Random Observation/Comment #297: What’s the difference between graphic novels, comic books, and manga anyway? I read them with all the same enjoyment…
I have always wanted to write a comic book. All I needed was an artist with a bit of a vision. I took Ryan Cummings as the guy to make with mutually exclusive goals. He drew with such passion and determination that I knew all he needed was a bit of direction and guidance to create works of art. He, of course, did not disappoint.
The Challenge:
Publish first few chapters of Hylourd comic book.
The Reason:
I decided to publish this comic book as a challenge because it has always been a side project that I’ve worked on with Ryan that had never made it past the sketching and inking phases. I wanted to publish his work and get it out there, but it would take too many artists to create a sustainable series. Even if I could write all of it and he had the talent to draw all of it, we both have day jobs. Hopefully posting this for him will show his talent and give him some inspiration to keep drawing and aiming for his goal.
The Result:
Hylourd was the first comic book written. My first web comic was “All Cooped Up” drawn by Eric Liu, but we had to study and all that jazz so we had to put that all aside. Hylourd, however, grew into a few chapters and then I let Ryan go off into his dream world of creating characters. I felt he needed some guidance into creating his universe because he could publish a few works of art. To be honest, he did all the work while I wrote some of the story-line with his approval, but I really think Ryan has talent and this can be more than just a hobby for him.
Here is the story of the comic book (Up to Chapter 5): Hylourd_comic_text.pdf
Here is the PDF of the comic book sketches (without words) by Ryan Cummings: Hylourd_chapter1_roughs.pdf
Other than the comic books, Ryan has done a great job drawing a lot of his favorite characters seen in the gallery below. Each character has a full background that will be placed into a character’s comic book.
The Conclusion:
I want more than anything for people to do what they have passion in doing. For Ryan, I know it’s drawing and putting his dreams onto paper. I know it’s his dream to have his characters come to life. Although I have a few doubts he will support his family with this passion alone, I hope that he will always see this as his way to release and escape from reality.
I think about the Hylourd story frequently and how I can advance it with some plot twists and clever writing techniques, but I really feel my influence as a writer has gone beyond it’s reaches and influenced too much of what Ryan wants in the his story. I want him to write his own book and come up with something that I know will be remarkable. It was a pleasure getting him started. He needs to drive it the rest of the way home.
~See Lemons Write Comics
