[mikethedj4]

I really love your comics! :D

[Jack the R]

Griatch - Heh, I wouldn't have thought anyone would have had a problem with me going back to painting . . . I'm glad you liked the line art that much, but I had the feeling the line art wasn't quite flying.

All the drawing somehow helped make the painting easier. I think it's the way I was using the blacks, helped me understand how to break the tones up better.

I'm using a different technique, too. Now I draw everything out first, then make a low contrast painting over the drawing. Then I'll take a photographic element, overlay it, and use it to punch up the tonal range. That takes a lot of the time out of it. It doesn't give a perfect result, highlights and shadows are usually out of place and have to be fixed, so it's usually just one step in the painting. The hands and arms haven't needed a bunch of extra work, but the face in the last panel did. I got the likeness down in the low contrast painting stage, but the photo I used to push the values didn't look anything like my character, and it took more painting to get it fixed right again. But overall, it's faster.

mikethedj4 - Thanks, please keep the voting up so I don't have to go draw boy love mangas. :shock:

[Jack the R]

[inspectra]

someone's been playing too much Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Jack. haha.

i kid. these comics seem to be coming along well, with as much gruesome style as ever. i do vote for XTIN whenever i visit this thread, but don't feel so strongly about the results if you're not doing well. i mean, it hardly seems as if the other popular and/or good webcomics of the internet are getting any results either. it seems pretty obvious that 90% of the site's visitors are partial to cute manga stuff, so i don't think any visitors are going to see the results as true indicators of good webcomics, anyway.

[Jack the R]

I've been running a couple manga comics on smackjeeves. The B&W manga is IMO the better of the two, but it's getting less than half the action of the older color manga. The color manga is coming up pretty fast compared to XTIN, but then XTIN has been black and white for a while. Maybe XTIN is doing o.k. for being black and white, and not boy love? I'll keep trying to build it up.

Thanks for the vote!

BTW I haven't played games in years. I've yet to manage to have a computer suitable for gaming.

[CHRISTYHONG520]

@Jack the R,

Your artwork is very nice. Both the black white style and the color style have their own beauty. Sorry I cannot provide any critique since my art skills are not well enough. But I kind of get scare at some point where the scene becomes very bloody, maybe it is because torture and dark comic is not my favorite.

Thank you for sharing this great comic.

[Jack the R]

CHRISTYHONG520 said:

But I kind of get scare at some point where the scene becomes very bloody, maybe it is because torture and dark comic is not my favorite.

Well, this is the world we live in. I'm not writing it because it's fun, I'm writing it because it's the truth. It's generalized, but the truth is in there. I could do a documentary about the killing fields of Cambodia, but people would tune that out because "it can't happen here." So I do it this way, and maybe it will stick with people better.

[CHRISTYHONG520]

Jack the R,

You are right, maybe I did try to ignore the harsh reality that is happening in the world.

Thank you for spending the time to compute this excellent artwork to remind people about the horrible conditions that some people in the world are going through.

[Jack the R]

CHRISTYHONG520 - Thanks for replying.

Telling the story this way comes with its own set of problems, but maybe I can get a couple ideas out there. Like the idea that, with leadership should come extreme sacrifice. It shouldn't be a path to obscene wealth.

I hope my efforts turn out to be obsolete though. What Wikileaks and Anonymous are doing is turning out to be surprisingly effective.

A few weeks ago I read a document Julian Assange wrote about the philosophy behind Wikileaks. The idea is that corruption is dependent on the ability to keep a conspiracy secret. Wikileaks views conspiracies as a neural network. Each actor in the conspiracy is a node in the network. In order for information to flow through the network, there has to be trust between the nodes that the information will remain secret. Wikileaks attacks the trust factor, making it impossible for the conspiracy to operate.

Seeing how much impact Wikileaks has had on the Middle East, I'm wondering if we're not seeing the start of a shift in civilization as significant as the shift from feudalism to representative systems of government.

[Griatch]

She's in a world of pain once again. :) The action is well-depicted this time around, no confusion despite the mass of different characters/creatures around. Only thing is the sudden mention of the "Thing creatues" which has not previous been mentioned by name. From a storytelling perspective, it might have been effective to foreshadow them or mention them earlier.

If you by "impact in middle east" refer to the recent upheavals of Egypt, Tunis and Libya, I don't think wikileaks has had much effect there per se. Those are the result of an imbalanced non-democratic systems too highly dependent on import. The main reason for those governments being unable to contain the rebellions (as they have done in the past) has been the overall advent of communication technologies such as cel phones and the internet.

I'm sure wikileaks has helped to drive home the point concerning the dangers of communicating secrets over digital media though. It's back to the old "briefcase chained to the hand" scenario if secrets are to be relayed it seems. :)
.
Griatch

[Jack the R]

One more page and the O'keepa will be over, then a few more and this scene will be done.

Griatch said:

She's in a world of pain once again. :)

It's gonna be a loooooong time before she isn't.

Griatch said:

Only thing is the sudden mention of the "Thing creatues" which has not previous been mentioned by name.

See the bottom of issue 2 pg 5 - it's there, but it's been a few months since you've seen it.

Griatch said:

If you by "impact in middle east" refer to the recent upheavals of Egypt, Tunis and Libya, I don't think wikileaks has had much effect there per se.
Griatch

Wikileaks directly caused the revolt in Tunisia by releasing the U.S. Ambassador's private reports on the Tunisian government. Egypt and Libya, AFAIK, followed when the people realized they actually could overthrow their dictators. These protests in turn are boosting the labor protests in the U.S. state of Wisconsin (and Anonymous is attacking the oil billionaire Koch brothers, who are trying to break the unions. Anonymous has hacked and taken over the website of the Koch brother's astroturf organization "Americans for Prosperity").

Wikileaks is rumored to be going after Bank of America next, can't wait to see what they've got.

[Griatch]

Jack the R said:

Griatch said:

Only thing is the sudden mention of the "Thing creatues" which has not previous been mentioned by name.

See the bottom of issue 2 pg 5 - it's there, but it's been a few months since you've seen it.

Ah, right.

Griatch said:

If you by "impact in middle east" refer to the recent upheavals of Egypt, Tunis and Libya, I don't think wikileaks has had much effect there per se.
Griatch

Jack the R said:

Wikileaks directly caused the revolt in Tunisia by releasing the U.S. Ambassador's private reports on the Tunisian government. Egypt and Libya, AFAIK, followed when the people realized they actually could overthrow their dictators. These protests in turn are boosting the labor protests in the U.S. state of Wisconsin (and Anonymous is attacking the oil billionaire Koch brothers, who are trying to break the unions. Anonymous has hacked and taken over the website of the Koch brother's astroturf organization "Americans for Prosperity").

Wikileaks is rumored to be going after Bank of America next, can't wait to see what they've got.

Whereas Wikileaks surely helped raise further distaste for the clear corruption in the higher echelons, they didn't "cause" the revolt - not even themselves claim such a thing I hope. The revolt was long coming and at its base due to an imbalance in the import/export level of the country (one of the 20 highest in the world. Egypt was/is number four in being dependent on import by the way), in this case raising food prices dramatically to a level that pushed the people over the limit. This along with the attempted suicide of the student (as well as the growing ease to coordinate over internet and over cel phone networks) sparked the actual revolution. Wikileaks do good things and its no doubt possible that they helped, but credit where credit's due. There's considerable research into the underlying political and economical imbalances that is now causing this domino effect.
.
Griatch

[Jack the R]

I've started running old concept art as a vote incentive, so if you want to see it click the button -



Anyway that brings the O'keepa to an end. Poor High Priestess, looks like she did it for nothing.

Griatch - Wikileaks directly led to the revolt in Tunisia, which sparked off the revolt in Egypt. I'm not aware that Wikileaks released any documents relating to Egypt, but I could well have missed them. AFAIK the Egyptian revolution was sparked off by the success of the Tunisian revolution, not by a document release from Wikileaks.

[PhotoComix]

i really doubt that wikileaks may have caused the revolt in Tunis
Simply people had no more money to survive and who rule was unable to solve the problem

Do you really think that a info from the net may have such impèact

think to Italy we know for sure that our Prime Minister:

1 is used to lie (he continuosly contraddict denying to have never said ...even if was registered in video )
and do on regular base

2 Used the Official Residence in Palazzo Grazioli to host almost daily orgies with also girls under 18,

3 ) mantained directly i astonishing number of hookers, providing them not only money but also safe houses, cars and protection

4) He play as a self made man, but there are much more then roumours that he could start "self made himself" thank to Mafia and Camorra that have so much money to inves/whitewash t, and he was a good patner for that
(if was a singer on Cruise boats...then no much later a multimillionair with almost complet monopoly on all Media from TV to Magazine, from books to Cinema...

5) there is so much more ...would be too long

He is still Prime Minister even if the proof are visible not only on some web sides, but on many TV and newspaper
i may bet that he will remain there not for a few days but for long

Not to put down wikileaks they do a amazing job

[Jack the R]

You're referring to Silvio Berlusconni?

Yes, his corruption is beyond astounding, but isn't there a world of difference between the Italian standard of living, and the Tunisian standard of living?

If Italy is much like America, the reason Italians don't rise up like Tunisians is because they actually do have something to lose. If you've got a job, health care, and "stuff" you aren't likely to become a freedom fighter, even if the Prime Minister keeps more than a few ho's.

Americans are getting so extensively robbed by our oligarchs however that we don't have much to lose either. In a small way, it's on. You've probably heard about the protests in Wisconsin. Did you read about the HBGary Federal scandal, where Bank of America tried to use actual anti-terrorism tools against Wikileaks and Anonymous? I read a statement by Anonymous a couple days ago that they intend to destroy Palantir corporation (a player in that scandal). I've felt that it would come to the point where Americans would have to start picking corporations and wiping them out, and here it is.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Wikileaks releases about Bank of America.

[PhotoComix]

yes Silvio Berlusconi
now he is changing the laws and the structure of the court

In the while he say that accept to go to the court but he don't like the judge, he want a judge chosen from the Parlamento (where he has full control so in case he will chose his judge.
No much ago somebody corrupted a lot of judges to commit a finantial fraud
the only advantaged by the fraud was Silvio berlusconi
all were found guilty but was no proof that Silvio was the commitent (and fruad was very successfully full control on a media company for a few pennies ,and fraud or not he is from long the new owner...judges were corrupted but their verdicts remain valid )

now somebody is in Maroc to try to forge proofs , to demostrate that his most famous under 18 girlfriend ,the "niece of Mubarak"
was not under 18 ...no much success till now the bribe was refused by the Officer of the City Registry and the rumours came to the Media...i mean the few Media here not under his strict control

[Jack the R]

New vote incentive if you're interested . . .

PhotoComix - I suppose it's partially the U.S.'s fault - naturally our capitalists were more comfortable working with your mafia in WWII than your communists. Sounds like Italy hasn't recovered from it yet.

[Griatch]

That poor priestess, she lives a hard life. :) I take it this is how all those other monstrous things come to be as well?
.
Griatch

[Jack the R]

One more page and this scene is finished.

New vote incentive -



Griatch - HP's had it tough since Sina IV took power.

The other thing creatures had easier transformations, and didn't do the O'keepa, but may have been tortured in other ways.

[PhotoComix]

Pages look more and more professinals and more and more gruesome

Personally i found that the absence of controclimax made the progression of horrors more and more boring, but on the other hand the talent is evident

I hope to see soon your talent applied to another story, even more gruesome if you are in that mood but with some controclimax and coup of theater