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VinceAndrews In reply to mutantcomix [2015-03-24 03:37:08 +0000 UTC]

thanks man! i'm really excited to be working on nature finally. up to now the whole comic has just been me pulling teeth

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mutantcomix In reply to VinceAndrews [2015-03-24 23:45:13 +0000 UTC]

I know the feeling...

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VinceAndrews In reply to Barbarian-J [2015-03-23 19:45:18 +0000 UTC]

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Barbarian-J In reply to VinceAndrews [2015-03-23 20:02:40 +0000 UTC]

Seriously. Killing off your heroes and continuing with fresh characters would have been the most original idea ever ...

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VinceAndrews In reply to Barbarian-J [2015-03-23 21:00:38 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, but I don't know if I'm a good enough writer to pull that off Plus you'd need some kind of bridge for the story like an artifact they're in possession of, or a mission they're doing, or something. Like UnLunDun by China Mieville (he doesn't kill the main character but it's similar) Or it would have to be a super random story like Aeon Flux (the show not the movie) that's all about flash and super cool imagery, otherwise you'd just piss off your audience..... Although now I am kind of wishing next Monday was April Fools Day, cuz I'd totally do a fake page of the ship just exploding on impact and say it's the end of the comic

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Barbarian-J In reply to VinceAndrews [2015-03-24 18:43:16 +0000 UTC]

But of course you are good enough as a writer, Vince! Come on, don't go all false modesty on me. You know it won't stick ...
I can see the gears turning just from the way you're expanding on it here. 
But hey, don't pay me too much attention. It would be crazy to toss away two perfectly good heroes for a little game of "I dare you".

Still, why can't we decide that April's Fools falls on March 30th this year, aye? ...

A tad more serious ... how far along in the new story are you already? Do you produce the pages week by week as you post them here or do you have a number of them "in store" already by now. 
I'm also wondering how you do the 'editing' for each page? I mean, do you make a mock-up in advance deciding which frames come where, so that you can each page on a joke or a cliffhanger (big or small)?
I'm working on an idea here and I'm struggling with this stuff. Would be grateful if you could shoot me a few answers in a PM or so ...  

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VinceAndrews In reply to Barbarian-J [2015-03-24 20:08:54 +0000 UTC]

Thanks a lot man I try to keep ahead, right now I've got five pages inked that aren't posted yet. Splash pages and covers really cut into my buffer so I'll be trying to push it and widen the gap back up in the next couple weeks. I did an interview with my buddy  mutantcomix.deviantart.com/on his website that has a lot of stuff about my process in the second half www.mutantcomix.com/2015/01/08… he's got some great stuff worth checking out too. If you have more questions feel free to hit me up, or PM me if you've got top secret stuff you'd like advice on, I'm always happy to give my two cents if it helps

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Barbarian-J In reply to VinceAndrews [2015-03-25 18:04:08 +0000 UTC]

Hey! I just read through that article. Good stuff. 
I have been implementing the idea of the "mini-comic" in about the same way as you describe it, so I suppose it IS the way to go. I found it worked well for the shorter stuff; I'm not sure how it'll turn out for a long story.
My idea is not a secret at all ... I wanted to do a comic adaptation of the movie 'The Lost Capone' with the characters of a Belgian comic series called 'Sammy'. It was popular in my youth -a long, long time ago- and actually got stopped because there was nobody to draw it anymore. The artist who invented the series just got too old, he found a successor, but he just had too much projects going on and had to let the series go after a few albums. I just LOVED that series and I would think it swell if I could continue it for at least one more album, even if it's not officially being picked up by the publisher. In that case I'd just use it as "portfolio" and everybody gets to read it for free. The satisfaction of accomplishing the album would be a major step for me.

Now very few people know but Belgium has a very big comic tradition and there's some very unique aspects about it. For one thing a comic album has 42 tot 60 pages and is printed on A4 paper size. I have put two "half pages" of Foxxy Cleopatra comics in my gallery; they are done in the traditional "Belgian" comic album style. Just to get an idea. So layout is a bit of a challenge ... 
I'm going to give that way of working with mini-albums a go and see what comes of it. I may indeed solicit your opinion sooner or later, Vince. Seeing what you do, I think your opinion matters ...

If you'd like to see some more on "Sammy", just google "Sammy Berck" ...
It's funny really ... we have lots of series that actually are about American events ... "Sammy" is a Prohibition time gangster epos, "Lucky Luke" is a cowboy series, we have "Soda" as a NY cop and even a American Civil War series with "the Blue Shirts" (Blauwbloezen/Tuniques blues). And that's not nearly everything yet ... those are just a few series I happen to like.

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VinceAndrews In reply to Barbarian-J [2015-03-26 14:04:11 +0000 UTC]

Cool, sounds like a fun idea. Even if you can only legally use it as a portfolio piece and give it away, it's still better to be working on comics if you want to make them. Comics take a completely different mindset than individual pictures, and because of that they're really good for showing you your strengths and weaknesses. I learn a ton with every comic I do.

Even though I'm American I actually know a decent bit about the Belgian/European comics scene. When I was a kid I was introduced to Tintin and Asterix way before I started reading American comics, and it's been a huge influence. Especially Herge and the whole Ligne Claire movement. Of course it's difficult to find English language versions of even some of the really iconic stuff. They've just recently started releasing the Valerian and Laureline series here, which I'm super excited about as a Sci-fi aficionado. And it's impossible to get a copy of Arzach or Airtight Garage here. Sammy looks very cool though, reminds me a lot of the Asterix style.

I'm not an expert at making comics yet, but I'm always happy to share what I have learned, so feel free to PM me if you want input or have questions.

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Barbarian-J In reply to VinceAndrews [2015-03-28 15:59:13 +0000 UTC]

You have talked me into it ...

I'm taking art classes right now purely for the sake of getting to know all the different media and materials and to shape up my techniques. I may be an amateur, but I'm taking that very serious ...
A few more weeks and then the second year will have finished already. I do think I learnt a ton, so I'm happy I made the decision to go back to school. 
There's no saying what will happen in year 3, though. I will have to chose between drawing and painting and I'm still not sure what I should be picking.

I'm pleasantly surprised with your knowledge on European comics ... ... I assume most people would know Tintin (but then not necessarily Hergé) but you mention a few series there that are a lot less known. They are pretty uniquely French too, by the way ... Asterix, Arzach & Airtight Garage, which we know under the series "Moebius" over here and Valerian and Laureline, which I know as "Ravian" ... all French.
And while they may be pretty good, there's nobody who -in my humble opinion- trumps our all-time Champion; André Franquin. Just google his work and you'll be able to tell why. Not a "Ligne Claire"; rather a "messy line stuffed with detail". Unfortunately, he's no longer with us for a pretty bit of time already. His series included Spirou, Pompom et Modeste, les Tifous, Marsupilami and last but not least my own personal favorite Gaston Lagaffe. If I could do what this guy did ... oh, man!

In the sci-fi corner you may want to check out Orbital, by Pellé and Runberg. I know for a fact that at least some titles are available in English and it comes heartily recommended as far as I'm concerned.

OK, I'll leave it at that. Of course I can rant on for centuries more about Belgian comics and I really don't want to make your ears and eyes bleed ...

I got to working on the mini-comic already in the meantime. Checking out if I can get the editing right. Hopefully, you'll be seeing some work posted here soon so you know you're not watching for nothing ... Thanks for that vote of confidence, by the way. 

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VinceAndrews In reply to Barbarian-J [2015-03-30 14:09:53 +0000 UTC]

there's always more to learn, i'm thinking about taking some classes soon myself. i've been wanting to add some more computer skills to my resume, some of these programs are pretty cool.

I have seen Franquin's work before somewhere, it's good stuff. Has a lot of energy. I think French comics are generally more well known because they've put a lot more work into translating and marketing. But I believe most of the artists I mentioned started their careers in the Belgian comics before going back to France to set up shop on their own. Orbital rings a bell I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the recommendation.

And good luck with the comic

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Barbarian-J In reply to VinceAndrews [2015-03-30 18:20:41 +0000 UTC]

I can't agree more. We're not such fantastic business men. Some guys pulled it off, though. I mean, you know that the Smurfs originate in Belgium too, right? ...
The French, now there's some entirely different attitude. If they can find a way to make money in life having fun and especially, not to have to do any real physical labor, they will seize the opportunity with all five hands.

I'll be in touch about the comic ... but that's likely going to be by PM.

Thanks and cheers! 

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VinceAndrews In reply to Barbarian-J [2015-03-30 22:58:44 +0000 UTC]

Did not know the smurfs were Belgian .... 

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Barbarian-J In reply to VinceAndrews [2015-03-31 16:17:29 +0000 UTC]

But they are! ...

Their Father was Pierre Culliford aka "Peyo"; born, raised and died in Brussels. 

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VinceAndrews In reply to MetalSnail [2015-03-23 19:43:46 +0000 UTC]

high praise coming from the master

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