Throughout the story I aim to introduce a lot of key characters and villains into Ethan's life and explore topics of good vs. evil, right against wrong and the extreme journeys through the morally grey which we face virtually everyday. Most of the ideas and artwork stem from the metaphorical and the virtuous of machines and the events of singularity which we face in the upcoming future. The Urban Ninja is a transient tech-noir/cyberpunk action adventure story, but aims to sit very closely to Ethan's psyche and nature, seeking answers to questions on humanity and the natural orders of the universe. It is almost existentialistic in nature.
Although I've had this idea in development for the past three years I've only recently began to forward my ideas while combining my premise to the work insighted from my university project. This gave me the opportunity to explore more of what I was trying to say with this story and valid abilities for them to be expressed through the world of multimedia. Over the past several months I have been exploring, experimenting and developing deeper insight into what this comic is, how it could be represented and also the type of organic processes should go into developing a premise such as this. And although I was without a functioning computer for nearly three months while working it gave me the opportunity to develop on the content and subject matter of graphic novels, what it is people seem to expect and what aspects of this medium is unique and tailored to it and also what can be taken away and translated across other mediums.
One main aspect which I was very keen to explore was that of traditional comic print against our more ambivalent digital era which we are now in. The topic seemed to formally tie in well with the aspect of the comic's story which I was exploring at the time, and gave me a great platform to jump into about today's designated medium (*media).
Special Studies: Part one - My Comic Idea
The form of comic art has really developed over the past several year, the style of art, action and drama has become more expressive in nature progressing alongside the modern day era intricately and extremely well, while focusing on the dark and more gritty/dreary social aspects to both the physical world and the fictional one. To an extent this is obvious as to why, misery loves company and nothing sells more than watching the depiction of a character’s life unfold through the worst.
Graphic Novel Covers - Spawn by Todd McFarlane
But apart from this I think that the producers of graphic novels and fan favourite comics are each trying to say something, portraying their statements through the characters which they personify. The world is changing, and a lot faster and more integrated than some of us realise, but this is still an exciting time, and a time for expressionism and experimentation, which can clearly be seen in the world of multimedia, (comics and graphics included).
Mike Matas: A next-generation digital book
While looking into the research of comics and graphic novels I soon came across the most recent form to have been established, the motion comic, and with it the evolved forms of semiotic structure, structure to comic storytelling in particular (using a digital device, I.e. the projected screen).
Motion comics although conceptually older that people may have realised has boomed in recent times, and seeing characters from all comic aspects being turned into stand alone motion comics or motion comic series, I.e. The Batman, Ironman, Jonah Hex, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Watchmen to name a few. To an extent and to some reluctant fanboys these are seen as nothing more than cheap commodities to their paperback counterparts and just another way for companies to make money, but to the rest of us they’re seen as a variable medium with an ability to blend and bridge together a unique style to comic art (and comic literature) with cinema and the cinematic experiences brought with.
Batman: Black & White - screen shots and cover art
I think this is what intrigued me the most about this topic, especially in relation to how I could properly and respectfully adhere to the type of style which my own comic should represent.
I've always enjoyed both watching and analysing film and filmology, I like to get behind the film and go into the how and why of its making, as to gain a better understanding of the story and the production. Cinematics has always interested me very much in this sense and I think it all started from the comics and stories that I read while I was younger. Within comics I already understood that everything that was in a comic was there for a reason, something always related to the characters or something else would always occur pertaining to the actual story. This was probably why I usually spent hours reading, re-reading and examining my comics from week to week. So as I discovered this as a general principle to motion comics it only seemed right for me to use this method in expressing my comic and showcasing this unique art form style.
Because motion comics are adopted more from cinema to graphic ‘cinematography’ must play an integral role to developing the artwork used. This is initially where you begin to notice the divergences between the two mediums before they begin to blend together again. A really strong sense of colour, space and dimension has to be focused on while displacing the comic art image into the digital realm, and only a selective few motion comic titles have considered and achieved this successfully. Given what they had to work with and what it was which they were attempting to portray. It is clear that there is a very organic process which goes into developing a motion comic.
GodKiller: Walk Among US - Cover art, art rendition, motion comic still - (Matt Pizzolo, Ann Muckcracker)
Another aspect which intrigued me was the further prospects of ‘cross-platform’ storytelling and the possible interactivity between issues (episodes). So much of our everyday lives is done digitally nowadays and the integration between man and machine is becoming increasingly seamless, with the addition of handheld PDA’s and smart devices an added level of depth has gone into a lot of the facets of modern-day living, and I thought that with motion comics similar principles would obviously apply. Motion comics seem to be a really good medium to experiment with and help redefine the principles and techniques of general modern-day comic book storytelling.
Broken Saints (2001) - Poster art & Screen shot
While researching this I came across several pioneering books who also thought of similar concepts to the enhancement of comic books and visual interactivity, Scott McCloud’s ‘Reinventing comics’, ‘Digital Storytelling – the Creator’s guide to Interactive Entertainment’ by Carolyn Handler Miller and ‘The Art of Layout and Storyboarding’ by Mark T. Byrne, each expressing the core ideals from their subjects which we ordinarily take in and socially accept then attempt to explore the innovative and possible limits which could be had and later developed.
"I became fascinated with the possibilities surrounding computers and comics. When the web came out of its shell several months later, fascination quickly turned to obsession, and within two years, most of the ideas found in 'Part Two' had taken root."
-- Reinventing Comics - Scott McCloud
All these factors seemed the right type of materials which I was looking for to express my own comic/graphic novel. In the story my character stands at the point of man and machine – a tailored hybrid (where does one start and the other end?) and by the people he is seen as either an extremist or as a freedom fighter. This diversity is what keeps the character’s fluctuation within his premise and is continuously brought up as a reflection to the villains which he faces inside this tech-noir type world. This is a particular reason as to why he is experienced as an anti-hero rather than a regular superhero. And these elements, I think gain an intriguing insight into exploring the depths of experiencing a cinematic motion comic and the possibility to its then interactivity.
Special studies: Par Two – My Comic Inspiration
Through developing upon the comic’s story there were numerous aspects influencing me and the overall plot to my comic at the same time. Before I started this topic under my university project ‘The Urban Ninja’ was the product of action & adventure and the accumulation of all the things I wanted to do or couldn’t possibly do. A character who could face any and all odds, do incredible things and fiercely challenge any foe.
At the start I had gotten together with some creative friends and we attempted to create an anthology of heroes and characters that could have their storylines cross over. At the time we were all collaborating and defining our own characters as well as focusing on each others, talking about what would look cool and ideas taken from popular media or particular ways characters should act and interact. All the information was well appreciated and really helpful, at any point we could bounce ideas off of one another, and anything one person didn’t see he had five other guys to have his back and advise them on something of quality to take on board. Eventually though, we didn’t follow through with the plans for the comic and each of us went our own separate ways, putting our comics on the backburner and putting our efforts to other commitments.
After a while I eventually came back to my character and wanted to develop it a little further, adding more depth and detail to the looks and personality, not to mention try out some of the new techniques that I had developed in art and animation while away. But then there was something else also, with this character I really thought that the Ninja had a unique persona to him, the style of action and storytelling seemed grand and enthralling and the nature of his character seemed to have layers and a multitude of emotions (this is all of what I thought at the time of working with friends and writing those joint story arcs together, by the way). I really wanted to add to this character and focus on depth and drama just as much as heroics and action, I think that is what makes a relatable character and someone whose story is worth investing in. The Urban Ninja attempts to show character developments while showcasing action and suspense and at the same time, depict innovation and a sense of traditionalism through the hero’s journey and classic cinematic (semiotic) techniques.
During my time developing the research for this project I wanted to find the type of elements which related to how the comic should be viewed/portrayed and what it represented as a graphic novel type, (the things which set it apart from other comics and novels already in existence). At the beginning I found inspiration in virtually everything I saw, I witnessed character traits which I wanted to emulate, I watched things with cool and dynamic action sequences and wanted them in my comics. I watched regular television and wanted characters with the same powers, scenes with ‘that’ type of music, colour schemes that I could match, interactivity which I could mimic...it all got a bit too much! And I had to take a step back from my own enthusiasm and really ask myself – was it right for the comic? Was it right for the character? Is it right for the depiction of my character’s world and the kind of comic I wanted to showcase?
*Along the process it is easy to forget yourself in the excitement and remember what it was that you wanted to show off to begin with. Eventually discovering this form of motion comic however, can give you a lot more to work under than a regular comic, but one should always try to remind themselves that this is a medium always in tribute to the standards of those same comic books and the type of fans to respect that fact. Plus, motion comics also come with their own limitations and challenges.
Scholar, philosopher and teacher Marshall McLuhan was once quoted to say, “Great art speaks a language which every intelligent person can understand, the people who call themselves ‘modernists’ today speak a different language.”
I think this is a very insightful statement, in the ideas of art and artistic licence. The message which is carried should always be able to be traced back to its core values – what it once was which the artist wanted to see and then the how and the why for the next person to see a similar thing and if not then why not?
This was a strong principle as to what it was I wanted my own comic to say, I wanted to have a definitive world and outcome for the Ninja’s character but with the semiotics and the ideas of people’s perceptions also wanted to give them a journey unique from my own. Everyone’s journey is different and everybody should have a choice to experience it in a different (refreshing) way. This is why I searched out for the forms of interactivity which existed.
I had to go back to the beginning and focus on how to reasonably showcase the Ninja’s journey.
Motion comics have respectfully been compared to most modern day graphic novels and have been seen as a way of bridging the gap between reading and viewing the information presented in front of us. The thing to remember overall is that with original graphic novels the action and excitement is usually perceived through our imagination, with motion comics the content is play out for you which often creates the problem as people feel it loses the quality of action and imagination. In the beginning most motion comics were created testing techniques for creating an in between paying tribute comics but recently more and more comics are immerging with more confidence and real cinematic techniques established specifically for motion comics now.
Fubar 'Platoon meets Animal Farm' -- A Motion Comic
This new motion comic displays real cinematic qualities while at the same time concentrates seriously on staying with a standard of artwork retaining to a familiar comic format.
Page art from the graphic novel 'Maus: A survivor's tale'
A strong sense of familiarity from FUBAR as is characterises the two opposing factions as cats versus dogs. There is a sense of tension which is built up throughout and intense graphical scenes presented in the war events.
