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n_orthernking
Feb '17

Hey! I wanted to see if people would be interested in following this little webcomic for right now to help get my confidence up to get myself in a roll to doing pages and if people would like it.

My webcomic is going to be center around an embodiment of Massachusetts during the 1600s. It is mostly going be an adventure, historical and a bit of slice of life but that may change a bit.
The primary of the embodiment of the colony is that as long as the colony itself is still able to fly a flag and has people from that territory, he lives forever and ages slowly. Some things happen to him, happens to the colony (minor things, like trade/overall people hostility or hospitality. Things that happen to the colony will affect him significantly (unexpected boost of territory/ increase of knowledge = growth spurt. Siege of Boston = worn out, exhausted. Independence = salty attitude).

I want to start the story off with MA beginning month with his mother, who is attempting to give him the most normal life as she can give him before the pain of immortality catches up to him, which doesn't last very long since the locals started to notice that the child from the house over the hill doesn't seem to be aging with his peers.
this is a super quick sheet of the characters' faces that will be popping up:
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digitalvalium1
Feb '17

Tchaikovsky, in a letter to a friend, wrote, "There are many thorns, but there are roses too." I mention it, because I can't say it better than he did, and I happen to be reading an excerpt of the collection right now.

Historical fiction is difficult, to be sure. There are thousands of details that the modern world doesn't understand, and most of the public don't even realize. Life in the 1600's is unimaginable for most as there are few shared experiences between the common man of the 1600's (I mean average, not "commoner") and the work-a-day average Jane or Joe of today. Gore Vidal did historical fiction very well. I admire his work and have several of his books in my library. Doing it well is possible, as Tchaikovsky said, "there are roses too."

I can offer you a list of books to help you along that road, and encouragement, but ultimately it's up to you to find the roses, and manage the damage from the little pricks of the many thorns you'll undoubtedly encounter.

punkarsenic
Feb '17

isnt that, like, hetalia though?

like i have no real opinion on the story, i know nothing about MA or, really, america, but that 'this is like hetalia' thing is gonna loom over you

artsy_oleander
Feb '17

I agree, the idea sound similar to Hetalia. It's a cool idea though but I think if you changed why he's connected to the land, then it won't be much of an issue!

heterodont
Feb '17

I think its a pretty good idea & i think the way his immortality works is pretty interesting. it really only seems similar to hetalia in that its a personified land mass - nothing about the plot or the...functioning? of his immortality is akin to hetalia.

though i will say, don't depend on other people to start your own webcomic. do it because you want to do the idea, dont do it based on whether or not other people like your idea.

n_orthernking
Feb '17

Thanks for your feedbacks!!!
I'll address each one step by step, this doesn't have any affiliation with Hetalia, think of it like soda, both are a carbonated drink, both are popular and have similar aspects but that's all. I will be doing a page in the later future explaining in detail with how this world works, I understand the Hetalia will be a shadow for me once I start this and people will point it out but I'm going to take it head on, I know another tapastic had a similar aspect and dealt with the same thing, and I hope to be able to continue with my comic with an understanding page.

Hetalia does a broad brush, its main goal using the stereotypes for fun while what I am doing is connected directly with the demographics and culture. I've lived in this state for all my life and I hope to have a somewhat realistic stance on the effects of immortality on a person's mentality.

@digitalvalium1 Your words literally swayed me, for a second I thought I was reading something straight from a good book. I would love a list of books to read, I have a great handful of recourses but I am always eager to have more knowledge into it all.

@Cocas thanks my dude! Hopefully the new idea may grow with attraction, subtly educate people on my favored state.

@punkarsenic Hetalia is centered around making fun of the stereotypes of nations and if they were real people and overall is a good bit of comedy. I'm only going to allow about 1/100 of even stereotypes coming near MA, the rest being based on history, demographics and political stances back then. (I am rereading this right now and I'm sorry this seems passive aggressive, I am vocalizing my thoughts on an explanation and totally didn't mean to make it seem I'm being snappy with you;; A;; )
Realistically, the colony never saw England as a 'brother' and thought of them as equal, only becoming angered when they realize they weren't considered part of England and were treated less and with the major taxes (correct me if my history is wrong). I hope with this comic, I may be able to show you more about Massachusetts and what our history is because I literally can't wait to talk about the giant cheese wheel my local town gave to Thomas Jefferson and just dropped off on his lawn. But I am fully prepared with the "this is like Hetalia" comments, and as the comic progresses people will see the obvious differents between it and the info page helps explain.

@FabulousOliveTree As I mentioned before, it's like soda, both got the same idea but different brand and taste (I'm not even sure if that is big enough to compare?). Rest assured, there will be a lot of things different with the way he's connected to the land (well not land, more specifically the government & people).

@heterodont That is the only similarity, with the immortality with them never dying because of being personified. If in the later future, I could perhaps send you a folder of how their immortality works and deaths and stuff, because I also really love how it works and the functions.
The plot is very very different and the functions are altered 180 degrees. I want to do, I am definitely going to do it but I just wanted to see if people on tapastic would even read, or if I just continue to post it on Tumblr because my main goal is to educate people in a more 'personal' feeling about Massachusetts, the state where the revolution began.

Thank you all d(0w<)bbb!

shazzbaa
Feb '17

Yeah, I mean Scandinavia and the World also did a Personified Countries thing, so it's by no means unique to Hetalia -- Hetalia is just the most well-known and the comparison you gotta be chill with. I think that's the big thing -- not making sure you're different, but making sure you're able to hear someone say it's similar to Hetalia and not immediately feel the need to explain how you're DIFFERENT!! Being able to be chill about it, like "yeah it's like that concept but here's what I wanted to focus on instead!" rather than insisting that it's NOT like [popular property], goes a long way.

I will mention that the Tapastic forums aren't a really good cross-section of the Tapastic readership! We're a tiny percentage, skewed in a specific direction by being the kinds of people who want to talk about making comics on a forum. The things we like aren't necessarily the things that the Tapastic users as a whole tend to like. There's also not nearly as many of us!

When I started posting on Tapastic, I honestly just stuck the first few pages up and planned to lurk for a bit and see if I liked the site before making my decision. That's okay to do, and just updating for a little while is the easiest way to discern if there's gonna be interest on the site. If you try it out for a little bit and you don't feel like Tapastic is worth the effort, you can just tell your subs to follow the rest of the story on tumblr and go back to posting it there!

Knight_Wolf
Feb '17

welcomed sure hope it does bro!

digitalvalium1
Feb '17

I don't know whether to squee or panic! I think I'll do both! OMG! SQUEE! OMG! OMG! I love doing research!

The Gilder Lehrman Inst. of Am. History provides a good overview of the time period online.

Zagarri, at Teaching History, offers a decent overview of early slavery online, with links to further resources. The image archive curated by the University of Virginia is no longer available.

Fairfax County in Virginia maintains an online presence with a decent bibliography regarding early American Crafts and Craftsmen. A variety of trades are represented, sometimes with specific bibliographies that discuss daily life.

The Probst Chronicles is a family history curated online. I've linked the pertinent section here, and is an incredibly interesting read. Although it deals mainly with Pennsylvania, it is pertinent to your review.

Wikibooks also curates a bibliography of early American writers online from the time period, including Smith and Strachey. Of specific interest to you would be John Winthrop, linked here to his published diary.

Oxford Bibliographies1 curates a bibliography (go figure) of books specifically regarding living conditions in colonial America online.

Isenberg's White Trash1, which nearly every local library will have, also contains a well-researched, and well written account of the time period, as well as general attitudes of the wealthy and of the general populace toward the poor, mostly immigrant, mostly indentured immigrants.

If I were to read one book, it would be Isenberg's. If I were to read two, I'd include the diary of Winthrop. And if I were me, I'd read about Crispus Attucks1, which I'm now going to do! Great article!

I've tried to make this list as free or near free as possible. Frugality is always a concern for me. I'm sure it's much the same for most. If you attend university, or have a friend that does, most university libraries have collections specifically related to colonial America and living conditions therein. Isenberg's bibliography is well-researched, and representative. If you have the chance, read her book, then delve into her bibliography in a decent (university) library on the specifics that interest you.