The next few weeks…
… will herald a major new direction for this comic, as well as wrap up the current storyline.
I kid you not. The entire series so far has been building up to this point.
In particular, those looking for clues to the mystery that is the Lady in the Hood will not want to miss pages 59-60 of “Nemesis of Decay”.
Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.
I’d like to comment here about questions I still have and feedback for this story arc.
What do I think of “Nemesis of Decay”?
Well, now that this arc is nearly over, I can say that the title is quite fitting. Also, I can honestly say that I liked the beginning of this story as it gave a lot of interesting background for the main characters. There is certainly something to be said for giving characters more back story and developing them further. It also explained some things.
Also, I will have to wait to see what you mean by “The entire series so far has been building up to this point.” But it sounds things are going to get more interesting.
However, I do not have much else positive to say about “Nemesis of Decay”. Considering that this arc started over a year ago ( http://www.twilightlady.com/2010/02/04/nemesis-of-decay-prologue-pg-1a/ ), I’d say it has been stretched out a bit too long. I seem to recall a fan commenting some months ago, “How much longer?” And, from what I can tell, the number of comments being left has declined.
For one thing, I’ve been following this comic for less than a year and even I have been loosing interest and forgetting the names major characters, plot points, and important terminology because it’s been so long since they were last used.
Also: From the beginning Twilight Lady has had a rather dark, edgy, macabre atmosphere and/or subject matter. The “Nemesis of Decay” arc definitely takes this to a whole new level. Thing is, I do not much care for zombie stories. It seems a bit boring to me.
I much preferred the “Imprisoned Lightning” story arc where Rona met other astral travelers, they went to orbsmeet and experienced orblight. And along with The Lady they freed some slaves, and did battle with a nigh invulnerable troll and her hench creatures. (BTW: The Lady is pretty SCARY when she goes totally berzerk and off the deep end: http://www.twilightlady.com/2010/01/07/imprisoned-lightning-pg-22a/ )
I do appreciate getting more background on the main characters. But there are several supporting characters that fans like myself would to see more of and hear more about.
Case in point: I recall a comments page a few months ago in which you asked readers which characters we would like to see more of. ( http://www.twilightlady.com/2010/08/14/which-characters-from-twilight-lady/ ) From the comments, the most requested were MC Vlad, Perse, and Whisper. (Though it only had one request, I’ll admit Maggie’s story might be interesting, too.) Are we going to learn more about these characters soon? Will readers eventually learn more about “The Watchers” and what their primary motivations are, or what happens to souls after they meet Oblivion? What is Oblivion, anyway? If there are angels and demons, what sort of realm to angels hail from?
“Nemesis of Decay” seemed to raise more questions than it answered. And it barely touched on the characters we’ve been asking about.
PS: If Rona is not really dead and she eventually finds her way back to her body, it might be cool if she is psychically and physically changed by the near-death experience. By that I mean something like developing a white streak in her hair or even having glowing red eyes in astral form from now on. (I’m assuming The Lady made a link with Rona and shared energy to save her.)
PSS: Why hasn’t Rona suggested to The Lady to consider seeking a method to permanently separate herself from Jennifer without killing her? Another words, splitting off that portion of her essence and personality that is Jen. That could be a win-win for everyone, right? The Lady would be entirely free of the prison of Senserealm and Jen could go on with her life. And both Zorro and Father Nader would be satisfied.
it might not be that simple. I think this comic isn’t too bad. Even if its slow I keep coming back ot see whats next. I also read Goblins which takes forever to finish a story arc sometimes as well. I think the only difference is the number of panels you get. However, I like this comic enough to continue supporting it as much as I can.
The Lady can’t free herself from Jen because she IS Jen, she has amnesia when the senserealm body is conscious and the Jen persona developed as the body lived a normal senserealm life.
If the Lady permanently separated herself from that body the Jen consciousness would probably be obliterated. Who did this, (and how, and why) is the central mystery of this story.
P.S. My spell-check recognizes “senserealm”, go figure.
Try “Nemsiiki”. I dare ya.
xspacetrue and corpsegirl, thanks for the feedback. With an ongoing webcomic like this, sometimes it’s a matter of figuring out what type of stories work best in the format and won’t feel “slow”. I’m still getting the hang of it. Hope you’ll stick around for my next swing at the bat…
always. What makes it slow is your lack of panels per update. goblins does a full page per update which helps it move its slow story along. However, I LIKE your stories even if its slow.
This webcomic never feels slow to me, Blake. You update regularly, and the art, while using ‘primative’ Poser characters, feels more organic than a lot of art using top of the line CGI figures from professional studios. In short, you have a serious fan in me, and unless you stop updating entirely, I’ll still be a loyal reader. The Lady is a fascinating character, both hero and villain at the same time, with shades of gray that make her appealing to the audience as a whole. I’ve been reading for at least the last two years, and it just keeps getting better.
the pace is definitely slow, with really fast action that ends before you realize it started. but that’s a characteristic of The Lady herself! I can imagine that she’s Old. (yeah, capital O). Puts me in mind of the Ents. How long did the Entmoot go on for? and when time came for action, those Old Trees moved like lightning and destroyed Sauruman’s castle within a flash!
I suppose the pace is rather slow, at that. But there’s always a new mystery to ponder. That’s what defines this comic for me; that, and the way it manages to make a philosophical examination of the nature of reality at the same time, along with enough wish fulfillment to make it satisfying all the way through. Yes, you’ll find another devoted fan here, and all I can say is: Keep up the good work.
A storyline with this much depth isn’t going to be a battle-every-third-panel presentation. The pace seems entirely reasonable to me, if one thinks of it as graphic novel rather than comic book.
I suspect that a large part of the problem others are having is not the pacing of the story but the fact that this particular arc is a long one. There have been sub-arcs within it which could arguably have been brought to more obvious closing points, and I suspect that the minor change involved in doing so would have satisfied those who think it’s moving slowly… but since that’s very much a matter of managing perception rather than reality, I’m not convinced forcing those pause points would have been worth the effort.
Real life doesn’t come in convenient chapters.
I don’t assume to suggest ways in which this comic should go, but as far as the slow pace, I completely agree with xspacetrue. I keep coming back, but I find myself lost as of late because of the slow grind. I see xcal’s point, but in this particular arc, there has been a ton of suspense regarding Rona that needs resolving, but the story has taken a strange turn. I’ve been on the edge of my seat for months, so the lack of any resolution has made it boring at this point. I’m bored until resolution begins. But I love the comic, and I’m not trying to bash the artist. So, yeah. I’m just glad someone else feels that way too.
Come on, guys … I don’t mean to be mean, but I think some of you would experience less frustration if you adjusted your perspective, or perhaps your reading habits.
I have to agree with Techno. What you’re dealing with here is the nature of the beast. It takes a LOT of time to render images of this quality and detail, believe me.
If you look at how most top web comics are done, they are either (a) high detail and have small updates less frequently or (b) larger/frequent updates but less detailed or complex. It usually takes a team of writers, drawers, inkers, clean-up artists, and colorists to produce large complex detailed well-done comics frequently. When someone does it solo, they just can’t get that much out in a couple of days, or even a week. Most web comic artists work solo or perhaps duo and still have day jobs to pay at least most of their bills. Only a lucky few long-time professionals get to do comics for a living (e.g. Phil Foglio, and even he doesn’t work solo).
This is GOOD stuff. Imaginative, creative, original, deep, artistic, and just plain fascinating. I think the only reason this comic is not in the top 10 or 20 is because some people (even among web comic readers) just don’t like to deal with stuff this macabre, complex, or touching on “alternative belief systems.” If only reading two or three panels at a time is not enjoyable for you, I’d recommend you either go reread several previous posts to keep the situation fresh in your mind, or set yourself a reminder to read it weekly, biweekly, or even monthly. The art is good and detailed enough it’s well worth a second look. Heck, it’s worth three or four looks IMO. ;D
But, don’t give up on it just because it’s challenging to read. Often the most satisfying stuff is. If you’ve liked it at all, figure out how you can best enjoy it (reread, read it monthly like a store-bought comic, take notes, whatever), then make it so. 😉 In the long run, I think you’ll be glad you did.
Barigato wrote:
“If you look at how most top web comics are done, they are either (a) high detail and have small updates less frequently or (b) larger/frequent updates but less detailed or complex.”
True. But there are some exceptions.
“It usually takes a team of writers, drawers, inkers, clean-up artists, and colorists to produce large complex detailed well-done comics frequently.”
If by “usually” you mean “sometimes” and by “team” you mean two or three, then maybe. Seriously, I’ve not heard of any web comic with more than three team members. And even having a team of two or three is uncommon. Girl Genius is the only one I can think of that has a writer, an artist, AND a colorist as separate individuals.
I’m assuming we’re still talking about WEB comics here? There are differences between web comics and commercially successful print comics or comic strips. For one, it is expected to need a large staff to produce commercially successful comics.
“If only reading two or three panels at a time is not enjoyable for you, I’d recommend you either go reread several previous posts to keep the situation fresh in your mind, or set yourself a reminder to read it weekly, biweekly, or even monthly.”
Yeah… not me. I may reread certain story arcs every once in a blue moon. But I certainly have neither the time nor the interest to re-read them that often.
“What you’re dealing with here is the nature of the beast. It takes a LOT of time to render images of this quality and detail, believe me.”
That seems like a strong claim, considering how many different variables there are. I say that to be accurate we’d have to ask Blake Chen how much time is spent on average.
Rendering time depends on numerous factors, such as how fast and how many processors your machine has, how much memory it has, the quality of the video card, the type of software used, the rendering settings, the resolution of the output, etc.
There are other factors, too, such as being able to find and utilize various props and models, adjusting the poses and lighting, post rendering effects, etc.
Consider, though, that one can usually do other things while waiting for the computer to finish rendering. The resolution of today’s strip (which seems average in size) is 760 x 342 pixels. Blake may or may not render output at significantly higher resolutions before resizing and cropping. But the size of the comic panels in the final product is NOT large as rendered images go.
I’m sure this comic is a lot of work. But then, I’m also sure that Blake would not be doing this if he did not get some enjoyment from the doing. And while I do not have the experience to back it up, I SUSPECT that rendering comic panels in 3D software may not be quite as time or labor intensive as hand drawing and hand coloring each panel. At least, I’ve read some articles by others who use 3D software for web comics which suggests as much. But, again, there are a lot of variables in such a comparison and some artists can draw and color very fast.
Also, I’ve read that machinima programs like Movie Storm and iClone can render acceptable quality 3D stills in seconds. Those may not have the same quality as professional render software like 3D Studio Max or Poser. But I think with cell shading and small comic panels high quality output is not needed.
From my own experience as an artist who generally prefers to draw on paper and color with software, I can confirm that it takes a LOT of time. But then, that’s only a minor hobby for me. I’ve been told I do quality work, but all artists I know can draw and color much faster than me. I’ve also dabbled a bit in 3D modeling, as a hobby. But I do not have the experience or software familiarity to have a decent turnaround.
I’m just saying that experience, software familiarity, PC hardware, software, and talent can have a huge impact on the time required.
Hmm .. well my remarks and suggestions were mainly for people who don’t know what’s involved with creating graphic stories, and might not have thought of other ways to read it for their best enjoyment. Xpace, since you clearly know a fair bit about it, and have a well-established idea of what works for you, I don’t think you were really in my target audience. xD However, thank you for expanding on and clarifying some things that I didn’t elaborate on.
When I mentioned teams of writers, etc, I did have commercial comics and graphic novels in mind. Guess I didn’t make that clear. My point is that most web comics are done solo, which naturally limits how much can be produced, especially if the “soloist” has a day job or other responsibilities. That doesn’t quantify things of course, but I think that’s self-evident.
Could Blake produce more TL material on a regular basis given his current circumstances? Heck if I know. Sure there are modern production tools that make things go faster, as Xpace pointed out. But, I have little idea of what all commitments he has, or what else he does for fun or fulfillment besides make TL go. (I expect music’s in there somewhere. 😉 And whatever those things might be, he has a perfect right to them, and to keep what he does to himself or his close friends. Besides, some of those other activities might help fire his creativity, or at least give him more energy.
I just figure he’s committed to producing this comic long term, and maintaining a pretty high quality level in depth of story and presentation. He doesn’t come off as a stoner or fruitcake, so I presume if he’s not posting more material per week, there are pretty good reasons why not. I do know there is a flow to any creative endeavor, and it doesn’t usually help to push an artist to go faster than that pace. 😛
By the way, when I say “high quality art” I don’t mean high resolution or even necessarily highly detailed. I suppose I didn’t make that clear either. It doesn’t even have to be beautiful, although beauty often shows up for the party. 😉 What I mean is it’s well-done media. Umm .. do I need to explain what that means?
Anyway, I’m sure Blake appreciates knowing that some people would *really* like to see more panels per day or week. I’m not trying to single out anyone who posted here, or elsewhere for that matter. But over the last several months (or year?) I’ve seen more than one thing posted that I found nigh onto badgering, and I think that’s unfair. This comic is really good, and it’s not easy to do. Nor does he have to share it like this, or at all.
I thought I might be able to help some people enjoy the comic better, or be more understanding of the time and effort it takes to produce it. But, perhaps I’m just preaching to the choir. 😉 Or worse, getting too far off topic or just raising the tension. If so, Blake feel free to remove my comments at your first opportunity or leisure. I think I’m doing ok, but maybe I’m a bit out of touch. 😉
What was the topic? Oh yes …. xD
I think this chapter is very important to the story and a rather difficult one to express. There are a lot of important characters, there’s a lot of plot threads, and a lot of details and events to convey. It certainly had some surprises. It’s a tangled web of intrigue that would be challenging to express in any media. And yeah, it’d be great if it could come faster … but I’m just glad it comes at all.
Blake, please keep up the good work. There’s much more to this story I’m sure, and I want to see it. Thanks a bunch for what you’ve done so far. 😀
What can I say but that the gratitude is mutual. 🙂
i love this comic. so far i am understanding and having been thrown a loop few forgetting things
i am already calling that the lady in the hood is a fallen arch angel whose job was to escort people to there final destination i.e death but she brokeaway and was imprisoned in jen for reason who has a striking resemblance to old patron i the one that used to play the music for them and i thik the lady was or is that old patron.
not^