Broken Frontier

Indie creators David Moran, Alex Sheikman (Robotika: For A Few Rubles More) and mpMann (Some New Kind of Slaughter, The Grave Doug Freshley) give us some final thoughts on the business of creating comics, as we take one final trip down the Artists' Alley...

Click here for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9.

David Moran: Alex, you aren’t the largest fan of the grid, are you? That’s probably a technique I fall back on too much in my scripts, and you always seem to find some way to either break from it or circumvent the technique whenever I try and put it in.

Alex Sheikman: The "grid" is a storytelling device, and as such it can be used to achieve a certain effect at times. There are places in some stories where the application of the "grid" is perfect because it gives it a certain rhythm, but you are right, I don't like to overuse it. Particularly because, even though it appears to be the simplest of storytelling tricks, it is the hardest to implement (at least for me). Every panel is small and it takes a lot longer for me to design the graphics so that they look interesting and direct the eye to the next panel (either to the right or left or down). It is a difficult design challenge, but I am getting better and better at it. In fact, we open the third issue of Robotika: For A Few Rubles More with a nine-panel grid.

David Moran: Yes, we certainly do! You even threw in a (sort of) 3x4 grid towards the end of the third issue as well – and that’s, by far, one of my favorite pages in the series!

mpMann: For me, a grid, however loose, highlights attention on what's within the panels. It requires attention to pictorial composition, camera angles, and the temporal relationship between the events in each panel. Alex gives plenty of attention to these elements in his storytelling, but the layouts he uses tends to mute our awareness of them. They are there, and necessary; but his attention to the overall page design works to support the futuristic setting of his tale and the exotic people and devices that live there. That's a worthwhile concern for the world of Robotika. One could say that he is more ambitious in this regard than I am.

David Moran: I’d be curious to know what you each feel are your strengths as an artist and graphic storyteller? What about weaknesses?

mpMann: I'd like to think I'm a thoughtful artist presenting stories that have merit for thoughtful readers. If I have a weakness, it’s that I don't put enough polish on the final and, maybe, that I lack the "common touch."

Alex Sheikman: I am still learning, so weaknesses are pretty obvious... the biggest being that I am not as consistent as I would like to be from panel to panel and page to page. I do think that there are now longer and longer chunks of pages that fit nicely together and the chunks are increasing with every issue.

The only strength that I can think of is my passion for comics and for telling stories through the medium. As Marv knows, it is a lot of work per each and every page, but it is very rewarding for me.

David Moran: Now, Marv, you’ve learned animation, correct? Do you ever plan to try and integrate this skill into your comics work at some point?

mpMann: Actually, I already have. I took a class in traditional animation at UCLA years ago and worked for about half a season as a layout artist at Hanna-Barbera many moons ago. Later, I learned 3D modeling and animation at San Francesco State.

Working with writer Mark Meadows I created a 240 page silent comic strip in 3ds Max. It was connected to two flipbook style animations to create a commentary on some of the characteristics of digital narrative; ie. games, hyperlinks. We had multiple routes through our story, a circular narrative, and duel perspectives on a single event. This appeared as a sidebar piece in Meadows' book Pause and Effect: The Art of Interactive Narrative (New Riders).

Later, I produced a couple of mini-comics in 3D and learned a few useful lessons. 3D modeling and rendering lends itself to the kind of detailed style that has become popular over the last 40 years. But asset creation is a major investment and assets should be re-usable. It takes time to model and rig a character and it only becomes cost efficient if it can be reused. Creating a model for one panel use is inefficient. Additionally a single 3D render tends to look very still. It doesn't have the bounce and squash of traditional animation. After having played with 3D, I went back to drawing my comics and I try to put into play the lessons of hand-drawn animation. The Pause and Effect story had one character and one set.

David Moran: What about for the future, guys, what would each of you like to try and accomplish in the medium of comics looking towards the future?

mpMann: I have learned an enormous amount about how I want to pace stories by working with the writers I've worked with these last few years. I see things I like, and occasionally places where I think we've misstepped in the way a story is paced. I am very excited about my upcoming project BA'AL. It needs a rewrite, and then I want to put into play as much of what I've learned as I can. I recall a couple of years ago when A. David Lewis and I read a review of The Lone and Level Sands that called it one of the best graphic novels the reviewer had ever read. We were flattered, of course, but Dave asked me, "Do you think it’s one of the best graphic novels you've ever read?"

I had to reply, "I don't think it’s the best graphic novel I'll ever create."

Alex Sheikman: I just want to tell good stories...not only do I want to become a better writer who can make connections with people through ideas, but I also want to learn how to "storytell" and present my ideas in a more effective manner. I am kind of obsessed about the theme of how to define a real hero, so I’m sure I will be working on that for a while as well.

I also want to become a better artist and be able to draw images that pull readers into the story and at the same time I want every panel to be a nice piece of art.

That’s all pretty ambitious, I know, and I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me...but I ‘ve always enjoyed a challenge :)

Broken Frontier extends its thanks to David Moran, Alex Sheikman and mpMann for this fascinating article series. For further details on the comics and graphic novels discussed by the team over the last three weeks check out the Archaia Studios Press website here.