OPSEC
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Modern, Action/Adventure
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The greatest evil is the indifference of good men.
Britain is in a volatile state as the European Commission debates on whether to grant Turkey full membership in to the European Union. Zealous right wing politicians and tabloid newspapers are scaring the nation with messages of paranoia and invasion. The streets are swamped with Islamist and right wing protesters. Britain will soon become a war zone. Someone must come to the fore to stem the flow of bloodshed and light Britain's path to a new world of multiculturalism and acceptance. Dr Nadhir Saleh is a peaceful and intelligent man. His only hope is that he has the strength and determination to help put the country back on track. To convince the general public that it's time to stand up and fight for what they believe in. Only through unity will Britain's citizens move forward into a brighter future.
There are others in this world whose intentions are not honourable as Dr Salehës, who see this current situation as an opportunity to further their own despicable objectives. Dangerous and driven men capable of unthinkable evils.
Tom Carter is working for the British Government. A career soldier, formerly of the Special Air Service, Carter was recently enrolled into a new government sanctioned operation. A group of solo deniable operators tasked with tracking and discreetly eliminating threats to national security.
it baffles me that this didn't get picked up.
I've got a couple comic gigs to see me through the rest of 2009 and early 2010. But I hope to be back early next year to submit a new entry. I probably won't write the next one, I had fun giving this a shot, but it's definitely not my greatest strength :).
Thank you to everyone who gave me some really good constructive comments on my entry and thanks to all the people who gave me their vote or faved the story. It's really appreciated :)
I am so late to the game on this one, but fantastic entry! Solid art, good read. I see frequentcontributor actually gave you guys kudos- I'd say well-earned.
Wow! The art is really pro-looking, here, and the storytelling is really great once it gets going. I say once it gets going, because the first page was pretty useless, and the second page could have been done in one panel of page three... Otherwise, the art has a nice Steve McNiven look to it, and the coloring really brings it alive. Not much plot at this point, so a bit hard to judge, but intriguing, nonetheless... The action scenes are brilliantly done, and the pacing and panel flow is EXACTLY where it needs to be. I could have done without the text box narration of the protagonist on page 3-4, because it's pretty obvious that he's lurking around some bad dudes in a cabin, and him explaining that he's a black ops guy seemed fairly redundant... Otherwise, very readable. The kind of book I'd pay money for at least once, assuming the story picks up.
Hi guys, I really, really enjoyed this entry!! Top notch and I hope to see you two give it another go in the future. Best wishes.
James, I'm in the middle of trying to get replacement artists for a project of mine. If you are interested, my e-mail is on my profile.
My review:
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http://pigs-of-the-industry.blogspot.com/
I liked this comic a lot, great artwork and the story seems to be interesting, your comic is my second choice (after a lot of thinking) but I really want two comics this month to be the winners (and neither of those are in the first place, damn!!)
not yet Adam. It won't be hitting shelves until early 2010. I am just finalising character designs at the moment.
I agree it's an amazing batch of comics this month. Each month seems to bring more and more quality entries. Got a link to where I can check out your Phantom series?
Thanks Adam, hopefully you'll dig whatever I submit next time. I'm hoping to do another Zuda submission once I finish "The Phantom: unmasked" mini-series I'm currently working on. Dean Welsh did an awesome job on the colors and I'm really glad he could find time in his schedule to fit it in. It was great to work together again, even if it was only for 8 pages.
Best of Luck with Lilly, you've been miles ahead of the pack since the first couple of days. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of it. I'm hoping some of the other entries continue their stories elsewhere too. As well as Lilly, I've also really enjoyed Sides and Clandestino this month. Actually, I've enjoyed all the other entries this month. Thanks for posting it's really appreciated :)
I really dig the colours in this one alot and the art style fits the story well too. Love the colours though lol Very nice job. :)
JFX: Thanks a lot, but in hindsight, I kind of wish I left out the front page and just continued the action in to page 8 :)
Great Work, I love this comic :)
The only good reviewer is a dead reviewer!
http://mpd57.wordpress.com/
Oh Heck yes!!
Talk about some great stuff. I enjoy tales of the clandestine ops! WOW!! I loved it. MORE PLEASE!!
TEX
Very nice to look at, and well done going with some "non-traditional" comic subject matter here.
It's been said, but this really is quite the gorgeous looking comic. Top of the line, all the way through.
Err.. Jimmy :P
Hi Bobby,
Been in Cyprus for a while, if that counts. A lot of the Turkish young people I know are more secular and Western oriented. It has actually created a bit of a schishm between its neighbours for not being muslim enough. Those I have talked to/based on academic data as well, see the West as a place of individuality, potential making, instead of collective and backward. Turkey really does want to join, but Europe does not consider it a part of Europe. Reading way too much Said's Orientalism for my own good.
I was back in Scotland when the G8 submit was going on. Spent most of the time as a general busy body in Edinburgh and getting a vibe on the protestors. International protest groups were those who did not really wish to play by the rules.
With an eight page start you really have to go with the barebone basics. One or two twists.
Good work all the same. I look forward in reading your other submissions!
Chrysalis. I didn't even realise I did that with the characters name.
The bombings haven't started at this point in my story. I was thinking more along the lines of the Bradford, Oldham and Burnley riots taking place on a larger scale. Starting out like the recent G8 Protests but growing more violent as rival factions clash on the streets.
Have you been to Turkey in recent years? My girlfriend and I have been there on vacation recently and I was really surprised at how desperate some of these guys are to get to the UK, how many of the people we met told us they were trying to come and live in the UK and what some english women will do to take advantage of that.
You maybe right about the IRA bomber. Maybe he shouldn't be in there. He's a bit of a symbol of the US change in heart towards so called "Freedom Fighters" since 9/11 and experiencing terrorism first hand.
I'll take the crits on board and hopefully use them to make my next submission stronger.
I like the art, but I think a big weakness is the story. Specifically I thought the pastiche of Tom Archer/Adam Carter from Spooks was something that immediately came to my attention.
The second is that if you are going to go with an accent, I would personally go with a broad Essex accent, or something similar. This also means the character is not an IRA boogieman.
I would also focus simply on racial tensions instead of trying to drag in everyone and the kitchen sink. If it is about Turkey joining the EU, a greater impact would be say in Cyprus.
If however, you wish to do rioting, you could start by mentioning a bombing campaign against mosques in the south of England and then leading to wide scale demonstrations and clashes with locals and police.
Also having other members to the team means you can create tensions, interaction, and team dynamics.
Amazing art! Coloring is spot on.
Nice job!!
Nothing more dangerous then a flamingo race Check out my Zuda May Crossover poster http://slidestudios.deviantart.com/art/Zuda-May-09-Crossover-122089727
Felt this could've been a little better a hit on the real factor, which ironically would deter people, even though it's message was to unite and not stay ignorant. Good, but not great. Didn't hate it, just not for me.
The art here is really strong. The character models are good, the environments are realistic. the color/shading is beautiful. The major hold out is the story. The story isn't BAD per say, it's just forgettable. You don't make any major mistakes in the writing, the character development is there, you build the scene appropriately and everything. There just isn't really anything that makes it unique. Fifth place is right around where I'd expect this to be. I'd love to see what you guys could do if you had a real original story to work on.
Interesting comic. Never seen the issue of the exploding Muslim population in Britain, and in Europe in general, being explored in a comic. Loved the artwork, dialogue between the villians was kinda clunky. Throw in an aye, or a laddy if u wanna make the dude sound Irish. Make the Brits call each other wankers and gits, but don't hack up the rest of the dialogue. It's unnecessary when you've already established the setting. I was ready to poo poo this comic, the synopsis didn't give me much hope as to the quality, but I like it. Good art, relevant storyline, dead terrorists, what's not to like? You better finish this before Sha'riah takes over England though! I'm kidding. Except the part about Sha'riah. I dare you to draw Mohammed.
You got my vote, fella, for many reasons. I wanna read more, I wanna see more of that sweeeeet artwork. And points for starting with 'Krishnan'.
great work Jimmy, the artwork is really tight,nice and clean and easy to read, good use of line weights and colour palettes. Really like the political storyline too
@dave flora: thanks man, Ghost Zero is a beautifully illustrated peice of work. I'm flattered.
Tyler James: dammit, I had the guys from Lithium Pro and an editor look over this before I submitted the pages to go up. Which Typos did you catch? would love to know.
Very strong art work. Love the line art and the colors. Decent job on the writing, though one final editing pass would have cleaned up your typos and maybe weeded out a few unnecessary lines of dialogue and captions. Overall though, strong work.
This strip has my vote because I'm shameless about enjoying well-done art, and Jimmy has the chops. Well done!
@ jimmybott: Now you've got me curious for the cliffhanger. Also, costumed heroes aren't really my thing, I'm afraid.
Now, this is really really good. I am in a very nitpicky mood today and there is nothing to pick at here. Just wow.
damned dirty ape: Thanks for the reply. The opening page was a tough call originally it wasnt in there and I had another page of action continuing on from page 8 ending with more of a cliffhanger. but I realised there was nothing of the meat of the story portrayed in the 8 pages. I was trying to think of different ways of introducing what was going on in the wider world. That's when the news reporter idea came to me (maybe not a stroke of genius).
The opening page is probably quite clunky and poorly executed. This is really my first time writing. I've co-plotted in the past but usually I work from a writers script.
If you like the art, but not the writing. You could pick up "The Phantom: unmasked" mini-series I'm just about to start for moonstone books and the issue of Phantom: Generations I'm doing later in the year *shameless plug* :)
My issue is more with the very clear difference between good and bad guys. The pope endorses Saleh, which immediately paints him as a good guy. From the synopsis I can see he's going to be important, so I'd rather have seen him in action, so to speak. Maybe actually meeting with the pope, so I can see how enlightened he is, rather than being told.
As for the picture, it is the same thing. Specifically because it's a bit obvious next to the picture of the baddy, because I'm sure there are plenty scarred baddies that have loving families, too :P
And come to think of it, I have come into contact with The Mohawk less than a week ago. It had clearly been grown from a bald head. A bald head that was attached to a heavily tatooed body, among these tats one of the iron cross.
But the guy in your comic just looked a little cliché, with the other stuff around.
I love the art, BTW. Like someone else said, you're one of the few artists I've seen who works with line-weights.
Going back through my notes The pope has met with muslim scholars a few times in 2007 and 2008 to debate understanding between the faiths. So it's not all that unbelievable that he would present a united front if anarchy was spreading somewhere.
I missed the happy family comment. I'm not sure why you don't accept that. I'm pretty sure the world is fully of very happy muslim families. Maybe it's becaise their role in the story isn't fully revealed?
Thank you very much for taking the time to post your thoughts.
Thanks for the posts everyone and for those who don't like it. It's cool, not all stories can be too everyone's tastes and I appreciate your comments. Hopefully it'll help any future submissions stronger. I've found a lot of the negative comments very constructive.
Damned Dirty Ape: I can see where you're coming from. But it's all partially based on things currently happening in the world today. 130 muslim scholars wrote to the pope calling for understanding of the faiths which is leading to a meeting and open discussion on these kinds of matters. Okay, the scarred villian is a bit stereotypical, but I couldn't help myself.
The henchmen types were based on combat 18 and national front and other white supremacist gangs present in the UK today. Take a look at the link if you don't belive me. http://www.zurnal.org/export/sites/z24/_data/images/nogomet/combat_18.jpg
I'm not feeling this. The pope endorsing this Saleh guy? The picture of the doctor with his happy family? The bad guy with the facial scar? His 80's punk cronies? Really?
Hmm. Not bad. Maybe lose the distracting accents...
Good luck
This is very dense. Perhaps too dense. Also, it takes itself too seriously to be a fun thing to keep reading. I felt as though I was supposed to be tasting intensity as I read it, but instead I just tasted the vomit that I had to force myself from spewing on my keyboard.
This is a really strong entry, good luck this month! (not that you're going to need it with all this quality)
after reading all the comics, this one gets my vote.
this comic is great, art and story are great together. :D
MVB: Paddy was a starting point for the character as I wanted to create a bit of an everyman hero. I think of him along the lines of Paddy in Dead Man's Shoes crossed with Mac from "The Unit" or maybe jason bourne prior to losing his memory. The coat was a bit of a nod to dead man's shoes and it seemed practical, but he won't be wearing it throughout the story. His clothes will change a bit now and again.
Thanks everyone for the posts and thanks freshandtasty for joining up to vote. Freshandtasty has an amazing webcomic over at http://comics.600poundgorilla.com/?p=45 that I highly recommend. The guy is a genius.
Just noticed that Tom Carter looks very Paddy Considine a la 'Dead Man's Shoes' is this on purpose? I do hope so.
Hmm... I thought Spooks was crap. Fortunately your comic isn't. The artwork is great; writing just good. I prefer my hardmen not to be at the beck and call of some Downing Street sleeze merchant but making the kind of comics you want to read is never a bad thing. I hope that if you don't win you'll stick with it.
Congrats!! The line work is brilliant, very professional!! Amazing colors, I could go on and on. The story is intriguing, and I'm left wanting more! Great start!! Good luck!
I really enjoyed both the art and the storyline so far. Best of luck this month.
Joined so I could vote for the bott man. Like the way the art came together ^_^