《Alexander Creed: Re-Life》Chapter 25: Comic Books
Advertisement
It came to Alexander that turning movies into picture books isn't his only option.
His picture book idea could be capitalized on and just be upgraded into a sketch-filled variant with text bubbles- which is comic books.
Not the tiny newspaper comic but real deal comic books.
Alexander headed to the car and traveled home while pondering on his new idea. It was a quiet ride as Sullivan also had matters on his head as well.
------
Hence, the rest of the Saturday kicked off with Alexander ruminating on prospects of his comic venture.
Character design, story writing, plotting, layout, paneling, penciling, inking, coloring, binding, publishing, distributing, advertising, and all the comic quirkiness.
Alexander has a passing knowledge of most of them but he did have some parts he excelled on.
Given his art experience of many years embroiled into his young self, the parts about artwork and color designation are something he could be confident about.
Penciling is what he usually does for his picture books. The advanced stuff such as inking and coloring is also something that he could do if he put his effort into it.
It is just that he had been limited by the unavailability of essential tools and workspace while in his first grade curriculum.
A tiny desk surrounded by first graders isn't exactly the best place to work with ink pens and poster color.
Pencil, crayons, and colored pencils are the only ones that Miss Hansen could allow him to have.
As for the story, the sequencing of plots, and the designings of characters, his Mind Mansion might have that already covered.
He now has translated and cohesively put together a jumble of memorable scenes into four working stories.
Alexander still isn't too sure about plagiarizing the already messy comics though but he could still try.
Advertisement
Making storylines and issues of notable and still yet-to-be-made comic titles is worth digging his efforts into.
While movies are standalone and sometimes sequelable, comic books as Alexander remembers them to be are grandstanding and extensive story arcs, one-shots, and reboots.
No matter how powerful his memory is compared to before, it is highly doubtful whether he could interlink comic and character continuities in a span of one sitting while being subjected to the multitasking of class.
Alexander just has to take the education classes out of the equation to make things easier. It was too bad that the option is the last case scenario.
He could still make do though but his level of effort would be many times higher than it could be.
Still, it was a challenge worth taking as it can help gauge what magnitude of productivity he can accomplish.
As for layouts and paneling, it is something he comes across every time he opens a comic issue but never really registered in his mind.
He has the general idea of which panel comes first and which speech bubble to follow by virtue of intuition but it is never really something he delved his grasp into.
In a sense, he could do single artworks but he still has a lot of work to make them fit together to establish a narrative.
How this page should interact with this page? How this panel should fit the characters and the background? How these collections of drawings should convey action scenes, expressions, and the mood? These are the questions that pop up in his head when he thinks about these basic yet also complex factors of comic composition.
Alexander could only label panels, speech bubbles, plotting, and page design as something he could learn as he goes.
There was no point in backing out just because he didn't know it. The fact that he doesn't know it is all the more reason to try and attempt it.
Advertisement
As for bindings, it is a process even more esoteric than the previously mentioned. Alexander knew how comic books are filled and printed but not much on how they are put together.
He at least knows that staplers and bits of magazine magic are used but that is something that he would leave to true blue comic-making professionals.
Publishing is also another important aspect that he had to navigate with. What paper type and dimensions he uses are within this consideration. Matters about the Comics Code Authority, getting around them, and how to conform to them.
This factor also takes into account how and what should be considered in making the content. Publishers wouldn't publish works that would bring backlash and lawsuits.
That is of course if you are the publisher and you could dictate how things go.
However, backlash and lawsuits are still on the table. Easily triggered parents out for blood on comics that brainwash their children into committing violence and sin.
These groups could cancel an episode of He-man just lifting a tree because they felt like it would bring a negative influence on their children.
Alexander didn't know whether they were really doing it for a cause or doing it just for kicks. Their sense of entitlement is something that creators need to take note of with every work they publish.
Lawsuits are also another troublesome thing to dig deep on. The comic book industry has so many similarities and parallels that everyone willing enough could sue someone they think is copying their work.
Alexander can attest that he is a blatant plagiarizer but they at least they didn't know that. However, the foreboding sense that someone would leech into his 'work' and sue him is strangely existent.
Distribution and advertisements are factors that go hand in hand and are also something that Alexander should take note of.
Newsstands and comic shops are the ones that come to his mind but how the comics get there is an industry he needs to know even deeper.
Whether he can distribute to the locality, nationwide, or globality depends on who he works with or if he is willing to step into that aspect himself.
Advertisements are just advertisements but Alexander is sure that they are essential for his works to spread and be noticed.
Those factors are much more on the business side and he could just ask advice from his grandfather on how to approach it.
The added factor of merchandise such as toys and licensing peripherals should be enough to incentivize the business-savvy old man to teach him.
Animation shows and live-action adaptations are also something that the humbly complex comic books can jump themselves into.
------
In any case, the comic book industry is a pioneering venture that Alexander just thought of quite recently but he is already quite looking forward to it.
Until recently as well, jumping into the movie business is a new thing he went with to help his grandfather.
Alexander was branching off from his computer profession and embracing his adventurous spirit as he embarked on new paths he hadn't considered before.
If he was logical and systematic with codes before, he was now experimental and explorative in a creative fever he didn't know he had in him.
Re-life is shaping up to be as enriching and enlightening than Alexander could have imagined it to be.
Movies and comic books may just be the start.
Advertisement
The Demon's Gate
A cultivator is someone who can channel the natural energy through their body, strengthening their own body or performing almost magical feats. At birth, everyone manifests an inborn spell, a power belonging solely to them. Yao Jun was born in a branch of the Yao clan, his inborn spell is considered a useless spell, a spell with no effect. Despite his useless spell, Yao Jun is steadfast and determined to cultivate, spending each day training his body to the limit. All he wanted was to be allowed to live his life as he wanted, but fate makes a fool out of everyone, and his life would end up becoming so much more than he ever expected, taking him to the dark side of the world and beyond. When the Demon's Gate opens, what will it bring to the world?
8 121Bukowski's Broken Family Band
Paranormal horror-comedy with heart. Manic rock musician Jaymie Brzezinski claims to have been born at the moment of Charles Bukowski's death. Now the mad poet-incarnate fronts a band made up of his panic-prone twin, wise-beyond-their-years non-binary younger sibling, and a formidable but mostly stoned guitar goddess. When a murder at a house concert sets in motion a series of strange and inexplicable events, the Bukowski Brothers find that they have more to worry about than just getting through the set list. Like the X-Files meets Scott Pilgrim in the Scooby Squad's van. Updates on Mondays and Fridays. Note: Contains some foul language and reflects some poor lifestyle choices.
8 127Player Versus Player
Otherverse, the most immersive VR game ever created. Pete had heard all of the hype, and now he’s getting the chance to see what it’s all about. First he’s subjected to some bizarre psychological tests, and then his character is mysteriously hijacked, before he is finally pressured to become one of the most despised beings in the game: the player killer. Even as he forms new bonds and friendships, he comes to find that the game isn't the only place where people can die, as dangers in game lead to dangers out of it. AIs created Otherverse, and IRCorp created the AIs. Now, IRCorp wants more….
8 93Unfair (Haikyuu X Male!Reader)
~ DISCONTINUED ~"You know what's unfair? How charming he is, how oblivious he is, how he can make anyone fall in love with him without even trying to and lastly.. how cute he can be."___________M/N, an American boy that debuted as a Japanese speaking idol at the age of 12, will now spend his first year of high school at Karasuno high thanks to his father.Sent there to take a pause from his idol career, he is now the assistant coach for the male volleyball team.The question is.. what will happen during this year?~→ Haikyuu!Various X Male!Reader ←//Not a OneShots Book//~Am I bad at grammar or what
8 1361990s The Nutcracker Prince: Wolfwalkers
Hans was considered odd to his fellow villagers since he was so shy and quiet, while his older cousin Eric was considered stronger for being a hunter for the king, but things change when Hans meets Clara, a strange young girl with a wolf secret... That soon would become Hans secret as well...
8 176The Son of Artemis Book One
Book one of an unknowingly how long series. I started working on this when I got bored on working on my first series Olympus Reborn.Basic summary: An AU were Poseidon thinks Percy is dead, and never wanted him in the first place. He also never loved Sally. Artemis Witness Sally's death and adopts a baby Percy.
8 383