Online Graphic Novel

hipchick · Forum Newbie Joined: Sep 20, 2003 Posts: 9

Hello, just want to annouce that my online sci fi graphic novel - Lael is at: http://www.centaurgirl.com/lael

Sorry for the blah posting, I'm sooo not good at my own promo

Ariah81 · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 12:12 am Post subject:

Hi! I've seen Lael's story. Nice work!
The innovative speech 'ballons' are what caught my attention at first, but then I got hooked up on the story...
There IS going to be a continuation, right?
_________________
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battle not with monsters
lest ye become a monster
and if you gaze into the abyss
the abyss gazes into you

Friedrich Nietzche

hipchick · Forum Newbie Joined: Sep 20, 2003 Posts: 9

Thank you, yes it's actually a prequel to my trilogy.

Ariah81 · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 12:10 pm Post subject:

Glad to hear that! Please let me know when another part is available.
_________________
----
battle not with monsters
lest ye become a monster
and if you gaze into the abyss
the abyss gazes into you

Friedrich Nietzche

DTHUREGRIF · Site Admin Joined: Jun 05, 2001 Posts: 462

I really like what you've done with the balloons. One this that's always bothered me about online comics is that the dialog gets in the way of the art.

hipchick · Forum Newbie Joined: Sep 20, 2003 Posts: 9

Yeah me too, I thought I was the only one out there that felt this way, so it's really nice to hear this feedback from others. For me the dialog is secondary to the art.

sandmarine · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 3:56 pm Post subject:

This is interesting and very innovative... it felt more like watching the cg opening of a cool videogame rather than a webcomic... good job!
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Greek · Posted: Fri May 07, 2004 6:17 pm Post subject: Re: Online Graphic Novel

I really liked how you did the balloons. Very innovative, while not covering up the artwork. I look forward to seeing the rest of the story as it progresses. Great job!
_________________
I am a romantic, a seeker of beauty.
Even from souls corners most despairing,
Beauty none the less.
-Sunheart-

DTHUREGRIF · Site Admin Joined: Jun 05, 2001 Posts: 462

Oh, I wouldn't say I think the dialog is secondary to the art. In fact, without a good story, the best drawn or rendered comics fall flat. It's just that the usual format is hard to deal with.

hipchick · Forum Newbie Joined: Sep 20, 2003 Posts: 9

Yeah I completely agree with you. What I meant by secondary was that I didn't want the balloons to stick out. I don't think I explained myself correctly. I used the interactivity balloon things instead of directly placing the balloons on the image because I didn't want the balloons to take away from the story.

For me when I read comics, the balloons annoy my eyes. My first reaction is usually, wow after seeing the image, then I see the balloons and I go ugggh, then I start reading and if the story is good I'm like hmmmm - yeah and then back to wow.

So basically I was just trying to remove the uggh or annoyance of the balloons. I really just wanted the user to have an entertaining/enjoying experience with minimal annoyance.

But yeah, the story/dialog/characters/plot are all important. There needs to be a balance of the whole thing.

Greek · Posted: Sat May 08, 2004 1:17 pm Post subject: Re: Online Graphic Novel

What I would like to see is more online comics and stories adopting your format for the dialogue. It really enhances the story presentation. (suggestion to other comic authors! Hint, hint)
_________________
I am a romantic, a seeker of beauty.
Even from souls corners most despairing,
Beauty none the less.
-Sunheart-

sandmarine · Posted: Sat May 08, 2004 6:35 pm Post subject:

hmmm, while I liked hipchick's innovation regarding word balloons, I don't think I'd adopt it myself. After reading comics and manga for so many years, I'm not annoyed or "uggghed" by the word balloons at all. Many times you can dillute the word balloons like ariah81 does it...

I guess it's all a matter of tastes....
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Navel · Moderator Joined: Mar 28, 2003 Posts: 34

Preface: I really admire all the work you did in LAEL!
But here follows are some criticisms...
1. Lael is ruthless killer! She blew up that stranger rather trivially, then later seemed moralistic about assassinating people. Something seems out of character about that.
2. Like most websurfers, I've been conditioned to click on anything with an underline, I clicked on the dialog names by reflex and it jumped me to the top of the page. Disrupts the story flow.
3. A little depth of field would enhance the huge settings & interiors.
I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next chapter.

ByteDreams · Forum Newbie Joined: May 17, 2003 Posts: 2

While this post is a bit old, I just read it, and viewed your site as well. I too liked the way you handled the balloons. As a web designer, I constantly have to remind myself that imitating hardcopy styles don't always carry over effectively in web pages.

I did kinda want a way of skipping forward and back through the pages, other than with the browser's "back" feature. Perhaps a breadcrumb navigation through the pages would be a good idea?

One of my favorite online comics is CrossGen, but it is Flash-based, and people on dialup like myself might sometimes find waiting for the next panel to load annoying.

You've put a lot of work into this site. My hats off to you!

Dana3d2k · Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2004 3:33 pm Post subject:

Whoooooa.... who backstabbin who in what in that story..

Ok, now I am curious;)
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<a href=heresyproduction.com>Heresy Studios</a>