Assault - Thief to Hero Webcomic page 1
Assault - Thief to Hero webcomic page 1, written by Timm Gillick, art by Josh Allar, edited and lettered by Jay Goldberg. First appeared in Red-Slime.net
PAGE 01
This story has a long and sometimes boring backstory as to how it came about. Firstly, the main character started off as something of Iron Man if he had stolen all the technology instead of inventing it himself.
His name came from a list I made at the Washington, Illinois Main Library. I remember it distinctly even though it was almost a quarter century ago. I needed some new superheroes for an upcoming role playing game, and I grabbed a thesaurus as this was well before the internet, and looked up the word "fight." In the lists of synonyms and antonyms, I found some interesting words, and made a list of the ones I thought would make some good superhero names. Assault was one of them.
The reason I did some character creation that way was I preferred the simpler names for heroes, following the KISS rule: Keep It Simple, Stupid. I also combined some here and there for some team names, and the Circus-13 Universe was born, but it wasn't called that back then.
At one time I liked the name of Excalibur Comics, and a former friend gave me a small trinket of a sword stuck in a stone which I still have today. Then it became *shudder* Whispering Lion Comics. I still don't know what made me decide on that name, but I am glad it didn't last long.
Eventually I had a conversation with someone who mentioned some of my "juggling" abilities with certain storylines and characters and said I belong in a circus. Add to that a recent conversation I had had with another friend about the number 13 and they just fell together.
Ten plus years later and the name is becoming known in certain areas, mostly for audio drama, but recently for the comics that actually inspired them.
PAGE 02
At first I wanted the two guys in the story, Assault and Armor, to have broken into a high-tech lab and steal the plans for a new exo-skeleton suit like Iron Man, but they fought about what to do with it. They ended up splitting the plans in their fight. Assault ended up with all the weaponry, and Armor ended up with all the defensive stuff. That plan still holds true, but extended out a bit when I rewrote this story.
I played around with the ideas until I found one I liked. That there is still the high-tech lab, but instead of them stealing the plans, why not steal the full thing? But how to get that done? I introduced the aliens. Only one appears in this short origin story, but the other alien species is mentioned.
With that happening, the alien crash, recovery of the alien, etc., it made it easier for the technology to be acquired by our thief. The second story in this title, Enmity and Armor, takes it to the next step and his partner finally acquires the defensive suit.
Randall aka Assault, becomes a hero, and the Circus-13 Universe was born, at least in audio comic format, with this story. It has since been expanded upon with a crossover in the second story arc, and the universe grows further with more history in the title Dragonwolf, but no crossover as of yet. Well, in Dragonwolf's second issue, there is a mention of ATLAS Labs, and a couple characters from the second Assault story, but nothing more than that.
Next I'll talk about how this particular iteration of this story came about, finally, in comic book form.
PAGE 03
A number of years ago now, I placed an ad on a website (don't remember the name and can't find it now) as a Comic Writer looking for projects. I was contacted by a man named Jay Goldberg, the very same one who edited and lettered this comic. He was putting together a project called Red-Slime, which was a comic book anthology of stories two to ten pages in length, published monthly as an online web comic. He collected artists from Deviant Art, and writers from various other sources including the one on which I had placed the ad.
He requested stories in comic book format (no prose), judged the style of the story and paired it up with an artist whose style matched the tone and theme of the story. This is how Josh Allar was brought on to draw this story.
I had to send some of my character designs along to make sure that Josh's images matched my vision for what I had created. Josh really liked the character of the alien in the bottle so much that after he and I discussed some of the back story on this tale, he did a couple sketches of Roju, the alien. Both of them ended up being used by Mr. Goldberg for Red-Slime, the black and white drawing was used for the cover of the issue in which this story appeared, and a color version, similar in theme to Roju coming out of the wreckage of his downed craft, was used as the cover of another issue which nothing I wrote appeared in.
So even though I only contributed to two issues of Red-Slime, a character of mine appeared on the cover of a third issue.
PAGE 04
Now you know the history behind this comic and how it came to be, both in the original full story in audio format, and as this abbreviated comic adaptation. As far as this iteration goes, there are a lot of things I like about it, and a couple here and there that I don't. Much like my commentary on the Dragonwolf pages, I will try to explain both sides, and on each individual page to keep things clear.
First off, let me say that Josh Allar is an amazing artist. He has a very simple style that is very clear and concise. I have experimented in coloring this comic, much like I have the Dragonwolf one, and to much better success because of Josh's style. He doesn't shy away from backgrounds, and finds ways around it if the panel doesn't really call for it.
However, on this page, the last panel is one of the few I don't like as much as I probably should. that tank is at least 8-10 feet tall and full of a liquid that isn't water. Think bacta tank in The Empire Strikes Back. And with an over-sized alien in it, that glass has got to be thick. The action of Randall striking the glass with that pipe doesn't look like he could really break it with just the one blow.
But then again, this is a comic book, and who knows how strong that guy really is, or maybe he can find weak points in things, which is how he is able to get into such a high-tech facility unnoticed (it's not, but you'd have to <a href="http://circus13productions.com/wordpress/category/original-audio/assault/">listen to the audio comic</a> to find out the full story).
PAGE 05
As opposed to the Dragonwolf comic, which I wrote 20 some years ago, Assault is much more recent, both the audio comic and this comic. I think the difference in writing styles shows a vast improvement in the two, both in structure and in content. The pace keeps moving on this one whereas Dragonwolf can seem to drag on with a lot of talking, some more talking, then even more talking.
The dialogue is still there in Assault, but it is trimmed back, not as wordy, and the scenes don't extend out longer than they have to. But this is also a different beast, so to speak. This comic was forced to be trimmed down to fit onto 10 pages. I actually had an editor to help pare it down and get it to a workable length and still get the story complete.
It is definitely a lot shorter than I had hoped. But then again, I had hoped for the full 72 page graphic novel the three episode audio comic could be, if I found an artist willing to commit with deferred payment from ad revenue as the only payment for it. One thing that some people don't get is that yes, I do believe artists should be paid for their work with real money. But what about all the "art" I have created by writing this stuff in the first place? Do I not deserve anything for the work I've done for all that effort? The "indie comic" scene of amateurs looking to break into the biz seem to think that artists are more valuable for it. I agree to a point. It's not a comic without the art. More on that next page.
PAGE 06
Can you have a comic without art? That is a question I posed on the page five commentary. The short answer is no you can't. However, you can have a comic with really shitty art and a great story, and people will love it. Can you have a comic that is the opposite, with awesome art and really shitty writing? There are some who would say "We already do, all over the professional industry."
My answer is that there are a lot of comics out there that look beautiful, but the story, characters, and themes are lacking something. I won't name names, but what would you call a powerful anti-hero who has massive powers given to him by an ethereal being, but he's sad so he lives with the homeless in an alley? Does that sound interesting? The art is gorgeous and was revolutionary in its day, changing styles in a lot of ways. But what about the character? I found him simplistic, hard to connect with, not a lot of depth.
Meanwhile one of my favorite indie comics, which has been distributed by multiple publishers, has a cartoonish style, very simple, but very deep characters, retelling a certain cultures myths and history through this anthropomorphic animal. And yet more people know the homeless "hero's" name than the character in the more simple art comic.
So which is more important, the story or the art? I agree that both are needed for it to be a "comic" but is one really more important than the other? Do you read comics based on the artist, or the writer? Do you read a title because of who wrote it or who drew it? Or is it sometimes both?
PAGE 07
Okay, enough of the rambling and ranting about the industry. I really should be focusing more on the comic you are reading.
This page has another panel I am not to sure about. The first one. In the script and my mind, the way I had envisioned this particular shot (no pun intended) was for a small protrusion to come up on Randall's arm which would aim at the security guard and then blast him. The way Josh drew it, it looks more like it is coming from Randall's palm. It could be the way it was interpreted, which is fine. I am so darn happy to have an actual comic I wrote that I don't want to quibble about little things like that.
But that does lead to another item that differed from my concept to the final product. The actual symbiotic suit. Every picture I had that I sent of the character, both my initial designs as well as cleaner drawings done by my buddy Germaine Wood, not one of them ever implied the suit to look metallic or as clean and orderly I guess you'd say, as what Josh drew. I don't know if Mr. Goldberg made an editorial decision and didn't tell me, or what. But the suit is supposed to be very organic, much like a Venom version of the Witchblade. The Witchblade looks metallic, but somewhat organic in an H. R. Giger sort of way. Venom is almost like an ooze, and always has been. Assault's symbiote was a combination of those two. Actually the basis for it becoming an organic symbiote rather than actual technology was the syndicated show Earth: Final Conflict where the good guys had a small symbiote attached to their arm.
PAGE 08
This is a page I am very proud of. Mr. Allar did a stupendous job getting all this action crammed onto one page. My favorite panels are the first two and the last one. The first two help convey the speed at which Randall and Roju are flying through and out of ATLAS Labs. And then when he realizes he doesn't quite have the flying thing down, his expression is very well done.
Speaking of expressions, Randall's expression in the last panel shows worry, even with a simple, sparse use of detail on his face. This panel, along with the first two, I think shows off Mr. Allar's style better than anything. He is showing the full meaning of the image, and all it implies, but in a very clear, and concise drawing.
This goes back to the whole "Which is more important, the artist or a writer" bit I brought up earlier. Does the artwork in this page--just as an example, I am not knocking Josh's contribution or artistic abilities in any way--outweigh the writing of this page? Does Randall's dialogue in the last panel, without the image at all, convey enough worry that even if Randall's face were covered with a mask, the point would still be made? On the flip side, could the image stand alone without Randall's words to show his concern for his friend that he forgetfully left behind?
I think either of them could work, both the dialogue without his expression, or the artwork alone. That, to me, is what makes comics a great medium. They are both dynamic and static at the same time, with the combination of good art and good writing bringing more to the whole than the sum of its parts.
PAGE 09
Now we are at the next to last page, and the action is still rolling, with Randall having to rescue David, who fell behind the flying figure. The third panel on this page is one of my favorites in terms of things I've written.
The characters are thieves. They steal things that don't belong to them and, depending on what it is, sell it for profit. That is how this story started, before page one of this comic. Randall and David broke in to ATLAS Labs with the intent of finding something in the Research & Development section to then sell to a competitor for an exorbitant fee. That is why David's gun he found eventually doesn't work.
That being said, these two guys, while looking out for each other to a point--like Randall going back for him--they are still selfish and think mainly of themselves. That is why I like the third panel. David mentions how "this thing" is amazing without specifying what "this thing" is. Randall assumes it is the symbiotic suit, because not only is it amazing, but it just saved David. However David is thinking of the gun that he stole and what it can do.
Part of this selfishness is what leads to their eventual split because they can't agree on everything, especially with the direction Randall's life takes with the symbiote, and David feels left behind. Rather than feeling good for his friend's accomplishments and how he's moving on, David gets jealous and wants things to go back to the way they were, with Randall being in charge with more free time, and David riding his coattails.
But that is another tale for another time, or you can just go listen to <a href="http://circus13productions.com/wordpress/category/original-audio/assault/">Assault II: Enmity and Armor</a> on circus13productions.com.
PAGE 10
And here is the last page, a splash page, something I prefer to use sparingly. I have mentioned elsewhere why I prefer a splash page as either the first or last page, but think it bears repeating.
One thing I've studied a lot of over the past 20 years isn't just writing for comics, but also photography and cinematography, well filmmaking in general, but cinematography applies the most here.
The main thing I learned from cinematography as it could apply to comics is the establishing shot. One thing you see over and over again in films and TV shows but probably don't realize it, is the establishing shot. It is usually the first shot of the scene, usually to show not only the location of the scene, but also to establish (hence the name) where the characters are in relation to each other and the location. After that is set up, viewers will have an internal map of where everything and everyone is so that the ensuing conversation or action doesn't get confusing.
A splash page used on a first page will help as an establishing shot, it can serve the same purpose. If you look back at page one of this story, you will see three panels, the main one is the establishing shot of the lab, with the tank in the extreme foreground, and the trapdoor Randall and David use in the back. The next two panels then focus on that.
A splash page at the end, like this one, will tie things up, if the actual end of the story, or will show some big plot twist that will continue in the next issue. If you've ever read Kick Ass, you'll know what I mean by the bit plot twist, especially at the end of issue one.
No comments:
Post a Comment