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  • 2 weeks later...

I wonder if Rohlan (the mandalorian they picked up in the "Flashpoint" issues) just slept in that box for issues 11 and 12...

 

I liked the "spin the table" event at the end of #11 but I didn't like the pacing of the story. Just as it gained momentum it crashed down to a halt then jarred to high speed again. There was no flow in the storytelling, it was mostly picking up small pieces here and there.

 

But an overall OK, 2 issue story-arc.

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I think they just swap them out. Im not bothered with the Artists changing because each of them have weak points and strong points in their work, it just gets a little confusing trying to track the ever changing face of Zayne. I did like Zaynes little look towards the camera in the latest issue and i love Dob and Del. If anything, i think those two should be the comic relief in Kotor 3.

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Is the changing artist thing typical for comics recently, or is this issue unique to the Kotor comics and/or Dark Horse?
It's pretty common in mainstream comics that are part of a continuity (like superhero stuff) to have a different creative team for different story arcs, and for the artist to change a lot. It's certainly not the rule, but it happens more often than not, and it's generally accepted as normality. For something like the KotOR comics though, it would be nice to have a bit more consistency.
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Is the changing artist thing typical for comics recently, or is this issue unique to the Kotor comics and/or Dark Horse?

 

 

I believe that the intention in KOTOR is to have a single artist for each story arc. However, life happens, and sometimes an artist's momentum for getting his artwork done slows down. People get sick, they move, they have conventions to attend, and they have new characters, ships, and cities/planets to design for upcoming issues -- and let's not forget those beautiful covers that need to drawn too! Each of these things takes a little (or a lot) of time away from drawing the story pages of the current issue/assignment, and so running behind schedule becomes a perennial problem.

 

Running behind schedule leads to late shipping comics. Late shipping comics lead to cranky fans. Late shipping comics also lead to grumpy publishers, as their revenue projections for the quarter get thrown to heck. Less money this quarter can mean less money to pay for new projects next quarter, which leads to more cranky fans, because there's no new material (new series or mini-series, original story GN's) coming out!

 

So. Enter the dreaded Fill-In Artist. Bringing in Travel Foreman on KOTOR #5 allowed the book to ship on time, maintaining momentum for the series' first story arc, "Commencement". Had issue #5 shipped several weeks late, interest for the new series may have lagged (and mind you, this was the all-anticipated Star Wars relaunch, and KOTOR was the first series out of the gate!) and sales dropped off. Instead, issue sales for KOTOR continued to rise through the first 6 issues -- something almost unheard of in comics!

 

Also, by bringing in Harvey Tolibao on issue #13, not only did fans get both parts of a 2-part storyline in the same month, but now the book is caught up and brought back to it's original scheduling (issue #1 shipped January 2006, issue #13 shipped January 2007). What kind of coolness is that?

 

And let's give these fill-in guys a break. They are not the regular artists of these books. They are not familiar with the art style being used, they are not familar with the characters, the ships, the locales. They have to come in to their issue cold, have to pick things up as they go along, and often have less time to get it all done than the full month that the regular artist would have (remember, the editor isn't going to contact a fill-in artist until after he realizes that the regular artist is already behind schedule)! I think that most fill-in artists do make an honest effort to do the best work they can with the limited resources and limited time that they've been given. Sometimes the results are very good, sometimes less so. But therein lies the catch...

 

...It's been discussed many times before: What do the fans want? A consistent art team with no fill-ins, but sometimes late -- or even drastically late -- shipping books? Or the occasional fill-in artist to guarantee regular shipping of your favorite comic book 'fix'? Unfortunately, there's no easy, black & white answer. For many years I think Dark Horse tried the 'no fill-ins' route, but fans complained very loudly about the delays. With the Star Wars relaunch last year, I think they're trying the opposite tack. And I think there is a bonus to this new plan: the discovery of art talent that we might otherwise not have seen. I, for one, can't wait to see more of Harvey Tolibao in the future!

 

So, to sum up, I guess I just have to say that life isn't perfect. There are late shipping comics. There are fill-in artists. There are continuity gaffes. Learn what you can live with, and then deal with it! :rock:

 

P.S. Sorry if this sounds like a rant. I think I just got stuck on a topic that makes me a bit nutty. Hope I didn't put anyone off! :nut:

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I think they just swap them out. Im not bothered with the Artists changing because each of them have weak points and strong points in their work, it just gets a little confusing trying to track the ever changing face of Zayne.

 

Yes, but it is annoying that it's inconsistent. I realise that no two artists are alike, which is as it should be, but it hurts the book that the style switches around so much. Brian Ching's style may not be particularly special or beautiful, but it is the consistent one for the book for now. We should not have to spend time identifying the main characters every time a new artist is involved. And clearly the production schedule is strained, since there have already been so many guest artists. Yet each book has one artist only. Why doesn't Dark Horse bite the bullet and put two artists one each book? One for the rough drafts and one for finishes. It has worked for many other comic books for many years. It would allow greater consistency in the art and get rid of the fill-in artist who seems to be called in on a regular basis anyway...

 

I did like Zaynes little look towards the camera in the latest issue and i love Dob and Del. If anything, i think those two should be the comic relief in Kotor 3.

 

I thought they were just a bit too silly and stupid. They are these stupid comic-relief who are so silly that anyone can laugh at them, just like JarJar... Which is something I really dislike.

 

No, Gryph's description of them in issue 11 was much better: "You know how Ithorians are all peaceful and polite? It's by throwing guys like these out. They woke up on the wrong side of the species!" :rofl:

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