Celebrated last year as a Haitian comic book creator to watch for, Dorphise Jean brings more pride to her heritage with Spirit’s Destiny, a comic featuring a powerful Haitian superhero. Currently on Kickstarter, to order to turn the 2016 first issue into an ongoing series, Spirit’s Destiny now boasts an all female team under Short Fuse Media Group. Joined by artist Julie Anderson and editor Lashawn Colvin, Jean tells the story of a young woman who discovers powers after an accident. The first issue revealed hints about where those abilities may have come from. An ongoing series will tell us just what these powers mean for Destiny’s future.
Where did the idea for this series come from? How long has it been in development and how has the story evolved since those initial ideas started to take shape?
This idea came about a day going to the comic book store with my son, where I was curious, looking for Haitian female superheroes, but he didn’t carry any. Such a slap in the face knowing that there’s no book that represents you and your culture. So from that moment, I decided to create a Haitian female superhero.
Tell us a bit about the character and costume design choices.
Destiny is a rebellious Haitian teenager who has my persona. She is the reflection of myself who is very witty and compassionate. She tends to do things without thinking. So for every action there’s a consequence in which she learns quickly. As for the costume design they were inspired by Raven from Teen Titans and Rogue. I have a huge thing for Goth attire and that really helped with the concept.
The first issue was produced in 2016, where it took me eight months to produce this book. Issue 2 took approximately six months since the artist did everything for the book. Her character development has matured from each issue. It’s basically showing growth from her rebellious persona to a much-elevated individual.
What makes Short Fuse Media the right place to tell Destiny’s story?
Well, I got to work with an editor who pushed me to be a better creator, helped me understand the process creating comics and working as a team.
What have you learned since publishing the first issue?
I have learned to respect and take time on the process. Don’t skip any steps, make sure you are only to reach perfection with your product. Make sure you budget and create an awareness.
Congratulations on funding within six days! How did it make you feel to wake up to that news, and going forward as you look toward stretch goals?
I was very shocked by the amount of people who supported my project. All the creators from Short Fuse really pushed me with their promo and helped me calm down with my emotions. I am so grateful and hope for many more success. The stretch goals were announced by Short Fuse and hopefully we can knock out all of them.
