Behind the Book: The Cosmic Adventures of Astrid and Stella: Comet Together!
Chapter 2: What on Earth?!
The Cosmic Adventures of Astrid and Stella: Comet Together! is the fourth book in our graphic novel series. Here’s a conversation between Eunice and I about making the second chapter, What on Earth?!
Sabrina: Chapter Two is inspired by AI. With it being in the headlines all the time, I wanted to explore the controversy and questions around AI in a kid-friendly way.
Eunice: Robots!
Sabrina: Yes! First, a lot of the Astrid and Stella stories start with a teaser, kind of like an SNL cold open, that humorously sets up the theme of the story. In the opening to this chapter, Stella is writing her own book “Stella’s Reviews of Everything,” inspired by one of my favorite authors, John Green. I had fun researching actual funny reviews to inspire her reviews.
Eunice: It reminded me of funny restaurant reviews our family encountered on a road trip in France. They were so preposterous, like “This restaurant is a disgrace to French cooking! The ham was touching the cheese!”
Sabrina: Ha! The reviews also give Stella a chance to poke at Astrid for the sounds she makes when she eats star chips. This is totally something I would have done as a kid, because the sound of you chewing totally drove me crazy.
Eunice: I remember how once you told me that the sound of my breathing was annoying you. And I was like, well I have to BREATHE!!!
Sabrina: Fair point.
Sabrina: The story’s catalyst is when Stella reads a headline from Earth about how robots are evil. They both freak out because Bobo, their trusty sidekick, is a robot. What if he’s evil, too!?
Eunice: Gasp!
Sabrina: Bobo, in his infinite wisdom, reassures them that not all robots are evil. To prove his point, he takes them to visit three planets where robots play very different roles, kind of like Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol. In the first planet, Chill-la-la, everyone is a little too chill –- they’ve given all their creativity away to AI.
Eunice: I loved drawing all the art studios like the Ear Worm Music Studio and the little Writer’s Den that is all woodland-y!
Sabrina: Those are the best!
Sabrina: They encounter with Cheetah Pawlo, a once-famed artist who no longer makes her own paintings.
Eunice: I loved drawing Cheetah Pawlo. Every one of her poses is based on an actual Frida Kahlo painting. She has a fabulous embroidered robe, and a macrame plant holder. Amy (the designer who did the coloring), almost killed me because of all the detail in these spreads.
Sabrina: So good! Next, Bobo takes them to Fracas, a planet where they meet their old nemesis, Evil Screenius, who has decided to weaponize AI to stage giant gladiator-style bot battles.
Eunice: I loved drawing all these bots!
Sabrina: And I loved the ice cream bot battle scene, especially the writing the puns!
Sabrina: They decide to get out of there on emergency jet packs – which Bobo has packed into Emergency Gadget Hatches.
Eunice: I need one of those.
Sabrina: Finally, Bobo takes them to his formative home planet of Jolly-X, where friendly robots have an “at-your-service” mindset — which has been one of Bobo’s tag lines since the start of the series.
Sabrina: They get to meet Bobo’s dad Nobo, a wise and kindly robot loosely inspired by Sam Obisanya's dad on Ted Lasso. I love how you designed Nobo. His beard looks like upside-down soft serve!
Eunice: That’s pretty much what inspired it! Plus a bouffant-y hair-do!
Sabrina: Nobo, in his wisdom, shares that robots with an “at-your-service” mindset can help make the universe a friendlier place. That’s pretty much what I believe — any technology can be used for good or evil — and that we can choose to have a positive attitude, intention and impact. In real life, of course, it’s way more complicated, but I figured this was a good place to leave young readers, for now.
Eunice: Hear hear!
Sabrina: In our next post, we’ll go behind-the-book of Chapter 3: Time Travel Tiger!