Digitopia: The Comic Book

Hey there, how are you? Welcome to page 8 of ‘Digitopia – The Web Comic’, so the big reveal happens – Silas is now inside the compound, he’s inside and sold out in a big way.

 

Art helps us dig below what we are presented on a daily basis

I was speaking to someone this week in fact about storytelling and art – and how these can be catalysts for exploration, self examination and ultimately change.

There’s lot’s of ways we can change the world for the better, some stand in the cold and rain holding up placards, some will try to reach the zenith of business, others will enter politics with the hope they will make a change – I think these are all valid – I certainly think that different people find different methods in which they want to make a positive difference in the world.

Me, personally, I think writing and art are the ways in which I hope to make my contribution.

 

Is it really the system or do individuals have some responsibility to play in the way that the system is?

Here, I wrote that Jay and Silas both see two different ways in which they wanted to help protect Digitopia and their fellow Digitopians (more on Jay’s journey in the later pages – I don’t want to drop any spoilers) – for Silas I see him as someone who initially had positive intentions – but as it’s his flaws that have caused him to lose his direction, to take shortcuts and make deals with the wrong people – till ultimately he becomes a ‘monster’ of which he could never have had imagined himself at the start.

Corrupt, bloated and lost – these aren’t the traits that he initially had, in fact there the very opposite of where he started.

Ultimately we all have flaws, and to a more or lesser degree we’ve all fallen short of where we could be, or allow circumstances to change the direction of our lives and take us down paths we never intended to tread.

 

Changing colour palettes

We wanted to show in a very visual way that we’ve moved into ‘New Digitopia’, changing the people and structures is one of the ways in which we did this – a more striking way in which we’ve done this is to shift the colour palette totally in this section of the story from the original colour palette.

The first part of the story was very read, dusty and hot.

 

 

 

What we’ve done here now, is to show the same place, but now it’s become more industrialised – it’s cold hard blue and grey steel – any semblance of nature and the land below has been tarmac’d over by the Confederates as they try simultaneously their vision of the future and erase any history of the land’s past.

 

How I challenged myself

I think that having diverse teams does make a difference to the writing and the art, Simon, Seb and myself are for three very different backgrounds – it’s our differences here that have added so much depth to the story – I always knew the direction I wanted to take it, but working with talented artists who can challenge me on story points, pressing me on what the salient points of the script are (we need to know what goes into the panel), that’s what makes the story so multi-faceted.

As always I put the original script for the page, the blocking and the inks. I really encourage you to go back to previous pages if you want to see how a great team turns a script into a comic.

 

Original Blocking

 

Original Inks

 

Original Script

 

PAGE SEVEN* (six panels)

Panel 1.
Masses of people mill and push and pull away from each other
in the rain.  Above them a giant TV screen on it
‘Breaking News: Terrorist Leader Silas Bombell’s Suicide
Killers Target Hamilton’
In the giant screen we see SILAS, ragged looking, sporting a
beard, his clothes are torn and dirty, he is covered by a
layer of dust.
44. CAPS (JAY):
8 Years later…
45. SILAS (as if from screen):
No forgiveness will be given, no one can help you.
Your suffering will continue —

Panel 2.
We move into the giant TV screen, seeing the exact shot of
Silas, this time we are perched behind the cameraman filming
Silas.
Behind him the same cave like environment, flags depicting his
group’s emblem.
46. SILAS (finishing off):
— it will only end when you replace your corrupt leaders –
they are the real terrorists!

Panel 3.
From another angle we see a full TV production crew, we see
the cave he is in is indeed a well-dressed set replete with TV
monitors, sound booths and make up areas.
47. DIRECTOR (OP):
And cut!
SFX: BUZZER SOUNDS

Panel 4.
Set dressers rush to the stage to rearrange props, Silas heads
towards his dressing table.

48. DIRECTOR:
Lovely work again Mr. Silas, yes, now working on the intensity
when looking into the camera–
Silas completely ignores him as he brushes past.
Panel 5.
Silas sits at his dressing table and roughly pulls away the
fake beard revealing a flabby double-chin and how fat he's
become.  A MAKE UP ARTIST comes to assist him.
49. YALE (OP):
That beard is government property.

Panel 6.
Yale, slick and cold pulls a chair up as Silas undoes his
bulletproof vest (corset) and his overweight stomach is
released.
50. SILAS (mumbling quietly to himself):
Yes, so am I now.

*ah yes, you may have noticed that this was originally written as page 7.  Click here to read the post about the page 7 that never was.

 

If it’s your first time around, have a look around – if you want to start from the beginning click ‘First’ just below the comic panel to go to the start.

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Leave me a comment below, be great to hear from you too – I’d really like this to be a two-way conversation.

Till next time – Peace-out.

Farhan