Soma Journal #1
WHAT IS THIS?
So as part of trying to foster an active community I thought it would be a good idea to try doing a weekly update to coincide with the release of a new page– Think of this as something like a writer’s diary. I figure that most people will return to the site on Friday anyways, so better to have a new one up now than on a Wednesday or something. Initially I was thinking of doing static columns where I’d talk about whatever the column pertained to, but I can see myself struggling to fill all of those every week (Even so, if I move this to a bi-weekly schedule don’t hold it against me). The only static column I’ll have is COOL GATE FACTS; A section for facts and info about certain characters in NINE GATES, generally pre-production (?) stuff or things I’d LIKE to include in the comic but don’t really have the time or the space to.
REFLECTING ON CHAPTER 2
So we’re in the last quarter of Chapter 2 right now and I’m overall pretty happy with the progress I’ve made as a panelist and an artist. I’m pretty sure I’ve more than doubled my original readership since the first page of this chapter, so thank you! On top of that, I’ve consumed a lot of media that’s altered the vibe of NINE GATES over this chapter (for the better, I think), including NieR Replicant and Gideon the Ninth, which are now two of my favorite things and I consider them the last two missing puzzle pieces to really make this my own world.
After this chapter is done in what looks to be October I’m going to take two weeks off, and then another two weeks to build up a buffer for myself so what happened last week hopefully wont happen again, but since we’re in the last bit I wanted to ask for your input as I write the script for this next chapter: What do you think I could do to improve the weekly page releases? Is the pacing of each page too slow, or is it just right?
COOL GATE FACTS
Vasha Fairzant has been a character in the story since I started conceptualizing it something like a year and a half ago. She’s one of the only surviving characters of the comic’s first draft (back when it was called ROYAL), where we were already in a weird fantasy world instead of getting isekai’d into one. The only two other surviving characters are Jeane Waits and Creed Matthews.
The Proto-Vasha was a three-eyed delinquent who rolled with a gang that would’ve picked Jeane up and made her one of their own.
One last thing! Consider this a soft AMA, as in you can ask me whatever you feel like in the comments. It could be about art, characters, the world, or whatever else.
-Soma
Hey, I like this format! Published authors/artists are more or less celebrities whether they like it or not, regardless of their perceived popularity, so it’s interesting, at least to me, to see what’s on their mind when it comes to their crafted world.
I’m not familiar with either of the references you mentioned, though I’ve heard of NieR via Steam, if that game is the same thing, and I looked up Gideon the Ninth and read an interview with the author. While it doesn’t really sound like something I’m likely to read (I have piles of books to read still…don’t read as much as I used to), it was an interesting read. You can learn a lot about an author by how they describe their work, depending upon how deeply they explain it, which is sometimes as interesting as their story. I’m looking forward to more world building notes in your future journal entries, as that’s one of my favorite things when reading a new story.
Regarding Vasha, I have to say I like her current incarnation, she seems to share some personality traits of characters I like from other stories, like Han Solo, Vlad Taltos, or others I can’t quite pull from my mind at the moment. Obviously her personality changed to one who is more independent from her original concept, but I think it suits her.
Lastly, what does AMA mean? You describe it so it has context, but the best guess I have is “Ask Me Anything”? I’m sure I can come up with plenty of questions over time, but this post is already so long it will probably turn into gibberish.
1. The NieR games on steam are the ones yeah. Replicant is a remake of the original game, Automata is a sequel.
2. Yeah, I think the current Vasha is the peak of her different versions, though her personality is more or less the same as what it was always meant to be.
3. AMA means Ask Me Anything, yep.