Sunday, March 27, 2011
Labels:
creating manga
Lately I've been sitting around thinking about what other kinds of graphic novels I would like to create in the future. Right now there are two concepts in my mind that I would like to try one day.
So these are my ideas:
An Epic Football Story
I have to confess, football isn't my favorite sport, but overall there's so much drama and action involved in it, that I would enjoy creating a story one day that's centered around it. I don't know why, but it attracts me. And I like how football players look when they're crashing into each other. The body positions are strangely graceful, no matter how forceful and destructive the tackle is.
A Period Piece
I think it would be neat to do a graphic novel that has a setting during an iconic period in Americana. Like, it would be so cool to do a manga where the setting is in the U.S. during fifties. I like the clothes and the overall feel of the decade--the cars they drove, the music, and the fact that a gallon of gasoline was less than fifty cents. There was also quite a bit going on culturally as well with the growing popularity of television. Even though it would be a throw back, a story with that kind of setting can still be just as relevant today.
The eighties is another decade I would love to use as a setting. MTV was a new phenomenon, women wore jackets with huge shoulder pads, and having a mullet wasn't a crime (although it should've been). Drawing with the 80's as a setting would be so rad.
But ultimately, when it comes to creating graphic novels, I always think back to the stories that I've read that have affected me the most. The best stories make me feel as if something amazing has just happened to me, leaving me different from the person I was before I read it. At the end of it all, for a moment, I'm not myself. The type of story totally rocks your world and your perception, and somehow touches something deep inside. Ideally, out of all the graphic novels I may end up creating, I would like to stumble into creating at least one like that.
What's next?
So these are my ideas:
An Epic Football Story
I have to confess, football isn't my favorite sport, but overall there's so much drama and action involved in it, that I would enjoy creating a story one day that's centered around it. I don't know why, but it attracts me. And I like how football players look when they're crashing into each other. The body positions are strangely graceful, no matter how forceful and destructive the tackle is.
A Period Piece
I think it would be neat to do a graphic novel that has a setting during an iconic period in Americana. Like, it would be so cool to do a manga where the setting is in the U.S. during fifties. I like the clothes and the overall feel of the decade--the cars they drove, the music, and the fact that a gallon of gasoline was less than fifty cents. There was also quite a bit going on culturally as well with the growing popularity of television. Even though it would be a throw back, a story with that kind of setting can still be just as relevant today.
The eighties is another decade I would love to use as a setting. MTV was a new phenomenon, women wore jackets with huge shoulder pads, and having a mullet wasn't a crime (although it should've been). Drawing with the 80's as a setting would be so rad.
But ultimately, when it comes to creating graphic novels, I always think back to the stories that I've read that have affected me the most. The best stories make me feel as if something amazing has just happened to me, leaving me different from the person I was before I read it. At the end of it all, for a moment, I'm not myself. The type of story totally rocks your world and your perception, and somehow touches something deep inside. Ideally, out of all the graphic novels I may end up creating, I would like to stumble into creating at least one like that.
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First I think its really cool that you are already thinking about whats next... as a writer myself I find I have alot of ideas wandering around in my head waiting for the right moment to take shape on the page.
ReplyDeleteAs to your ideas - I like the idea of one based on football but I think you will need to work hard to keep the story idea fresh, it could be limiting but then again with your ability to map out a story it would probably be a good read.
The period piece idea really rocks as there are so many different directions you could go. The 1950's, the 1980's or for that matter, the 1880's up to the pre war years of the early 1900' (victorian age) could keep you inking pages for years! (that would keep this fan of yours happy - LOL).
Side thought - is Mascara reaching an end? Looking forward to the next pages! Huggs.
Hmm, I'm thinking soccer over football, but I see what you mean about the subtle grace football players have. You'd have to learn about the game and whatnot, though, to really make a good graphic novel on it. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not much of a history person, but I do like historical fiction. I guess it would be interesting to see the clothes of the past. :D
Luck on your future endeavors!
^^ Thanks for your input. The next graphic novel I do most likely won't fit into any of these ideas that I've written about here, but one day I would like to experiment with them.
ReplyDelete@ladyquilt- Is Mascara coming to an end? Yes, it is. But for this story, the readers are kind of in a time warp. What you're reading is months behind what I'm working on right now. In fact, the "new" pages of Mascara were done before I even started working on Couture. So I'm around 5 months ahead. Way into the future. So, as far as I'm concerned when it comes to drawing and such, I'm starting to see the beginning of an end :)
I like your ideas.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan of sports in general, but I've read a few good sports manga and enjoyed them. I think the thing about a good sports story is that it's really about the characters, the pressure that comes from the competitive nature of the sport, and how the characters deal with that. All of that can be interesting even if you're not into the sport.
As for a period piece, I think that kind of setting can add an extra dimension to a story. That's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to the new Captain America and X-Men First Class movies. I really like the style of the '20s-'50s, so it would be cool to see some of that in a manga.
I'm sure you'll do a good job on whatever you write, so I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next. ^_^