A few days ago I reached an important milestone in the 'Intercorstal' comic project -- I finished my 32nd page, which leaves me exactly a third of the way through my 96 page target! The fact that the 96-page-target was totally arbitrary is both a source of great pride and tragic woe in my life.
Other than a feature over at the superlative Abstract Comics blog, reception to The Intercorstal has been lukewarm, to say the least. These are three of the possible reasons I've come up with:
1) People don't like it because it's very rough around the edges, poorly done, unproffessional... etc. I'm not sure whether that's true, but it's a very real possibility.
2) People don't 'get it' -- a comic set in the gaps between space and conciousness which has a repeating set of motifs at its heart in place of characters, which has no easily discernable plot is possibly not something that most people will spend time with if its intentions aren't entirely clear -- especially on the internet, where it's so easy to pass things over.
3) I've not explained the project enough, or left enough information about it around, hence (2).
Despite the lack of public reaction, I've decided to be beligerant and carry on regardless. An unfinished comic which nobody likes is worse than a finished one, in my opinion.
Also, I've started collecting text to use as dialogue/exposition, by both letting my own mind wonder free to find short sentences and phrases and by jotting stuff down as I hear it in the street. I'm now researching the best way to deploy this text, in particualr finding ways for it to randomise, and I'm also thinking about how I'm going to go about getting it printed up.
If anyone's got any opinions on the project, I'm either emailable (gareth@grthink.com) or you can use the comments fields here, at the Intercorstal blog, or over at deviantart.
Ok I'll give you a girl's (who knows next to nothing about the art of comics/graphic novels) point of view on the comic and your reasons. (By the way I think it's very effective to reflect on your work like this, but perhaps you could link from the Intercostal blog to here, for people who go there without visiting this blog).
ReplyDelete1. Ah - the insane sense of self-doubt that only a true artist could feel. This is in no way 'poorly done'. If I hadn't already met you, based on your work, I would imagine you to be a professional, slightly obsessive individual, immersed in your own visual world, with an aversion to natural light due to infinite number of hours completing your work.
2. I must admit I didn't 'get it' (as far as your explanation of the gaps between space and consciousness) until I read it here. But then is this important to you? If you published it I'd assume there would be some kind of Forward or words to introduce it, unless you relish being a complicated fellow. It's your art, so it's firstly for you, just consider how much you want to amend your thoughts to make them more accessible. I was looking for a plot at first.
3. Yep, personally I'd have liked a bit of info on the Intercorstal blog, even if it was just a couple of lines in the profile, a subhead for the blog title or even an introduction into what you are doing on the very first blog (which I naturally checked to see if it would explain things a bit). This would make it more commercial/understandable, but once again, that's your call.
But all in, personally I love the feeling that these comics and the dialogue are the results of totally kicking loose and writing/drawing the most imaginative and far-reaching thoughts you can think. It doesn't have to make sense, it's original creativity.
That's my 2 cents. Congrats on reaching the 1/3 mark! Looking forward to the rest.
Thanks for the feedback Tori, I appreciate the effort. Between myself and anxietydecending (the other guy to have commented) we've come up with a photocopied minicomic of the first 32 pages, which is all set out and pdf'd and ready to go, except that I haven't got a stapler big enough to bind the pages...
ReplyDeleteI've left the text off the images, because it actually got in the way, and the comic itself will have no explanation. However, there will be an insert which has details on what The Intercorstal is, and how to go about reading the pages, which will hopefully serve to un-alienate people.
If you want a copy, email me a postal address at gareth@grthink.com and I'll make sure you get one -- it'd be interesting to see what you think once it's been presented as it was intended.