A new comic format?

[Duke]

Hi guys! Thanks for reading! This is an idea I had which I haven't discussed at length with Kahvie, but she didn't reject it outright, so I thought it'd be interesting to see what people here think about it.

A comic is a medium all its own. I once heard an expert say, if it doesn't fit in a bubble, it shouldn't be necessary information - meaning that 90% of prudent info should be depicted visually. This places a huge responsibility on the artist to essentially be the storyteller, regardless of the script or who's writing. One of the hang-ups we seem to be having on moving forward is the time Kahvie would have to invest to produce the volume and caliber of artwork she's capable of. It goes without saying that I could write much faster than she could draw and color each corresponding panel.

I had the notion long ago, (back when I thought I could draw) of doing a story in a format where each few paragraphs would be accompanied by a picture. This would mean that KO would take on a very different presentation. Instead of a highly visual comic, there would be a lot more written descriptions and dialog, accompanied by a liberal number of Kav's signature illustrations.

Again, I'm not sure what exactly Kavs thinks about this, but if we went with that format, I imagine it'd mean an expedited timetable for releasing new pages. So I wanted to get your opinion before trying to persuade her. I know Kahvie's artwork is the star attraction, so I hope you don't imagine huge pages of words with a couple panels of artwork. I'm thinking like, a paperback novel's page of text equals two or three illustrations.

So how about it? Is this a concession you'd be willing to make if it means faster development of the story, or would you be willing to wait longer for each comic-style page and you just want us to get on with it already? XP

-Mike

[Addie]

Just a quick thought while my mind is actually working, maybe we could do KO the way proposed here, and then after having everything done, finished, the end, I could go back and do actual comic pages? Of course, these would no doubt take years to complete and may be beating a dead horse if the story has already been done in an illustrated novel-like layout, but maybe it's an idea?

[.viet.]

Yeah! You're making a comeback huh?

[Addie]

That's what we're hoping. Nobody has voted in this poll yet, but it sounds like we'll definitely be trying for an illustrated novel-ish deal.

Edit: F@*$, I voted.
Duke says: Das okay, your vote counts too!

[Blackfeathr]

C: Voted.

I'd love for KO to come back. Omg. waited so long for this <3

[Squeeji]

Voted, voted, voted...

I'll post up something more substantial when I can breathe normally again!

[Blizz]

Feb 25, 2010 13:17:28 GMT -5 Duke said:

I had the notion long ago, (back when I thought I could draw) of doing a story in a format where each few paragraphs would be accompanied by a picture. This would mean that KO would take on a very different presentation. Instead of a highly visual comic, there would be a lot more written descriptions and dialog, accompanied by a liberal number of Kav's signature illustrations.

This.

If it means more KO storyline, then go for it. I'd like to see something like multiple pages of text, then an image depicting an event that happened in the previous portion of text. I love formats like that. It let's your mind handle the images, while giving you a sense of what the author sees.

Voted with the majority.

Still, if we take this route, I think it would be neat if Kavs took the time to make some artwork for us to use to style the forum. Text based story with the forum decorated in original artwork. Awesome.

[unleashing]

Personally, I'd much rather have a full comic. This visual storytelling has gotten extremely popular lately on deviantArt and to me it's sort of looks...well, cheap.

I would read it all the same, but it just doesn't have the same epic feel of a comic. It's way harder for me to like.

I would rather have the pages take forever and still be in comic format. That's just me.

[Addie]

Still, if we take this route, I think it would be neat if Kavs took the time to make some artwork for us to use to style the forum.

I still need to reply to the mod thread, but I was going to say that I wouldn't mind doing something like this:). I'd probably want to wait before Duke and I had a story/plot/environment worked out first though, that way the board design could match the comic.

This visual storytelling has gotten extremely popular lately on deviantArt and to me it's sort of looks...well, cheap.

It...has? That's a bit odd O,o. I haven't been active on deviantART for about 3 years or so, so I have no idea what's "in" right now, but I wouldn't imagine it would be this particular type of storytelling.

The thing behind us doing the comic in an illustrated novel style would be to make it easier for me to come up with artwork due to my health problems, so I dunno. It would just make much more sense time and enjoyment-wise for me to do it the way we've been considering.

[Blizz]

By all means Kavs, if it's your story, it should tend to your needs, your health, and your free time first. Do what makes you happen when you tell it. To be blunt, your fans can either accept it, or get over it. Either way, more KO is provided and you still have many fans, if not MORE, once the story gets going. Who knows, if you get more fans, you might even want to do spontaneous KO art.

Thumbs up on the layout artwork after getting a storyline going.

[unleashing]

Yeah. I noticed one wolf artist doing (not going to mention names) it that way and then recently one of my artsy friends was talking about doing something similar. AND. I think Subeta also did something similar on their site with a plot. ANWAYS.

And I know it's tough with your health, but I'm just giving my personal opinion on the subject matter. I think KO is a well enough story that it could stand up on it's own either way. By subtracting the visuals you will most likely have to add a lot to the writing if you don't want it to look like a cheesy kid's book. It's going to be a lot of work either way.

[Duke]

I appreciate the honest feedback. I'd be curious to know what makes this idea less than appealing so I can possibly try to address it once we get started. Other than the obvious fact that it means more reading and less eye-candy. I'd rather read a web comic than an illustrated story too in most cases, but from a writer's perspective, doing a project this way makes a lot of sense. O and just to address this, barring any naughty sense of the word, I'd like for KO to come across as an adult product. No illustrated kid's book stuff. :P

Btw guys, I dunno how long it'll be before we get started, but once we do, it should be fairly easy to keep it up. Beginnings are the hardest part for me, but we'll see.

[Blizz]

We'll make sure to poke at you constantly, Duke. P: Nah, that would just make you frustrated I think.

[Duke]

Zomg I'm so almost motivated to write stuff, just give me a sign o muse of wtf I'm supposed to do!

[Blizz]

I don't think we are going to get any more votes right now. So, shall we do this?