athenainargyle replied to your post: Workin on sketches for this new comic… not sure...
I’d be interested to hear what it’s about!
sephiramy replied to your post: Workin on sketches for this new comic… not sure...
I’m available if you ever want.
synicalsel replied to your post: Workin on sketches for this new comic… not sure...
I know I’d definitely like to hear! Or at least be a sounding board for you! c: I’m almost always available on IMs!
Thank you all! I'll post my sketches as soon as I can get my phone back, but the story is about a kid meeting a strange man during the summer break. The god calls himself Branzino, and claims to be a god of fish sandwiches. According to Branzino, long ago when there was only desert, a tribe worshiped him and his magical abilities, only to abandon him when they discovered the coast and how to fish for themselves. Without a purpose in life, Branzino lost his craft and fell into despair. The kid takes pity on him, and after feeding him her lunch becomes Branzino's new disciple. She learns how to make the sandwiches his way as he slowly recovers his memories and physical strength; their success attracts a large amount of attention from the other homeless gods, who begin bartering for the sandwiches. Their realms of control may seem small- the god of toothpaste, for example, or the god of left socks- but they prove useful in helping Branzino construct a new home for himself. But as time goes on, Branzino begins abusing his newfound power over the homeless gods who had shunned him before, his demands increasing to astronomical heights for a taste of his work. The other gods grow sick of Branzino and leave, and in his fury he scares away the young girl who had only wanted to help him. A terrible storm hits the town, and Branzino is left out on the streets with no one to shelter him from it. By the time the tempest is gone, so is Branzino. The girl makes a gravestone marker for the god, and begins leaving annual offerings at it.
I want to set the comic in a seaside town, kind of Spanish in style but without any specific real-world analogue. Branzino was originally going to have a wooden mask, but I'm considering changing it into a rusted metal one. The look of the mask is something I'm struggling with; I want it to feel alien, like a religious tribe that never existed, but I still have to base it off of something. Currently, I'm studying Cubist paintings (the movement itself having Spanish roots) and trying to create a mask inspired by it, in the same way that some Cubist art was inspired by tribal masks. I'm also debating whether it'd make a better effect to make the mask its actual face or have a human head hiding behind it. On the one hand, the mask by itself would add an extra surreal quality to it- but on the other hand, that fantastical nudge might weaken the emotional impact I want for this story. By giving it a human head, I could make the actual story more ambiguous. Is Branzino actually a god, or just a crazy homeless person? Who knows? Then again, I wonder how useful of a quality ambiguity is...
Anyways, that's the general idea for this story. How does it sound to you all?