Sivoa
Written by Heather Scott
Pencils by Heather Scott
Indie
A half year into writing comic reviews, most from indie creators, I have already become a huge fan of those who have the creative drive to continue their ideas.
The indie field is littered with Issue #1s, comics people dreamed would catch attention, and when the reality of indie sales hit home, interest in putting forth the effort to see future issues created wanes and the creators go back to be accountants or bank tellers, or whatever.
So when you get to review a book like Sivoa from Heather Scott you just tip your hat and say great job when you read through Issue #1, then #2, #3 and on to the current Issue #6. That makes the title a winner without even reading a page.
Of course for Scott the genesis of the book was a long one.
“I guess that if I had to pick an absolute starting point for this, it would have been shortly after the video game Mortal Combat 2 came out,” she said. “This is actually very important because the boys that I hung out with when I was little wanted to make the next game in the series. I loved the idea and started churning out character after character for this until Mortal Combat 3 and the game franchise exploded.
“Due to being totally distracted by the Mortal Combat games, movie, and TV series, we ended up abandoning the characters we created. This was, until the second Mortal Combat movie came out and we realized that we were bored with the re-hashed material that we were constantly being fed. It was at this point that we decided to do something totally different with the ideas that we had already came up with.
“Not having been fully-introduced to the idea of table-top or live-action role-playing games, we ended up creating rough character sheets that revised some of our characters (or created whole news ones) and developed back-stories for each of them. We then created a rough idea of the world that would house them and from there we would act them out much in the way that children play pretend.
“That didn’t really carry on to much further than part-way through middle school, when we all had to go our different ways. I kept my character Dragonira in mind on through high-school because I had fun drawing her and revising her story constantly gave me a mental distraction from lessons that I probably should have paid attention to.”
Scott said from that point real life came to influence the fictional fantasy story’s development.
“It was also during this point that the story started taking on darker overtones as I began to discover that my friends led significantly less happy lives than I did. I won't go into any detail regarding that, but my only way to understand even remotely what they were going through was for me to have my main character go through some of it too,” she said. “This ended up depressing me and so I dropped the whole thing myself for a good long while.
“It wasn’t until after I graduated and was already about a year into college before I looked at Sivoa again ... and this is because my friend Sarah had gone through all of my sketchbooks and asked me an almost never-ending string of questions about the characters that she saw within. After finding myself spending hours answering each of her questions, I decided to draw it out as a comic for her.”
So we dive into the story.
You learn pretty quickly that Scott had a long range vision for the story. At times creators have a narrow view, one that gets them through a book, or two, then the story sputters. For the most part Scott exhibits a pretty solid understanding of story pacing. She has the ebb and flow of a good tale here, with moments of tension, countered with the sort of backbeat readers need to take a breath.
The story is a fantasy setting, with Scott’s take on the elf and mixing in cat people. Nothing startlingly original, but they work for the story.
In terms of art Scott uses black and white. The book could be bolstered with colour, but an indie book has to deal with cost realities, so accept the black and white world.
Scott won’t become a household name as an artist based on Sivoa, although the lines do sharpen from Issue #1 to #6, and that’s a good sign.
The work has just a hint of Japanese manga, at times, in a few of the faces. At times Scott is bang on in terms of facial emotions, and at other times seems just a bit off, yet in the end the overall look works pretty well for the title.
Scott talked about the B&W choice in her interview.
“When I first got started with the print comic venture, I realized that printing in colour for the quantities that I needed would have been out of our budget,” she said. “Because of this I opted to go with black and white interiors for the comic.
“With that in mind, I experimented with a number of different styles and techniques including ink washes, tones, markers, etc., and eventually opted to go with a style oriented around hatching.”
Sivoa might not immediately catch your attention if it was in a pile of comic titles, but it is nevertheless a pretty satisfying effort that you have to credit Scott with pursuing.
And, there is more to come.
“Well, the first thing would be to finish the seventh issue in the series so that it's available towards the beginning of next year (2010),” said Scott.
“From there I've been working on revising some of the comic’s pages and organizing the seven issues into a paper-back trade. In addition to that I’ve been tinkering with assembling a sort of notebook showcasing some of the things that were developed for Sivoa, but were ultimately cast aside. I don’t have a definitive date for when either of these are coming out though.
There is a simple archive of the comics online at http://sivoa.dragonmun.com for those that wish to keep up with the comic there. This site does not feature many of the extra materials that are provided in the printed issues, but those can be ordered from there as well.
— CALVIN DANIELS
-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Review -- SMUTTYNOSE
Smuttynose
Written by Bob Oxman
Pencils by Bob Oxman
Indie
Smuttynose is a comic that is one of those that is rather hard to know just how to review.
To begin with the story is basically a historically true one, so you can’t really argue with what unfolds.
That said, I am not sure why two issues in, creator Bob Oxman chose this particular story to bring to life. Frankly, it’s just not all that compelling.
The story is based on a murder case, but the first two issues focus to much on background, and not enough on the action.
Oxman might have wanted to start with the murder, or trial and then fill in the background as flashbacks or court testimony to punch up the book’s tempo.
For Oxman though the story clearly holds interest.
“The storyline is inspired by three things, the court testimony from the transcript in the Augusta, Maine court records, the news and tabloids published just after the murders, and the subsequent books published since then,” explained the writer artist. “There is also an element of fiction blended into the comic which at times fills in the gaps of what is known/speculation. This is where I have taken the most liberties, but I have tried to remain faithful to the facts for the most part.
Oxman said the murders have held an interest for him since he found out about the case.
“I have been interested in the Smuttynose murders since I stumbled upon to the story when visiting Star Island a few years ago,” he said. “I was visiting with the Star Island Hotel’s museum curator to do research for a comic book about New England ghosts. I went to see Betty Moody’s cave and a few other spots. After that she asked if I wanted to see something really scary. Of course I agreed. She got her assistant to check out a rowboat and we were soon on our way to Smuttynose Island. I videotaped the voyage. I was a bit nervous about sharks as she mentioned there were several seal carcasses washed up on some of the other isles. When we arrived at Smuttynose she walked me to where the old Hontvet house used to sit and told me the tale for the first time. When she was finished I put the ghost stories aside and made the decision to make Smuttynose my senior thesis at The Center for Cartoon Studies where I was about to begin my second year in the MFA program.
“I spent that first year researching, writing, and sketching and in June of 2007 I handed in my completed illustrated script. It was around 100 pages of combined writing and drawings, but it was in order to secure the MFA in Cartoon Studies, I had to go back and complete and self-publish the first issue, Smuttynose Issue #1, as CCS is a Comic Book making school essentially. I have been treating that thesis as a template for the comics I’m making now.
Oxman said research has proved the critical element of the book.
“The website, http://www.seacoastnh.com/Places_&_Events/Smuttynose_Murders/ has been invaluable for me,” he said. “The research is still an ongoing part of the process, and a challenge, but as I said before there is an element of fiction in my work as well as filling in some of the gray areas or gaps where the history, faces, or events are unclear. This combination of sticking to the facts while keeping a touch of creative freedom is what keeps the work interesting, as does when some of my questions get answered by other authors on the subject. The down side is sometimes I feel compelled to go back and make changes to maintain historical accuracy, but I will have ample opportunity to do that when all four mini comics are done and I move on to putting them together in a collected graphic novel format.
As a collected story the book may have more action to carry it, but the individual first issues are lacking in that.
The art too is interesting.
The work is again frankly rather crude, but if you think of it as a period piece, it seems to be a fairly effective tool in terms of setting era. Remember the murder took place in 1873, and the art looks like it might well have originated then.
If it’s done for style it works, although in modern terms the art doesn’t rate.
Oxman said the art is for effect.
“In regards to the aesthetic of the comics, my art style is influenced by a number of sources including the news print illustrations and photos that were printed just after the murder but, I also am very fond of old German wood cut prints which a lot of the art is inspired by and I also like William Blake Prints,” he said. “My only formal training in art was the two years I spent at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, VT. Before that I was a Zoo Train Engineer and Creative Literature major at UC Santa Barbara's Center for Creative Studies. I have been sketching comics off and on since I stopped paying attention in high school math class and started making satire panels in the grid books.
“The art classes at Hanover High were nourishing, but I never became particularly proficient drawing in an ultra realistic style.
“While I wish that I could draw like comic book legends/New Yorker cover artists Dan Clowes (Eighball), Adrian Tomine (Optic Nerve), or Mike Magnolia (Hellboy), I realize my limitations and have learned to work out my own "primitive style" to draw my stories in a way that feels authentic and enjoyable to me. I currently work for an art museum so I am constantly finding new inspirations.”
Even Oxman looks at the result of his work as somewhat mixed.
“Sometimes the results are good and sometimes I don't like what ends up on the page, but the most important thing for me right now is to keep at it, stay inspired, and see this project through to the end,” he said.
Oxman said overall he has created something he said he would like as a comic buyer.
“The Smuttynose comics look like the kind of raw mini-comic book I would have wanted to buy when I was collecting and buying comics every week in the 1990's at The Funny Book Factory in Lebanon, NH (formerly know as Club Comics),” he said. “There was this period of time when all the books were just too shiny or over produced at least, in terms of cover-versus-content. There were too few books that I could sink my teeth into in terms of plot and character development. My tastes are eclectic. I read a lot of Heavy Metal magazine for more underground variety, but I also like Sam Keith's and Jim Lee's work in the mainstream press. I wasn't really aware of self-published comics until much later as it seems the distribution networks were undergoing a slow evolution from the 1960's underground comics/hippie shops to today's modern internet distribution networks like the one that carries my book, iknowjoekimpel.com. ”
There is more of the Smuttynose murder to tell too.
“While the first mini-comic book serves as a prequel/origin story to Maren Hontvet and her family,” said Oxman. “The second book serves to bring Louis Wagner into the lives of the Hontvets and Christensens. The third book will be focused on the murders themselves. It will also begin to more fully depict the divergence of perspective of the characters based on the court room testimony.”
Not a book I can highly recommend, but an interesting one for true murder and history buffs to check out.
The book will be available at: http://www.iknowjoekimpel.com/Bob-Oxman.php
-- CALVIN DANIELS
-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra
Written by Bob Oxman
Pencils by Bob Oxman
Indie
Smuttynose is a comic that is one of those that is rather hard to know just how to review.
To begin with the story is basically a historically true one, so you can’t really argue with what unfolds.
That said, I am not sure why two issues in, creator Bob Oxman chose this particular story to bring to life. Frankly, it’s just not all that compelling.
The story is based on a murder case, but the first two issues focus to much on background, and not enough on the action.
Oxman might have wanted to start with the murder, or trial and then fill in the background as flashbacks or court testimony to punch up the book’s tempo.
For Oxman though the story clearly holds interest.
“The storyline is inspired by three things, the court testimony from the transcript in the Augusta, Maine court records, the news and tabloids published just after the murders, and the subsequent books published since then,” explained the writer artist. “There is also an element of fiction blended into the comic which at times fills in the gaps of what is known/speculation. This is where I have taken the most liberties, but I have tried to remain faithful to the facts for the most part.
Oxman said the murders have held an interest for him since he found out about the case.
“I have been interested in the Smuttynose murders since I stumbled upon to the story when visiting Star Island a few years ago,” he said. “I was visiting with the Star Island Hotel’s museum curator to do research for a comic book about New England ghosts. I went to see Betty Moody’s cave and a few other spots. After that she asked if I wanted to see something really scary. Of course I agreed. She got her assistant to check out a rowboat and we were soon on our way to Smuttynose Island. I videotaped the voyage. I was a bit nervous about sharks as she mentioned there were several seal carcasses washed up on some of the other isles. When we arrived at Smuttynose she walked me to where the old Hontvet house used to sit and told me the tale for the first time. When she was finished I put the ghost stories aside and made the decision to make Smuttynose my senior thesis at The Center for Cartoon Studies where I was about to begin my second year in the MFA program.
“I spent that first year researching, writing, and sketching and in June of 2007 I handed in my completed illustrated script. It was around 100 pages of combined writing and drawings, but it was in order to secure the MFA in Cartoon Studies, I had to go back and complete and self-publish the first issue, Smuttynose Issue #1, as CCS is a Comic Book making school essentially. I have been treating that thesis as a template for the comics I’m making now.
Oxman said research has proved the critical element of the book.
“The website, http://www.seacoastnh.com/Places_&_Events/Smuttynose_Murders/ has been invaluable for me,” he said. “The research is still an ongoing part of the process, and a challenge, but as I said before there is an element of fiction in my work as well as filling in some of the gray areas or gaps where the history, faces, or events are unclear. This combination of sticking to the facts while keeping a touch of creative freedom is what keeps the work interesting, as does when some of my questions get answered by other authors on the subject. The down side is sometimes I feel compelled to go back and make changes to maintain historical accuracy, but I will have ample opportunity to do that when all four mini comics are done and I move on to putting them together in a collected graphic novel format.
As a collected story the book may have more action to carry it, but the individual first issues are lacking in that.
The art too is interesting.
The work is again frankly rather crude, but if you think of it as a period piece, it seems to be a fairly effective tool in terms of setting era. Remember the murder took place in 1873, and the art looks like it might well have originated then.
If it’s done for style it works, although in modern terms the art doesn’t rate.
Oxman said the art is for effect.
“In regards to the aesthetic of the comics, my art style is influenced by a number of sources including the news print illustrations and photos that were printed just after the murder but, I also am very fond of old German wood cut prints which a lot of the art is inspired by and I also like William Blake Prints,” he said. “My only formal training in art was the two years I spent at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, VT. Before that I was a Zoo Train Engineer and Creative Literature major at UC Santa Barbara's Center for Creative Studies. I have been sketching comics off and on since I stopped paying attention in high school math class and started making satire panels in the grid books.
“The art classes at Hanover High were nourishing, but I never became particularly proficient drawing in an ultra realistic style.
“While I wish that I could draw like comic book legends/New Yorker cover artists Dan Clowes (Eighball), Adrian Tomine (Optic Nerve), or Mike Magnolia (Hellboy), I realize my limitations and have learned to work out my own "primitive style" to draw my stories in a way that feels authentic and enjoyable to me. I currently work for an art museum so I am constantly finding new inspirations.”
Even Oxman looks at the result of his work as somewhat mixed.
“Sometimes the results are good and sometimes I don't like what ends up on the page, but the most important thing for me right now is to keep at it, stay inspired, and see this project through to the end,” he said.
Oxman said overall he has created something he said he would like as a comic buyer.
“The Smuttynose comics look like the kind of raw mini-comic book I would have wanted to buy when I was collecting and buying comics every week in the 1990's at The Funny Book Factory in Lebanon, NH (formerly know as Club Comics),” he said. “There was this period of time when all the books were just too shiny or over produced at least, in terms of cover-versus-content. There were too few books that I could sink my teeth into in terms of plot and character development. My tastes are eclectic. I read a lot of Heavy Metal magazine for more underground variety, but I also like Sam Keith's and Jim Lee's work in the mainstream press. I wasn't really aware of self-published comics until much later as it seems the distribution networks were undergoing a slow evolution from the 1960's underground comics/hippie shops to today's modern internet distribution networks like the one that carries my book, iknowjoekimpel.com. ”
There is more of the Smuttynose murder to tell too.
“While the first mini-comic book serves as a prequel/origin story to Maren Hontvet and her family,” said Oxman. “The second book serves to bring Louis Wagner into the lives of the Hontvets and Christensens. The third book will be focused on the murders themselves. It will also begin to more fully depict the divergence of perspective of the characters based on the court room testimony.”
Not a book I can highly recommend, but an interesting one for true murder and history buffs to check out.
The book will be available at: http://www.iknowjoekimpel.com/Bob-Oxman.php
-- CALVIN DANIELS
-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra
Review -- ROSE BLACK
Rose Black
Created by Tom Campbell and Edward Murphy
Written by Tom Campbell
Pencils by Jaeson Finn
Inks by Colin Barr
Rough Cut Comics
Vampire stories are a favourite of the comic writers, and that means such stories are increasingly difficult to make fresh.
There are the trite attempts such as Twilight movies, which are more poppish school girl fare, which has sadly seeped over to television with airways pollution such as The Vampire Diaries.
So, when I have the opportunity to read a graphic novel -- collecting the original 2005 mini series -- such as Rose Black by creators Tom Campbell and Edward Murphy it’s gratifying to see a truly worthwhile take on the genre. The vampire at the heart of this story is anything but ordinary, starting with the fact she is tied to the church, not exactly the usual home of such characters. It’s an intriguing twist which sets the story against a backdrop of the political intrigue of the church hierarchy.
The connection to the religious order also gives Rose Black a mysterious past which is unlike the story of other vampiric characters. It’s a nice call by the creators, and writer Tom Campbell weaves the tale well.
That there is a sort of covert, paramilitary, unit involved here, also works well, when you take into account the political aspect of a vampire connected to religion.
Creator Ed Murphy said the idea for the book actually started out simply with a name.
“I started with the name -- Rose Black -- I thought it had a nice ring to it,” he said. “I wanted to develop the idea of a vampire with a moral, religious zeal. The story didn't come together till my co-writer Tom Campbell hit on the idea of re-imagining vampire mythology to make Rose the only vampire in our universe. We needed a conflict; and once we settled on the notion of modern religion being her protagonist, it all fit into place. I wanted to fill it with religious conspiracies and secret cabals within a ‘spy-girl’ genre format.
“From having the idea, doing development work, and writing the final draft, took about three months.”
Writer Tom Campbell said the name proved a good launching pad for the book.
“I wanted to create a truly British comic-book heroine,” he said. “I think the name was a great starting point; I think it indicated a character in itself; and although she’s a fierce warrior, I wanted to infuse her with a big piece of humanity. The important thing about her is she is at odds with every stereotype in the vampire genre; something I'd like to develop that the villains of the piece have created.”
Artistically, Jaeson Finn is a perfect fit for the story. The black and white art is the right choice for the mileau, actually feeling more appropriate to the eye than would a full-colour effort.
Finn handles the action scenes with ease, showing drama even in the smallest panels. He knows that detail can add to the moment and lend more to the situation in a small panel as easily as using a full page splash simply for the effect of size.
The characters are accurately depicted, and again it fits for a story where only Rose Black is beyond the realm of realism.
Murphy said the art style of the book was one they felt was needed to fit the story.
“Despite being raised on Stan Lee, I've actually been more influenced by the style of the British artists -- Alan Davis, Steve Parkhouse and Garry Leach. Obviously being UK-based, we were weaned on 2000AD, so we've always modeled our styles -- since our debut comic The Surgeon -- on their editorial art,” he said. “So we knew we wanted the book to be black and white and we wanted cinematic action visuals.
“But I think the parameters of our story -- heavily action-orientated and gratuitous -- dictated the way it went forward.”
Murphy said the book turned out quite well in his mind.
“The first part of a story is always the most difficult; and I think I'm happy that I have a story which has some development in it ... and which I want to develop,” he said. “It’s a great grounding to have that with any potential series. I worked on a few things which you can’t look at a year after it’s complete. I don't have that with Rose Black.”
Overall, this is a great book, and the character Rose Black is one which deserves to be explored in future books. The good news more is coming.
“Rose Black: Book II is almost complete,” said Murphy. “I’ve written this one -- it’s subtitled Demon Seed -- and we introduce the concept of ‘organic divinity’ into the mix and introduce a demon clone as a new opponent.
“So much has changed since Book I was originally released (in 2005). We had fantastic sales back then, but B&W doesn't have so much clout these days. So we’re doing the new one in full colour, with artist Joel Carpenter providing pencils and inks; and Derek Dow doing the colors.”
It’s a winner. Check it out.
Individuals can order from www.Smallzone.com as well as www.roughcut-comics.com
— CALVIN DANIELS
-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra
Created by Tom Campbell and Edward Murphy
Written by Tom Campbell
Pencils by Jaeson Finn
Inks by Colin Barr
Rough Cut Comics
Vampire stories are a favourite of the comic writers, and that means such stories are increasingly difficult to make fresh.
There are the trite attempts such as Twilight movies, which are more poppish school girl fare, which has sadly seeped over to television with airways pollution such as The Vampire Diaries.
So, when I have the opportunity to read a graphic novel -- collecting the original 2005 mini series -- such as Rose Black by creators Tom Campbell and Edward Murphy it’s gratifying to see a truly worthwhile take on the genre. The vampire at the heart of this story is anything but ordinary, starting with the fact she is tied to the church, not exactly the usual home of such characters. It’s an intriguing twist which sets the story against a backdrop of the political intrigue of the church hierarchy.
The connection to the religious order also gives Rose Black a mysterious past which is unlike the story of other vampiric characters. It’s a nice call by the creators, and writer Tom Campbell weaves the tale well.
That there is a sort of covert, paramilitary, unit involved here, also works well, when you take into account the political aspect of a vampire connected to religion.
Creator Ed Murphy said the idea for the book actually started out simply with a name.
“I started with the name -- Rose Black -- I thought it had a nice ring to it,” he said. “I wanted to develop the idea of a vampire with a moral, religious zeal. The story didn't come together till my co-writer Tom Campbell hit on the idea of re-imagining vampire mythology to make Rose the only vampire in our universe. We needed a conflict; and once we settled on the notion of modern religion being her protagonist, it all fit into place. I wanted to fill it with religious conspiracies and secret cabals within a ‘spy-girl’ genre format.
“From having the idea, doing development work, and writing the final draft, took about three months.”
Writer Tom Campbell said the name proved a good launching pad for the book.
“I wanted to create a truly British comic-book heroine,” he said. “I think the name was a great starting point; I think it indicated a character in itself; and although she’s a fierce warrior, I wanted to infuse her with a big piece of humanity. The important thing about her is she is at odds with every stereotype in the vampire genre; something I'd like to develop that the villains of the piece have created.”
Artistically, Jaeson Finn is a perfect fit for the story. The black and white art is the right choice for the mileau, actually feeling more appropriate to the eye than would a full-colour effort.
Finn handles the action scenes with ease, showing drama even in the smallest panels. He knows that detail can add to the moment and lend more to the situation in a small panel as easily as using a full page splash simply for the effect of size.
The characters are accurately depicted, and again it fits for a story where only Rose Black is beyond the realm of realism.
Murphy said the art style of the book was one they felt was needed to fit the story.
“Despite being raised on Stan Lee, I've actually been more influenced by the style of the British artists -- Alan Davis, Steve Parkhouse and Garry Leach. Obviously being UK-based, we were weaned on 2000AD, so we've always modeled our styles -- since our debut comic The Surgeon -- on their editorial art,” he said. “So we knew we wanted the book to be black and white and we wanted cinematic action visuals.
“But I think the parameters of our story -- heavily action-orientated and gratuitous -- dictated the way it went forward.”
Murphy said the book turned out quite well in his mind.
“The first part of a story is always the most difficult; and I think I'm happy that I have a story which has some development in it ... and which I want to develop,” he said. “It’s a great grounding to have that with any potential series. I worked on a few things which you can’t look at a year after it’s complete. I don't have that with Rose Black.”
Overall, this is a great book, and the character Rose Black is one which deserves to be explored in future books. The good news more is coming.
“Rose Black: Book II is almost complete,” said Murphy. “I’ve written this one -- it’s subtitled Demon Seed -- and we introduce the concept of ‘organic divinity’ into the mix and introduce a demon clone as a new opponent.
“So much has changed since Book I was originally released (in 2005). We had fantastic sales back then, but B&W doesn't have so much clout these days. So we’re doing the new one in full colour, with artist Joel Carpenter providing pencils and inks; and Derek Dow doing the colors.”
It’s a winner. Check it out.
Individuals can order from www.Smallzone.com as well as www.roughcut-comics.com
— CALVIN DANIELS
-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra
Review -- DEVIL BEAR: The Grimoires of Bearalzebub
Devil Bear: The Grimoires of Bearalzebub
Created, Written, Penciled and Inked by Ben Bourbon
Indie
If you like tongue-in-cheek humour, humour that as the Brits would say is ‘cheeky’ in nature, then Devil Bear should be just the comic for you.
Creator Ben Bourbon has a clearly warped sense of ‘ha-ha’ that is on one hand rather whimsical, and yet has a definite twisted overtone too.
The book is one of those that really heads down a rather weird little road, and just takes every hairpin corner it can to keep things getting weirder.
The storyline is rather straight forward, once you get into the book at least.
The devil is a Teddy Bear named Bearalzebub. That’s a pretty strange launching pad for a book to start with.
Add in a shapely devil-horned assistant drawn in the sexy-toon tradition of Jessica Rabbit, and you start to see where Bourbon is heading with the comic.
When the soul of Pooh the Pimp comes to the burning home of Bearalzebub things just get plain crazy, and totally fun.
Bourbon said the story started off like a lot of creations, with a few sketches.
“Devilbear really started off as a series of doodles that I made during a rather boring lecture about five years ago,” he said. “The idea really stuck in my mind and just kept growing over the years. Other artists and writers that I talked to would always say that they too had ‘great character ideas’ of their own and talk about how they were going to create their own animations, novels, comics, etc around it but they never seemed to actually get around to making anything.
“I knew I didn’t want that to happen to Devilbear. I had to take it past the idea stage.
“By the time I was ready to start the first issue I had several stories in my head. I chose the story that I did because it was a typical scenario and I didn’t really want to start with an origin story. Origin stories are fun but they can often fill up an entire issue with prerequisite material. I wanted to do something that just jumped in and said “this is a typical Devilbear episode. This is what the characters are about.”
Bourbon said he draws on a variety of influences in creating Devil Bear, including some rather classic ones.
“Dante’s Inferno obviously was one of the biggest influences for the first issue,” he said. “Its concept of the afterlife is one that a lot of people associate Hell with so it’s always a good place to start.
“Once I decided that a familiar stuffed bear that gluttonizes honey was going to go to Teddy Bear Hell, it only made sense that he would receive the ironic punishment of being gluttonized by a vicious dog. Having a traditional three headed dog seemed a bit too serious for the story, however, and maybe even a bit cliche so that’s when I created Cerbutt.”
From there Bourbon turned to other supporting characters.
“The job descriptions of the Daivas thus far are also based on the seven deadly sins from Dante’s Inferno,” said Bourbon. “This doesn’t mean that they are supposed to partake in that sin so much as they are supposed to encourage it. Lucy is the perfect example. As the Daiva of Lust, She is very sexy but does not lust after anyone herself. Also, just because it is her responsibility to be that way, doesn’t mean that is the extent of her personality. She also has a logical side and a strong work ethic. This makes her clash with Helle Belle a bit, who actually has given in to her own representations: becoming a rather lazy Daiva of Sloth.
“As we see a little bit in the story, as well as in some future ones, giving in to the sin they represent leads to other problems.”
Bourbon uses a highly cartoon style, which when your dealing with a Teddy Bear as the Devil is really the only way to go.
The pencils here are strong and distinct, with clean lines which make the images pop off the page.
The colouring too is bold and clean, giving the book a very ‘big company-polished’ look.
“I pretty much always knew how I wanted the artistic style to look,” said Bourbon. “It needed to be cartoony and fun but have a little bit of an edge to it at the same time. Colour choices played a large part in that: going for just a bit of a rock and roll poster kind of feel.
“Another really important drive for me though, was to maintain a visual consistency and quality in the characters. I’ve read some comics where a character’s face looks quite different in each panel on a single page. Sometimes to where I could almost wonder if they are really the same person.”
For a first foray into the world of Devil Bear Bourbon said he likes what he accomplished in issue one, noting he put a lot of effort into getting it right.
“I’m quite happy overall with the story,” he said. “I try to add at least a little humor to every page. If a page ends up without humor I’ll deviate from my script slightly and adlib some little pun or gag in there. If I just can’t come up with a pun that makes sense to slip in then I try to find a way to make that page’s art look funnier.
“I spend a lot of time planning out the page layouts. I pin the pages all over my walls so that I can see how the left page compliments the right page and if the number of panels feels balanced and flows in a way that appeals to me.
“As an artist, I could just keep nitpicking on the same story until I died of old age or something and never call it ‘done’.
“It’s all just a matter of reaching a point where I look at the story and the art without seeing anything that is an eyesore and maintaining an appropriate level of humor and then saying ‘time to move on to the next story because there are a lot more stories to tell’.”
This may not be every reader’s cup-of-tea, but if you like soft, naughty humour, with some twists along the way, this is certainly worth taking a read over, and there is more to come.
“There are a lot more teddy bears on their way to Hell,” said Bourbon. “There are also some pop culture icons that are not teddy bears but will be characterized as teddy bears and then be on their way to Hell. So business is good for Bearalzebub. Also expect to see more Daivas and some insight as to where they come from and where the missing ones are.”
Devilbear can always be found at: http://www.facebook.com/l/37dc2;www.thedevilbear.com/
Printed copies of the first issue can also be found at: http://www.facebook.com/l/37dc2;www.indyplanet.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2662
-- CALVIN DANIELS
-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra
Created, Written, Penciled and Inked by Ben Bourbon
Indie
If you like tongue-in-cheek humour, humour that as the Brits would say is ‘cheeky’ in nature, then Devil Bear should be just the comic for you.
Creator Ben Bourbon has a clearly warped sense of ‘ha-ha’ that is on one hand rather whimsical, and yet has a definite twisted overtone too.
The book is one of those that really heads down a rather weird little road, and just takes every hairpin corner it can to keep things getting weirder.
The storyline is rather straight forward, once you get into the book at least.
The devil is a Teddy Bear named Bearalzebub. That’s a pretty strange launching pad for a book to start with.
Add in a shapely devil-horned assistant drawn in the sexy-toon tradition of Jessica Rabbit, and you start to see where Bourbon is heading with the comic.
When the soul of Pooh the Pimp comes to the burning home of Bearalzebub things just get plain crazy, and totally fun.
Bourbon said the story started off like a lot of creations, with a few sketches.
“Devilbear really started off as a series of doodles that I made during a rather boring lecture about five years ago,” he said. “The idea really stuck in my mind and just kept growing over the years. Other artists and writers that I talked to would always say that they too had ‘great character ideas’ of their own and talk about how they were going to create their own animations, novels, comics, etc around it but they never seemed to actually get around to making anything.
“I knew I didn’t want that to happen to Devilbear. I had to take it past the idea stage.
“By the time I was ready to start the first issue I had several stories in my head. I chose the story that I did because it was a typical scenario and I didn’t really want to start with an origin story. Origin stories are fun but they can often fill up an entire issue with prerequisite material. I wanted to do something that just jumped in and said “this is a typical Devilbear episode. This is what the characters are about.”
Bourbon said he draws on a variety of influences in creating Devil Bear, including some rather classic ones.
“Dante’s Inferno obviously was one of the biggest influences for the first issue,” he said. “Its concept of the afterlife is one that a lot of people associate Hell with so it’s always a good place to start.
“Once I decided that a familiar stuffed bear that gluttonizes honey was going to go to Teddy Bear Hell, it only made sense that he would receive the ironic punishment of being gluttonized by a vicious dog. Having a traditional three headed dog seemed a bit too serious for the story, however, and maybe even a bit cliche so that’s when I created Cerbutt.”
From there Bourbon turned to other supporting characters.
“The job descriptions of the Daivas thus far are also based on the seven deadly sins from Dante’s Inferno,” said Bourbon. “This doesn’t mean that they are supposed to partake in that sin so much as they are supposed to encourage it. Lucy is the perfect example. As the Daiva of Lust, She is very sexy but does not lust after anyone herself. Also, just because it is her responsibility to be that way, doesn’t mean that is the extent of her personality. She also has a logical side and a strong work ethic. This makes her clash with Helle Belle a bit, who actually has given in to her own representations: becoming a rather lazy Daiva of Sloth.
“As we see a little bit in the story, as well as in some future ones, giving in to the sin they represent leads to other problems.”
Bourbon uses a highly cartoon style, which when your dealing with a Teddy Bear as the Devil is really the only way to go.
The pencils here are strong and distinct, with clean lines which make the images pop off the page.
The colouring too is bold and clean, giving the book a very ‘big company-polished’ look.
“I pretty much always knew how I wanted the artistic style to look,” said Bourbon. “It needed to be cartoony and fun but have a little bit of an edge to it at the same time. Colour choices played a large part in that: going for just a bit of a rock and roll poster kind of feel.
“Another really important drive for me though, was to maintain a visual consistency and quality in the characters. I’ve read some comics where a character’s face looks quite different in each panel on a single page. Sometimes to where I could almost wonder if they are really the same person.”
For a first foray into the world of Devil Bear Bourbon said he likes what he accomplished in issue one, noting he put a lot of effort into getting it right.
“I’m quite happy overall with the story,” he said. “I try to add at least a little humor to every page. If a page ends up without humor I’ll deviate from my script slightly and adlib some little pun or gag in there. If I just can’t come up with a pun that makes sense to slip in then I try to find a way to make that page’s art look funnier.
“I spend a lot of time planning out the page layouts. I pin the pages all over my walls so that I can see how the left page compliments the right page and if the number of panels feels balanced and flows in a way that appeals to me.
“As an artist, I could just keep nitpicking on the same story until I died of old age or something and never call it ‘done’.
“It’s all just a matter of reaching a point where I look at the story and the art without seeing anything that is an eyesore and maintaining an appropriate level of humor and then saying ‘time to move on to the next story because there are a lot more stories to tell’.”
This may not be every reader’s cup-of-tea, but if you like soft, naughty humour, with some twists along the way, this is certainly worth taking a read over, and there is more to come.
“There are a lot more teddy bears on their way to Hell,” said Bourbon. “There are also some pop culture icons that are not teddy bears but will be characterized as teddy bears and then be on their way to Hell. So business is good for Bearalzebub. Also expect to see more Daivas and some insight as to where they come from and where the missing ones are.”
Devilbear can always be found at: http://www.facebook.com/l/37dc2;www.thedevilbear.com/
Printed copies of the first issue can also be found at: http://www.facebook.com/l/37dc2;www.indyplanet.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2662
-- CALVIN DANIELS
-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra
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