Here are a couple more redone MULTIVERSAL GUARDIAN pages. Take a gander:
We have A.C. Cooper and Marlene Ja Lee on…is it a date? I guess that is up to interpretation. I have come across a number of readers who like the idea of A.C. and Marlene as a couple. However, at this point, readers will know A.C.’s real love interest is Princess Allecka Xona. At least for the time being. I confess there is still a possibility of A.C. and Marlene as a romantic item. I gave A.C., Marlene, and Allecka alternative love interests to build drama and uncertainty. Each of those characters has a romantic rival of sorts. Currently, it goes like this, but it is always subject to change as the story progresses:
A.C. Cooper’s love interests:
Main – Allecka Xona.
Alternative – Marlene Ja Lee
Marlene Ja Lee’s love interests:
Main – Gerald
Alternative – A.C. Cooper
Allecka Xona’s love interests:
Main- A.C. Cooper
Alternative – Lord Agryph Creojeanne
Just because someone is an alternative love interest to a character does not necessarily mean that the character has strong romantic feelings for them. For example, A.C. Cooper seems pretty happily enamored with Allecka Xona, but as we see in the above pages, he recognizes Marlene as an attractive woman who he doesn’t want to totally blow his chances with.
Keep reading to see how the relationships with the characters play out. You may be surprised. Or not! As I’ve mentioned in previous updates, the upcoming installment, ZATSWAN: STARDUST ROMANTIQUE, will dive head first into exploring A.C. Cooper and Allecka Xona’s romance. MULTIVERSAL GUARDIAN sets up the stage and players, and STARDUST ROMANTIQUE will deliver the action-packed adventure Zatswan fans are used to while going considerably deeper into the characters and their developing relationship.
Regarding the artwork of the above pages, it was largely painted with Dr. Ph. Martin’s Watercolor concentrate, which I am a massive fan of. I love collecting and using these little bottles of watercolor.
Dr. Ph. Martin’s Radiant Watercolor Concentrate is what was used extensively by Valiant Comics during the Jim Shooter years. Valiant had a really original and striking look, and these dye-based watercolor paints had the great majority to do with that. Take a look at this awesome page from MAGNUS, ROBOT FIGHTER.
Milestone Media also utilized the Valiant Comics method, but to my eye, the results came out quite worse, typically. From what I have seen. Of course, the results are not just a matter of the tools, but also how good one is at using them. Valiant had the benefit of Janet Jackson, who is a brilliant colorist and art director. Obviously, it’s all subjective, though. I just can’t recall being inspired by Milestone Media’s coloring as I have been with Valiant’s.
Anyway, as you might be able to tell, I’ve decided to be a bit more vocal about Zatswan and my thought process behind its creation. I’ve thus far taken a somewhat Steve Ditko approach in that I’ve largely been silent and simply let my work speak for me. This certainly has its benefits, but I also think letting the readers in on some behind-the-scenes information is good for building a connection with them. Annotations seem to be popular with comics writers these days, so I guess you can kind of think of these updates as something like those.
There are a number of things I’d like to talk about. For instance, I still get approached about my time running a Green Lantern website, so I think I will address Green Lantern and how it all relates to what I’m doing now. I’ve refrained from doing so because I want to keep the focus squarely on Zatswan here, but it will make for interesting content so I will comment on it. Look forward to that and more pages of Zatswan!
