Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Feb 22, 2022 23:45:11 GMT -5
I'm currently working on the last few pages of The Crimebusters, but while The Crimebusters remains my top priority, I also have other projects I very much want to work on. One of these is an epic fantasy series featuring a paladin named Vhess. In this world, Paladins are akin to Texas Rangers - they patrol the wild frontier, the only law in a lawless land of monsters and magic. I've been working out the plot of the first story in my head, so that once I get this issue of Crimebuster done, I can spend a little time writing up a script and hiring an artist to start working on this series. But to get my creative juices going, I've been taking a break now and then from drawing Crimebusters to work on a Vhess cover for the first issue - something I can share with my readers, but also with prospective artists when it comes time. Proiof of concept, let's say. Anyway, this might not be the final version, but it's close enough, so I thought I'd share it here first. I'm guessing it will be a year or more before the actual comic comes out, but here's a first look:  Art by me, colors by John Charles. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2022 1:26:10 GMT -5
Crimebuster I'm excited to see this, but you might want to ask a mod to move it to one of the comic forums rather than the toy forum (though I'd be all in on Vhess action figure! Also would love to see a variant that homages the classic A Paladin in Hell artwork from the 1E PHB  or an "action figure variant" cover riffing off the packaging of the old Strongheart the Paladin D&D action figure...  (hmm just a little hyped for this!) -M
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Crimebuster
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Quest
Feb 23, 2022 1:37:53 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Crimebuster on Feb 23, 2022 1:37:53 GMT -5
Not sure how it ended up in the toy forum! It was supposed to be in the artwork forum. I'll see if I can get it moved.
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Crimebuster
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Quest
Feb 26, 2022 21:45:49 GMT -5
Post by Crimebuster on Feb 26, 2022 21:45:49 GMT -5
Also would love to see a variant that homages the classic A Paladin in Hell artwork from the 1E PHB This initial story I'm doing is two issues, and this works pretty well thematically for some stuff in the second issue, so I think I'll do an homage of this for issue #2. Thanks for the suggestion! |
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Crimebuster
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Quest
Mar 11, 2022 12:25:19 GMT -5
Post by Crimebuster on Mar 11, 2022 12:25:19 GMT -5
I am actively working on this. While I am drawing the last few pages of Crimebusters #4, I have commissioned a couple different artists to do interpretations of scenes from this story. I'm hopeful one of them will pan out and I can hire them to do the whole story, but we'll see.
In the meantime, I'm trying to decide what to call the series. While the Bronze Age variant covers like the one above will have a Vhess logo on them, I think I may want to officially call the series something else. For marketing reasons, it will be easier if the name of the comic is something more evocative rather than a character name where I have to build the brand recognition from scratch. But there's also a story reason, as eventually I'm going to want to tell stories with some of the supporting characters who are introduced as the series goes along. There's a broader story framework that everything fits in, and I can see where I'm going to want to do issues here and there focusing on what we might call in D&D terms other party members.
So I'm trying to figure out what to call the series. I could stick with Vhess, or something else specific to her character. I would call the series Paladin if it weren't trademarked by Marvel. I may call it The Winter Paladin, which is one of Vhess's sobriquets in the story.
Or I am considering calling the series either Oath or Quest. I've been toying with the basic idea for this storyline for going on 25 years now, and in my head I always called the series Oath. I do want to lean into the RPG angle as well, because it's fun, and I think Quest might work better for that. I want a title that evokes epic fantasy and RPG fun, and I think Quest might do that better than Oath.
Still figuring it out, so it may ben none of these. If you guys have any thoughts or reactions to these, let me know!
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Quest
Mar 11, 2022 13:17:02 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2022 13:17:02 GMT -5
If you eventually want to open it up to other stories kind of anthology style, and want to evoke fantasy think about using Book of or Tales or Chronicles in the title to open that door up a little bit. The Book of the Oath Seekers or the Tales of the Winter Paladin, or the Tome of Oaths or something along those lines. You can use a "featuring Vhess the Winter Paladin" on the early issues and either change it or leave it off when you get to the supporting character tales. If you wind up doing a trade collection, then you could have something like: Tales of the Oath Seekers Vol.1 The Quest of the Winter Paladin It's the way Paizo did it with their Pathfinder stuff, they established the Pathfinder Tales as the brand, and then used individual titles...   and carried it over for the most part with the Pathfinder Comics...   Gold Key did it with Dagar which was officially titles Tales of Sword and Sorcery, you've got the Savage Tales model as well, and it even evokes things like Weird Tales for the pulp tradition. Just some fodder for thought. -M |
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Crimebuster
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Quest
Nov 11, 2022 0:59:18 GMT -5
Post by Crimebuster on Nov 11, 2022 0:59:18 GMT -5
A couple changes on this - while Vhess is still the main character, I've renamed the series Quest to make it a little more recognizably about the party and the campaign. I changed the title of the thread to match.
The throwback Bronze Age variant covers will still have the Vhess logo though.
I also shuffled the story order around just a little. I decided to take the story I was originally planning to have for issues #1-2 and movie it to #2-3, and shifted the story I originally planned for #3 and moved it to #1. The story in #2-3 has more of a single character focus on Vhess, while the story that is now in #1 gets more of the rest of the part in, and acts as a better setup for the main quest itself that everyone is on.
Having said all that, the big news is that I have an artist under contract for this who is currently working on the thumbanils for the whole first issue. I also have character designs for the entire party now, not just Vhess, so I will be sharing stuff with everyone here soon.
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Quest
Nov 11, 2022 1:22:24 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2022 1:22:24 GMT -5
A couple changes on this - while Vhess is still the main character, I've renamed the series Quest to make it a little more recognizably about the party and the campaign. I changed the title of the thread to match. The throwback Bronze Age variant covers will still have the Vhess logo though. I also shuffled the story order around just a little. I decided to take the story I was originally planning to have for issues #1-2 and movie it to #2-3, and shifted the story I originally planned for #3 and moved it to #1. The story in #2-3 has more of a single character focus on Vhess, while the story that is now in #1 gets more of the rest of the part in, and acts as a better setup for the main quest itself that everyone is on. Having said all that, the big news is that I have an artist under contract for this who is currently working on the thumbanils for the whole first issue. I also have character designs for the entire party now, not just Vhess, so I will be sharing stuff with everyone here soon. Super excited for this! -M |
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itsamammal
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Love comics, movies, games, toy collecting, and did I mention comics?
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Quest
Nov 28, 2022 22:52:29 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by itsamammal on Nov 28, 2022 22:52:29 GMT -5
Very exciting! I was excited when you mentioned it on the stream, but seeing the art has sold me. Absolutely my kind of comic
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Nov 29, 2022 4:45:52 GMT -5
I have the first couple of pages in hand, and I should be able to share them with everybody tomorrow.
I wanted it to have a bit of a Warlord feel, so I have a double page splash for pages 2-3. I may try and do this every issue, we'll see if I can manage it. I always liked that about Warlord, turn that first page and there's a great panorama action shot.
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Nov 29, 2022 18:05:28 GMT -5
Here's the first three pages from artist Marcos Lima - no coloring or text yet, but you can get the idea. A band of adventurers is making camp in the Borderlands when they are attacked by gnolls! It looks grim, until the paladin Vhess rides in from nowhere to turn the tide:   |
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Quest
Nov 29, 2022 20:27:36 GMT -5
Post by Prince Hal on Nov 29, 2022 20:27:36 GMT -5
Oath Seekers? Great name!
Oath Keepers? Not so great.
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Dec 31, 2022 18:17:12 GMT -5
Since I changed up the order of the stories, the throwback cover I shared before is now going to go with issue #2 rather than issue #1. As a result, I've done a new throwback Bronza Age cover for issue #1. It just seemed appropriate to do an homage to Conan #1. Here's a look:  |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Jan 22, 2023 17:35:06 GMT -5
Here's another cover, this one is by artist Erwin J. Arroza. I haven't decided if this will be the main cover or a variant. There will likely be three versions of this one - with logo, virgin without logo, and possibly a foil or spot foil version. Not quite sure. I still need to get the logo sorted out. This will ultimately also be used as a "poster" to advertise the series as a whole.  |
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Crimebuster
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Making comics!
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Quest
Jan 27, 2023 23:36:44 GMT -5
Post by Crimebuster on Jan 27, 2023 23:36:44 GMT -5
I'm considering doing a "character sheet" variant cover similar to the ones DC did for Dark Knights of Steel. It will basically have a drawing of the character plus their name, class, race, and stats on it. Every issue I'd do a new variant in this series spotlighting one of the characters from the comic. This is what the DC ones looked like  As I previously discussed, and as mrp had suggested, I'm also going to be doing a variant cover for each issue that looks like a vintage D&D module. I'm trying to select classic modules that have the feel of the story for each issue. The first issue is going to be a take on The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, module S4. Issue #2 will be The Keep on the Borderlands, and #3 will be a take on the classic D&D illustration A Paladin in Hell. I think the module (and, if I do it, the character sheet) will likely be limited edition variants with small print runs, so they may be more expensive. But I am also considering making them both Deluxe Editions where, in addition to the comic, there will be a bonus 4-8 pages of RPG supplements with world building stuff from the world of the comic -- classes, monsters, settings, etc. I'm still brainstorming, so all of this is in flux at the moment, but I really want this to be as fun as possible. |
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