Meet Alina Chau, creator of Marshmallow & Jordan!
What initially drew you to comics?
Growing up, I loved reading comics. I am from Hong Kong, so we had Japanese manga, European comics, and popular American comics. I always looked forward to Sunday newspaper comic strips, like Calvin and Hobbes and Peanuts. At the end of the school year, my friends and I would rush to the cinema to catch the latest Hayao Miyazaki movies and then go to the manga stores to look for the newest summer manga series. Non-fiction manga was also a gateway for me to learn about subject matters, especially history—like the biography of Marie Curie! I also read manga versions of classic works of literature such as The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and more. Comics taught me to appreciate classic literature at a very young age, around 5 or 6 years old.
I am more of a visual person than a language person. I feel more comfortable expressing myself visually, but comics helped me become a better reader and writer. When I grew up, I became an animator. To me, animation and comics are very similar mediums. Both share dynamic and complex visual languages that can express a wide range of ideas and narratives. They are a form of language that is approachable and impactful at the same time.
What was your inspiration behind Marshmallow & Jordan?
When I was little, my grandma loved making us delicious Indonesian cuisine. During special occasions, she would dress in sarongs with intricate designs. I was always fascinated by the stories of her life in Indonesia. When I was a child, I imagined that Indonesia was a tropical paradise filled with rich and colorful textures, and when I visited as an adult, it felt like home, though I’d never lived there. I always wanted to write a story about this magical place.
Marshmallow & Jordan is a bit of an homage to My Neighbor Totoro. When I first watched Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro, I was about the same age as Satsuki in the film. At the time, I didn’t appreciate the movie as I do now. Minus the magical creatures, the girls’ adventures felt similar to my summers, running around in the neighborhood and hanging out with friends. But as I got older, I grew to fully appreciate the story, which is about what’s most important to a child: family, friends, hope, and joy.
Children from different countries, cultures, and generations have different lifestyles, languages, and beliefs. Still, there are vital commonalities in the way many children interact with each other and with the world around them with a boundless carefree spirit, curiosity, and the ability to see the world with hope, and to love without prejudice.
I want to tell a story celebrating the joy of childhood and to set the story in a location that is familiar to me, but will be new for most American readers. We may be different on the outside, but deep down, we all want to have a bestie who will laugh and cry with us; have our back when we get into trouble; forgive our mistakes; share our secrets with; and love us unconditionally even when we are not perfect.
What scene or panel sequence did you most enjoy drawing?
One thing extra special about this book is that the relationships and character personalities in the book are drawn from close friends and families in my life. I painted a considerable portion of this book during the pandemic shut down when I was far away from my family in Hong Kong and could not see my friends. Making this book became a joy and comfort. It was and still is, a way to connect with loved ones because the world feels chaotic and unfamiliar.
But if I have to choose, the scenes with Nenek are my favorite. Nenek is very much a direct copy of my grandma, who passed away many years ago. When I was little, I was very close with my grandma. Like Jordan’s Nenek, she always made delicious snacks and asked me about my day at school. I am pretty sure my grandma would agree to keep a stray elephant in the house if she could, like Nenek. She loved animals and was good with art and crafts. When I wrote Nenek’s dialogue, I could hear my grandma’s voice in my head. It brought back many fond memories and made me happy.
About the Book
Jordan’s days as star player for her school’s basketball team ended when an accident left her paralyzed from the waist down. Now, she’s still the team captain, but her competition days seem to be behind her… until an encounter with a mysterious elephant, who she names Marshmallow, helps Jordan discover a brand new sport.
Will water polo be the way for Jordan to continue her athletic dreams—or will it just come between Jordan and her best friends on the basketball team? And with the big tournament right around the corner, what secret is Marshmallow hiding?
