Shortly after Jen and I started down this new path our friend over at The Plastic Age, Rhys McDonald announced his new venture. The RiverSide is also a long form story from someone who had previously been telling short gag storylines. That’s where the similarities end. Rhys has crafted a whole new universe and his is a story more indebted to Alice in Wonderland than the influences that inspired us. The lead character is a young woman, Lily Mackenzie who we are introduced to one day before she gets embroiled in a fantasy adventure. Playing the part of the  white rabbit who leads her down the hole are two wise cracking furry horned creatures who have a mysterious link to her past.

Rhys’s palette, comprising entirely of soft blues, helps reinforce the magic and wonder of the tale. Using those tones is something he began playing with before he began this adventure but here is where the look really hits its stride.  Sure the colours gave his previous work an interesting look but it’s only now that they feel intrinsic to the style rather than a colouring whim. I’m reminded of how needlessly complex some of my art was getting in our short arcs but how I improved from it and hope now it’s paying off with this style of story that deserves the texture.

The story has only just started (it’s up to page 13) but already I’m hooked so please pop over and I promise you wont be disappointed. Here is where the story starts.

Jen says:

For August I’m the resident blogger at the State Library of Victoria’s Young Adult Lit site, Inside a Dog, to read and review YA-appropriate comics and graphic novels. I’m hoping to reach well beyond my own meager understanding of this field by taking advice from folks who know better than me.  So, tell me what I don’t know – what great graphic novels either for or about young adults (13-18 year olds) should I be writing about?  Leave a comment here, or email me on jenbreach (at) gmail (dot) com.  The longer your list of recommendations, the happier you’ll make me!     Thanks!

Jen says: Five Wounds

Published by Allen and Unwin, in all good bookshops now

Hybrid novels (sometimes called illustrated novels or hybrid texts) are very popular in children’s publishing (think Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants) but have yet to successfully make the shift to older audiences.

Five Wounds is a gothic-toned “illuminated” novel for older readers about five severely damaged individuals including an assassin raised by dogs, a leper alchemist trying to create an antidote to death and an angel whose wings were cruelly cut off.

Author Jonathan Walker has successfully created a grubby and brutal other-worldy tone reminiscent of Patrick Suskind’s Perfume.  Dan Hallett’s illustrations are either beautifully detailed and constrained, or loose and disturbing, but always in synch with the text.

Additional visual design elements (including Bible-style chapter and verse notation and hand-drawn editorial notes overlaying the printed text) at first add a feeling of richness to the book.  However, although they make the book beautiful to look at, they quickly hamper readability.

Five Wounds won’t be the one to bring the hybrid novel out of the monopoly of children’s publishing, but it does herald some interesting new possibilities for combining words and pictures.

First appeared in The Big Issue #357, 19/06/2010

Trev says: Recently DC comics announced that Zuda was going to disbanded as an imprint. I thought i’d share a few thoughts on the matter. As usual I make no guarantees of a conherent line of thought, rather these are musings on both the announcement and the responses to this announcement.

First of all here’s my reading of what this means. 1. The Zuda website is going to be shutdown and all content will be moved over to the iPhone/iPad comixology app. 2. This will merge the Zuda digital beachhead established with the rest of the DC line that is going to be made available through the same app. Since Zuda is no longer alone in it’s methodology the need for additional editorial and management staff that comes from having imprints is reduced saving DC money. The first chapters of the Zuda comics will be given away promoting the digital experience of comics on your iPhone with subsequent chapters requiring you to purchase them. This will get you used to buying online content.

Is this a good thing? Despite my love of free content I definitely think this is a fantastic move for DC.

Firstly the Zuda online tool itself always sucked. Everyone knew it, when you were zoomed into a panel touching the screen was just as likely to load the next page as move to the next panel. I read Zuda comics despite this hinderance purely because the content was so compelling. The comixology application seems far more intuitive,  DC is right to not only port the content to the new format but disband the old format. A users first experience of online comics will effect whether they choose to have a second experience so DC needs to only put their best foot forward.  The colours and line quality is also great on the iPad. These screens are all calibrated exactly the same and thus it helps designers make sure what they create EXACTLY what you see.

Will everyone who went to the free site buy the comics? No probably not, but that’s not an argument for keeping it free. DC are a business and to produce and co-ordinate the volume of content they create they can’t function like webcomics can, earning their income by the goodwill of that 2-10 of the audience that voluntarily supports them. This move will allow DC to actually make money off online comics and in the end that helps us all, they’ll promote online comics if they’ve got a financial incentive to do so.

I just want to take this opportunity to congratulate all the Zuda guys. Ron Perazza, their editor, and the creators themselves like Caanan Grall, Dave Gallagaher, Kevin Colden, Peter Timony,  Brock Heasley, James Fosdike, Niki Smith and all the rest of the talented folks.

Finally from my friends who ARE lucky enough to have an iPad i’ve been told High Moon is fantastic to test out how gorgeous comics can look on it.  David Gallaher and Steve Ellis, the creators of High Moon also have a second project on Comixology, Box 13 which friends have praised.

Also I haven’t been paid to pimp Comixology although if they want to send me money or tell me how to put Sawbones into the app I’m happy to accept.