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s2m is reading a NA comic-not-manga. Wait--whut?!?
I WAS going to watch Naruto Shippuuden ep 80 tonight, but...if even DB themselves warn I'm going to need a tissue...no way. I'm not up to sadness right now. So instead I'll babble about the new web comic I read yesterday.
It's called "The Awakened." It's sporadically posted page by page to the same LJ comm where I read Vampirates, which is how I found it. The artwork is fun, very NA (read: not anime or manga) and I was especially grabbed by the premise: the main character, an emaciated goth teen named Chase, is slowly going insane. He's afraid of falling asleep, b/c whenever he does, his unconscious body tries to kill itself.
Isn't that a fabulous idea??! How agonizingly fun to play with that concept. The comic begins with the guy waking up almost drowned in his own bathtub. AWESOME!!! He passes out at the breakfast table to awaken and find he's carved up his arms. Blood is everywhere! Whoa!! He keeps seeing monsters and weirdness out of the corners of his eyes! Sugoi!!! And he keeps passing out from blood loss and lack of food! I laugh as he hits the ground again! XD
Obviously, I rather like this setup. Mostly b/c it's so different from what I come up with. My own plots and characters aren't nearly so tortured and losing their minds. In fact, I've never written an insane person, except for pre-Shippuuden Gaara-sama. And that was after his fight with Naruto, so he was already on the mend. Stuff like slowly going insane from lack of sleep, starving to death b/c they're an extreme vegan (I forgot to mention this earlier), and trying to kill themselves while unconscious never occur to me as possibles to inflict upon my own characters. WHOA!!!
With delight, I kept reading. I must admit, it takes skill to make someone faint three times on the same page and have it be hilarious. Not to mention amusing and sexy bloody bandages and a figure where you can literally count ribs. Speaking of the artwork, I already said it isn't anime. Think Disney, but a really twisted Disney. The faces are so clear and engaging! The body language is expressive on its own!! (I soooo wanted to gank one early page where Chase was grimacing in disgust at cafeteria food. That would have been an awesome icon!! :3 But I didn't b/c I'm not sure the artist welcomes icons of her stuff.) I admit sometimes the hands don't quite work, and OMG I like my men thin but poor Chase needs to EAT SOMETHINGand keep it down, but the vast majority of the drawing was really eye-catching and full of character. Granted, this could be b/c I'm so unfamiliar with NA-style (read: not anime or manga) that her artwork is new and fresh to me, but you don't find such expressiveness in the faces of Spidey and X-Men. That much I DO know.
But back to the story. As of this post, the creator (I keep wanting to type "mangaka") is about half-way through the third chapter. IMO, as the plot progressed and certain mysteries were revealed, the story isn't nearly as gripping. For me, it was fascinating that all the weirdness might just have been in his head. I guess I like a bit of mystery and vagueness. As the answers are laid out, it's so neat and pat. Perhaps I'm just used to mysteries lasting for thousands of pages of manga. Or perhaps the answers aren't as dark and twisted as I was hoping for. I admit, I love the new characters and shapeshifting talking wolves, but...I guess the whole going insane and can't-sleep-for-fear-of-a-successful-unconscious-suicide seemed to imply there'd be....I dunno....more depth to it all?? The whole alternative reality idea can be loads of fun, but this one's is so bright and cheerful, so straight-forward and normal, when the setup was so dark and intimidating. All the cute cameos of fans in the alt reality was becoming a little annoying, too. (So much so I had to wonder how many scenes were included just for the cameos.). But all that aside, It could be themangaka creator is saving the return to Fun with Insanity and Suicide (I can't believe I just typed that D=) for when Chase stops reacting to events happening around him and takes an active role again. Though it WAS funny to see him taking a bath in a lily pond. But we were denied our fanservice!! *blows raspberries* (Does the term "fanservice" apply outside of anime and manga?? Is there an equivalent in NA terms?? "Gratuitous skin shot" maybe? That's not nearly as catchy. :P~~~~~)
I'm intersted enough in the book to keep reading and see what happens. Chase's round, fierce female BFF is completely awesome and luscious, and the villain is certainly engaging. And of course the artwork is jaw-droppingly shiny. Even if the plot hasn't turned out as brain-games fun and twisted as I had hoped. One thing in particular about the writing must be commended: everyone has a different personalty. The angst muffin, the outgoing girl, all business taciturn boss, the watchful thoughtful soldier, the easygoing but good in a pinch other soldier, the ambitious and kinda bratty villain...not many amateur writers can manage so many different personalities. And some published ones can't, either. *snerk*
Again, I'll definitely keep reading. All the while hoping for the return of the dark. ^^V And hey, if you're in the mood for some sick humor, give it a try. ^^ If any of you do, LMK what you think!
It's called "The Awakened." It's sporadically posted page by page to the same LJ comm where I read Vampirates, which is how I found it. The artwork is fun, very NA (read: not anime or manga) and I was especially grabbed by the premise: the main character, an emaciated goth teen named Chase, is slowly going insane. He's afraid of falling asleep, b/c whenever he does, his unconscious body tries to kill itself.
Isn't that a fabulous idea??! How agonizingly fun to play with that concept. The comic begins with the guy waking up almost drowned in his own bathtub. AWESOME!!! He passes out at the breakfast table to awaken and find he's carved up his arms. Blood is everywhere! Whoa!! He keeps seeing monsters and weirdness out of the corners of his eyes! Sugoi!!! And he keeps passing out from blood loss and lack of food! I laugh as he hits the ground again! XD
Obviously, I rather like this setup. Mostly b/c it's so different from what I come up with. My own plots and characters aren't nearly so tortured and losing their minds. In fact, I've never written an insane person, except for pre-Shippuuden Gaara-sama. And that was after his fight with Naruto, so he was already on the mend. Stuff like slowly going insane from lack of sleep, starving to death b/c they're an extreme vegan (I forgot to mention this earlier), and trying to kill themselves while unconscious never occur to me as possibles to inflict upon my own characters. WHOA!!!
With delight, I kept reading. I must admit, it takes skill to make someone faint three times on the same page and have it be hilarious. Not to mention amusing and sexy bloody bandages and a figure where you can literally count ribs. Speaking of the artwork, I already said it isn't anime. Think Disney, but a really twisted Disney. The faces are so clear and engaging! The body language is expressive on its own!! (I soooo wanted to gank one early page where Chase was grimacing in disgust at cafeteria food. That would have been an awesome icon!! :3 But I didn't b/c I'm not sure the artist welcomes icons of her stuff.) I admit sometimes the hands don't quite work, and OMG I like my men thin but poor Chase needs to EAT SOMETHING
But back to the story. As of this post, the creator (I keep wanting to type "mangaka") is about half-way through the third chapter. IMO, as the plot progressed and certain mysteries were revealed, the story isn't nearly as gripping. For me, it was fascinating that all the weirdness might just have been in his head. I guess I like a bit of mystery and vagueness. As the answers are laid out, it's so neat and pat. Perhaps I'm just used to mysteries lasting for thousands of pages of manga. Or perhaps the answers aren't as dark and twisted as I was hoping for. I admit, I love the new characters and shapeshifting talking wolves, but...I guess the whole going insane and can't-sleep-for-fear-of-a-successful-unconscious-suicide seemed to imply there'd be....I dunno....more depth to it all?? The whole alternative reality idea can be loads of fun, but this one's is so bright and cheerful, so straight-forward and normal, when the setup was so dark and intimidating. All the cute cameos of fans in the alt reality was becoming a little annoying, too. (So much so I had to wonder how many scenes were included just for the cameos.). But all that aside, It could be the
I'm intersted enough in the book to keep reading and see what happens. Chase's round, fierce female BFF is completely awesome and luscious, and the villain is certainly engaging. And of course the artwork is jaw-droppingly shiny. Even if the plot hasn't turned out as brain-games fun and twisted as I had hoped. One thing in particular about the writing must be commended: everyone has a different personalty. The angst muffin, the outgoing girl, all business taciturn boss, the watchful thoughtful soldier, the easygoing but good in a pinch other soldier, the ambitious and kinda bratty villain...not many amateur writers can manage so many different personalities. And some published ones can't, either. *snerk*
Again, I'll definitely keep reading. All the while hoping for the return of the dark. ^^V And hey, if you're in the mood for some sick humor, give it a try. ^^ If any of you do, LMK what you think!