A Comic for New Players

I finally finished the comic I was making for new players as an introduction to the game world, which was intended to be done by the time GR came out - only I got distracted by various other things, including friends and family, college, my horse, and CoH slashpics

All 33 pages are here, and they can be flipped through with the "Next" button on the top left of the page, and expanded to full size by clicking on them - or use the gallery overview page.

The basic idea was to show a generic new hero arriving in Paragon City, so I used some of the low level Atlas Park missions as a base for it, with some tweaks to link them together - Praetoria and red side might be covered later

not bad, the lack of actual ingame art might be jarring for a new player, but overall commendable effort.

Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.

Very nicely done.

Just read the first few pages, but so far...I've got to say, I REALLY dig the way you illustrate facial expressions, gestures, and body language. I think most male heroes will be wanting Golden Girl to show them the ropes after reading this. I'm not sure how you've drawn your comic, is it a mash-up of pencils, Photoshop, and 3D-generated graphics?

I read a lot of comics, mostly Marvel and Wildstorm, so your style isn't what I'm used to. But I could get used to reading comics drawn like this, just because of the life-like characters and their mannerisms (and you've deftly avoided Uncanny Valley here)--that stuff doesn't always come through as clearly in comic books.

Thanks for a great new City of Heroes comic. You should submit it to the City of Comic Creators archive!

The panels are well put together, and the overall story was very good. I especially liked the fight between the Hellion and Skulls bosses, and their back-and-forth quipping during the fight was very well done.

As for constructive criticism, the models have that "uncanny valley" thing going on. In-game models might have been better from an aesthetics standpoint. And I was expecting it to be more of a tutorial. In the first page or two it seemed like that's the way it was going to go, then it turned into a more-or-less straight-up story with very little game information.

Overall though it's a very entertaining read and very well done.

I was going to note how the new guy probably shouldn't be classified as Natural, but then I remembered after the devs made the Soldiers of Arachnos Natural, Origins became so nebulous as to be almost meaningless. So OK, Natural it is.

And I'm guessing Golden Girl is an alien?

WARNING: I bold names.

Nicely done. Your use of in-game mechanics ('lots of buildings around here are bigger on the inside than the outside') as tongue-in-cheek conversation was quite funny. Golden Girl is a little more....uhm..top heavy than I would have thought

Wow, all your effort really paid off. Nicely done. The only thing separating your book from mainstream ones is that Golden Girl didn't bend over that much and you couldn't squeeze a shower scene in there with Ms. Liberty.

Very well done!

I really like it, especially how you managed to work in a few of the sillier elements of our beloved game (like all the stuff 'natural' characters are capable of, or near-identical buildings ). I think it captures the 'feel' of the game very well. I thought you might work in a few more gameplay hints, but going for more of an 'adventure' feel certainly works as well.

The models didn't give any 'uncanny valley' vibe to me, but then again that never really happens for me with stills (more with animation), so I'm not exactly the best judge of that. However, I did like the style a lot, and the models are quite well done. About the only thing that looked a bit off was the energy blasts... I'm not sure exactly what it is that looks weird, but I think it's that they're so opaque and hard-edged. That, combined with how it doesn't feel like they're luminous in any way, makes them look sorta like... I dunno, water or opaque foam? I'm not sure what program you use to make these, but I'm sure there are some options that you could mess with.

The costumes are pretty nice - the newbie's is of course quite basic, but that's to be expected at that point. And I have to ask what shirt Golden Girl is wearing - I figured out what almost all the rest of those costume pieces are, but the shirt is eluding me (does it actually exist in game?). And, yeah, Golden Girl is... erm... big. I'm sure you've put tons of thought into that particular model (after all, not like it has much competition ), just putting that out there.

I really enjoyed that little romp =D. Solid layout , enjoyed the style of the piece and chuckled quite a bit. Nice job on the 'known issues' references too.

Needs work!

First off, for a tutorial, you basically said everyone who takes a lethal damage power set is a vigilante.

Next off, maybe it's just the RPer in me, but the intro seemed lame! Like you actually imagine it as being in a MMO rather than an open world, and as we know most RPers skip over the MMO game mechanic aspects of it.

I fully expected Golden Girl to go on and on about how to slot powers, and I'm suprised not to see her outfit covered in badges...ect...ect.

Still, nice to see a CoH comic made by a fan

It could use some tweaks.. but I enjoyed reading it. And I cannot say that from all fan made comics.

The models are great... and they give emotions and gestures way better then screenshots would have been able too. So overall a nice comic. I saved the pages to make it a .cbz (can mail it to you if you like) but I noticed I missed a cover. So you will have to finish it :P And after that... post it in the creative section.

Great job!

Post the .cbz for everyone. It's more enjoyable to read a digtal comic in a comic book reader then a web browser.


*I'm assuming .cbz and .cbr are the same thing.

I couldn't help but notice your young protege spent a lot of time staring at your thighs, GG, among the times being when he got knocked out.
Maybe you outta consider hose or switching to pants. (Golden Pants?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow City of Heroes is a game about freedom of expression and variety of experiences far more so than it is about representing any one theme, topic or genre.

Great stuff, GG! Thanks for creating and sharing it! I enjoyed reading the story and soaking in the lovely, photo-realistic, 3-D rendered images!

You had mentioned before that you use Poser and Photoshop software to create your comics. But, can you tell more about your method? For the Paragon City backgrounds, did you take screen captures in CoH and import them into Poser or Photoshop? Or did you entirely draw the backgrounds? For figures (particularly, faces), do you use photo references?

I couldn't figure out how to enlarge the pages on my screen satisfactorily so I (don't laugh) copied the images for each page and pasted them into MS-Paint, then zoomed in, which allowed me to more comfortably read the text and examine the images.

I particularly liked:

- The depiction of Ms. Liberty. Her facial features resembled photos I'd seen of the real-life model who played the role of Ms. Liberty at several CoH promotional functions. Did you use photo references of her? I'd read she was a former San Diego Chargers cheerleader.

- The introduction of Golden Girl and the revelations about her origin and powers, apparently with some comedic touches? At least, that's how I interpreted the presentation. Is that the meaning you intended? For example:

-- The full-page image on page 2 shows GG in a confident stance with a facial expression that conveys--what? Beauty? Sophistication? Savviness? Sex appeal? The inset image shows Flash-Man's rather flabbergasted reaction. Is it meant to be funny that he looks so surprised to meet her because she's so beautiful and glamorous (wearing a costume with a short skirt and a rather healthy expanse of cleavage)? Like the characterization of the DC Comics character, Power Girl?

-- On page 6, Flash-Man asks, "And what way do you fight? Like do you have any weapons?" GG answers, "Just my body," in a panel showing a straight-on, head-to-toe view, in which she is looking forward while Flash-Man's head is turned to look at her. (GG looks a bit like Scarlet Johansson in some images. Did you use ScarJo as a photo reference for GG? Did you use a celebrity model as the basis for Flash-Man? His facial features reminded me of Wil Wheaton in some panels.) In the next panel, she explains, "Unarmed combat's my thing," and Flash-Man comments, "Oh," as if maybe he misunderstood her initial statement? Am I reading too much into the exchange? Or is the dialog supposed to be funny because of a possible double meaning?

- The facial expressions on Flash-Man and GG in the last panel of page 9. They looked innocent and engaging.

- The layout of page 11--both the arrangement of the panels on the page and the composition of the action within each panel. Cool coloring and sound effects. (FREEM!)

- Newbie observations, winking at CoH conventions, such as:

-- In the second panel of page 12. Flash-Man: "This place didn't look so big on the outside." GG: "A lot of the buildings here feel like that."

-- In the third panel of page 25. Flash-Man: "This looks a lot like the other warehouse." Surprisingly, GG offers a rationale for look-alike warehouses, explaining that it's due to rebuilding quickly after the Rikti war. (If the rumored CoH movie/TV series ever is made, the same set should be used for every warehouse interior--intentionally, for laughs.)

- Good use of a long-range establishing shot at the top of page 17. I remember reading an interview with Frank Miller where he talked about how Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter insisted on a consistent storytelling style using an establishing shot followed by a medium shot followed by closer angle shots. In CoH-related comics I've seen, it seems tough to make lengthy dialog sequences appear compelling/interesting/dramatic. Your Poser/Photoshop method allows far more control over gestures and facial expressions than other comics created using screen captures.

- The panel at bottom left of page 23 where, in a close-up inset, GG says to a Hellion, "Good. Now off you go," and then we see the three figures in a long shot with shadows as the Hellion stomps off. The composition nicely creates a narrative flow with a sense of movement.

- Interesting forced depth perception in the last panel of page 33, where the war wall can be seen behind Atlas' statue. (Kind of like a scene from the Stanley Kubrick movie "Barry Lyndon", where the title character is running ahead of an oncoming army.) Intentional? Or just a happy accident?

Congratulations, GG!

Really great job, and a fun intro to the game that covers a lot of basics. A hard combo to pull off and you did a great job!

Loved it, and liked how it made me wanna be new again.

I followed the link intending to give it a quick glance over, but a couple pages in and I couldn't stop. I particularly liked how you managed to tip-toe around game design and make little references to map layouts, sewer teams, and war walls.

Golden Girl seems fascinating as a character now, and I found it funny how he kept looking her over in disbelief. "...Natural?"

Edit: I almost forgot. Golden Girl's expression when she says "Punching villains in the face." is priceless.

I like it; excellent job.

It certainly adds new dimensions to the term "comic rack".

Genuinely impressive. Great intro for a new player

One small criticism is that the warehouse fight scene is a bit dark... I know it's meant to be but a lot of the detail got lost.

But other than that very cool and I liked the subtle humour

"You got to dig it to dig it, you dig?"
Thelonious Monk

First of all, I have to say I was very impressed by this comic and really enjoyed reading it. I liked the look of the characters and environment (excellent interpretation of Atlas Park) and thought the story was interesting and well written. I would defintely look forward to reading more such creations.

My only criticism is that I'm sure how well the work succeeds as an introduction for new players. When I read it, I tried to imagine that I was a new player with little or no knowledge of the game. While I think there is plenty of useful information imbedded in the comic, it occured to me that if I truly were a new player, there are several places where I would likely come away with misconceptions.

Specifically, I think if I were a new palyer reading this comic, I might well think that:

1) Origins are a pretty important part of the game, not just something added for flavor--page 4

2) The various origin departments located at city hall play an important role, and probably my character will have to report to my origin contact throughout the entire game--page 4 (none of this is explicitly stated, but after the emphasis given to explaining each department, I wouldn't exactly expect that after 5 short levels I'm done with them)

3)The game emphasises that all damage done is non lethal--page 5 (really, isn't that up to the intrepretation of the player? Certainly, a few powersets seem to imply lethal damage. Also thought it interesting to see a knock against vigilantes in Paragon City after the option to become a vigilante was added to the game!)

4)Damage taken in missions need to be removed by visiting a hospital after the mission--page 17 (After Flash-Man fell in combat, I was surprised that Golden Girl didn't explain to him about teleporting to the hospital. Would've been a much better way of demonstrating how the hospital is actually used in game).

5)Boss level enemies need to be captutred and transported to the police by the player, and to do this you'll need to use the right type of handcuff--page 31. (The explanation of different types of handcuffs makes it sound to me like you're describing an actual in-game item that needs to be used correctly)

I realize that a lot of details were added to the comic to add flavor and make it flow more like a real story rather than just a game walk-through, but to a new player, it may be hard to distinguish between what's just added flavor and what is actually game mechanics that they need to learn.

I also thought it odd that the War Walls were mentioned as keeping criminals from moving freely throught the city. They always seem to move freely from zone to zone to me. Although I did think the explanation of why so many buildings seem exactly the same was pretty clever!

Edit: Forgot one. On page 5, the dialogue seems to imply that a character's origin and intial origin contact play some kind of role in how they develop and improve their powers/skills. Again, I know this was just added for flavor, but might make a new player think the decision of which orgin to choose is critical when of course we know it's not.

Very nice work indeed and I thought the model work was great, actually I produce something kinda similar myself.