When debut comic book writer Chanan Beizer saw that ScreenCraft had opened the door for a graphic novel competition in 2018, he was all in, having already cut his teeth with applications for their screenplay contests. With judges putting keen eyes to over 1,200 entries, Beizer won top spot in the graphic novel category for The Golem of Venice Beach, which comes with the honor of the title as well as consultation from the ScreenCraft team and the opportunity to have his material circulated and developed. Beizner had no connections within the comic book industry, but joining a Facebook group called “Connecting Comic Book Writers With Artists” led him to Eisner Award-winning editor. Now the 152-epic comes to Kickstarter through Clover Press, boasting artists Michael Allred, Stephen R. Bissette, Jae Lee, Nick Pitarra, and Paul Pope, letterer Clem Robins, rising star artist Vanessa Cardinali, and featuring a stunning wraparound cover by Bill Sienkiewicz.
“In The Golem of Venice Beach, Adam is a Golem, a creature of vengeance and destruction, of violence and death. He was created 400 years ago, a world away in Eastern Europe, but today he lives in Southern California. Adam spends his days adrift on the sunny boardwalks of Venice Beach, pining for release from his lonely existence. His only hope is the clueless Jake Loeb, the sole remaining heir of the Golem’s creator. But when Jake becomes involved with a mysterious tattooed woman and a drug-dealing death worship cult, things get complicated and dangerous for Adam. Golems are not meant to walk the Earth forever. Can Adam make a difference? Can he find peace in the California sun? And can a monster have a soul?”
What was the inspiration for this story?
I love setting characters within atypical environments. I was living in Venice Beach when I first came up with the idea so I naturally placed my main character there. I was influenced by comics like Sin City and Concrete and figured what’s more incongruous than a 400-year-old berserker creature made of stone living in sunny SoCal?
You’ve come a long way since the ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition of 2018. How has your story, characters, and your approach to both evolved over the past few years? What have you learned about the writing process along the way?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is to be open to making changes to both the script and the dialogue to better match the art. I’ve had to reverse engineer a few story moments but the result is always better.
I’ve very much enjoyed the way Venice Beach has become an integral character in the story. It’s one thing to describe it in a paragraph, quite a different matter to see it come alive in images. I love the way that the book’s main artist, Vanessa Cardinali, has captured the flavor of this very unique neighborhood. Vanessa has such a wonderful sense of color that really lends itself to Venice Beach.
There are so many highlights, including a wonderful, whimsical map by Michael Allred and a picture-perfect beach day by Paul Pope where Venice magically comes to life before your eyes.
How does it feel to be working with so many acclaimed artists and seeing them bring your work to life?
It’s beyond satisfying. As a kid, what drew me to comics was the art. I later learned to appreciate the stories but that first impression was what I saw with my own two eyes. And the best part is that not only are my words being interpreted by legends but also by rising newcomers. How can I ask for more than the one and only Bill Sienkiewicz creating the cover for my book and the origin story as well? I can’t think of anything better.
The golem is an important element of Jewish folklore. Were these legends and stories part of your own childhood? Will we see such connections within the story?
Absolutely. I’m an ex-Yeshiva “bachur” (that’s Yiddish for boy). I was always surrounded by Jewish stories in school and comic books at home. So, I was naturally drawn to a Jewish mythological creature such as the Golem, whose legend can be traced to an actual place and time — 16th century Prague. I felt a need to incorporate the “real” legend of the Golem into my own. I also had to bridge the gap between 1580 and today and I wanted to add a bit of my family’s experience of escaping the horrors of World War II. Hopefully, the entire tapestry weaves itself into a complete and satisfying story.
There are definite connections in the book to Jewish traditions. I’ve incorporated both the prayers and customs in which I was raised and I even snuck in a few “Easter eggs”.
Click here to learn more about The Golem of Venice Beach and everything the new Kickstarter has to offer, and check out this phantasmagoria by Stephen R. Bissette (Saga of the Swamp Thing) which represents the artist’s first interior comic book art in more than two decades.
