dog Pugsley, the group battles demons, time-traveling cowboys, and scariest of all, love interests. While I thought some of the ideas were executed better in the show, it was cool to see how concepts of the episodes were originally written in the book. The book also did a great job making all the characters extremely memorable and funny. This book, and probably the rest of the series, would be great to read during Halloween or other spooky seasons. 

Check out Luke's 5 Questions With... interview with Hamish Steele!

5 Questions With...Hamish Steele!

written by Luke M.
Grade 12

Welcome to another addition of 5 questions with…, where Teen Book Guilders connect with their favorite YA authors and ask them 5 questions about their books, careers, or even both. Today, I had the privilege of speaking with Hamish Steele, a London-based animator and writer best known for the Deadendia graphic novels, which have been adapted into the Netflix cartoon Dead End: Paranormal Park.

Q: Your website claims that you're an Animation Director, Comic-Book Creator and TV Writer. Which of these do you enjoy the most?

A: I love writing for TV but getting that kinda work is much harder. I wish I could do it more but I suppose by default comic-book creating is where I feel most at home. It's how most of my stories begin.

Q: What inspired you to create the Deadendia series?

A: DeadEndia began as an animated short on the Cartoon Hangover YouTube channel and while I always hoped it would go to series, it really did begin as a pretty self contained thing. But I just kept thinking about it and thinking about it and somehow everything I wanted to do with a comic book (supernatural stuff, queer representation, time travel, magic, teen drama) all felt like it had a place in this series. I really came up with DeadEndia as I went along, slowly expanding what was possible with this world with every page. I was inspired a lot by how free and anarchic psychedelic horror movies of the 70s and 80s were - stuff like House and Suspiria. So I felt very encouraged to let my imagination run wild.

Q: Do you see yourself in Norma, Barney, or any of the other characters in the series?

A: When I created the series, Barney was definitely who I saw myself more in. But I think Barney is who I wanted to be, and Norma what I really was. I wanted Norma to be relatable and at the time I hadn't received my autism diagnosis yet. Looking back, it's really obvious that that was the problems I was writing about through Norma. I really, really relate to her the most. But there's part of me in all the characters.

Q: The Deadendia series tackles a lot of sensitive issues, from sexuality to autism; is there anything that inspired you in real life to tackle these issues?

A: For all the demons and ghosts and stuff, DeadEndia is still meant to be set in the real world. And it's bizarre to not include real people in a real world setting. There's a lot of people who think the inclusion of a gay or trans person, or a person of color, is someone "forced diversity", as if there needs to be some story justification for that. But if you took any random street on Earth and made a show about all the people walking down it and you DIDN'T include those kinds of people, THAT would be forced. So it never really crossed my mind to include the kinds of people I hang out with in my stories. That's just how I see the world. And people come with baggage and it feels correct to write about it.

Q: What was it like adapting your books into the Netflix show Dead End: Paranormal Park?

A: Honestly, it was a blast. I feel so lucky. Truthfully, every day I feel lucky. How many people get this opportunity? The main thing I wanted to do with the show was allow it to be a collaborative experience. Making a comic book can be very solitary, so I was very excited to make Dead End with a team of writers and artists way more talented than myself. I really let them lead the way, only occasionally looking back to the books as a map if we got lost. I've written some things that if they were turned into movies or shows, I'd want a really faithful adaptation but for DeadEndia, it was already so anarchic, I encouraged us to not treat it with reverence.

Thank you to Hamish Steele! If you’re a fan of mystery and monsters, and want to support creative writers like Steele, check out the Deadendia books at the Winter Park Library and/or watch Dead End: Paranormal Park on Netflix.