Sod that election bollocks, take a look at this instead

[Christov]

Roll up, roll up ladies and gentlemen...

Now, I'm sure some of you noticed that I was searching for an artist to bring a little pet project to life to share with all you lovely people, a gesture of goodwill for putting up with me for so long.

Long story short, I contacted our very own Ryan Thomason and spaceghost because they showed interest and I eventually pitched my idea to the both of them. Surprisingly, they both accepted, which left me with a dilemma.

Two artists, but one idea.

Of course, if this little series ran on, multiple artists would be required to keep the workload spread out and to cover for someone if they're busy, but I'm not willing to assume that before I've even revealed what I'm going to do.

Anyway, I've decided to take some fantastic sketches our lads have provided me with and show them off to you lot to see which you all prefer.

Please note, this is not a popularity contest or 'who has the better art', because a.) we're beyond that popularity rubbish, and b.) art is subjective anyway, and both of our potential candidates have provided lovely examples of their talent.

So, which do you think fits the look of a dark satire on brutal and violent Garth Ennis style comics?


Style A - Ryan Thomason's heavily stylised grim storybook artwork.


Style B - spaceghost's 'Mad Max' inspired designs.

[Richmond Clements]

Can you give us some more story detail? When's it set? A vague idea of what it's about?

Both pieces are great, BTW- I see your problem.

[Dandontdare]

the words "brutal" "violent" and "Garth Ennis" instinctively lead me to say B, but I agree we need more detail to make an informed choice.

[Jared Katooie]

I wish I had problems like these.

[Christov]

Okay, I'm keeping vague on the details because the very premise is an early joke in the piece, but I'll see if I can elaborate on things by showing a censored segment of the script.


PAGE 1

1.   Long horizontal panel. We see a dark cityscape peppered with lights. It looks oppressively moody. We’re seeing the city from an angle facing towards the docks, meaning we see a slight sliver of murky water reflecting the strong moonlight.

CAPTION (MAN, UPPER LEFT):  HAVE YOU EVER SEEN VIOLENCE THAT MAKES YOU WANT TO TEAR OUT YOUR EYEBALLS WITH RUSTY SPOONS?

CAPTION (MAN, LOWER RIGHT): I HAVE.

2.   Long horizontal panel. We’re getting closer now, lower down. We see the shipyard more clearly now, but everything remains vague, dark shapes on the horizon.

CAPTION (MAN, UPPER LEFT): HAVE YOU EVER FOUGHT WITH THE SCUM OF THE EARTH? THE VERY WORST THAT HUMANITY HAS TO OFFER?

CAPTION (MAN, LOWER RIGHT): I HAVE.

3.   Medium horizontal panel. Closer still, we now see a small figure standing at the water’s edge. The figure is at the centre of the panel.

CAPTION (MAN, UPPER LEFT): HAVE YOU COMMITTED ACTS OF HORROR FOR THE GREATER GOOD THAT WOULD DESTROY A LESSER MAN?

CAPTION (MAN, LOWER RIGHT): I HAVE.

4.   Medium horizontal panel. Still getting closer, the figure is taking more shape, but it’s features are darkened and obscured.

CAPTION (MAN, UPPER LEFT): HAVE YOU EVER SACRIFICED EVERYTHING FOR THE SAKE OF REVENGE?

CAPTION (MAN, LOWER RIGHT): I DIDN’T THINK SO. BUT I HAVE.

5.   Close horizontal panel. The figure is revealed as MAN. He is staring out ahead, eyes piercing straight forwards, a look of melancholy on his face. He appears beaten and bruised, covered in grime and dried blood.

CAPTION (MAN, UPPER LEFT):  WHY AM I ASKING YOU ALL THIS?

CAPTION (MAN, LOWER RIGHT): BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE ONE THING CLEAR. DON’T FUCK WITH ME.


PAGE 2

1.   Close horizontal panel. We see a man in his 20s with a shaved head staring straight ahead, head lowered with a pissed off look in his eye. The panel is extremely close, obscuring most of his face.

CAPTION (UPPER LEFT): FOUR DAYS EARLIER.

CAPTION (MAN, LOWER RIGHT): THIS IS A STORY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE FUCK WITH ME.

THUG: OI, YER.

Additional info:

. The setting could be described by contemporary, but isn't held down by any strict 'look' of an age.
. The violence is exaggerated to all levels of extremes.
. No clever deconstruction here, straight piss-take all the way.

[Dandontdare]

No clever deconstruction here, straight piss-take all the way.

Changed my mind - A!

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

Well whatever you decide Christov it's certainly a lot more interesting than the bloody general election could ever be. I like 'B' style personally very Steve Dillon-ish.

[Christov]

Well, it isn't my decision exactly. I'm calling upon the forum to take a gander and see which one they'd prefer. Who says we don't live in a democracy, eh?

[locustsofdeath!]

Shoot, whichever of those guys is the "loser", I'd gladly work with them on a script I've got cracking.

[worldshown]

Style A for me. Nothing wrong with what spaceghost drew, it's just that if you say it's extreme violence and a piss take, you'll be on safer ground with the more stylised art.

[Zarjazzer]

Style B for me,though I like them both in their own way. What clear, but descriptive writing you have Christov!

 Even a non artist like me can "visualise" the page.
 

[nev]

Personally I think A would work best with what you've got written, but either way, both are great little works.

[locustsofdeath!]

I understand you don't want to offend either of these artists, Christov (though I'm sure they're both cool enpugh not to be offended), but you just have to go back to your original vision and decided what's best for you and your work. When you wrote those words, you saw the pictures in your head - what works best? Even with your words, we can't really see your imagination. Best of luck! Post the final work so we can see.

[Christov]

I understand what you're saying, but the thing is, I consider both artists perfectly capable of interpreting my vision of what the project should look like.

Originally I favoured style B, but after seeing an inked and coloured version of A, it overtook B as my personal preference. Still, they're far too close for me to choose on my own, and I intended to put this project together in order to contribute something nice towards the forum, leading to this poll which gives all you folks a sneak preview and actually having some influence in the production.

[Jared Katooie]

I say B.

If you're going to have graphic violence, then the more detail the better.