Post by neenjah on Jul 25, 2006 16:58:14 GMT -5
Thought I'd start a thread with reviews about Bushi Tales.
First up, Captain Comics!
www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=COMICS-02-21-06
A reverse Samurai tale
By ANDREW A. SMITH
Scripps Howard News Service
21-FEB-06
"Bushi Tales" makes me smile.
And not just because of the pun-ny name. It's a comic book involving Bushido _ the Samurai code of honor _ although at a glance you might think squirrels were involved.
And not just because it's an online comic book making the leap into print. Which it happens to be.
And not because it's one of the few comic books in the world with its own soundtrack. Which it happens to have.
And not just because I've known one of the creators for years, and have always admired his work. Although I have.
But because it's the result of collaboration between two close friends (who now live 1,400 miles apart), and the enthusiasm shows. Writers-illustrators David Beaty and Lin Workman, who live in Arizona and Tennessee, respectively, once lived in the same town and collaborated and supported each other as only comics fans can do. The result is "Bushi Tales" No. 1 ($3.95, Pencil Neck Studios), which came out Feb. 15.
The premise is sort of a reverse Samurai tale, taking place as it does in the 31st century. In this future world modern civilization has collapsed, and the ancient culture of Bushido has re-arisen, complete with four warrior women fond of swords, archery, equestrianism and heartfelt speeches about courage and honor. Their opposite number is the traitor Chozen, who seems to have availed himself of even older, darker arts. Outside of New Edo, you see, there be monsters.
Like most self-published efforts, "Bushi Tales" No. 1 is an obvious labor of love. Unlike most self-published efforts, it's not relentlessly amateurish. Beaty and Workman still have some rough edges to work out, but their experience on the online comic and in the commercial art world for the last decade vaults them far past the usual wannabes. The first issue left me curious to see what was going to happen next, which many big-publisher comics fail to do these days.
And what is coming next?
"We've got a few more girls to introduce," Workman said, "and a lot of monsters! ... Dave and I hope to produce a comic that's worthy enough to sit on the shelves with the big boys, and will be working on making it better with each issue. Once we have 3-4 issues out we'll be doing a color TPB and add some bonus materials to it."
"Bushi Tales" No. 1 is 32 black-and-white pages, with a four-page "pre-story," productions sketches and some other behind-the-scenes stuff. It's available online at select comics shops ($3.95), and online at www.BushiTales.com, with an alternate-cover version for sale at www.ComiXpress.com ($3.95 plus $1.80 shipping and handling). A downloadable PDF version is also available at the Bushi Tales site ($1.25). And I wasn't kidding about the soundtrack, which you can find out more about online.
(Contact Andrew Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com or visit www.captaincomics.us/forums.)
www.captaincomics.us/forums/index.php?showtopic=27554
First up, Captain Comics!
www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=COMICS-02-21-06
A reverse Samurai tale
By ANDREW A. SMITH
Scripps Howard News Service
21-FEB-06
"Bushi Tales" makes me smile.
And not just because of the pun-ny name. It's a comic book involving Bushido _ the Samurai code of honor _ although at a glance you might think squirrels were involved.
And not just because it's an online comic book making the leap into print. Which it happens to be.
And not because it's one of the few comic books in the world with its own soundtrack. Which it happens to have.
And not just because I've known one of the creators for years, and have always admired his work. Although I have.
But because it's the result of collaboration between two close friends (who now live 1,400 miles apart), and the enthusiasm shows. Writers-illustrators David Beaty and Lin Workman, who live in Arizona and Tennessee, respectively, once lived in the same town and collaborated and supported each other as only comics fans can do. The result is "Bushi Tales" No. 1 ($3.95, Pencil Neck Studios), which came out Feb. 15.
The premise is sort of a reverse Samurai tale, taking place as it does in the 31st century. In this future world modern civilization has collapsed, and the ancient culture of Bushido has re-arisen, complete with four warrior women fond of swords, archery, equestrianism and heartfelt speeches about courage and honor. Their opposite number is the traitor Chozen, who seems to have availed himself of even older, darker arts. Outside of New Edo, you see, there be monsters.
Like most self-published efforts, "Bushi Tales" No. 1 is an obvious labor of love. Unlike most self-published efforts, it's not relentlessly amateurish. Beaty and Workman still have some rough edges to work out, but their experience on the online comic and in the commercial art world for the last decade vaults them far past the usual wannabes. The first issue left me curious to see what was going to happen next, which many big-publisher comics fail to do these days.
And what is coming next?
"We've got a few more girls to introduce," Workman said, "and a lot of monsters! ... Dave and I hope to produce a comic that's worthy enough to sit on the shelves with the big boys, and will be working on making it better with each issue. Once we have 3-4 issues out we'll be doing a color TPB and add some bonus materials to it."
"Bushi Tales" No. 1 is 32 black-and-white pages, with a four-page "pre-story," productions sketches and some other behind-the-scenes stuff. It's available online at select comics shops ($3.95), and online at www.BushiTales.com, with an alternate-cover version for sale at www.ComiXpress.com ($3.95 plus $1.80 shipping and handling). A downloadable PDF version is also available at the Bushi Tales site ($1.25). And I wasn't kidding about the soundtrack, which you can find out more about online.
(Contact Andrew Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com or visit www.captaincomics.us/forums.)
www.captaincomics.us/forums/index.php?showtopic=27554