Have any of you been following this? It's like an online mainstream comic book contest, if you win you get a trip to SDCC and some published gigs with major publishers.
My boyfriend Larry Chy has made it as a finalist, and now we're at round 3. So far there's been a lot of dissing going on for his storytelling style, which is heavily manga-influenced storytelling. Most of the people at comic book resources' forums seem to be mainstream superhero comic fans. So it's a little unbalanced and Larry needs all the help he can get!
You have to register to be able to vote, so it's a bit of a pain. But anyone whodoes... I'll be so happy T.T.... even tho most of you dont know me hehe
Anyway, you can vote here and you can check out all the entries here~
you're right, most of it was in the earlier rounds, but I still can't help but feel they are critiqueing things that are accepted in asian comics. Maybe it is just my love lorn biased for my boyfriend's work! Well, for example, the crit that the pages look unfinished somewhat bothers me. Many of the pieces aren't inked at all, and to say that his pages look like storyboards that aren't meant to be seen by the public bothers me too. A lot of asian comics tend to have a light and airy feeling, without a lot of spotted blacks and heavy detail. I feel like what they're commenting on is that, but that is just the way Larry draws. Or the use of speed lines ("akira lines" one editor called it) that overwhelm the background. In general, it just seems like they are unfamiliar with some of the storytelling techniques he's using and the reasons for his stylistic choices. He's not doing things the established American way, and it seems either people love it, hate it, or are confused.
But maybe I am paranoid? Either way, I think I'm taking this contest too seriously haha I should probably stay away from it next round if he makes it through!
Well, for example, the crit that the pages look unfinished somewhat bothers me. Many of the pieces aren't inked at all, and to say that his pages look like storyboards that aren't meant to be seen by the public bothers me too. A lot of asian comics tend to have a light and airy feeling, without a lot of spotted blacks and heavy detail. I feel like what they're commenting on is that, but that is just the way Larry draws.
There's always the possibility that his style just isn't that well-suited to the subject matter. :?
I don't think the criticism that "it looks unfinished" is really wrongheaded. The third page really highlights it: he doesn't seem to be putting that much effort into the backgrounds. The last two panels look like he didn't finish inking. The "hallucination" panel doesn't really look distorted, it looks more like everything is on fire.
I'm surprised that just using speed lines like that got criticised, since it seems to be something that superhero comics are gradually adopting. But there are points where he doesn't use them well: in the first panel on the first page, it makes the bees seem to be coming from the wrong direction--if they lined up with the bees, their direction would be more obvious; also, in the third panel on the second page, he seems to be trying to "cheat" by adding dynamic speed-lines to a really static pose--they also tend to hide the dart, which obscures what's going on in the story.
So yeah, some of it may be due to unfamiliarity with the visual language...but remember that when you're a professional, you have to speak your readers' language: the "you haven't read enough manga to know what's going on in that panel" defense doesn't work. Most of the criticism is legit, and ignored at his peril.
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Comic Book Idol 2
Have any of you been following this? It's like an online mainstream comic book contest, if you win you get a trip to SDCC and some published gigs with major publishers.
My boyfriend Larry Chy has made it as a finalist, and now we're at round 3. So far there's been a lot of dissing going on for his storytelling style, which is heavily manga-influenced storytelling. Most of the people at comic book resources' forums seem to be mainstream superhero comic fans. So it's a little unbalanced and Larry needs all the help he can get!
You have to register to be able to vote, so it's a bit of a pain. But anyone whodoes... I'll be so happy T.T.... even tho most of you dont know me hehe
Anyway, you can vote here and you can check out all the entries here~
Just did, after seeing your post on the Keenspace forums.---Al
Ooops. That was me. Forgot to sign in.---Al
haha~ thanks al. I'm such a post whore for this, huh? T.T this round is nail-bitingly close!
Re: Comic Book Idol 2
[quote:b35304cc7c="AmyGanter"]So far there's been a lot of dissing going on for his storytelling style, which is heavily manga-influenced storytelling.
I don't see any dissing going on in his round 3 thread. Maybe it happened earlier?
The only thing some of the judges seem to be off-base about is the final panel, with the background getting all swirly behind GL. That's definitely a manga-ism, and isn't a technique used in American comics (for the most part), so I can understand why they haven't grasped it. Maybe if the background looked more finished (they're totally right about the art looking unfinished) it'd be more obvious what's going on.