In a follow up to last week’s post, Coming Out Of My Shell, which, yes, also acted as a nod to my favourite Mutant Ninja brothers’…unique…stage show from the ‘90s — and not some incredibly specific TMNT fanfiction — I’m happy to share the cover that will accompany Shell upon its release:
The cover was designed by the wonderfully talented Mercy Eade.
Mercy was great to collaborate with for this project, and her skills really brought MiMi to life. She skilfully decoded my brief and, despite the confusion I must have caused her in all my excitement, created something that beautifully captures MiMi’s journey.
The way she is caught in a seemingly controlled fall, cocooned within a light shell of her own making as she hurtles towards the unknown…it’s a perfect encapsulation of where MiMi is at that point in her life — a journey I’d love for you to experience when the story is available.
Mercy was kind enough to share her thoughts on this project, divulging her methods and choices behind the direction she took in designing MiMi, her fall, and that captivating colour scheme:
“She Becomes Strong, Bright, Unmissable.”
“As an illustrator, I love designing interesting characters and found myself strongly connecting with Neon. I really wanted to play up the namesake, so I adopted a vibrant neon colour scheme using the eye-catching streak in her hair as initial inspiration. It was fun to work with this alter ego to MiMi in mind.
In contrast, MiMi is anything but vibrant. She has a pretty insecure opinion of herself. She’s a regular student who struggles with homework and her relationship with her mum, occasionally allowing herself to blend into the background. But as Neon she becomes strong, bright, unmissable.
It was important for me to show Neon as a force to be reckoned with. Utilising bright colours, I wanted to explore her shell as a means of protection whilst also demonstrating her internal vulnerability. To depict her falling shows how she isn’t fully in control of her powers or herself when it comes to her choices, but she isn’t scared to hit the ground running!
I took a lot of influence from the X-Men and referenced numerous sci-fi costume designs, giving her an almost futuristic outfit with a slight steampunk feel.
When I think of MiMi as a character, I feel like she would want Neon to have a punk/grunge vibe to showcase the rebellious side that exists within her — that she can be a force to be reckoned with! Neon cannot and will not be ignored.”
If you’d like to see more of Mercy’s work (you should), be sure to check out her Instagram @mercy_ycrem. There’s a gorgeous version of the Shell cover, sans title and author name you can check out. She also calls me a “talented writer.”
*adopts Goofy voice* Gaawwwrsh. *drops Goofy voice*
And, if you’re looking forward to finally reading Shell, be sure to subscribe to the blog and follow me @stevetendo on Twitter. That way as soon as it goes up, you’ll know about it! If you're a fan of superheroes, Netflix's Marvel offerings, comic books and pop culture, then it could be perfect for you. As I said in my previous blog: there's a place in this world for superhero fiction.
And for the one or two of you that didn’t get the reference at the start (yeah, I saw your puzzled expression) enjoy:
Steve R
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