J.A. Marlow » Webcomic http://jamarlow.com The Writer: Socially-Sanctioned insanity. Gotta love it! Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:34:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 The Fate of the “Dreamers Cove” Webcomic http://jamarlow.com/2010/05/the-fate-of-the-dreamers-cove-webcomic/ http://jamarlow.com/2010/05/the-fate-of-the-dreamers-cove-webcomic/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 00:30:41 +0000 JA Marlow http://jamarlow.com/?p=240 Many years ago I had an inspiration for a funny, family, science fiction adventure. As I had for years dreamed of doing a comic of my own, it turned into a web comic.

The entire story was plotted out, the first few chapters written. Started up the webpage and started publishing it as a [...]]]> Many years ago I had an inspiration for a funny, family, science fiction adventure. As I had for years dreamed of doing a comic of my own, it turned into a web comic.

The entire story was plotted out, the first few chapters written. Started up the webpage and started publishing it as a webcomic. At first it had a frequency of one a month. As I became more comfortable with the process it moved up to two a month.

All might have been well, but an old injury reared its ugly head. It meant I could not draw for a long period of time. The webcomic went back down to one a month. But even that wasn’t slow enough. Considering how long the story was, doing a page even once every two months, or one a quarter, would result in a story that could not be told in a lifetime.

That was too depressing for words.

I tried all sorts of things. I experimented with black and white, but I didn’t care for the look of it. I pared down the pages to an illustrated story, but by then the injury flared enough that even that was too much art.

Yet, the injury didn’t affect my ability to type!

So, there it is. I have this lovely little story that I still want to finish. It cannot come to fruition through the original vision of a webcomic. But it can be told another way.

I have taken the original story line and realized it comes out perfectly into three books. “Dreamers Cove” will still be told (perhaps under a different title, but the characters will remain the same). This year, for either the July JulNoWriMo or the big November NaNoWriMo, the first book in the trilogy will be written.

And the story lives on.

]]> http://jamarlow.com/2010/05/the-fate-of-the-dreamers-cove-webcomic/feed/ 3 The Webcomic http://jamarlow.com/2008/06/the-webcomic/ http://jamarlow.com/2008/06/the-webcomic/#comments Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:04:00 +0000 JA Marlow http://jamarlow.com/2008/06/the-webcomic/ Writing on the novel has been slowed because of another project. Specifically the Webcomic. In May I realized that there was no way I could keep up the pace with how my arm has been, but I still want to tell the story. Rather strangely, typing is easier on my arm than drawing is. No, [...]]]> Writing on the novel has been slowed because of another project. Specifically the Webcomic. In May I realized that there was no way I could keep up the pace with how my arm has been, but I still want to tell the story. Rather strangely, typing is easier on my arm than drawing is. No, I can't figure that out, either. So, I stopped and looked at both the art and writing, and then looked into alternatives.

The result is a hybrid of comic and novel , basically an “illustrated story”  or “illustrated novel” (think more “Prince Valiant”).

The Pluses:

1. Since typing is easier, this storytelling format is relying more on that and a little less on the art.

2. A lot of traditional comic-telling is spent on 'between' shots leading one big climax, image, or scene to the next, all while trying to make those 'between' shots the best you can. By going this route I save my arm for the images that mean more and are the most important by dropping the 'betweens'.

3. I can keep the color! Going black and white just wasn't an option as I love color. :)

4. The story can be told a little faster (trust me, there is enough to keep going for quite a while!)

So begins a restart.

The script is now being rewritten it in a novel format. That, in itself, has been an interesting experience. :)   I've rewritten the entire first chapter, which is now being edited, and the next few pages have been laid out along with really simple idea sketches for the graphics. Since I'm relaunching anyway, I'm also redesigning a few things. Not the characters, but specifically the house. I'd never been completely happy with the design, so I'm taking the time to make it look more like I want.

The php script I had been using to post the comic and create an automatic archive was rather old and not being supported or upgraded any longer, so I switched to WordPress with the Comicpress theme. It wasn't what I wanted to use, but there aren't that many comic scripts being actively worked on nowadays, and I wanted something that is in active development.

So, the site now has a new look (constantly being tweaked), and as of June 10th a new page in the new style went live.

New site is at: http://www.dreamerscovestudio.com/comic/

The old site with the old archive is still active and can be found at: http://www.dreamerscovestudio.com/comic-old/

 Enjoy!

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