http://www.wowio.com/users/product.asp?BookId=3663 (http://www.wowio.com/users/product.asp?BookId=3663)
You can read all the issues for free. Go for it.
That was a really good read. You did a great job on it.
Having not had access to this when it was up elsewhere because I'm in the UK, it was great to read your work. I'll do my best to get my local retailer to order a copy of the trade for me, get him to read it and then spread the word as much as I can.
Thanks guys! I'm glad you liked it.
C6 and I poured ourselves into the series (we're even in the book!) and we hope it shows.
I loved the books got a copy of everyone of 'em(and trust me that wasn't an easy task!) seems like a book that should be with Marvel!
Quote from: Zapow on July 31, 2008, 03:17:40 PM
http://www.wowio.com/users/product.asp?BookId=3663 (http://www.wowio.com/users/product.asp?BookId=3663)
You can read all the issues for free. Go for it.
What?! Seriously?!!!! Now that's DOPE!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't have time today. But you can bet I'll get to this soon!
Thanks, Zapow!!!!!!!!
I'm glad I was able to buy them, but I like Wowio (great place to read misc. comics). Cool that you got these on there, Zap!
(When will we be seeing some Everyday Heroes?)
Not positive I've posted about Honor Brigade before, but this is certainly the first time I've read all six issues. Anyway, I enjoyed the read but there were a lot flaws.
There were some niggling writing problems. There were spots where the narration seemed unnecessary or the dialog seemed stilted. A lot of the pop culture references are already dated and cringe-worthy. The community in-jokes were cute, but really didn't add much.
The fatal flaw for me is the sheer volume of story crammed into six issues. It really should have been expanded to ten or twelve issues to give the story room to breathe. There were too many story threads and too many back stories being introduced too quickly. I was overwhelmed with information for most of the read.
On the art side of things, there were several other issues. There are some bizarre anatomy problems like feet, heads and torsos changing shape from time to time. There was also the occasional arm that was bent at an odd angle and whatnot. The overall style of the art was nice but would benefit from an inker. A lot of the lines feel a little loose.
The paneling was probably the thing that caught my eye most. There were some very bizarre and confusing sequences where my eye was skipping panels due to their arrangement. I noticed one set of panels that had arrows to guide you through them. That's generally a bad sign.
It was an okay read and I could see progress you guys were making from issue to issue. You can also see the passion behind the whole project. However, the story would really benefit from an editor, a set of eyes that does not hold an emotional attachment to the characters or the property as a whole. The story needs someone who will ask the simple questions that seem obvious to you. "Why am I being introduced to this character? What happened to the ghost guy? Why am I being thrown violently into a backstory flashback?" I found myself confused for much of the story, not because the plot was necessarily confusing, but because it felt out of order.
Overall, it's okay, not great. To be quite honest, if it weren't on Wowio for free, I wouldn't read it. Fortunately, there are glimmers of potential brilliance.
Read 'em. Liked 'em! [spoiler]My favorite characters were Lightning Rod, Living Log, Toy Boy and Mystery Girl. I also liked the way the way all of lives became intertwined (as opposed to the far too common plot device of a single cataclismic event after which the heroes seem to look at one another and say 'let's form a team'). And it was just great fun!
[/spoiler]
[spoiler]Oh, and I LOVE how the original Honor Brigade (including Lightning Rod's parents) came to the rescue in #6. Awesome! Like Indiana Jones, you're never too old to be a hero![/spoiler]
Thanks again!
Quote from: Uncle Yuan on August 04, 2008, 11:39:11 AM(When will we be seeing some Everyday Heroes?)
Yeah! 2nd That! Shoot I forgot about that! :thumbup:
Quote from: style on August 05, 2008, 11:16:45 AM
Quote from: Uncle Yuan on August 04, 2008, 11:39:11 AM(When will we be seeing some Everyday Heroes?)
Yeah! 2nd That! Shoot I forgot about that! :thumbup:
Working in it. Lightning Rod even shows up in issue #2!
There's more coming from Honor Brigade soon. And that's not counting the trade!
Firstly, I'm gonna say congrats to you zap (and C6) for even getting a comic published that people seem to enjoy. I did think it was an average read, but I mostly agree with Middy as well in that it could use a few fixes. You and c6 did get much better in issues 4-6 though, so it was all good. Hopefully, all that development will carry over into your new series.
Admin Edit: Added spoiler tags.
[spoiler]
Pros:
- I was generally interested in the story and the characters.
- I enjoyed some of the references and the character interactions.
- RUBBER TREE PLANT!
- I thought the art was fine for the most part.
- It reeeally should have been more than 6 issues.
- It felt like an older comic...but modernized.
Cons:
- As I stated, the story (all 300 plots [exag.]) seemed to need more than 6 issues to tell, but what became the main story didn't need 6 issues at all. It felt like you were writing an ongoing series more so than a mini. This probably would have worked a lot better if some, if not all, of the plots correlated with each other in some way [themes, characters, values, etc.].
- All the pop references and some dialogue did make me groan. It seemed to be an overabundance of references in every issue, so I felt you could have cut down on that a bit. Overabundance isn't a good friend to make. Ask spidey and his web shooters about that. :P
- The panel layout in issues 1-3 were rough. For example, that scene where toyboy used a mallet in an attempt to break the reinforced glass doors was pretty unnecessary. If it were split up more effectively, you could have told more of the story.
- Speaking of stories, more of the story needed to be told for certain characters as certain things didn't make sense, weren't natural in their progressions, or were just too rushed.
**EX: Joe/Ghost thing; Ruiz getting info on his doctor, fighting against toyboy, then turning last minute; Big bad's bro joining his team (though his dislikes humans) and then turning mid-fight; Joe/Ghost appearing during the final showdown in issue 6 and then not doing anything else afterwards; inclusion of fletche [sp] for no reason other than to even the odds, so to speak.**
- The excessive backstories appearing randomly got annoying to me. It felt like you forced them in just to inform the reader of why they were in their predicaments (none of the females seemed to give backstories) and it was overwhelming. I don't feel like we needed all of those backgrounds right away and most of the time, their was no point for the characters to be explaining their histories.
- Earlier in the story, I felt like the characters didn't have defined voices, but that did get better later on, so not a true complaint.[/spoiler]
So, in summary, I felt it was a good story, but you tried to cram too much info into too little space. IMO, you missed out on including vital information for the story you were actually trying to tell and instead gave us excessive details on characters who were more supporting than actual leads in the long run. While I like most of the characters and their predicaments, I didn't need to know their whole early histories for "this" particular story (and I'm judging it on this mini alone just in case more comes along). You guys got much better in issues 4-6, but issues 1-3 kinda hurt the general progression of the story in some areas. Anyway, I hope you have another mini planned for these guys and I hope your comic ventures are successful.
I appreciate you guys talking about the book but could you maybe do it in a different thread that was started for that sole purpose?
And um...spoiler tags anyone? Not everyone has read the comics yet. Spelling out the plot in detail? Not cool.
Quote from: Zapow on August 05, 2008, 09:30:17 PM
Quote from: style on August 05, 2008, 11:16:45 AM
Quote from: Uncle Yuan on August 04, 2008, 11:39:11 AM(When will we be seeing some Everyday Heroes?)
Yeah! 2nd That! Shoot I forgot about that! :thumbup:
Working in it. Lightning Rod even shows up in issue #2!
There's more coming from Honor Brigade soon. And that's not counting the trade!
You're doing a HB TPB??? That's awesome! Btw, I already used one spoiler tag above. And the other stuff were things that most people can find out just from the "cast list" on the HB website. None the less, all that stuff is stuck into a spoiler tag just in case. I understand that sort of thing.
Peace out!
Quote from: Zapow on August 06, 2008, 04:56:44 AM
I appreciate you guys talking about the book but could you maybe do it in a different thread that was started for that sole purpose?
There's a discussion thread? I can't seem to find it.
Quote from: Dr.Volt on August 06, 2008, 06:05:40 AM
Quote from: Zapow on August 05, 2008, 09:30:17 PM
Quote from: style on August 05, 2008, 11:16:45 AM
Quote from: Uncle Yuan on August 04, 2008, 11:39:11 AM(When will we be seeing some Everyday Heroes?)
Yeah! 2nd That! Shoot I forgot about that! :thumbup:
Working in it. Lightning Rod even shows up in issue #2!
There's more coming from Honor Brigade soon. And that's not counting the trade!
You're doing a HB TPB??? That's awesome! Btw, I already used one spoiler tag above. And the other stuff were things that most people can find out just from the "cast list" on the HB website. None the less, all that stuff is stuck into a spoiler tag just in case. I understand that sort of thing.
Peace out!
Yep, an HB trade. It will be in color with additional content by guest creators. Pin-ups and back-up stories.
Quote from: Midnight on August 06, 2008, 01:29:00 PM
Quote from: Zapow on August 06, 2008, 04:56:44 AM
I appreciate you guys talking about the book but could you maybe do it in a different thread that was started for that sole purpose?
There's a discussion thread? I can't seem to find it.
Hrm...must have been pruned. It was a bit old.