Slaine: The Horned God Fan Film

‘Slaine the Horned God’ by Pat Mills and Simon Bisley was one of 2000AD’s greatest triumphs. A brilliantly imaginative script, which drew inspiration from Celtic mythology was ably supported by Bisley’s fantasy artwork. To my surprise and absolute delight, this short fan-made film created by Miguel Mesas, captures some of the energy that Mills and Bisley created in the pages of 2000AD. As one viewer of the video stated “Kickstart this, kickstart this like a king!”.

Slaine: The Horned God Fan Film – English subtitles- – YouTube.

Dusky Diana – The Last Days of Kartika

Catch up on the latest adventures of ‘Dusky Diana’, the “online graphic musical that uses Funk, Soul, and Hip Hop music to tell the story of the citizens of Kartika”.

FACEBOOK PAGE - Dusky Diana – The Last Days of Kartika

The new webisodes come out Feb 28th on the following vimeo channel:
https://vimeo.com/channels/thelastdaysofkartika

From the website:
“The Last Days of Kartika is an online graphic musical whose intentions are to provide opportunities for upcoming artists, both local and international, to perform and collaborate with one another through this multi-media project. Through the use of Funk, Soul, and Hip Hop music it tells the story of the citizens of Kartika during its most troublesome times. Dusky Diana is the would-be hero recruited by underground rebel group Community Education in their fight to ruin the sinister Phercy Corporations. Will Community Edu save their city or be the cause of its destruction?”

‘Malaria’ by Edson Oda

Written, Directed and Produced by Edson Oda, ‘Malaria’ is a wonderfully innovative and well-crafted animation that combines various animation techniques to good effect. Furthermore, Oda’s script is both imaginative and deftly crafted, which further enhances the impact of his work.

From the Vimeo website:

“MALARIA tells the story of Fabiano, a young Mercenary who is hired to kill Death. This short film combines Origami, Kirigami, Time lapse, nankin illustration, Comic Books and Western Cinema.”

or check it out on Youtube:

The Dandy Online Digital Comic

The Dandy have just released their online digital comic, which uses html5 technology to have simple interactivity and navigation etc. I grew up reading this mainstay of British children’s comics and hope that it develops into a sustainable and profitable venture for them. Having said that, I do think that their current digital issue lacks a number of important details such as a clear ending to the narratives and a simple ‘back’ button to return the viewer to the main menu. Some further thought needs to be taken to bridge the gap between the comic book and the online version … Check it out now, the first issue is free: http://www.dandy.com/issue-zero

Astralojia

Astralojia is an ambitious ‘Filmcomic’, that features the creative talent of Mark Hans Avon. The sketchy, full-length animation is akin to an animatic with a full musical score and voiceOver dialogue. The visual style may lack the craft of a fully rendered motion comic or animation, but fans of action-based manga and anime will certainly identify with some of the themes within Astralojia.

Astralojia is a fantasy series, where magicians call upon the forces of astrology to do battle using martial arts.

Takuto, using the powers of astrology and martial arts, must fight his way to the top of the school system in this epic action packed fantasy universe.

http://www.astralojia.com

Conan: Queen of The Black Coast

‘Conan: Queen of the Black Coast’ displays a range of nuanced facial expressions and lip-synch that have become a trademark of director Erick Bruhwiler’s sophisticated animation aesthetic. The six-part series slowly builds a picture of the Barbarian’s character, as he becomes involved in a archetypal ‘high-seas adventure’.

From the Youtube page:

In this sweeping adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s fan-favorite “Queen of the Black Coast,” Conan turns his back on the civilized world and takes to the high seas alongside the pirate queen Bêlit, setting the stage for an epic of romance, terror, and swashbuckling.

Writer: Brian Wood
Artist: Becky Cloonan
Colorist: Dave Stewart

via Dark Horse Comics – Conan: Queen of The Black Coast pt. 1 of 6 – YouTube.

Dr. Professor’s Thesis of Evil – Update!

For anyone lucky enough to be attending this years LA Shorts Fest, you have an opportunity to watch the incredible visuals, stunning photography and innovative compositing techniques in  Jukka Vidgren’s portrayal of super villainy! Thursday September 6 – 7:45pm 

If you can’t make the screening, the film is now available on iTunes for the incredible price of $1.99! http://itunes.apple.com/movie/dr.-professors-thesis-of-evil/id554368776 Jukka and his team have strived to deliver a unique viewing experience that has a postmodern narrative with a playful blend of photography, CGI, special effects and mock news footage.

Zac Gorman’s illustrated motion comics

I have a confession to make … I was never big into ‘Zelda’. While friends played around the clock to complete Nintendo’s flagship RPG title, I was playing Streetfighter II or Super Mario World. However, gamer and artist Zac Gorman’s  illustrations ( a combination of comic strips and animated gifs) are a must for anyone who grew up in that era. While it might be a stretch to call them motion comics, Gorman’s quirky style and humour is quite simply infectious. N.B. Gorman also illustrates Mario, Donkey Kong and a host of other characters.

The Darkest Hour – Motion Comic Trailer

The Darkest Hour digital/motion comic www.darkesthourmovie.com/comic/ provides some additional exposition to the upcoming live-action film. It’s a science-fiction themed action thriller set in Moscow, that follows five stranded people as they fight to survive a brutal alien attack.

Featuring the collaborative artistic talents of illustrators such as Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night), Tom Fowler, Pia Guerra and many others, ‘The Darkest Hour’ is an prime exemplar of ‘convergence culture’ and transmedia and features comic, motion comic and live-action narratives

The motion comic is typically restricted to lighting and particle effects and simple camera movements. A series of text boxes and sound effects add further depth and atmosphere to the narrative. The addition of an interactive menu system allows the viewer to navigate the narrative and also incorporates a fullscreen feature, which is useful for viewers with smaller resolution settings.

The Darkest Hour.

Angry Birds : The Motion Comic

Angry Birds Motion Comic part one … This fan-made motion comic provides a gruesome exposition on the origins of the hatred between the pigs and the birds. The story is told purely via the comic/motion comic format and despite the lack of narration or dialogue, the emotive power of the soundtrack and visual imagery provides a gripping narrative.

Angry Birds Motion comic part two … featuring disturbing ‘Clockwork Orange’ style mind control over one of the ‘Angry Birds’. All is not well within the angry birds camp!

*Additional information on the creators of the Angry Birds motion comics -

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/hyjkar

Facebook (Sketches, storyboard, etc!):
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Angry-Birds-The-Motion-Comic/177157369020192?re…

Art: Liisa Kareranta
(BLOG:http://giraffesketches.blogspot.com/)

Story/Sound: Heikki “hyjkar” Kareranta
(BLOG:http://hyjkar.blogspot.com/)
(IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3163017/)