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1
VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Mar 29, 2007, 12:23 AM »

Joshua Hale Fialkov, Noel Tuazon, and Scott A. Keating's brilliant (and seven-Harvey-nominated) Elk's Run hits you, and hits you hard.  It's very rare for me to want to skip to the end of a comic to find out how it ends, not out of boredom but from the sheer tension of reading it, and Elk's Run handles telling multiple points of view extremely well--kinda like the TV show Boomtown, but with more clarity.  This one definitely won't disappoint.

2
Reviews / Re: So what comics are you reading?
« on: Mar 18, 2007, 02:46 PM »
And people wonder why I never followed Punisher War Journal and ignored him in Civil War. XD

Stick with the MAX Punisher, folks--none o' this nonsense to be found for miles.

Edit: "Now America is about mom, apple pie, and heavy artillery. When you think about it, Punisher really does a better job of representing America than Cap ever did."  Thank you, Celi, for that bit of genius.

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Reviews / Re: So what comics are you reading?
« on: Mar 18, 2007, 03:27 AM »
I picked up two issues of Punisher War Journal because of Fraction, and it's quite good... which is surprising, since I haven't read a Punisher book since he was a manga-nized angel running around in sewers with Wolverine.  ... yeah, that's a time best left forgotten.

You should really check out the MAX line of The Punisher, 'cause it's by and far some of the best comic entertainment you'll find.  It's gritty, serious (with a little black humor here and there) and doesn't get caught up in the capes-and-camp of the standard Marvel Universe.  It's about Frank killing bad people in horrible ways, and surprisingly manages to carry more than just shock value.  Plus, new Tim Bradstreet art (even if it's just covers) is always a plus.

4
VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Jan 21, 2007, 03:18 PM »
Someone in the "What Comics are you Reading" thread recommended Blacksad, which a friend showed me a couple volumes of a while back--it was un-be-fucking-lievable.  Classy, classy stuff.

In other news involving large-format comics from the pages of Heavy Metal, Enrico Marini and Jean DuFaux's Raptors is a very slick read involving vampires.  Large cityscapes in the vein of Blade II's beautiful-if-eerie sepiatone presentation of Prague (and lots of nudity) highlight this comic, which is pretty to look at and enjoyable to read--a rare combination.

If you can find it, also look for Marini's Gipsy, which has absolutely nothing to do with the Brian Pulido title Gypsy.  The art of Gipsy strikes me as very familiar to Otomo Katsuhiro (Akira and Domu) but hey, if you're gonna pick something to be similar to, it's nice to pick a legend.

Same goes for Fairy Tail, a recent weekly shounen series that I started reading.  While almost retardedly similar to the exceptional One Piece in visuals, the action sequences wrap up a lot faster (can't say whether that's a good thing or a bad thing) but do the more seinen approach of "let's have a few really big hits from each side from all these random different angles."  Author Mashima Hiro (Rave Master) also shows off some pretty unique things that can be done with basic-sounding fire and ice powers, so that's a plus.

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VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Jan 11, 2007, 11:47 PM »
Any of the Ender books would make a great animated movie.  You should check out Ultimate Iron Man, Dagger--my real draw to the series is that it's written by Orson Scott Card.  While there are a lot of great writers in comics, getting "real" writers--people who write actual BOOKS for a living--to write comics is even better.

And Steamboy was damn good, but it was by Katsuhiro Otomo, the gent who did Akira.

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VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Nov 20, 2006, 02:06 AM »
Hey buddy! Support your artist!!
I buy enough monthlies and weeklies to feed families.  Besides, sitting to read the new volume of Ultimate X-Men hurts me all at once, instead of getting little doses of monthly pain.

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VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Nov 19, 2006, 04:19 PM »
You can read comics without actually buying them--that's why I love Borders and Barnes & Noble. XD

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VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Nov 12, 2006, 03:03 PM »
Thank you, Elio.  I was beginning to worry that I was the only person who hated MBQ.  "Artistic integrity" my ass.

This isn't recommended reading per se, but it does involve Frank Frazetta and Ralph Bakshi.  If you're able to find a copy of the movie Fire and Ice, it uses beautiful rotoscoped animation that, while not particularly detailed, captures an incredibly realistic sense of movement and poise.  Since it's also a very dynamic ACTION movie, it shows a lot of hacking, slashing, and chopping movement all the way through.  Hell, you even get a bitchslap in slow-motion, so you'll be able to find more than enough reference for all kinds of action movement.

http://www.dvdmaniacs.net/Reviews/E-H/fire_and_ice.html

Here's a glowing review from an otherwise surly online movie site.  Fire and Ice is a 2-disc DVD that says "limited edition" on the front, so because of its cult status it's very hard to find.  If you have Netflix or Blockbuster Online, you can just do what I did and rent it from there.

9
VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Nov 06, 2006, 01:10 PM »
Marvel's attempts at pulling in new readers have been hit-or-miss affairs.  The Ultimate line was at first slammed and people thought it would be ultimate shit, but after reading it, sales jumped through the roof and new readers picked up steadily, with interest in the core books rising as well.  Things have cooled down and have more or less gone back to normal, but a lot of Marvel's recent moves, like the Ultimate line, the Marvel Mangaverse (ouch), and the Marvel Age line (some good, a lot bad) have reached out to female readers who aren't acquainted with comics, to younger readers, and to the people you just mentioned who have difficulty reading Western comics because they're so used to manga.

You're right, though, about the blending of the two forms of storytelling, and I do really agree that James' work has a solid mix of Western and manga-type presentation that isn't  pure style-over-substance.  I've been lucky enough to get a steady diet of both Eastern and Western comics since I first got into comics, so even though I can say "comics is comics is comics" and read just about anything that's thrown in front of me (or ask for recommendations, since one of my friends literally reads anything and everything he can get his hands on), there is a clear difference in how each type of comic is presented.

Here was a question I thought I'd present.

Mainstream Western comics tend to be slower-paced due to their (generally) monthly status.  For a beginning comic artist, do you folks on Void feel the "more talk, less fight" approach is a better way for them to develop their storytelling style by having their characters actually talk to each other, forcing their art to focus on backgrounds and dodge anatomy by proper camera angles, or is the manga-style "fight-fight-fight" approach better since it forces them to develop stronger anatomy while dodging backgrounds by throwing on speedlines?  This is kind of a rhetorical question, but I figured I'd ask to see what people's opinions are on the subject.

Edit: Broken Nose was great. XD

10
VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Nov 05, 2006, 09:45 PM »
My last word on the whole writing vs. art thing: movies are also a visual medium, similar to comics in their presentation and idiosyncracies.  If a movie only has beautiful visual presentation through special effects, set decoration, lighting, and overall atmosphere (the "art" of it, if you will), I'll still turn it off in a half-hour or less if the writing isn't engaging enough.  Of course, this doesn't mean that art is unimportant--every now and then you'll get a great comic like Order of the Stick or Kane, which may not have the best art (or stick figures in Order's case), but the writing is enough to hold it up--but that doesn't give any excuse for a writer/artist to slack on their artistic practice, either.

Also, when Quesada took over Marvel, he ditched the Comics Code and instead adopted an in-house rating system.  Sadly, DC's the only company that still adheres to the Comics Code, even if they do much more horrible things to their characters than Marvel does.

Quote from: spikes
there's nothing inherently wrong with the IDEA of the mainstream, just the fucking rightful stigma thats been forced on it. it's the same with pop music, people love hearing a catchy fun beat, but it's just been so abused and mutilated over the years into a indistinguishable pulp that a lot people are sick of it and want it to just die. BUT there's just enough teeny's around to keep it alive for a little bit longer.
I personally disagree with this, and feel that "the mainstream" (God I hate that fucking word) is an incredibly important part of comics as a business.  In addition to being a very valid artistic and literary form, comics are a business, a business whose overall strength is being debated here in this thread.

While I do agree with the belief that too many titles (like the X-titles that Shortfury mentioned) will turn off new readers, but in order to keep one title going--it's been proven!--secondary titles will increase sales on your main book, and increase sales overall.  Yeah, there may be what, four core Batman books, and crazy as he is, there's no way Batman can do that much in a month, but for the readers who want more Batman, they'll GET more Batman, and they'll pay the extra couple bucks to do it.  That'll add up.

That mainstream work keeps the industry alive--while the "artists" (I use that term very broadly) will decry them and hate them because they get boatloads of money, those books give comics the exposure they need that allow more independent (or independent-styled, in the case of Runaways) work to get through.  Hell, Dark Horse still runs on the belief of creator-owned work, and has had its share of hits and misses, but we've got some great reading out of them.

Also, praise be to whatever powers are up there for manga really getting big in the States.  Before, I'd have to hunt for the titles I wanted at import bookstores--now I can just run to a Borders and grab the titles I want.  Of course, this can be a problem, too (Tokyopop tends to license a lot of crap just to license it and put it out 'cause people will buy manga), but companies like Viz tend to put out a metric shit-ton of quality material.

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VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Nov 05, 2006, 11:17 AM »
No, you don't have to be a writer--you're dead-on with that.  I just feel that the best writers are the people who actually focus on writing.  Not to be mean, but the grand majority of "OMG AWESOME" artists on Void put out comics where I don't read them, I just look at the pictures and drool.  There are, of course, exceptions to that rule.

And yes, I didn't mention Vertigo for that reason.  They put out some cool stuff every now and again, but you rarely hear from them any more.  They need another big flagship title to pull them out of this--another Sandman or Preacher.  Image is #4 in the American market, and that does hurt it, but I will say that as a reader, I am enjoying their recent output more than ever before, with the exception of Larsen's constantly-entertaining Savage Dragon.

I haven't read anything by Rick Spears, but I'm very interested in checking out Teenagers from Mars.  I'll tell you what I think about it after I'm done with it.  Pirates of Coney Island also looks pretty damn slick.

Otomo's Akira and Domu rock, though.  So does The Legend of Mother Sarah, which is a postapocalyptic world with a very personal and heartfelt story.

Personal favorite writers: Jeph Loeb, who handles dialogue like an epee fencer; Bendis, who I still feel carries a lot of emotional strength to his writing even if he's been getting way too sarcastic as of late, but he has been making the Clone Saga interesting, so he wins; and Erik Larsen, because he is the fucking man.  "Don't fuck with God" indeed. XD

12
VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Nov 05, 2006, 10:23 AM »
What used to be an industry dependent on cloned styles has been branching out, but I think a point you missed, Shortfury, was that while art styles are branching out in comics today, what's really selling them is the writing.  The "new" Image is powered by J. Michael Strascynski, Brian K. Vaughan, and Brian Michael Bendis--not McFarlane, Larsen, and the "I went to DC, thank God" Lee.  The most critically-acclaimed comics of the past few years may have had exceptional art, like Olivier Coipel, Salvador Larocca, and Mark Texeira on House of M, but what really pushed that "big summer event" comic into people's hands?  The fact that Bendis writes comics so good that it doesn't feel like you're reading a comic any more, you feel like you're reading an actual book because you're actually reading it instead of just looking at the pictures.  Yes, Identity Crisis may have had superheroes, but the subject material was handled with grace and intelligence, crafting a graphic murder mystery with all the lasting value of Torso or The Long Halloween.  So far, the only lasting "cookie cutter comics" I see getting pandered around are UDON's sharp-looking, fun-to-read video game adaptations (they're like cotton candy--you know they're bad for you, but you can't stop) and the above-mentioned Witchblade (ugh.  Just ugh).

The point of the paragraph: the artistic style shouldn't matter.  The content of the book is what matters in the end, no matter how pretty or ugly it's delivered.  I do agree with the "team" system, where one person writes, another pencils, another inks, etc.  Generally speaking, people are naturally stronger in one thing than another--right- or left-brained artistically, so to speak--so even if somebody puts out their own book with exceptional art, if their writing sucks, they've just lost me as a reader because it won't hold me long enough to actually read the thing--all I'll do is thumb through the book and look at the pictures.  Night Fisher is on its way to my house courtesy of Amazon, so I'm looking forward to reading it.  Cliche the idea might be, but if it's delivered well, then again, that's what matters.

I agree that Moebius, and Heavy Metal in general, are great examples of personal, stylized work that carries a lot of weight and entertainment value, and Heavy Metal itself is always ridiculously inspiring to read just for how original it is.  Episodic yes, but it does actually take you for one hell of a ride every month.  I haven't read too many of Moebius' Heavy Metal works, but a lot of his other work shows a breathtaking "kick you in the nuts and force you to watch because it's so visually impressive" quality, like The Fifth Element.  Now I go look for that Moebius collection you put up, Shortfury.

On a final note, actually read my post and look at the books I just mentioned before bashing my opinion, Shortfury.  I get where you're coming from, but like I said, not ALL the How to Draw Manga books are shit.  I can think of those two--and only those two, to my knowledge--that are of actual redeeming quality, and explained precisely why.

On a final FINAL note since you mentioned Heavy Metal, Luis Royo is the man.  I only have one of his books--III Millenium--but it shows off his meticulous and atmospheric paintings, most of a medieval or postapocalyptic feel, not to mention that he draws some of the most beautiful women this side of Frank Cho, without making 'em seem like skanks.  Even if, y'know, it's Julie Strain in his famous F.A.K.K.2 painting. XD

13
VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Nov 04, 2006, 02:05 AM »
Not ALL the How to Draw Manga books are complete and utter dreck.  While the "Illustrating Battles" book I got as a Christmas gift is unfortunately not very useful, the other two How to Draw Manga books I own are of surprisingly good quality.


Perspective is personally one of my weakest areas, but this book breaks it down in concise terms on how to work through basic perspective exercises and get more comfortable with setting up a panel/page, and then working in details.


This one has something a lot of "battle" related how-to-draw books don't have--pages and pages of example poses dealing with some of the more difficult fight-related things to draw, such as wrestling, grappling, and clinching.  To make learning even more fun, it's done with a pair of schoolgirls in varying degrees of (un)dress.

14
VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Oct 21, 2006, 02:51 PM »
Generally speaking, cartoonists on Void work in short-length one-shot stories.  The only long-term continuous stories we get to see are usually in Armageddons, and sometimes SDTs, or during events like Battle Royale or the mammoth three- and four-way fights.  That said, I feel that reading short stories and serial manga are some of the best ways to improve your storytelling, since they work in that "short" time frame.  Even if you have a grand and overarcing plot on Void, the pacing is delivered in short bursts, requiring you to work your writing in on a different level.

Weekly manga is designed to be the perfect quick fix.  You're thrown into a world with just a little explanation, taken on a fast ride for twenty pages, and then you're usually thrown off the bus with a cliffhanger ending.  Whereas monthly-running titles like Hellsing and Blade of the Immortal have the time each installment to give you rising and falling action and sometimes bring things to a climax, a weekly series like One Piece or Death Note has to pull you in from the get-go, entertain you for X amount of pages, and then either move along a plot point (fighting, dialogue, whatever you want), start things so they can be moved along, or wrap things up that have already been moved along.  Good suggestions for weekly series (that are not released weekly in the US) are to study the chapter progression in volumes 9-11 of One Piece, which show character development, rising and falling action, and even throw in a character-important flashback to show how best to insert something like that without breaking the flow of continuity or action.

As I said earlier, short stories are important.  On Void, we don't do graphic novels, we do short stories in comic form.  Looking up Robert E. Howard's Conan, Kull and Bran Mak Morn stories show great examples of how to get a character, tell a quick story from beginning to end, and not make you feel robbed in terms of entertainment.  The collection Rope Burns, by F.X. Toole, is one of my personal favorites and is always helpful in terms of writing the Mooo-Mal dynamic.  Two of the short stories in Rope Burns were combined to make the movie Million Dollar Baby, which is why some of the situations in the book may seem familiar to many of you.

And yes, Shortfury, Benny Urquidez is the fucking man.  My favorite fight of his is actually his fight with John Cusack in Grosse Point Blank, which he choreographed, but his two fights against Jackie Chan are incredibly badass.  Another great movie fighter is Brad Allan, who had a tiny part in Shanghai Noon and a much bigger role in Gorgeous.  While Jackie Chan's choreography is pretty much the same all the time, he really took advantage of Brad Allan's monstrous skill and speed to make the two fights in the otherwise lame-as-all-hell Gorgeous have lasting impact.

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VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Oct 20, 2006, 12:19 AM »
In terms of "the writers are the stars now," yeah, Mr. Robot, I was talking about mainstream comics.  I understand what you mean, though, and do agree that art and story are equally important in terms of overall presentation--but in terms of personal preference, I believe that no matter how shitty your art is, if your writing makes up for it it's all good because you read comics in the end.  Hell, Order of the Stick is fantastic, and it has art that anybody can do.  No really, anybody.

As for Frank Quitely being a dick, I can believe it.  Michael Turner's an incredibly nice guy, though.

Since a lot of people's characters on Void use martial arts in some way, shape, or form, I think finding a good training book is great reference in terms of drawing.  For most of the Mooo reference I need, I use Benny Urquidez's Training and Fighting Skills, which has shot-by-shot reference for many types of basic punches and kicks for full-contact karate and kickboxing.  No grappling in here (though there is clinching), which is when I then use...

...More No-Holds Barred Fighting: Killer Submissions.  The book on striking is really handy, but the pictures aren't as clear as Urquidez's book, and the author strongly suggests fighting southpaw if you're a righty.  That's gay.  (Actually it makes complete and total sense, but it doesn't work for me.)  This book, like the Urquidez book, goes in-depth into specific submissions and holds, and shows escapes and turnovers for most of them as well, making this a very comprehensive guide for whenever you want to show somebody getting pretzeled.

And since everybody and their mom uses a fucking Japanese sword, I figured a few resources for that would be good.  Dave Lowry's Bokken: Art of the Japanese Sword shows a bunch of basic one-on-one techniques involving sword-out swordsmanship, and even a few ways to take a sword away from somebody.  The pictures are clear, and show certain techniques from different angles for better reference.

For more in-depth and advanced techniques, Charles Daniel's Kenjutsu: The Art of Japanese Swordsmanship focuses on multiple-person combat, and has several full forms from multiple angles for those of you who want to throw in traditional poses and stances.

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VOID University / Re: VCU Library – Recommended Reading
« on: Oct 19, 2006, 02:47 AM »
I actually disagree with the idea that many comics today have changed to suit the fast-paced "internet-generation" culture.  Yes, you still have your Witchblades and your Tomb Raiders and everything else that defines the early-'90s "art is everything" fixation that killed comics for a while, but it seems more and more to me that the writers are the new stars of comics.

Look at Brian K. Vaughan--Y: The Last Man tells the apocalypse story with a lot of heart and humor, and doesn't show society automatically dropping into barbarism, which is a refreshing change of pace.  Even the simple idea of Runaways made it a big hit for Marvel, and it actually has class in that it doesn't force it down your throat that this story is taking place in the standard/Earth-616/take your pick Marvel Universe.  If anyone's read Pride of Baghdad, I'd really like to know how it stands compared to his other work.

In addition to both of those titles, I strongly recommend Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's WE3, which is a very unique artistic attempt at creating an "American manga," not in terms of the whole BESM thing, but in terms of pacing and presentation, not to mention that it does you a good turn as a reader by breaking your heart.

17
Resources & Tutorials / Re: Creating a Tridimensional Character
« on: Sep 10, 2006, 03:44 AM »
Mooo in three dimensions

PHYSIOLOGY
1. Sex/Gender- Male

2. Age- 22

3. Height/Weight- 6'1", 225 lbs

4. Color of Hair/Eyes/Skin- Black/Brown/Slightly Tanned

5. Posture- Straight

6. Appearance (Good-looking, over/underweight, clean, neat, pleasant, untidy; shape of face/head/limbs)- Mooo has what can be described in cliche terms as "boyish good looks."Â  His rounded, friendly face is less like a model's and more like "that nice guy who lives down the way and will help you carry your groceries in while trying really hard not to make it look like he's glancing at your cleavage every now and then."

7. Defects (deformities, abnormalities, birthmarks, diseases)- None.  He had chicken
pox as a kid, but that's about it.

8. Heredity (inherited traits from character's family)- Being of Mongolian descent, Mooo is BIG for an Asian guy.  His long black hair and broad shoulders run in his family, even if his mother was only half his size.

SOCIOLOGY

1. Social Class (lower, middle, upper)- Lower-middle class.  Mooo grew up living out in the country with his parents, and later just his mother.  He was home-schooled and spent most of his time working around the house and training in Royal Guard, which both his parents had Master's Marks in, a Master's Mark being the highest station possible for a Royal Guard practitioner.

2. Occupation (Type of work, hours of work, income, condition of work, union or non-union, attitude towards organization, suitability for work)- Mooo has been working since he was fourteen years old, in odd jobs for quick cash and in actual employment positions since he was sixteen.  Mooo's respectful attitude and friendly personality make him a very good worker on his own or in a team, making him a very desirable employee for most organizations.

3. Education (amount, kind of schools, marks, favorite subjects, poorest subjects, aptitudes)- Mooo only has his high-school diploma from home-schooling, but is well-read from a strong emphasis on literature that his mother placed in the home-school program.  A fast reader and fast learner, Mooo places well in all academic subjects save music and drama--while he likes music and plays, Mooo is a poor performer and is not particularly good at playing instruments or singing.

4. Home Life (Parents living, earning power, orphan, parents separated or divorced, parents' habits, parents' mental development, parents' vices, neglect, character's marital status)- Growing up mostly in a single-parent environment, Mooo is used to having to deal with hardships.  Mooo's father left, explaining his reasons for leaving to his wife (to keep Mooo and her safe from someone that was hunting Royal Guard practitioners) but asking her not to tell Mooo.  Mooo grew up thinking of his father as abandoning them, and that feeling grew even stronger when Mooo's mother was brutally killed under mysterious circumstances at her place of work, a grocery store in a nearby town.  Now on his own, Mooo was forced to have to grow up fast, and turned to mafia-run pit-fighting as an extra source of income, in addition to working two full-time jobs.

5. Race- Mooo is of Mongolian descent, with traces of Chinese, Russian, and Scottish ancestry.

6. Religion and/or Nationality- None to speak of.  Mooo has never been religious in his life, but does not have any disrespect for religion itself.

7. Place in Community ('leader among friends', clubs, sports)- Mooo doesn't make himself known in his overall community, but among his friends he occasionally takes the lead, making himself usually their speaker, the one to suggest what to do and see what everyone else has to say.

8. Political affiliations.- If there's one thing Mooo has a distaste for, it's politics.  It was never a subject that particularly interested him, nor is it one that he has any desire to learn more about.

9. Amusements/Hobbies (books, newspapers, magazines he/she reads, etc.)- Mooo is versed in American and European literature, and has also read some classic East Asian literature as well.  He is also a big fan of nonfiction and (auto)biographical works.  His favorite books are "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "The 48 Laws of Power."  Mooo's favorite hobby by far is watching action movies: his favorites by far are "Hard Target" and "Rocky IV."

10. Time Period/Era (social structure and how it pertains to your character)- Having been raised away from the city, one would think that Mooo would have a down-home, eccentric attitude, when in fact Mooo acts more like a city boy than one would expect.  When necessary, he will step forward and speak out, but most times prefers to blend into the crowd and keep the attention off him.

PSYCHOLOGY

1. Moral Standards- Mooo has a very strong sense of respect, mainly given to him by his mother, and tends not to give people attitude.  He's a nice guy, and it takes a lot to get him really riled up.  Mooo has a strong aversion to the idea of killing, even in the heat of battle, but believes that some things honestly cannot be helped.  While he himself will work his hardest to make sure his opponent lives, he is also not the type to chastise another for killing their opponent if the situation could not be reasonably avoided.  Mooo's sense of respect extends to how he treats women--his eyes will wander, his mind may temporarily think a few things that he probably shouldn't, but in the end, Mooo treats most females like "one of the guys," and keeps his usual demeanor around them.

2. Personal Premise/Ambition- Like most fighter-type characters, Mooo has the simple ambition of getting stronger, of getting better at what he does.  He's mainly driven by a need to show up his father, who Mooo holds animosity towards for leaving Mooo and his mother when Mooo was a child.  Staying with Mal, one of his father's old friends and a famous (infamous?) fighter conditioner, Mooo hopes to improve his fighting skills to the point where he can look his father in the eye and tell him that he was able to get stronger, even with others there who could "hold him back."  Mooo feels that he draws more strength from his friends and loved ones than on his own, and fights harder for their sake than he does for his own sake.

3. Frustrations- Being laid-back and rather easygoing, Mooo doesn't get frustrated or frazzled too easily.  However, minor repeated upsets do have a tendency to rile Mooo up more than he should be, and at times he will say things that come off as rude or belligerent when he doesn't really mean to say them.  In very difficult or stressful situations, Mooo tends to keep a cooler head than most, and tries his best to help others remain (or get) calm.  In a heated fight, Mooo will oftentimes lose his cool and become very impatient, his technique becoming sloppy as he rushes to try and finish the match.

4. Temperament (choleric, easygoing, pessimistic, optimistic, etc.)- Very relaxed and comfortable, Mooo speaks to most people in the same casual, friendly tone that shows that he treats most everybody as an equal.  Only when he's fighting does that change--Mooo in combat is by turns coldly efficient, fierce and unrelenting, and frustrated and sloppy.  Mooo is a model of customer service at the Diner, though, and receives great tips for his friendly and never-fake service.

5. Attitude toward Life (resigned, militant, defeatist, etc.)- "NO REAL GOALS."  That describes Mooo's attitude toward life quite easily.  Yes, he wants to find out who killed his mother years ago, why they killed his mother, and he wants to punch his father in the mouth for not being there, but Mooo realizes that despite the hardships he's had, he's still alive and his mother would rise from her grave and beat the living shit out of him if he thought that he could use his past as an excuse to become an angry, vengeance-driven shadow of his normal self.  Mooo feels he has a lot to live for--he has friends he cares about (and who in turn care about him) and he just wants to see where his life takes him.

6. Complexes (obesessions, inhibitions, superstitions, phobias, etc.)- Despite his acceptance of his situation, Mooo still feels a heavy guilt over not being there when his mother was killed, even though he knows that if he were there, he probably would have been killed as well.  The duality of that issue still picks at Mooo every now and then, which is why he's sensitive to jokes about his parents (i.e. "YOUR MOM") that normally wouldn't bother a person as laid-back as he is.

7. Extrovert? Introvert? Ambivert?- Mooo is an ambivert--while he can appear extroverted and friendly, at times Mooo will keep his mouth shut, hang back, and let events unfold before deciding to step forward--if he does at all.

8. Abilities (languages, talents)- Mooo does not speak any extra languages besides English--he knows scant bits of Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Farsi, Tagalog, Ilocano, Thai, and Vietnamese, but not nearly enough to even order a meal in most of those languages.  Mooo is an extremely gifted hand-to-hand fighter, a practitioner of the esoteric martial system Royal Guard, where he specializes in the use of punches.  While he specializes in punches, his training is still very well-rounded, and he is capable of using intelligently-placed kicks and grapples that are mixed in with his punches.  Approached several years ago by mysterious beings calling themselves "The Gods of 0wnage" (Mooo's naive enough to take a name that stupid at face-value), Mooo has been granted a unique gift: 100% of the potential of his body has been unleashed, granting him strength, durability, and reflexes well beyond normal human limits.

9. Qualities (imagination, judgement, taste, poise)- Mooo's imagination is nothing to write home about--his greatest fear is a gorilla with boxing gloves on.  However, he is possessed of a clever and quick mind, mainly due to his training.  His judgment is extremely developed, as a hand-to-hand fight is nothing more to him than a series of decisions that need to be made second-by-second as intelligently as possible.  However, when he makes a mistake, he tends to pay big for it, as it's often a good choice with bad timing borne of overconfidence, and less of actually making the wrong decision.  Mooo's tastes are simple and efficient--he dresses up for certain events in a button-up shirt and khaki slacks with dress shoes, but is often seen simply wearing a plain white t-shirt and the pants he made himself.  Mooo carries himself tall and proud, back straight and chest pushed out, even if his expression is often more meek than his posture.

10. IQ- Mooo only took a formal IQ test as a child, but that rated him at 140--the chances of it fluctuating are reasonably high.  Mooo is not a genius by any stretch of the imagination, but is a quick thinker capable of piecing together a situation and analyzing it with well-calculated logic.  Mooo doesn't have a very good long-term memory, and may at times forget people he hasn't seen for more than a few years.

11. Time Period/Era (periodic ways of thinking, and how it applies to your character) - Mooo is modern.  He likes his action movies, he likes his video games, he loves the microwave (even if Mal is weaning him away from it).  However, he holds to traditional values--respect your elders, respect everybody unless they disrespect you--and if they disrespect you, put up with it unless they're trying to kill you.

18
New here? / INTRODUCE YOURSELF
« on: Jun 15, 2005, 11:19 PM »
Hello--my name's Nate, but there are the few random-ass people who call me Anonymooo, Anon, or Mooo--here's hoping nobody here knows me from Gaia.

I'm 22, and I've been drawing for some time--but never quite like this.  A friend of mine showed me this site (he discovered it randomly surfing DeviantArt), so I thought I'd take a whack at it.

I've had experience drawing decals and album covers for friends' bands, in addition to my own personal comic art, and caricatures at school festivals.  I'm currently looking into tattoo design, since that looks like a very interesting and inventive field.

Career-wise, I'm actually looking for a long-term retail managing gig (no, seriously) because I love working with people as a whole.  Yeah, people can be dumb, but that just makes it easier to sell stuff to 'em.  Comics are a hobby that I'd like to develop for self-publishing--y'know, selling at cons and the like--and maybe work somewhere from there.

Hope to match fists with a lot of you folks here on the Void.  ^_^  

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