Return to Victory Point.

A few thoughts on my last book, before we get stuck into the new one.

Hello!

Have you missed me? Probably not, but I’ve been pretty busy with one thing and another and I even took a break in Edinburgh for a week, which was much-needed. I really didn’t do much work, but there was a fair amount of wandering and coffee drinking in the very unexpected sunshine. You’ve got to take these opportunities as they present themselves, and I was also looking after a very excitable cat, but I’ll save that for my sitcom script.

Fear not though, I’m back manning the kiosk, and here to tell you what’s been happening. Mostly I’ve been finishing off my upcoming book, The Hard Switch (the last 10%, is 90% of the work, or whatever they say), which I keep threatening to tell you more about, but first I thought I might get some closure on the last one; Victory Point.

Victory Point.

In the summer of 2020 (do you remember it?) my book Victory Point was published by Avery Hill. I don’t need to tell you what a mad time this was, and it certainly wasn’t the world I had intended to release it into, but in a strange way, its thematic combination of life reflection and the escapist nature of the sun-drenched coastal locations, seemed to strike a chord with people. But whatever the reasons, I am eternally grateful to everyone who took a chance on it and hopefully enjoyed it too.

For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, here are a few pages from the book, and the blurb from the back, to give you a slightly better idea.

On a summer’s day, Ellen returns to the coastal town she grew up in; the picturesque, yet architecturally strange, Victory Point.

Revisiting old haunts and people from her past, she feels increasingly disconnected from the life which she originated. Tired from the constant struggle of trying to forge her own path, Ellen searches for some comfort in her history that might just give her the strength to move forward.

Victory Point quietly explores the ideas of home, legacy and the simple question of how we choose to live.

People said some very nice things too…

‘This impressive yet unpretentious comic boasts both a cool look and sincere heart.’ - Publisher’s Weekly

‘Victory Point might be the most beautiful graphic novel of the year. Owen Pomery’s slim book about drifting lives, growing up and modernist architecture is full of hidden depths. And Pomery’s gorgeous clean-lined art deserves close attention.’ - The Herald Scotland

‘Victory Point is an imagined British coastal town, but under the pen of Owen D. Pomery, with his eye for architectural detail, it feels so real I had to google it just to be sure. Victory Point is so perfectly imagined, that it becomes a place you can truly escape to.’ - Caught By The River

Anyone who works in the medium will know that it’s a very long process, initial thoughts meandering and intersecting with old or new ideas along the way. I had the first glimmer while sat gazing out to sea on a beach in Corsica, several years back. I wrote the first draft script while staying in Montreal a couple of years later. And made the first abortive drawings upon my return.

I was working on another book, and Victory Point coasted on down the river, waiting for my artwork and writing to catch up with the idea. Of course, it will never be perfect, and it’s a miracle that anything ever gets made at all, but at a certain point you just have to make a clumsy leap. As such, Victory Point was a very important project for me, as it combined my previous comics endeavours with the emerging aesthetic sensibilities appearing in my illustration.

The story was also something new to me too, something quieter and more subtle than what I’d attempted before. And although I generally recoil form the inevitable, ‘Is it autobiographical?’ question, I do think it’s probably my most personal work to date. I grew up in a small town countryside community and I have such fondness for it, but it’s a life that’s very different to the one lead now, so the book is partly my attempt to reconcile those feelings. In reality, I think a lot of people feel a bit split most of the time, and I didn’t want to frame the narrative as this massive, seismic choice, but more of the everyday uncertainty, that the path you’re currently wandering down may not be the right one.

Victory Point cover, with an older version, when I wasn't ready.

So, here we are, three years since it was released out into the world.  At the time I didn’t have a physical launch (for obvious reasons) and it all felt rather abstract, but I am so grateful to those that shared it, messaged me, or recommended it to others in the years since. It’s not always a given that you’ll still like a piece of work that you do, but I’m happy to say that I’m still proud of Victory Point, for all the reasons I’ve covered. I still think about the main character, Ellen, and what she’s up to, and the lessons I learned about writing and drawing, which will hopefully be carried forward into whatever comes next.

Avery Hill Discount Code!

If you want to know what I’ve just rambling on about, and fancied picking up a copy (or grabbing one for a friend), the good people at Avery Hill Publishing are allowing me to give the readers of this newsletter 25% off with a special offer code below. Go forth HERE!

code: ODPAHP25

They can’t ship everywhere unfortunately, but have a check, and if not, you should be able to order it at your local bookstore, or preferred online retailer.

The Hard Switch is coming…

My new book, The Hard Switch, will be coming out in October, BUT it will be going up on Kickstarter very shortly, so we can do a whole set of extras that will be exclusive to the campaign.

More on this soon, but for now, put it in your digital diary and jump aboard HERE.

Okay, that will do us, I think. Hope it’s as nice and sunny with you as it is here, and if not, you should drop by. Not only is the weather nice, but I’m about to put the coffee on, and you’re more than welcome to lean a while.

Owen D. Pomery