P.O.W.! Challenge 27--Demons Among Us...

[Ilaekae]

P.O.W.! Challenge 27
Deadline: Sunday, August 9, 2009, 11:59 pm anywhere in the world.

Topic: Demons Among Us...

This will overlap the NEWBORN Challenge for those of you who want to do something completely different or aren't involved in the NEWBORN Challenge.

"There be Demons among us" should give all the monster/creature freaks out there something to get their teeth into, and give you enough problems trying to figure out how "they're" hiding (if they are...). This can be approached literally (demons that LOOK like what we suppose demons look like), or in a metaphorical/psychological sense (exactly WHAT makes someone a demon?). We can even have the possibility that "demons" are not necessarily "evil." You can interpret the art any way you wish, and the more creatively, the better. Any media. B&W or Color. We're also going to stick with the three-week Challenge period for a while because it seems to be giving people a bit more time to play.

You can present your solution as a minimum of TWO to a TENTATIVE maximum of SIX pages which adhere to standard comic specs as below...and, yes, you can have the first or last (or both) as a splash page if you want. You can go to additional pages without asking if you have a decent idea that requires it--just don't get too extreme on page counts

Standard Comic Book Size:

--Trim size: 6 5/8" x 10 1/4"
--Live art area: 6" x 9"
--Bleed size before trimming: 6 7/8" x 10 1/2" (1/8" in all directions)

This thread will be the place you ask questions on this challenge, trash talk, post WIPs and post your final art. See the READ THIS FIRST thread for all specs.

Good luck.

Again, this one is three weeks rather than the usual two weeks to see if it will allow more participation or just cause a lot more procrastination.

P.O.W.! Challenge 28 will be posted before Sunday Midnight, August 9, 2009. It will be a special Strip Comic Challenge (Newspaper Style) and will be the first of three similar Challenges in a row.


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A little note here for all of you who have supported the P.O.W.! Challenges...thankyewthankyewthankyew...

Just a reminder--those of you who didn't get a chance to finish exactly the way you wanted to, or ran into deadline problems, remember there is a sticky section where you can post your stuff when you do get it up to speed.

[Farvus]

Sounds like good topic. I might do this one.

[Asatira]

I just had an idea I can used, inspired by personal experience. Or go another way. We'll see how I go.

[arttorney]

Are some brief, relatively implied depictions of very very bad behavior going to pass the rule against detailed depictions of cruelty and torture? It would seem so, but if the bad conduct is intimately tied up in the way the storyline meets the brief I am worried there will be complaints.

I could see a really creepy noir thing here, like a Jim Thompson story meets Hellraiser.

[MoonStruckDragonLass]

I have some ideas, but I'm not sure about this typical comic size thing! I can certainly give it a try, though!

I have several excellent ideas, actually.

[Choob]

Got new supplies, got to try them out.

Great theme, much more open than newborn in my opinion.

[Ilaekae]

@ MoonStruckDragonLass...

Read the "Read this first" stickie and you should get most of your confusion cleared up on sizes.

@ Arttorney and others...

Demons seem to go hand in hand with blood-guts-and-gore in many people's minds, and if that's the direction someone wants to go, so be it, BUT there are ways to do this without turning it into blood porn. I think most people here are mature enough to know where the line is...and those who don't...I have a two-by-four with nails in it...

[Ilaekae]

For those of you who would like a look at demons from some other viewpoints and how they're depicted in comics, I have access to a number of sites with complete and ongoing English versions of Korean manwhas and Japanese Mangas that deal with demons in some form (both westernized and Asian), ranging from the ridiculous to the terrifying. If anyone's interested, I'll post a few links here where you can read a couple of chapters on line--just signify "Yes" by hitting the "Thanks" button.

[Choob]

I was thinking more along the lines of a mutant cast out by society by religious freaks, who believe he's a demon.

Some hideously malformed guy nursing a grudge on society.

Perfect for dramatic landscape shots, AND close ups on angry mutant expressions.

Would that be OK, or does it have to be an actual demon?

[Ilaekae]

Touchstone, you're exactly where I was hoping some of you would go. The word DEMAN covers a lot of territory, so I'm hoping for some "mental roaming" here...

[Ilaekae]

[Up front, I'm telling you that these are Japanese comic sites, but don't do the usual shit of dismissing them because it's "manga." Many of the comics are in western styles of art that you'll feel completely comfortable with, and many others are in styles or page layouts/treatments that you should see anyway, because they're often more creative than many mainstream comics in the US.

I'm not able to post links yet that are western (European) because most of the links I have are loaded to the gills with erotic material.]


I was hoping to go through the sites and files I had and narrow down the imagery possibilities a bit, but there's just too much to even try. So...what I've done is picked out three sites that I trust not to hit you with porn or viruses that have a ton of completed and on-going mangas and manhwas to poke through at your leisure. The worst you might get as a surprise is some ecchi or fanservice images on some of the pages (boobs, panty shots, disappearing clothing on nubiles, etc.), but it's nothing your 10-year-old brother hasn't already seen...

I picked these sites because they contain only english translations, keep "porn" to a minimum or have none, and they're fairly easy to navigate and flick through the pages quickly.

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http://www.onemanga.com/directory/

At the right of the screen, you'll see a list called "Browse Manga by Category." There'll be duplication from category to category. Some of you may not know this, so be aware that mangas read from right to left (unless they were flipped during translation--rare), and Manhwas (Korean mangas) read from left to right just like western comics. This site usually has a tiny line note above the page image that tells you the reading direction.

The categories that will give you the best possibility of "demon" images are...

Adventure
Drama
Fantasy
Historical
Horror
Mystery
Psychological
Seinen
Supernatural

This site has complete copies of some of the great classic horror, supernatural and just plain spooky works like "20th-Century Boys," "Bastard!," "Shin Angyo Onshi," "Doubt," "Manhole," "Monster," "Parasyte," and "Death Note," as well as Oh Great's erotic/horror short "Majin Devil." Just click the pages to advance to the next page.

Keep in mind that demon does NOT necessarily mean a ferociously ugly-looking devil. Though many are depicted as looking like vampirish types with one or more pair of wings, they could be slightly humorous-looking, sexy but demented with huge boobs and skimpy outfits (Succubi are demons, for the record), or just a plain spooky human that would scare the shit out of somebody.

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http://stoptazmo.com/

Not as easy to navigate as OneManga, but there's some different material here. There is NO search function or preview info, so it's all guess work, and the chapters have to be advanced manually with a pull-down menu at the top even though you can jump from page to page by just clicking the image.

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http://www.mangafox.com/directory/

Another fairly comprehensive site that also includes yaoi (gay male) and yuri (lesbian)stories. There's a search function, for what it's worth, and a rating system. Each story you click on gives you a fairly complete description of what to expect. If you like, just scroll down to the lower part of the page.

ONE ODDITY: The chapters are loaded in reverse order, so the first is at the bottom of the list, the last at the top.

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I've also found a few images I had uploaded to IE for various reasons that might be useful, so go here to see them in either their original sizes or the other sizes listed.

http://ImageEvent.com/aljmary/cademonreference

Here are a few samples from that file...I've had these for a while, so I still have to track down the original artists.

[j.s. sabastian]

was uuuuupppp!~!!!!!

[Choob]

Some real nice examples there, even though I'm not into manga, some of those are interesting ideas.

[Ilaekae]

The idea is not to pay too much attention to the stories but to see as much imagery as you can quickly that you might be able to use as an idea of your own. Many of the Asian artists have a real knack for "horror" with minimal effort. "20th-Century boys" doesn't have a single real "monster" in it but pulls off its story line with a single weird mask on a little kid and a fake giant robot, but it's no less effective than, say, "Dracula." All of it is imagery and how it's used to create a mood. The mermaid story I mentioned is spookiness/terror based on an old wives tale among school kids and a bunch of ghosts who are all pretty girls...

[tobbA]

Oh. I should definately check those links out.

But now I've already finished my story, sort of...

And page 1 is done so I thought I'd post it.

[Ilaekae]

Here are two more demon shots from a thoroughly stupid story called "Stigmata" by Kouya Son.

[adelofsilvermoons]

i wish i had a scanner! i'd kill for excuses to post up comics, thats all i do with my useless time!!!!

[Choob]

You could take a picture of your work.

As long as you've got the right lighting, that should work fine.

[JEFFERSON]

This is where Im at so far. I originally hoped to do six pages with a splash title page, and a double page spread at the end. I thought I would try and concentrate on the three main pages first. Hope I will be able to finish by next Sunday.

[JEFFERSON]

I'm hoping to be done with these by Wensday. If I can pull that off maybe I will be able to squeeze in one or two more pages.

[JEFFERSON]

This is what I have so far. The deadline is tomorrow, and I know that I am not going to be able to finish it to my liking. Although I would love some feedback on the areas that you would like to see polished up before final posting. I have to work tonight so I am going to try and do a little tonight and put the words in tomorrow before posting. Any crits are welcomed.

[JEFFERSON]

All right I do believe that this is as far as I'm going to get on this one. At least for now. I have plans to go back at a later date and finish this up and maybe add a title page and an end page, but we will see. I had fun doing this and I hope you like it to.
Thanks Jefferson.

[Lightpunk]

Hey everyone. Here's my go, hope you like!

[JEFFERSON]

This is awesome. I love the old paper look to it. Great job.

[Lightpunk]

Thanks man, I'm loving yours too!

[Ilaekae]

My apologies for the late posting of a poll. I've been tied up with a very ill (and now dying) horse in real life and the Battle of the Sexes set-up. VERY NICE work in on this, and should have poll up by tomorrow. Thank you for your patience...

[lkjhgfdsa]

oops! I just noticed the deadline was the 9th and it is the 18th...oh well!
Posting wip anyways...eep! maybe poll will be even later? so I can finish by tomorrow?

[GuitarCrazyo]

Conngratulations Whiplash, you are the winner You entered a full size entry into the challenge, therefore you win the gil prize of 1400 gil

Well done to everyone else who entered

Josh x