Creative Media Have Left A Deep Impression or Made a Difference in Your Life?

Phantomlight 2020-10-16 22:47:02 UTC #1

What comics/novels/creative media (books, movies, TV shows, artwork, etc) have left a deep impression on you? Is there one or a few that maybe taught you a valuable lesson? Helped you get through some tough times in your life? If you'd like to give them a shout out/promote those comics and novels here, please do! Personally, webcomics have helped me through the darkest times in my life and continue to help me through my recovery. Let's celebrate them and show just how much creators and their creations mean to all of us, how much of a difference they make in our lives!

While I was going through my tough times, Breaks really got me through the worst days. It holds a special place in my heart and it continues to teach me great lessons, like the fact that we all have growing to do and although people might brand us as this or that, we can be the best of ourselves and show the world we can change or we aren't what people think we are! It always makes me think and is just an all around great comic ^^

Indigents holds a special place in my heart as it was one of the first webcomics I read when I first discovered webcomics ^^ Although it's set in an apocalyptic world, it's really inspiring. It makes me remember that we're all survivors. We fight and try our best to live even if things look bleak.

MRATT got me smiling through tough days. I love the characters and it reiterated the point that we should give things a chance and that people are judged much too quickly by trivial things, often times there's a beautiful person inside and out that we're disregarding because of what we see on the outside or our preconceived beliefs of what it means to be this or that.

And You & Me is such a cute comic that gets me through the days and it's just such a funny and charming comic. It's a comic that is the equivalent of drinking a warm cocoa while being wrapped in your favorite blanket on a winter day. Just comfy, cozy, and enjoyable through and through. It can make me laugh on my worst days and turn my day around ^^

All the ones I have in my library are ones I'd love to put on this list but it'd get too long xD But I really appreciate all the creators of all the comics and novels I read! All those works in my library have made a deep impression and difference in my life. And to all creators and their creations (even ones I haven't read) you're all doing a great job and I thank you for all your hard work! Please know that although our bodies cannot always be healed, our souls can and I strongly believe that's what all creators and their works do ^^

KiabIce 2020-10-16 23:19:39 UTC #2

As for me it was always manga. I watched Sailor Moon as a kid and then made my own fan art for it as I grew up. Sailor Moon always taught me about the power of love and helping those who who turned evil because they didn't know any better or their heart turned evil and having compassion for that.

Another comic/ manga that Il loved a lot growing up was called Peach Girl. Just highschool drama and romance.

I liked Roroni Kenshin. (sp?) as a teenager too.

As I grew up in my early 20's I read Nana, another manga but aimed at young adults and adults.

I also read Blade of the Immortal, Tarot Cafe, Model, and a few CLAMP series.

Oh and of course I love Amano and the works he's done. Such a beautiful artist and makes beautiful artwork!

I'm trying to think more recent series... I'll come back here to share them when I think of them.

Phantomlight 2020-10-16 23:35:32 UTC #3

I've read a lot of manga in my days. My very first manga I bought and that holds a special place in my heart (also because my pet rabbit who passed away had bitten a corner of the spine so it's a funny memory I have of him) is Seven Days, it's a BL manga that I still think about even now. It was a sweet and lighthearted manga and it was my introduction to BL. And every time my parents would catch me looking at manga they'd always ask why it was "backwards." They still ask me that xD It's just nice to be able to experience both western and Japanese comic styles and formats.

KiabIce 2020-10-16 23:40:06 UTC #4

Nice!

I didn't get into webcomics till maybe like 5-6 years ago.

I read off of spider forest (?) that was the first time I read webcomics.

Cavechan 2020-10-16 23:58:01 UTC #5

Definitely Sailor Moon for me. Being a teenager was difficult and my parents never really understood me (still don't, but I'm much more understanding/accepting of it now). My home life wasn't really bad per se, but it was always awkward and uncomfortable and my mom was always yelling and my brother was always an asshole and my dad was just not around so much since he was working. So I got into Sailor Moon and other anime around 14 years old. I only ever had like 2-3 random volumes of the manga and would read them over and over again. It was just a great way to feel like I could be myself and escape reality and inspired me to start drawing my own comics.

Phantomlight 2020-10-17 00:28:43 UTC #6

I'm sorry things were a bit challenging when you were younger, but I am glad you found solace in anime and manga where you could just be yourself and feel better.

And I have a similar love for anime and manga as a kid, so I get ya ^^ I was my happiest when I'd watch my favorite anime or cartoon shows on Saturdays. I have such vivid and wonderful memories of how those shows inspired me and made me feel so excited and happy when I was a kid. A cartoon I remember fondly is "Teen Titans" (not the Teen Titans GO iteration xD) I loved that show, I still do. I also watched Dragonball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, Pokemon, and Yu-gi-oh all of which were shows that me and my siblings remember fondly. It was how we all bonded together ^^

cherrystark 2020-10-17 01:15:37 UTC #7

I loved the stories "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine and "Beauty" by Robin McKinley. I'm a sucker for fairytale retellings so they jumped out at me. When I was little, both protagonists were so refreshing to me growing up. Both stories have also ultimately helped influence my self-worth as an adult. Ella's goal is to break her curse and have a choice. She makes friends, develops hobbies, and has an endearing number of familiar quirks that made her instantly relatable. She doesn't decide that she loves the prince overnight. Their friendship and love develop over years.

As much as I love Disney's "Beauty and the Beast", Belle is kind of an impossible standard to live up to. Beauty is the awkward younger sister of two gorgeous older sisters. The sisters have their differences but they are family first. Like most of us, she struggles to find her place in her family and town and is riddled with doubts about her worth and appearance. Her relationship with the Beast is driven by their mutual desire for companionship. No one is forcing them together. They are both victims of circumstance and try to make the best of things.

ar-ninetysix 2020-10-17 02:56:19 UTC #8

Oh boy, I'm gonna have a lot to say.

If there's a comic that impacted me a bunch, it'd probably be this one.

Project SHaDe embodies like.. a lot of what I wanna accomplish in comics. Everything from the sketchy art style to the violent action and the emotional scenes. I was drawn to it because of the Tokyo Ghoul vibes, but it takes on a whole personality of its own as it goes on. There's a whole in-depth analysis that can be made.. but I'm not gonna do that. Just- it goes above and beyond in inspiring me to wanna make my own webcomic. I had ideas before I found it, but seeing this comic made everything feel like it was an attainable reality somehow.

But it's not just inspiration though! The story of the comic itself and the atmosphere resonates with me quite a bit. A lot of the comic can feel.. emotionally numb, and almost depressive at times, but there's a few scenes in the comic that just.. they're like such a radiant light in a world so grim and dark, enough that it makes everything awful feel worth it. I'm sure if I read this at a younger age, that like.. it'd be one of those things to gravitate towards whenever I'd be in such a sad mood. And that's a compliment tbh I love a whole bunch of stuff that fed into my miserable habits back then lmao

Lastly, as an avid reader of it now, I can't talk about it without mentioning the fact that it might have reignited my desire to make music? I was burnt out on the idea for quite a while, and I forced myself to make demos of stuff.. To go along with webcomic ideas I had before reading this. Then I had the bright idea of doing a cover of the author's original theme for it as a fan.

The song itself is a significant step up from what I was already making. This then led to a music project where I basically made OSTs for comics people submitted. You can find those songs and this one here. I had a Vol. 2 planned and gave up on it soon after lol anyways, it set off a chain of me making bite-sized songs and eventually writing full 5-6 minute stuff. I have plans on making entire soundtracks for the comic which made me reread the whole thing and carefully put together a synopsis of each update. I had to put a pause on the soundtrack stuff for the comic since I actually wanna buy FLStudio to save the project files before I start working on 'em. Been saving up money to buy it and making plans to try getting paid for what I can do (commissions and all that.) Just overall, I'm more serious about making music than ever.

All that was kind of a domino effect that came out of me being a fanboy, I think It definitely wasn't like I was immediately changed while making the song, just.. a lot of gradual stuff afterwards lol

Edit: Fixed a typo and clarified the music stuff a bit more

Phantomlight 2020-10-17 03:28:06 UTC #9

This is amazing. I love the original song, but your cover takes it further and adds your own spin to it. I can feel the soft, sad undertones of the original, but also the intense and passionate moments you add into yours. I really like it, you've got amazing skills ^^ I'm gonna check out your other songs when I have time because I really enjoyed this piece. Great work!

Sometimes all of us don't realize how we touch other people's lives, which is the reason I made this thread. A lot of times I feel like people wonder if doing this or that is a big deal, for example if making a comic or novel is a big deal. To me, your experience further proves my point that yes, we CAN make a difference in each other's lives even if we might not believe it's a big difference, it is. Creators and their creations spark imagination, they inspire, they can pick you up when you're down, they can help you cope, they can teach you things ^^

jmassat 2020-10-17 04:52:02 UTC #10

There are lots of comics and novels that took my personal aesthetics (and my understanding of them) to another level. In high school I read, and got really attached to, a hodgepodge of sci-fi and videogamey stuff. I could make a long list of them, but I'll just mention a few that aren't as well-known. Maria no Kanaderu Ongaku is a short, beautiful manga that hit me deep, and I've still never seen anything quite like it, and Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life is to this day one of my favorite webcomics (I'm a sucker for sci-fi satire, and this is a fantastic blend of humor and serious subjects).

Is it cheating to say that comic creators and novelists have also helped keep me sane and grounded? I have friends, here on Tapas and beyond, who have been my creative partners and sounding boards for years. My closest friends are storytellers. Thank you. You know who you are.

ar-ninetysix 2020-10-17 04:55:50 UTC #11

Tyty much appreciated~

I.. don't like it much from a production standpoint anymore lmao I even redid it aiming to have be higher quality but I found myself going back to the original anyways lol I already wanna remake it again but like it has to be different different. Oh well

Anyways, the OST stuff isn't my strong suit. I'm still fairly new to it. I mean, I have some shining moments, sure, but my normal band-focused stuff is where my speciality is at. I have a whole account dedicated to the highlights of that stuff before I burnt out. Almost like a different era of my music in general. A lot of it is hella loud so yea

a.g.meade 2020-10-17 05:03:44 UTC #12

Oh my gosh, I could probably go on at length about works that have made a difference in my life. But, if I had to list my 'absolute tops'...

Fullmetal Alchemist
The Vorkosigan Saga (novel)
The Name of the Rose (novel)
The Doomsday Book (novel)

I've always loved the visual arts, but my background is in writing and literature, which is why these are mostly novels.

All of these works have impacted my view on writing and storytelling in various ways. Fullmetal Alchemist & The Vorkosigan Saga showed me that I like to get invested in the characters I'm following and will read many, many books about their journey (and also that I'd like to do a long-form story of my own one day!) The Name of the Rose showed me that I love mysteries and the dynamic of peeling back layers of the story bit by bit. The Doomsday Book was just a powerful work all across the board, and I don't think I've ever looked at mortality and loss the same way again after reading that one.

@phantomlight - I agree that stories in general (whether comics/webcomics/novels) really do have a way of helping get us through the tough times. I'm glad that the webcomics you shared are helping you through your recovery, and I'll be rooting for you and your healing! Thanks for creating this thread - it's been really interesting to see what's made a difference in others' journeys!

raaky 2020-10-17 06:35:41 UTC #13

Patricia C. Wrede's "Enchanted Forest" books made me really like dragons. They were some of the first books I read where some of the dragons are good, and I really enjoyed that.

spadesart 2020-10-17 13:25:36 UTC #14

Not to be basic but the Hunger Games really did leave an impression. I bought the audiobook versions and listened to them only recently so I got to experience them outside the 'hype' environment from a few years ago and I definitely think that improved the experience tenfold. I wouldn't say I now have a deep connection to them, but it was definitely an intense read that had me hooked every second. I think the fact that the books are written in present-tense helped that fact a lot.

Puck 2020-10-17 13:39:55 UTC #15

Asterix, Lucky Luke, TinTin
I still have Asterix Comics on my desk all the time.
I just studied one when I was drawing trees

scribesunlimited 2020-10-17 13:43:42 UTC #16

ANYTHING by Stephen King or Dean Koontz. In the early 1980s up until the mid-1990s, these two ruled the horror-fantasy realms. Fantastic story-makers. I'll also throw in Clive Barker as well. So GLAD they're finally doing "Books of Blood" for TV. It's about &$%^#! time!

Also, for art, Howard for Conan, and the late great Michael Turner for Fathom:

It was "Fathom" that got me interested in an "undersea" comic idea, which resulted in "The Depths".

Phantomlight 2020-10-17 15:27:33 UTC #17

If this is cheating, then I am cheating as well because it's the same for me. Reading comics or novels has proven to keep me sane and mentally healthy because it's time I spend enjoying and thinking of wonderful things I read rather than dark, depressing thoughts. And reading comics gives me one more thing to look forward to. It's like having your coffee in the morning, it's something that can start you day off right or if your day went bad, then it's something to cheer you up.

Phantomlight 2020-10-17 15:38:25 UTC #18

Thank you so much for your get well wishes and I've always wanted to create a thread on here but each topic I thought of wasn't the one, true question or topic I wanted to discuss. I see people all the time saying wonderful things about a creators works like that they love it, but often times I don't get to hear the stories people most likely have about how much that work has meant or means to them, what it did for them, how it changed them or helped them. Because, like the saying goes, that sometimes "It takes a village to raise a child." I've considered creative people who make whatever kind of media and share it with the world help to raise a lot of people and also heal them too! I wanted to hear other people's experiences. I suppose this thread could be considered a love letter or a thank you letter to all the creators out there that have touched our lives. Thank you for sharing!

Phantomlight 2020-10-17 16:06:37 UTC #19

@raaky That's so awesome ^^ I love dragons as well, not sure when my love started, probably was ignited by pokemon and digimon but it was really solidified when I got this art book called "Dracopedia: A Guide to Drawing the Dragons of the World" by William O Conner. I love his series of books, I'd highly recommend them ^^

@spadesart That's not basic. That's a unique experience, how the Hunger Games affected you is much different than it affected someone else, I guarantee it xD and not everyone will probably say they have listened to the audiobooks. I only know those who have watched the shows xD Having someone read books to you and especially in a tone or perhaps even a characterized voice is so awesome and just enhances the experiences or adds another layer to a series. Like, when I read to my sibling, I make characters voices so it adds a bit of fun while also creating a layer of characterization.

@Puck Nice! I have a few favorites that are always nearby for me too. It's nice to have them for reference too!

@scribesunlimited Ah, Stephen King, one of his books really creeped me out, "Nightmares and Dreamscapes." I was so unsettled by one of the stories in particular that I read in there, it was fantastic xD I like being scared or unsettled by a book, it means that the author is doing their job well! Now that you reminded me, I'll probably be reading that book on Halloween to my sibling. And I do see the inspiration you got from Fathom! That's awesome :3

UrMom 2020-10-17 16:07:52 UTC #20

That is actually a really tough question. I became disillusioned to fiction at an early age so I've never been necessarily impacted very deeply by anything I've read or watched outside of expanding my horizon on what is possible in a story or art.

The closest comic I can think of that left enough of an impression to make me think about it from time to time is Rescue Me. A short-ish story about the mental affects of being in an abusive relationship, and seeking help. It's a really simple story, feeling a little fantastical in how easily the MC changes her perspective, but I still find it's existence to be really important. Especially since comics tackling trauma and mental health in an earnest, practical way are so rare.