Monday 2 November 2009

The Darkest Hour 82-84

This week: a regular three-page update, mostly drawn with my small Faber-Castell pen. I rather enjoyed it, so I guess I still haven't decided on the way to ink the definitive version. It's about time I get an epiphany though - we're finally nearing the end of this prologue...

Yesterday I was browsing one of my manga to get some idea of what about a hundred pages of intro amounts to in manga format. It's not that much. The manga in question (Mushishi, in case you were wondering) has about 220 pages per volume. In a multi-volume manga, it wouldn't be so odd to have a prologue of about a hundred pages, I think. And yes, my story is definitely multi-volume :).

I don't suppose I have mentioned the term 'manga' before when talking about my comic, but I have recently realised that manga is really pretty close to what I am making. Obviously my layout and way of telling a story are far removed from the classic European pattern. But I haven't consciously chosen the manga way. It may partly be a consequence of my sketching in an A5 notebook... That, and I just like the Japanese way of telling stories - it suits me too.

So, with that I leave you to the next three pages :). Hope you enjoy them!

For a readable view, click the images.



2 comments:

Cecilia said...

Wow. It grows more and more interesting. ^^ The last page was so intense!

I suppose manga had a deep influence over me, too. After all, they've been my main comic readings in the last yeast, and their narrative patterns are more effective and emotive than the Western one (not to talk of American superheroes comics, which I utterly ignore). Asanor's structure is pretty much manga-influenced too, more than The Boar (that it's more graphic-novel-like).

ampersand said...

I'm glad you are enjoying it :D!

My reading at this moment is very diverse - French, Japanese and American. But although I enjoy all of them very much, somehow the manga influence is most obvious in what I do.

I'm so curious about Asanor! I'd love to read your Cinghiale too, but I'm a bit worried that I won't understand much of it :/. Still - I guess I'll get it anyway :P.