Digital Gonzo 159: The Making of The Cartographer’s Handbook [Part 1]
I would say listen to the audio drama first, but I have a feeling that if more people listen to this enthusiastic and in-depth character discussion in the traditional Gonzo round-table style then The Cartographer’s Handbook will inevitably get a lot more talkative fans. So my advice is listen to this, spoilers and all, until you are truly tantalized, and champing at the bit to get stuck in to the audio drama itself.
Honestly and seriously folks this book series is incredibly important and something of a milestone achievement in my life. In these first few weeks and months of its existence, how it reaches the rest of the world depends entirely on you. Your word of mouth, your Amazon reviews. I’m basing this campaign on trust.
Joining me in the discussion are Laureta Sela: voice of Barbara Gordon in The Killing Joke and in this production, Maggie Strother, Carmen Santos and Captain Annie Oakley. Matt Wardle, voice of Doctor Julius Kaufman and Sargeant Bo Travis. Maureen Foley, the voice of Tabitha Chorley. Spencer Leeb, the voice of Lawton Sadler and Samuel Tudor. Sharon Shaw, the voice of Katherine Holloway and Harriet Blaine as well as the book’s editor. And of course there’s myself, the voice of Thomas W. Arligton, General of the armies Nathaniel Curtis, President Ulysses S. Grant, the book’s writer and the audio producer and editor.
In this episode we look at the first nine characters in the book, in chronological order. Arlington we’ll be keeping for the very end of the second part, since his is the most deep and complex character. This one gets pretty heavy too with thorny cultural, prejudicial gender and racial issues confronted. You can obtain the audio drama by going to Gonzo Planet and downloading the MP3 zipped folder. Once again, payment via donations gratefully appreciated.
For those unfamiliar with this, here’s a quick synopsis since we don’t introduce it for the first time in the show: Ostensibly written by Thomas W. Arlington, director of the newly formed National Intelligence Agency, this book is given to scouts of the Reunified States Military, setting out to travel an America beset since 1872 by a lethal new plague. The infected regress to an aggressive, feral state and it is up to what remains of a shattered government, operating out of the reclaimed Washington DC, to re-establish contact and form a total army of the people, if they are to stand a chance of retaking their land. This is the introduction to an ongoing series named New Century.
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December 11, 2013
I’m not sure if this applies to everyone, but when I heard the bit about ants and grasshoppers, I just thought of pixar’s a bugs life. Seriously though, I found this audio drama very enjoyable. I congratulate all that were involved and look forward to the rest on new century.
December 11, 2013
A Bug’s Life is based on two things, one is the fable of the ant and the grasshopper by Aesop (which Katherine was referencing), the other is The Three Amigos. So glad you liked it
December 13, 2013
When I was interpreting this script, I was shocked that something like this was going to be in the book. I almost dropped out of the project, not because of the N word (Which I never say in real life, only when a script warrants it), but because of the scene in general. I started to think to myself however, this character isn’t the one committing these awful crimes, the adults around him where. When I was voicing this character, I didn’t want him to sound like a stock, obligatory “Racism is bad” character. If I was going to voice this character, he would reflect how I first read this scene. I tried to mix in a pitch of Shock, Awe, Anger, Frustration, Confusion and sadness, and I think it worked out really well in the end.
Thank you Mr. Shaw for having me participate in this project, and if you need anymore voice work, or hell another voice on one of your podcast’s, I am always available.
Thank you so very much.