Nonplayer

[Juggertha]

Image just released this and everyone has been raving about the artwork in it so I thought I'd check it out.

Yup.


It's that good.

[blamito]

My shop sold out in a day.:(

[Selkirk]

best art i have seen in a comic in awhile(perhaps a long while :D). just outstanding lines-the level of detail is phenomenal. the dude doesn't letup-no weaknesses to be seen. backgrounds are astonishing, great creatures, great fight scenes, great babes. standout artwork-makes one take notice and really inspires.

the only bad thing about the comic is the art really has to be this good-the main conceit of the 'story'...gamers in a wow/eq whatever style world is beyond boring and frankly a huge letdown after the killer opening sequences. one can only take so many groaners like 'your xp should be thru the roof...'-if you fancy lame and dated gaming memes perhaps the story will captivate...for the rest of us well its a truly brilliant visual spectacle, and the artwork more than carries the day.

[50%grey]

I read interview he did recently and he said he still working on issue 2..yikes.

[Juggertha]

Yikes.

I worry about the schedule on this thing then.

[Crimson Spider]

I'm almost certain the artist posted some of the artwork for this book here on PJ a couple of years ago. And if I remember correctly, he was criticized for his work being exclusively digital and looking too perfect.

[sirandal]

I dont think it was even that long ago. I am almost positive I saw it in the last 6 months.

[50%grey]

There was another thread about him 6 months ago where he made the news cause Image turned him down.

And everyone was like WTF!!

[slyaguilar]

He was in this thread over a year ago..... http://www.penciljack.com/forum/showthread.php?72453-Artist-s-shining-moments/page477 I never forgot it, because it was truly mind blowing stuff.

It will be awhile until he finishes the second issue I'm guessing......:rolleyes:

[Juggertha]

And if I remember correctly, he was criticized for his work being exclusively digital and looking too perfect.

hahahaha
wouldn't surprise me.

This site can be a bit tough at times.

[Selkirk]

those pages were done in november 2009(earlier than that i suppose-i mean 11/2009 is just thread date)? wow i mean if you had an issue in the bag already...one wonders what the hold up is-and also secondarily how much better is that dude now than he was in 2009(he was brilliant in 2009)?

[President]

whole-heartedly agree....heard all of the hype...read the book....yep...it's that good...

[Spidey]

I figured he would want at least a 3 issue buffer before he released the book considering his turn around time. It's definitely on my list. Selkirk, that's too bad about the writing. I was afraid of that, but like you said I think it's worth a buy on his artistic merits alone.

[Selkirk]

it definitely is...i mean its stunning-the shots of those caravan beasts alone are worth the price of admission.

[Spidey]

It wasn't available at my LCS. No surprise. So I got my hands on it, via other means. The story wasn't as bad as you make it out to be, Selkirk. I do love the world he's painting so far. It slightly reminiscent of some .hack stuff I've seen, but I'm liking this a little better. I can totally see a world like that in 100 years or so. The story doesn't have to be mindblowing. As long as he keeps me engaged I'm on board.

[Selkirk]

you know i took some time to re-read it(or actually read it :D...first time through after i got to the gaming part i was doing what i normally do-looking at pictures skimming word balloons). the art is of course still standing up...but if anything the 'story' struck me as even lamer than the first time around-is one left with doubts where this is headed...players getting sucked into game world ^^;. problem is for this type of thing to have any sort of resonance you must have characters-what we have instead are lame brain gamer/tech fools that honestly i hope a caravan beast eats first panel next issue. i game and these dumbasses make me want to turn in my +1 longsword. the story is broke and boring-but we do have the pictures.

[Spidey]

I don't think there is enough story there to tell if it's broken or not. I think his mistake was going off on too many tangents and leaving the main story fairly ambiguous. He didn't put enough meat and potatoes into the hook to leave us wanting more.

So far we know that she tried to take down a big time player or NPC and failed due to the glitch. The interaction in the lobby with her co-op friend really didn't lead anywhere other than to let us know the guy is a recluse. Then the relationships outside of the game are too normal to derive anything from. And last is her seemingly normal job situation with a needy boss. I think the most interesting plot device he has going for him here is the glitch. It's the only thing that leaves you wanting a conclusion. The rest is him trying to paint the world the characters live in.[/spoilers] I think I'll hold out for a couple more issues before I really decide where his writing prowess stands. He obviously hit the ground running with the art, but the writing is a slow, meandering crawl.

[50%grey]

I thought it was pretty damn good to be honest.

Sad that it's going take him years to finish it