Ronin Digital Express episode 2 goes live next week (but you can read the first half here)
No time for me today? Here are the highlights:
Ronin Digital Express #2 drops soon, here's a preview
Some revealing behind the scenes content
I recommend another awesome old movie you've (probably) never heard of
Hey folks!
I'm almost done with episode 2 of Ronin Digital Express, which should drop sometime this coming week.
I'll send another note when it's live, but for now, you can read the first half right here (not final formatting/quality btw):
I'm working on tightening up my process so I can get these out a little quicker.
Still stumbling with the coloring. That step alone takes as long as all the other steps combined for me.
It's also the least fun, so I tend to drag my heels.
I think over the course of the next couple of episodes, I'll find a rhythm and a style that's easier to replicate moving forward.
Your patience and continued support means the world.
Now, want some behind the scenes goodies?
For each episode of Ronin Digital Express, I've started doing a quick little character reference sheet.
I designed the bad guys of episode 1 in-panel, and found that the details evolved as I went, so I had to keep going back and fixing stuff to make it all consistent.
I had a good idea of what I wanted them to look like in my head, but it just got out of control.
So here's episode 2's villains:
Lord Gondo there is named for the Toshiro Mifune character in High and Low, but visually I saw him more in the mold of Lao Che from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (his name in the first script was actually Lao Che).
He'll be a minor recurring villain, so you'll see him again.
Kano literally came together on the page. All I wanted was some toadie to hold an umbrella, but figured, why not give him a little intrigue as well.
Zhifang is the centerpiece. In the script, I described him as a 7-foot tall android wearing Buddhist robes and oversized prayer beads a la Akuma in Street Fighter.
I also wanted to put the Green-Eyed Ronin up against a new weapon instead of guns, so I picked an Otsuchi, or Japanese war hammer.
What else what else...
Oh, I also wanted to show that robots were a part of the world of Ronin Digital Express early on.
They're not going to be a huge part, but I think it's a subtle way to remind readers that our Western takes place in a far-flung future that survived an apocalypse and is starting to rebuild.
Also, just so you know, I'm not sharing this backmatter type stuff online anywhere else.
These, as well as some other behind-the-scenes world building type stuff will be rent*space exclusives. Perks of membership and all that. Aren't you fancy!
Here's another exclusive to demonstrate my loyalty to you. Some humiliating reference photos I took for this episode!
My favorite thing about them is how cool they make me look:
So masculine. Very mustache.
DAMN GOOD ART
While I have done an Inktober before, I kind of think the whole affair is a waste of time.
But this year, artists distanced themselves from Inktober and got really creative with the concept itself instead. (I guess there was some kind of drama over the "Inktober brand" which I didn't know was a brand at all and it doesn't matter anyway, who cares.)
Point is, the drama this year delivered in that it resulted in some pretty damn good art.
ICYMI, Dan Schkade's Dr. Fate "Fatetober" Twitter thread was far and away my favorite. Yes, even above Chris Samnee's Batober tradition.
(I also contributed "existential" as a prompt which resulted in this damn fine drawing. Look at the fuckin' shadow on the cape!)
I've been fan of Dan since he was in creative diapers, but if you've never heard of him, a good place to start would be his excellent Webtoon Lavender Jack, which you can check out here.
NEXT UP
I recently found out about this movie Hell in the Pacific, another one of them I can't believe I never heard of before recently.
It's basically Cast Away, but set during/just after WWII and featuring an American pilot (Lee Marvin) and a Japanese pilot (Toshiro Mifune) who need to work together to survive.
I love both of these guys, and it's one of Mifune's few American movies, so I'm surprised it's not talked about more.
If you don't know much about Japanese film, that's okay. For our purposes here, just know that Toshiro Mifune was one of Japan's biggest movie stars for several decades.
He was basically the Sean Connery of Asia. Look at this badass!
He was also George Lucas' top choice for Obi Wan Kenobi, but turned it down.
Anyway, the movie itself is also really good on all the merits that matter.
Slow burn, great performances, minimalist dialogue, and hypnotic cinematography.
This is the kind of movie that was probably just too ahead of its time; a little alienating to audiences expecting some kind of war movie, maybe.
It's really only available on Blu-Ray right now, but maybe check your library before buying it. If you can't get it for rent, I'll say I'm personally happy to have it in my collection, so I think the purchase is well worth it.
Word of advice: If you get your hands on it, watch it with the "alternate ending." That's the one the director wanted.
The studio/theatrical ending is batshit insane and unworthy of a viewer of class and taste such as yourself.
Oh, fun fact, both Marvin and Mifune, the actors themselves, served their respective countries during WWII. Marvin fought in the Pacific theater.
I bet that made for some interesting conversations on set.
That's all for now.
Thank you for your support. It really means a lot.
Be good.
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