A New Kind Of Graphic Novel - Feedback?

[Zblock1]

Hi all,
Please review and post thoughts/critiques. My tapastic series is here - http://tapastic.com/series/Shake-The-Lake

FYI I realize I'm coming to the crowd with a big statement below but it can be taken with a large grain of salt. I grew up with a lot of Spielberg and Cameron. The superheroes of the day were pretty silly/campy Batman's and lo-res Superman's. So please allow me to introduce SHAKE THE LAKE - the first volume in an action sports graphic novel.

Why...? I hadn't been a fan of comics growing up and obviously I don't really "get" superhero stories. To me, they're for an older generation. The suspension of disbelief is stretched too far with most of the major comic icons. But even without having been a fan, I can still recognize the magic of experiencing a story through art. There's something undeniably beautiful about graphic novels. 300, Sin City, a host of others really grab my attention.

Logline – A rambunctious wakeboard crew flips an Arizona lake town on its head attempting to rescue a bullied marina from snobby, yacht club encroachment by staging a mammoth, end-of-season, pro wakeboarding festival against the wishes of the town’s hardnosed park rangers.

I like coming of age stories. Stories that reflect my own upbringing, my own desires, wants, needs, triumphs and downfalls. The adolescent pain and excitement of falling in love, the life changing friendships and the eye opening adventures of teenage life.

I'd been searching comic book forums and "must read" lists for weeks, trying to find anything that was action sports related. No wakeboarding, no skateboarding, no motocross or ski comics to be found. Whaaaa? Why not? Boats. Babes. Schenanigans. Who wouldn't want to draw that?

I'd love to get your thoughts. My tapastic series is here - http://tapastic.com/series/Shake-The-Lake
More information on volume #1, the process and all can be found at www.northairentertainment.com

[Zblock1]

[Luie]

Hey Zblock1, I read your comic and I have to say it looks very professional. It's extremely detailed, and though at first it's heavy on dialogue (scenes with groups tend to have a lot of dialogue), everything is simple and easy to look at. Good job, well done.

There's not much for me to critique this early into a comic. So far everything is conveyed nicely. On a nit-picky note, choosing different shading colors (A lot of the shading appears unsaturated or black -- I'm no expert though) would brighten up the page mad make the colors appear more lively.

I definitely agree that sports-themed stories aren't as popular as superhero-themed stories. I've seen a few animes with sports themes but I can't say I've ever come across a sports-themed comic here. I think the most apparent reason is that sports stories aren't "as" interesting as superhero stories (And I'm using the term "superhero" very lightly). The stakes aren't "as" high in sports stories than superhero stories. The goal isn't "as" high in sports stories than superhero stories. There's no real sense of danger in that theme alone. Either you're a guy putting yourself at risk trying to keep the bad things at bay or you're a guy trying to win a sports event in order to obtain some ...thing you really need. In some way it feels like because it's a game, the conflict caused the game by it somehow isn't as relevant. Of course you could mold the story in a way where the stakes are high and there is a sense of danger, but the "sports" part of the story still comes off as mundane compared to... I dunno, sword-fighting or magic or big explosive dragons. It wouldn't be absurd to make the claim that most comic artists just aren't interested making stories centered around sports.

I also like coming of age stories, as well as stories centered around the characters rather than just moving the plot along until it ends. I'm trying to work on one right now (juan day eventually). These are the types of stories I usually subscribe to and look for . So your comic has my interest. But to be honest, I'd read it for the "coming of age" aspect rather than the "sports" aspect. I know the art will be phenomenal, but for me, the highlight of those types of comics is the writing and the characters who want to do the sports. That's not to say it bothers me, it's just not a subject I personally have much interest in.

[Zblock1]

Thanks for the feedback Luie. I couldn't agree more. I wrote this story in a screenplay format a number of years ago funny enough, the majority of the notes we got on the script were that there wasn't enough of the sport in it. I pushed back by making a parallel to Top Gun and pointing out that there actually wasn't that much flying in the movie. It was essentially a love story with a few dog fights and air to air missiles thrown in.

We're nearly complete with the first volume (36 pages) on our way to a 4 volume complete work. Keep checking back and subscribe to the comic - http://tapastic.com/series/Shake-The-Lake I'll update pages on there.