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Tongman — Steps to Xanh
Published: 2014-04-14 07:45:23 +0000 UTC; Views: 2355; Favourites: 90; Downloads: 0
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Description
For legal reasons, the comic's previous title, "Rune" has now been renamed "Xanh". To which I've always had a hard time describing in writing how to pronounce this word, so find and ask the closest Vietnamese person to you. Translation: the color blue. :]The road in creating such an ambitious story like Xanh has been an awesome experience that continues to snowball. When my friends suggested using the material to create a portfolio, it was only a matter of time until it actualized! It's an understatement to say how extremely anxious I am to share such an epic remix of wu-xia and hip hop in a web-comic that I promise will make you wanna kung fu chop and/or kick the closest object in reach!
Follow me on Facebook www.facebook.com/xanhcomic for new content and updates!
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Comments: 18
Not sure how useful this will be, but, hearing it pronounced (I followed the link you posted somewhere else), I would have written Xanh phonetically (using English conventions) as Sahng or Shahng; most English speakers probably pronounce it something like Zann, though. That's, admittedly, how I read it at first.
Anyway, in case you don't feel spammed enough by me, I am looking forward to seeing where this snowball takes you.
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This has been an ongoing internal debate ever since I decided on the new name (used to be Rune). Thanks for your thoughts on the topic because some friends have expressed the same, and I dismissively thought I would have the patience to correct the world on its pronunciation. But I've learned I apparently can't tell the future, so this helps me with food for thought on the debate!
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You're welcome; in the case they might be helpful, I have a few more:
Going on how it looks, "Xanh" is a distinctive word that is easy to remember, and far more original than "Rune" (even if you made the change, I believe, to avoid trademark or copyright infringement). It also has a sort of science fiction or science fantasy sort of feel to it, whereas the word rune conjures, to me, images of high fantasy instead. I think it would be most to your advantage to keep the name as it is, but let people say it however they like; if the comic were ever made into something animated, it probably wouldn't be too hard to make sure the voiceactors knew how to pronounce it.
If you really dislike the idea of people calling the character (and the work) something that sounds like Zann, you could change the spelling, but most things I could suggest — Shan, Xian, Xiang, Shong, Xiong, &c. — all probably look too Chinese. Doing that now would probably also confuse the followers you already have. There's also the possibility of changing the name entirely, but I doubt you would want to do that (it can be difficult to get used to — I speak from experience on this point).
I'm also reminded of something I saw on a bag of corn chips once:
www.salsaxochitl.com/xochitl.p…
The brand has a difficult pronunciation, so, rather than having people say "Sew Cheetle", they simply told you how to say it on the bag. I'm not necessarily suggesting you do this with your own logo necessarily (unless you can make it look really good — and you might be able to), but doing something like that somewhere people who read the finished work are likely to see it might help get the correct pronunciation across.
This has been a wall of text; thank you, and goodnight.
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Hahaa all good! Since Manga had been such a big influence on me, I was also considering adding the pronunciations of the characters' names in an introduction section with each chapter or an about section of the website for the web comic itself. All definitely worth considering!
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That's a pretty good idea; it could also be a way for you to include interesting little details about the characters that might not otherwise make it into the comic itself. I admit I have no idea how to pronounce most of the names, and my mental manglings would probably make you recoil in horror.
Does the comic already have a site, or is that something for the future?
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I hope that future isn't too far off, though I understand not starting until you're really ready.
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Dope page layout, Tong. Everything about this piece visually moves your eye around the piece. The design work looks really dope too. Interested to see how this works out as a comic when it comes out. Keep up the fresh designs, homie.
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Peace, Amir. Thanks for diggin the work. I look forward to everyone's response when the time comes!
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No problem, Tong. Looking forward to seeing this comic come to life. When the first actual volume or chapter releases, let a brotha know lol.
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Really stoked to see where this takes you man!
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Man that must feel amazing when you have enough work and experience to have your talent match your ambitions. I aim to get there in time, but for now, I still got some work ahead of me. excellent work man. keep on going strong.
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The beauty behind that is that the work and experience propel each other. It becomes cyclical, which is why it's so important to separate doing what you love from making money. I truly believe doing what you love can eventually lead to a profitable endeavor. Thanks so much for your kind words and support. Keep up the sickness!!!
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