Saturday, July 17, 2010

POP FICTION: Justin Bieber gets his own comic book


One creative Canadian moneymaker is about to feature another. And how:
Justin Bieber, the Ontario-born pop star, is getting his own comic book -- courtesy of the Vancouver-based publisher Bluewater Productions.
"Fame: Justin Bieber" will be a 32-page bio-comic tracking the pop idol's rise from YouTube discovery to global phenomenon. (Bieber just passed Lady Gaga as his "Baby" became the most-watched video ever on YouTube.) The comic book is due out in October.
"His career so far is so unique because of YouTube and Facebook," Bluewater honcho Darren G. Davis tells Comic Riffs. "I was posting on Facebook about the comic book and Bieber has more fan sites than anyone and most have over 5,000 people in them. Technology is changing the way we create our idols."
Specializing in biographical nonfiction comics, Bluewater has multiple series, including "Political Power" and "Female Force." The "Fame" series has featured Robert Pattinson, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga.
"The 'Fame' series is different from the biography comics that we do," Davis tells 'Riffs. "They are geared towards the tween market. A lot of the fans of Robert Pattinson only view him as Edward and in the comic-book version we show him more than his characters. There are more to these people than what we see on screen.
"As for Justin Bieber, is Bluewater going to hit all the teen heartthrobs? Probably not," continues Davis, who notes that he read Tiger Beat and Bop as a kid before graduating to People magazine and OK!. "Our main focus is to hit those who have different stories. We will also be doing subjects like David Beckham, 50 Cent and Angelina Jolie.
"Nonfiction comics have been around since the 40's -- we are just the next generation of them."
And what about Bieber's trademark comb-forward hairstyle? Did that prove a challenge for the Bluewater illustrator?.
"The artist," Davis says, "got his hair down after several attempts!"

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