Pawns of Fate!
(Why and my influences, sort of. This is a rambling thing, so be warned. It's who I am. Note, this is the same explanation posted on edwardmystcreations.weebly.com)
So, this is my comic book. It started as an exercise to try and hone my art skills. I basically learned to draw from the original How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way with Stan Lee and Jon Buscema. I still love that book, and have since read dozens of similar and useful books. Obviously, my style is illustration. I do not try to mimic reality perfectly, as I feel my story-telling and art are better when I stay away from that.
Nuts and bolts. I pencil on art paper that is 9×12. I never get a full day to work on it, but have done as many as three pages a day. So 25 or so pages a month is doable, despite other obligations. Once penciled and shaded (I do minimum shading most of the time to save time), I scan each page into my computer and use art tools to turn it into a black and white page. I have found Clip Studio the best tool for adding words etc. It is simple, and intuitive, which are the key points for me. Color is something I will have to work through.
I also do not draw Manga style, although I love manga and certainly am not criticizing it. I simply cannot be quite as silly as they are. I was more heavily influenced by Japanese comics than American. This isn't because I don't like super heroes. No, it was the plots. Even as a kid I grew tired of the never ending soap opera of American super hero comics, and wanted a more complete and meaningful story, that had a clear beginning and end. I found it in things like Appleseed, Elfquest (Wendy Pini is amazing to me, the other artists who draw for them are great, but aren't Wendy), and later, Battle Angel: Alita (yes, I know that's the American name...).
I am not a fan of the modern Japanese 'fight' comics, in which the story simply revolves around a super fighter who seems to always be attacked by a yet more powerful opponent it then takes ten issues to defeat. I wanted a more believable story, I guess, and by believable I do not mean realistic like our own world, I mean the power levels and people are consistent. We all have a different setting for where we can suspend belief, and where we get broken out of the moment... Why isn't it enough that king Kong fights a T-rex? Why must he now fight THREE!!! while falling down a bottomless ravine??? Escalation of the danger does not always heighten tension, sometimes it turns it into comedy.
<Insert rant>
I forgot to mention, I have a Master's in History, so tend to focus my attention on the way everything in the world (even in a comic) influences everything else. Events happen because previous events happened, and people are people. One of my pet peeves with some American television and book series is when the main character(s) go through a tragedy every third episode. People do NOT continue on as themselves after their wife and children have been tortured and killed in front of them!!! Sheesh, I want to scream every-time I see a cliffhanger episode that involves something like this, then next season there's the “super detective” sitting in a coffee shop laughing. Really? And also, how many murders can happen in one small Maine town?!?!? (If you get this reference, I suspect we are near the same age)
<End rant>
Why fantasy? Well, I love fantasy. I'm one of those people who can quote Lord of the Rings and I do not mean the movies (which are entertaining and well done, but swerve from the books in key areas that really burn me up). I have played roleplaying games since the 80's, and fantasy was always my favorite. I like elves and dwarves and ogres. I like heroic knights. I can talk all about the Knights of the Round Table, even the ones that don't get into movies. I love the concept of mythical Greece (I love the reality too, my degree focused on Greece and Rome...)
More practical, I find it easier to draw fantasy than other genres. It's silly, but drawing a ridiculous suit of over done plate mail is simple, but ask me to draw a guy wearing a business suit... Same with cars, guns, spaceships etc. Give me a battle axe and a wagon pulled by an oliphaunticus!
Where did the story come from?
This story came from my first attempt to write a fantasy book, way back. I took my favorite elements and characters from a series of games I was the game master for. In the end the book was terrible, and a decade later the story got converted into this format. Fortunately, I went through school and gained some knowledge and experience in writing. (History major, remember? 5-7 page weekly book reviews, 100+ page papers, not to mention a graduate thesis...) I still have much to learn, but the outline of this comic is complete, and I slowly work towards its climax.
Does this mean I feel I have written a comic that avoids all of this? No. The truth is this is a learning and developing experience. How do I feel about it? Well, I wish I were better at; art, storytelling, humor, etc. Am I proud of what I have accomplished? Absolutely! I hope you enjoy it as well.
Edward Myst
(Why and my influences, sort of. This is a rambling thing, so be warned. It's who I am. Note, this is the same explanation posted on edwardmystcreations.weebly.com)
So, this is my comic book. It started as an exercise to try and hone my art skills. I basically learned to draw from the original How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way with Stan Lee and Jon Buscema. I still love that book, and have since read dozens of similar and useful books. Obviously, my style is illustration. I do not try to mimic reality perfectly, as I feel my story-telling and art are better when I stay away from that.
Nuts and bolts. I pencil on art paper that is 9×12. I never get a full day to work on it, but have done as many as three pages a day. So 25 or so pages a month is doable, despite other obligations. Once penciled and shaded (I do minimum shading most of the time to save time), I scan each page into my computer and use art tools to turn it into a black and white page. I have found Clip Studio the best tool for adding words etc. It is simple, and intuitive, which are the key points for me. Color is something I will have to work through.
I also do not draw Manga style, although I love manga and certainly am not criticizing it. I simply cannot be quite as silly as they are. I was more heavily influenced by Japanese comics than American. This isn't because I don't like super heroes. No, it was the plots. Even as a kid I grew tired of the never ending soap opera of American super hero comics, and wanted a more complete and meaningful story, that had a clear beginning and end. I found it in things like Appleseed, Elfquest (Wendy Pini is amazing to me, the other artists who draw for them are great, but aren't Wendy), and later, Battle Angel: Alita (yes, I know that's the American name...).
I am not a fan of the modern Japanese 'fight' comics, in which the story simply revolves around a super fighter who seems to always be attacked by a yet more powerful opponent it then takes ten issues to defeat. I wanted a more believable story, I guess, and by believable I do not mean realistic like our own world, I mean the power levels and people are consistent. We all have a different setting for where we can suspend belief, and where we get broken out of the moment... Why isn't it enough that king Kong fights a T-rex? Why must he now fight THREE!!! while falling down a bottomless ravine??? Escalation of the danger does not always heighten tension, sometimes it turns it into comedy.
<Insert rant>
I forgot to mention, I have a Master's in History, so tend to focus my attention on the way everything in the world (even in a comic) influences everything else. Events happen because previous events happened, and people are people. One of my pet peeves with some American television and book series is when the main character(s) go through a tragedy every third episode. People do NOT continue on as themselves after their wife and children have been tortured and killed in front of them!!! Sheesh, I want to scream every-time I see a cliffhanger episode that involves something like this, then next season there's the “super detective” sitting in a coffee shop laughing. Really? And also, how many murders can happen in one small Maine town?!?!? (If you get this reference, I suspect we are near the same age)
<End rant>
Why fantasy? Well, I love fantasy. I'm one of those people who can quote Lord of the Rings and I do not mean the movies (which are entertaining and well done, but swerve from the books in key areas that really burn me up). I have played roleplaying games since the 80's, and fantasy was always my favorite. I like elves and dwarves and ogres. I like heroic knights. I can talk all about the Knights of the Round Table, even the ones that don't get into movies. I love the concept of mythical Greece (I love the reality too, my degree focused on Greece and Rome...)
More practical, I find it easier to draw fantasy than other genres. It's silly, but drawing a ridiculous suit of over done plate mail is simple, but ask me to draw a guy wearing a business suit... Same with cars, guns, spaceships etc. Give me a battle axe and a wagon pulled by an oliphaunticus!
Where did the story come from?
This story came from my first attempt to write a fantasy book, way back. I took my favorite elements and characters from a series of games I was the game master for. In the end the book was terrible, and a decade later the story got converted into this format. Fortunately, I went through school and gained some knowledge and experience in writing. (History major, remember? 5-7 page weekly book reviews, 100+ page papers, not to mention a graduate thesis...) I still have much to learn, but the outline of this comic is complete, and I slowly work towards its climax.
Does this mean I feel I have written a comic that avoids all of this? No. The truth is this is a learning and developing experience. How do I feel about it? Well, I wish I were better at; art, storytelling, humor, etc. Am I proud of what I have accomplished? Absolutely! I hope you enjoy it as well.
Edward Myst