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Couple hopes to take graphic novel characters from page to screen
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Some people believe that coming out of the closet is the final chapter of the story, but that wasn’t the case for Mark Julien.
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The Kingston-based illustrator and author is currently working on Faith, the sequel to his first graphic novel, 2019’s Justin Case and the Closet Monster: Hope.
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Faith, as it’s titled, will also be autobiographical and picks up where the first one left off – with the main character finally acknowledging his true self.
“This new book is really about mental health and about the challenges that happen when you come out of the closet, because when you come out of the closet, that’s not the end of your struggle.
“And I think a lot of people talk about how wonderful it is to come out of the closet, but not how it is to deal with the consequences of not being yourself for so long, and what that actually does to you, and the trauma,” reflected Julien, who endured a great deal of bullying from schoolmates growing up.
His first book, Hope, was inspired by and written for his late father, who suffered from Alzheimer’s and never understood that his son had finally found happiness.
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He also “wanted to give a window to my family what it was like for me to live in the closet for so long,” he said.
In Hope, Justin and the other characters in the book have closet monsters who, in many ways, challenge their human counterparts to embrace themselves.
“I think thematically and metaphorically the monster is how I felt living in the closet all that time. I felt that I was persecuted. I felt that I couldn’t leave the closet because I was afraid of the consequences of telling my family and friends. I was really afraid that I was going to lose people,” Julien said, adding that he ultimately did because he wasn’t forthright with friends.
It took Julien, a freelance illustrator for 15 years, nine years to complete his first graphic novel. He has since published Becoming Abel, a companion book featuring two characters from the Justin Case series, and is determined his third book won’t take as long.
As he did in writing the first book, he’s learning as he goes, and not just in terms of the process of creating a graphic novel.
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“These books have been really helping me in accepting what happened to me, accepting the bullying, and realizing that I wouldn’t be the person I am now if it wasn’t for the trials and tribulations I went through as a kid,” he said.
Julien’s husband and creative partner, Stacy Kelly, said it took him a decade to reveal who he truly was.
“You never stop coming out. Coming out is a process, and it’s a journey. It’s not just a one-time magical thing we see in TV shows and movies,” he said. “I will say, however, there is liberation.”
In addition to editing Julien’s novels, Kelly has been spearheading their efforts to get Justin Case and the Closet Monster made into a TV series.
They first presented the idea at the “Script to Screen” pitch competition back in February at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival.
They didn’t win, but they did meet a few producers and were inspired to continue pursuing it.
“Animation is such a great medium. You can do a lot with it, right? For production companies, it’s a powerful message (and one) we need now. It’s about building understanding and empathy. It’s about caring for one another,” Kelly said.
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Part of the appeal, Kelly said, is it’s not just about the characters’ journeys, but also the closet monsters’ journeys.
“I think watching those parallel stories and their attempts to help their human charges at the same time deal with their own foibles, failures, worries, and concerns is a really powerful message,” Kelly continued. “And I love the world that Mark has built.”
Like the graphic novels, the TV series would address “very tough issues” through often-subtle humour, he said.
“We think it’s a nice entry point, you know, for a wide variety of audiences.”
To make it more palatable for general audiences, the TV series would be an adaptation of the graphic novels.
“What Mark very smartly did was add straight characters who are allies, who are avatars of the people who made a difference in our lives,” Kelly said.
“Because none of us go on the journey alone, and we had wonderful allies in our lives. And so that was an important addition.”
Those new characters came at the suggestion of Julien’s mother, who simply asked him if all the characters were gay.
“It made me realize that it wasn’t going to be as accessible to her as it would have been if there had been more straight characters,” her son said.
As the couple – who met at Queen’s University 25 years ago this August – continue to explore different avenues through which to pitch their TV show idea, Julien will continue working on his next book and Kelly at his day job.
Whatever the outcome, Kelly said, “it’s been a really fun journey for us as a couple.”
To learn more about Mark Julien and his graphic novels, go to markjulienillustration.com.
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