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FatherStone — VIXI Page 1
Published: 2012-11-15 16:36:15 +0000 UTC; Views: 1178; Favourites: 21; Downloads: 0
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Description
This is the first page of a new story I'm working on. Glauco Malatesta is a painter who worked for the fascist party but starts to look with suspicion to that infamous group due to the brutal murder of Giacomo Matteotti. What he still doesn't know is that many secrets are still hidden behind the surface of the dictatorship to be and that he will soon be chosen by fate as a very unlikely hero.The lettering has to be revised, but here is a rough translation for every man or woman of good will that will like to read the page in english.
1 - "Silence. It is everywhere. It breathes as a living thing. I can almost hear the noise of the snow falling and the engine's roar becomes an ear-splitting din."
2 - "There's something in the air. Something suspended. As when we pass from wakefulness to sleep."
3 - "It is no wonder that the village of Sotera is avoided by most, nor am I surprised that Amilcare Gamberini Spada has elected it to his home, like the tormented writer who he claims to be."
4 - "Intellectuals. People think that I fall in the category just because my hands are dirty of color because I daub some canvases for the "Duce". Only God knows how much I hate those pompous bastards and if wouldn’t prefer to be headed elsewhere ..."
6 - "If it were not for her."
Page 2: fav.me/d5s72st
Page 3: fatherstone.deviantart.com/art…
Page 4: fatherstone.deviantart.com/art…
Page 5: fatherstone.deviantart.com/art…
VIXI and all related names and features are © Matteo Bocci
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Comments: 32
So incredibly cool! I love how the owl is breaking apart from the second panel. Really stunning work and great dialogue as well.
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Thanks a lot for your comment, mate! I tried to do my best and putted many effort on this page. I'm really glad you like it and I hope you'll like the ones to come. Thanks again!
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Thanks a lot, man. Glad you like it!
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Amazing work. I love the details and stylization. Intricate and beautiful as always.
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Awesome work, Matteo! Love the "zoom" effect in the first 3 panels, great way to start off a story-- looking forward to seeing how this develops!
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Thanks a lot, Diego! Sometimes starting a story is the more difficult step, so I'm glad you think this kind of start can work. I'm working on page 2. Many challenges to confront with, due to my style, wich is not simple, and to the setting, but I hope to complete at least the short story I already wrote the script for.
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That sounds awesome about having a script for this project already written. 
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Thanks a lot for your very encouraging words, Diego! 
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There are two things I find a bit odd. In the first panel most of the background is light and in the second panel the center part of the background is light. Why these light parts? I can't make out the purpose. An other thing I thought was odd was the design of the hat in the third panel. I find it hard to put in words what I mean, but the hat just doesn't look like a proper 3D object. In the fourth panel it does look like a proper hat but in the third panel there's something off. If you don't understand what I'm talking about I will send you a picture to illustrate what I mean.
These things aside, the inking is superb as always. Brilliant details and techniques used, and as a comic this will be quite spectacular. Are you thinking of coloring it or will it remain B/W?
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Thanks for the comment, Martin. Concerning the light, I have to say I didn't think to them as light, but much more as "B&W colors". I had two purposes in doing the background for the panels. The first was to maintain the main subject readable despite of the details and pointillism. The second was to create a surreal mood, so I didn't care about realism that much. When I was inking the 2nd panel I just tought it could have been aesthetically nice to leave a clearer background around the car, as if it was moving through some sort of undefined gallery of shades. I understand you can find it odd, but it was intentional.
Concerning the hat I understand your point. The one in the 3rd panel is more stylized than the one of the 4th, wich also have a different perspective. We can say that I used a more realistic style for the 4th. To be honest I like the 3rd anyway, but your considerations are correct.
Thanks also for your closing words. I hope to find the time to complete this short story and I'll surely upload other pages as soon as they are done.
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I understand it was intentional but I didn't understand the intention behind it. Both panels look very nice; it's the fact that they're different from each other which is what I find odd. I suppose I would prefer a bit more consistency in the background. The fact that the owl in the second panel is just as big as in the first panel kind of implies the car hasn't travelled much in both panels, though the backgrounds are totally different. Anyway, I'm over-analyzing things...
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"The owls are not what they seem" (I didn't resist to quote Twin Peaks).
The owl has the same size in both panels, but it isn't necessarily flying along a perfectly straight line perpendicular to the axis of the car. I imagine the scene this way:
Panel 1: the car is not yet arrived at the "gallery of trees" of panel 2, which is still outside the shot.
The howl is near the "gallery" in terms of deepness, but more on the right of it.
Panel 2: the car reaches the "gallery". The owl flies away from outside panel 2, not only from right to left but also in the observer's direction. Maybe the owl started to fly on panel 2. Maybe between 1 and 2. maybe it was frightened by the lights of the car, maybe not. Honestly I didn't care that much. Time and space are sometimes distorted in Comic books. Sometimes for estetic reasons, sometimes for narrative purposes. In this case I draw the scene this way because I liked it better, without spending too much time to calculate the owl's trajectory or car's speed. Also, under the trees lights and shadows play in a strange and almost surreal way and this effect is also amplified by the mist and that "suspended-something" "as when we pass from wakefulness to sleep". This is what I liked to try to draw and I think that I would have done these panels the same way if I had to drew them again. But analyzing thing is good, so continue to do it and thanks again for the insights offered by your comment! Take care, man.
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yeah, there's no need for an explanation honestly. There are many ways in which this scene can make sense but it's of course how you piece the frames together. I never actually considered to this extent how difficult it can be to make a scene dynamic but also give it a natural flow.
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Absolutely stunning! (The technique must be time consuming but it pays off) I'd love to see the rest of the comic.
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Thank you, my friend! I'm glad you think this technique pays off, because it is surely time consuming!
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Excellent! I admire your attention to details. That owl flying out of panel is very nice touch. I am looking forward to seeing more.
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Thank you, my friend! Glad you noticed the owl! I hope to finish the 2nd page soon!
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Thanks a lot, Zac! Coming from a "comic addicted" like you it's a nice compliment!
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I always enjoy your pointillism, Matteo! I imagine it's hard to make it look so fluid and luminous, but you seem to do it with ease. I particularly like the top two panels.
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Glad to hear that, Paul! The first two panels are also my favourites, especially 'cause I spent some time tryng to make the 1920's car believable. More pages to come. Pointillism is a pain, though, so I think some time will pass between a page and the other.
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The car (and owl) came out great, and I would have expected them to be the most challenging.
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Yes, they were the most challenging subjects in this page. I'm very glad you think they look fine. Thanks again, Paul!
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