Themes in my web-manga
PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 4:51 pm
I draw a comic. I post it at a subdomain to my domain. I'm not sure I can truly call it "manga", though my style is influenced heavily by anime and manga. I can't really call it a typical American comic or cartoon style, either. I very much draw in my own style. My comic is something of a cross between realism and manga - both and niether at the same time.
Anyway... "Paper Eagles" is a story following a warrior in a post-apocalyptic Arizona. It has fantasy-like elements, such as psuedo-medieval clothing styles, and the fact that most people live in kingdoms, but probably falls more into the sci-fi category. It takes place sometime between 300-400 years from now (no date specific). The Northern Hemisphere is in ruins from World Wars III and IV. The storyline takes places sometime after a World War IV, in which the United States, the UK, and pretty much every contry north of the equator has been laid waste. The survivors gathered together, and, in the United States, at least, have formed kingdoms. A few technologies survive from the time before the war, but not much.
There are three sientient races in my comic. There are humans, then there are the Leonisks (lion-human hybrids with wings) and the Haig (deerlike/horselike humanoid hybrids). The Leonisks and Haig are the decendants of genetic experiments created to be soldiers during World War IV.
I consider it a secular comic... with Christian themes. The way I write... I try not to be too overt, as I do not wish to be preachy. I also use my comic as a platform for questioning existance a little bit. I'm firm in my faith, but - don't we all question aspects of life and the world now and again?
The main character of the comic, the human warrior, Quar Magnus, is an agnostic. I guess I could call him an atheist, but if he had... the right proof for him, he *might* believe. His adoptive mother and sister, who are Leonisks, however, are Chrisitans. Most Leonisks, in fact, are Christians.
I think I'll share a few pages of my comic that show how I handle spiritual themes:
This first page is Quar as a child, talking to Jhetti, a mysterious Leonisk monk who rescued him from a band of slavers. Jhetti is the resident mystical figure in the comic. He's a monk who was transformed by God to live on a slightly diffrent plane than physical reality. He shows up every once in a while to guide and give advice to Quar - or, he will, in various parts of the comic (as I draw it).
These next pages are another glimpse into the past; this time of Quar's adoptive sister, Darkchristian (Yep, that's her name). She's explaining to a friend just how she got her name, and has this little story to tell. This story from Darkchristian's (or Xian, as her parents have nicknamed her), is taken directly from a story a pastor at my old church told about his childhood. This story arc has not been posted on the main site yet. The pages are some advance pages - I tend to draw a lot of pages in a flurry, then gang-upload them and have pages to update the main site with for a while.
Just wondering what people might think, and if anyone is interested in reading the comic, plus the backstory and such, go here: http://papereagles.rhlem.net
I do warn... Some parts of the comic are gorey. I haven't gotten into the heavy gore yet, but I'm planning on some bloody scenes later in the comic, as it's where the plot lies. War is a big part of these people's lives.
Anyway... "Paper Eagles" is a story following a warrior in a post-apocalyptic Arizona. It has fantasy-like elements, such as psuedo-medieval clothing styles, and the fact that most people live in kingdoms, but probably falls more into the sci-fi category. It takes place sometime between 300-400 years from now (no date specific). The Northern Hemisphere is in ruins from World Wars III and IV. The storyline takes places sometime after a World War IV, in which the United States, the UK, and pretty much every contry north of the equator has been laid waste. The survivors gathered together, and, in the United States, at least, have formed kingdoms. A few technologies survive from the time before the war, but not much.
There are three sientient races in my comic. There are humans, then there are the Leonisks (lion-human hybrids with wings) and the Haig (deerlike/horselike humanoid hybrids). The Leonisks and Haig are the decendants of genetic experiments created to be soldiers during World War IV.
I consider it a secular comic... with Christian themes. The way I write... I try not to be too overt, as I do not wish to be preachy. I also use my comic as a platform for questioning existance a little bit. I'm firm in my faith, but - don't we all question aspects of life and the world now and again?
The main character of the comic, the human warrior, Quar Magnus, is an agnostic. I guess I could call him an atheist, but if he had... the right proof for him, he *might* believe. His adoptive mother and sister, who are Leonisks, however, are Chrisitans. Most Leonisks, in fact, are Christians.
I think I'll share a few pages of my comic that show how I handle spiritual themes:
This first page is Quar as a child, talking to Jhetti, a mysterious Leonisk monk who rescued him from a band of slavers. Jhetti is the resident mystical figure in the comic. He's a monk who was transformed by God to live on a slightly diffrent plane than physical reality. He shows up every once in a while to guide and give advice to Quar - or, he will, in various parts of the comic (as I draw it).
These next pages are another glimpse into the past; this time of Quar's adoptive sister, Darkchristian (Yep, that's her name). She's explaining to a friend just how she got her name, and has this little story to tell. This story from Darkchristian's (or Xian, as her parents have nicknamed her), is taken directly from a story a pastor at my old church told about his childhood. This story arc has not been posted on the main site yet. The pages are some advance pages - I tend to draw a lot of pages in a flurry, then gang-upload them and have pages to update the main site with for a while.
Just wondering what people might think, and if anyone is interested in reading the comic, plus the backstory and such, go here: http://papereagles.rhlem.net
I do warn... Some parts of the comic are gorey. I haven't gotten into the heavy gore yet, but I'm planning on some bloody scenes later in the comic, as it's where the plot lies. War is a big part of these people's lives.
) might do well in something like that as a full RPG or adventure. I'm doing something like that myself.