Antique Books
Genre:
Fantasy, Horror
Views:
4282
Favorite:
37
Login to Add a Favorite
Nola's Antique Books was located at the dark end of Old Vic Avenue, where the trees were twisted and blocked out most of the sun, and warded off most of the foot traffic. It was the kind of shop you had to wonder about. How did it stay open? What kind of books could keep it open? And what strange people lived upstairs? Mirabel knew the answers to all those questions. She had worked her way through college there. She spent years behind that old oak counter and the place could still make the hair on the back of her neck stand up. But lately, the strange owners upstairs had gotten stranger.
The old withering mother, seemingly older than anyone should ever grow to be, seemed to be slipping away. In her half-French, half-English ranting, she seemed to want to say something - a warning that never made sense. Mirabel just pushed her uneasiness down. She was at her own wit's end trying to figure out the answer to her own question: what now? College was finished, but no career yet to speak of. What now? Could the same life, job, partner be the right thing? She let all these thoughts overwhelm in her head, when the old lady finally lets go and brings her warning to life. A long buried, ravenous, vicious force was released into the world in the bedroom above Mirabels' head. Things only get worse when the security doors meant to protect the books seal her in.
great lineart , nice tone of action...
Like many other people mentioned, I was really drawn to this comic from an aesthetic standpoint. The artwork is just amazing. Your linework is really strong. This was definitely my second favorite piece. I'm not generally a comic reader, but I did notice that the font seemed a little too generic for my taste, in contrast with the quality of the drawings. Ever consider using a font like Courier instead? That might add to the sense of the mundane while still creating a bit of visual interest in the text. Great work though. I hope you continue to do well in your career.
+oil, u have my vote. :D
I knew it was goint to go somewhere, I just wish that it didn't take so long to do so. Without mention the art work is brilliant, but you might want to pull back on the wordiness of it all. I love text w/my artwork, but it has to push the story somewhere. I get that you're trying to flesh out the mundanity of her world and then shock us with what could be a supernatural invasion or her own mental distortions of her world at the end, but I think you can still do that while giving us more background or a little less dialogue. Other than that, a strong submission good luck!
A continuation of my post: Finally, the story goes nowhere fast, and we're left not really getting anything interesting (maybe) until the last panel, but nothing that came before it seemed to indicate that, if continued, the strip would be any better...
While the style of the artwork is really quite mesmerizing, many of the panel choices seemed odd and made the comic difficult to read. Besides the fact that nothing was really happening, too many of the shots were odd-angled close-ups, but then those would be followed by big empty panels that showed... what? It seemed like some of the backgrounds could have used a little more dimension (they were flat...), and some panels were just plain confusing; is that a monster coming down the stairs on the last page? I'm still not sure, and missed it at first glance, either way.
Also, the art seems dingy and grayed. I wish that there were some colors or shading, or at least that the art had been converted to total black and white, rather than grayscale, because the splotchy patches of black is unfinished-looking.
breathtaking. you got my vote.
This gets my vote for the originality of the artwork, and also the writing seems to be quite intelligent. I've always been a fan of these kinds of stores my whole life, so that doesn't hurt anything.
I'm giving you my vote. You were the only one to have more stars from my opinion than the others with 4. Good luck. I believe you deserve to win this one. Too bad originality doesn't seem to get the recognition it deserves. You still have half a month, though.
Interesting Art Style! Need the Hell to Break Loose!
Wow, man, this grabbed me. I have a friend who works at a personal shop, and I always wonder if hours of her day are spent sitting and waiting. And then the creepiness. I need to see more of this.
I've never seen anything like this. Good Luck
For now on you have my fav and 5 stars. I wish you the best of luck. Your art is very good, character's faces are deep, interesting. This should be in the top 3 Scott. Remember that it's just a competition. Do you want it or not if you want to win your work must be commercial like summer block buster. Colour is not necessary but with Zuda users it's better to have it, you just have more chances.
my review:
*******************************
http://pigs-of-the-industry.blogspot.com/2009/08/zuda-review-antique-books-title-should.html
Love your linework! The way you handle shadows is very interesting. Windsor-Smith is a definite comparison, although your stuff feels a bit... cleaner. Your faces are very unique and feel like real people, not just generic stereotypes.
The story does not grab me, and I think a lot of that is in the dialogue. I think I see what you're trying for... pages of monotony that are about to be interrupted by something very strange on page 8. But to make that engaging, the dialogue needs to be really sharp. It's almost too conversational, doesn't read well. A little more could have happened.
This is a highly unique vision here, though. Kudos on blazing your own trail!
Woah. I'm confused, I think mainly because I'm not getting into the story but yet I like the weirdness and the incredible artwork. Forget Zuda competition: you've got an ace unique style and top artistic skills. This is something special that I've not grasped straight away, but I reckon it could grow...
the best entry from the artistic point of view, great pencil and inking!!!
It's great work
he he,.. i meant 10th place
.. shame its on 10th place...
do you have soome more of it already done??
great stuff... shame its in page 10th... but get al your folks together and start promoting your comic... i surely would love to read page 10 ;)...
Great stuff Scott!
I actually prefer black and white art man and I dig your dig style with it.
Great! I love it.
Hi, Scott -- congrats on creating a truly unique piece of graphic fiction. Mirabel is extremely well realized -- I really feel like I know her after only 8 pages.
You're from BC? Hope you're steering clear of the forest fires!
I agree with Elfkin;
big ups for something that looks and feels different. you got my vote.
G
HI! I voted for this one hands down! I am pimping you on my blogs too. I loved the wonderful linework--so expressive, so textural, so well realized. I knew I loved this the moment I saw it! Stunningly represented, and really, really weird. Which is a good thing. This submission is more than great, it's unique--which in my book means a lot.
Good luck!!!
I love the crazy old woman! Best wishes this month.
great style!!!...nice pencils n ink work
Thanks for all the comments, positive and critical, and thank you to Nika for the quick re-arrange.
To anyone who read it on day one, please try again, as now it is in the proper order. Good luck to all the other competitors, it is a great month to be a part of. And I'll gladly take any BWS comparisons.
My review: http://silianrailroad.blogspot.com/
I totally see the Barry Windsor-Smith comparison, btw.
Love the style! Great expressions! Sometimes, you remind me of Barry Winsdor Smith!
The artwork is fantastic. The story is slow but that said I'm still wanting to see what happens next.
Didn't really grab me in terms of an intro- like the style, but this is a B&W that I think really would have benefited from some color.
bait taken - subscribed till the end, thx!
Good luck :)
The synopsis sounds like you've got somewhere interesting to go with this, but the establishing pages are nothing but vague questions and quiet boring atmosphere. These things definitely don't serve to create interest in the story. The inking is quite good.
I really have a huge appreciation for the art style you went with on this, absolutely fantastic! You have a lot of talent!
Reviewed.
http://leftyfilmsblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/zudaaugust2009.html
I like the creepy artwork, I like the slow pacing, I like your layouts a lot, but I don't like seeing an old lady speaking a different language in some sort of prophetic outburst. You established the mood well, but I think the lack of exposition is a little too purposeful and the writing suffers for it. It feels like you're trying a little too hard to shy away from directly telling us anything about the story or characters, instead relying on hints and moody gesture. Good effort, but I think you held back too much on this one.
'Antique Books' is the title? That's not going to set the pulse racing is it?
The art really creates an eerie feel. Very fitting. Nice stuff.
i like ur styleee ...nice pencil and inking....congratulations good jbssss..
Freaky! The art makes all the mundanity seem like just a skin stretched over some crazy nightmare.
Nice work - quick too! Thanks ;-)
Yeah, we're on it.
Something screwy going on here - sort it out guys!