Nailbat Begins

[VinnieD]

That's right. A new story that will update on thursdays, Nailbat Begins.
This is my own little take on a Super Hero story set in Gritty City. As the story progresses you'll see that Nailbat posesses a rather unique super power, one I doubt anyone would actually want.

A bit of info here. Nailbat Begins is a prequel to AntiBunny and takes place just under a year before the first strip, so you're going to see cameos of the main cast as they were a year ago.

I should point out that unlike the pic in the art section, nailbat is NOT Pooky. It will be a new character whom you'll see next week.

I'll keep the discussion on the Nailbat story in this thread, so make your replies here.

[Jay aka Mac]

If nothing else, I'm beginning to get a better idea of what is and isn't possible in this world.

[VinnieD]

And now the first one is up. I'd recomend Lightbringer to anyone who enjoys a more logical, thinking man's hero. I modified the design of the lightbringer character since this represents lightbringer as a comic book that our protagonist reads rather than any sort of genuine crossover. There will be another cameo later, but I'm going to stay away from copyrighted characters so I'll either cameo webcomic super heroes or make up my own. (Or perhapse theres a Public Domain hero out there)

Lastly in a recent developement Lewis ran a villain creation contest. My entry was among the winners, so keep reading his comic if you want to see the product of our combined twisted imaginations. My concept and his exocution.

Fun times ahead.

[Holyice7]

Can't wait to see this "unwanted" superpower of Nailbat's.

[Linkara]

Technically Lightbringer's copyrighted by me, but I appreciate the cameo, anyway. ^_~

The page was a bit depressing, but of course, I do believe in heroes and all that happy fun stuff, so it's understandable to be upset when I see someone give it up like that. Still, great stuff and I'm proud to have Lightbringer featured in your comic. ^^

And yes, Vinnie's entry Legato Sin will play a role in an upcoming issue of Lightbringer. And by upcoming, I mea like way far off in the future. ^^;; Sometimes it sucks to update only twice a week (well, okay, three times a week starting next week. ^_~).

[VinnieD]

Perhapse a rephrasing is in order. I mean to say "Copyrighted by large multinational sue happy corporations."

Which reminds me if this ever goes to print I'll throw in apropriate credits for lightbringer.

As for the depressing angle. This story arc will be very dark. It only goes more positive at the end, since this is about the establishment of the character and finding a sense of purpose.

[VinnieD]

#2 is up now.

Aside from what I've already siad in the comments I'd like to talk about art changes here.

The big differences you'll notice are the use of ink and the different ways of drawing rabbits.

Currently the antibunny strips up still use what I dub "Round head" whereas I call the drawing style in Nailbat "Fuzzy cheeks" I've already drawn antibunny strips in the fuzzy cheeks style that you'll see early in the next chapter.

I've also started making the paws more detailed resembling a real rabbit's.

More obscure things. This scene happens on a cold night so I'm experimenting with capturing that feel in the art. I shade the sky darker than the ground for one thing. Capturing the sensation of cold may be a bit harder, so you'll see I drew fogging breath in a few panels. The last panel may throw a few people with the thin (and in some spots utterly missing) outline. I was trying to capture a sensation of cold here. Those of you living up north where it's already getting cold at night might get more out of this strip. Thankfully it'll update throught he winter months. Here's hoping mother nature will oblige my writing.

[Holyice7]

I have to say, your drawings are cleaning up nicely.

[VinnieD]

The third one is up. This is practicly two comics in one given the drastic shift mid strip. But in general a strip of nailbat tends to cover more material than a strip of AntiBunny. I do hope the meaning of this strip shines through. Or that you at least get a laugh out of the mid page gag.

[Linkara]

Sweet gibbly giblets, he's going to get his powers from DEATH?


Where's Arnold Rimmer when you need him?

[Holyice7]

Is there a problem with that?




And technically, that's Dee.

[VinnieD]

.....bet you didn't see THAT coming.

[Linkara]

THAT'S an interesting twist!

Of course, the one problem is that even though you know when you're going to die, there's always the idea that his life can still be a living hell even if he won't die until the appointed time.

[VinnieD]

The next strip is up. Enjoy. Remember this strip. You'll be seeing the Loan Sharks again later.

[VinnieD]

And yet another is up. Ding dong the Gecko is dead. I hope it's clear what happened. I didn't want to go the route of tasteless blatant gore here, so I hope you'll all understand the significance of this moment in Mors's development rather than worry about missing any violence. It's far more significant that Mors has essentially murdered someone here, and is smiling about it, rather than the act its self.

[Linkara]

I wouldn't say he's murdered him as much as he neglected to mention the problem with the gun. It's Gecko's fault for not checking to make sure his gun was in proper working order. ^_~

[VinnieD]

This comic mostly features Mors milling over what we've already figured out. While the audience may be aware of this, it's necessary to take time for the character to also come to terms with these things in order for a more complete development.

[Holyice7]

Well, this concept makes me wonder: would Mors come to the realization that if it were someone's time to die, he couldn't save them, in a sense making his actions as Nailbat fruitless?

[VinnieD]

Next week's page answers that very question.

[VinnieD]

Today's page sets all the rules out. There's also a loophole in there that will play in way on down the line. Can you spot it?

I made a point of artistic contrast between cute and cowardly Mors in the first panel and evil crazy Mors in the last. Don't worry, he's not really evil, just power tripping.