Website revamp/update

[Northcott]

Not sure if anybody's in the groove for checking out new artwork, but I figured I'd throw this out just in case: http://home.golden.net/~enorthcott

I've gutted my old website, changed the graphics, and tossed up all-new illustrations for folks to peek at. I'm continuing to update it as I go along, so hopefully we'll see some new postings in the next month -- including some AF-related material.

[Barnacle13]

As always Ed I'm amazed by your talent. I wish I could draw a fraction of what you are able to. Looks like we need to get some of the talent here together for a pitch for Vol4 AF. Ed can supply art with a creative team of writers pooling ideas for Alpha's direction.

[HappyCanuck]

As someone WITH but a fraction of Ed's talent, and working towards improving them to be at least close to on par with him, I concur. But I can also understand how Ed wouldn't want/couldn't do it without payment (one of the issues of professionals who still need to feed themselves and whatnot). Unless someone on here wants to apply to Marvel for AFvol.4's future, and personally request Ed for the job, m'thinks we be ready for tough tiddly-winks.

(for those of you about who've seen my work, and are about to argue - Ed can do more with action than I can. I tend to lose perception with action shots, and he can make his look more fluid, whereas mine tend to be more rigid and posed - something I envy about his proficiency - and something I am working towards improving, albeit sllllloooooowwwwwwllllllyyyyy)

[Northcott]

Thanks, guys.

Alan: I don't know how physically active you are, but I found that undertaking certain activities helped me immensely. A few years in martial arts taught me a great deal about body awareness and put a new perspective on movement. Unfortunately drawing realistic action tends to look boring on a comic page, and that's a hurdle I'm still fighting with -- a boxing jab may be devestating in real life, but on a comic page it's dull.

The other thing was weight-lifting. I've stuck with that through the years. It gives an intimate (and sometimes painful ) awareness of what muscles act when you move: knowing how it feels is a far cry from knowing, intellectually, what is required for various movements. I don't always capture that essense in my work, but on the best of days I touch the edge of it... when I'm lucky.


As for an AF v4 -- some may remember that J. Torres and I were putting together a pitch for v3 with an editor at Marvel way back when. Dana would be relieved to learn that, in spite of my toying with the Ultimate idea, this would have been set in the mainstream continuity and using the classic team (though it would have been something of a reboot, attempting to iron out all the wrinkles and contradictions). After retooling the presentation a number of times to fit closer and closer with what we were told, explicitly, was wanted by the Powers that Be (tPtB), we were summarily dismissed with the explaination that "a big name" wanted the project, and so they were handing it over to him. That big name was Mr. Lobdell.

I'm not saying this as a slam, or a dig. Marvel does what it does because it's a business and wants to turn a buck first and foremost. That's what businesses do. Mr. Lobdell had an idea and an opportunity to pursue it, and I'm sure had no clue that anyone else was putting a project together. Events just happened to collide in an unfortunate sequence.

However, that particular sequence has left it highly unlikely that you'll see me on an AF book. The name is all. Unless I miraculously build up some kind of massive fan base so that tPtB are convinced that my mere presence will guarantee sales, you're unlikely to see me on the book. If a big name, like Millar (just an example), should happen to step in with an idea for it, they'd immediately make a place for his new project. That's just the way things work.

God knows I'd love to do the book. I'm a patriot, I love this nation coast to coast, and I'd love to see some Canadiana worked into the background -- not so that it dominates, but so that it flavours the stories. Makes them "other than". J and I are currently working on pitches for Image (held up by lawyers at the moment) and Vertigo (still in the sketching stages) -- hopefully if one of those works out, we'll have the "oomph" to pursue other work.

I don't know if Alpha will be ressurected before I get to 'em, but by God, if they aren't (and if I should happen to get a decent foothold in the industry) I'll certainly push in that direction in years to come. But in the end, it all comes down to how big a name is.

[Ben]

HAHHAHHAHAHAHHHHAH Allan physically active....that's the funniest thing I've heard in ages Sorry pal, but you know it's true!

But Ed, I had no idea you had gotten that close to having you proposal happen with Marvel. They should have kept you guys in mind in retooling v.3 rather than axing in If you wanna put any or your AF stuff up at AF.net that would be great, or if you even wanted to write an article about how close you got to getting your AF proposal published that would be awsome.

Ben

[HappyCanuck]

Now, Ben, were that not so damn close to true, I'd be forced to do something mean... And don't think I won't.

Hmm,. okay I've been up for over nearly 20+ hours, and can't figure out how to say that less snarky. I know you meant it as a joke - which is how I took it (I am the second-LEAST physically active person I know, so therein lies the truth of Ben's ha-ha) - but I can't get my words to reflect as such. sorry, I tried.

(EDIT: now includes cool 'scowl' emoticon. YAY!)

[Northcott]

"Close" is a relative term in publishing, I've learned. Like they say, close only counts with horseshoes and hand-grenades. Until the comic is in production and a publication date has been advertised, it's all up in the air.

We were on a second or third revamp of the project. I still hadn't even been okayed as the artist, but J and I were cobbling together ideas to throw at them: they wanted Mac as the centre of the revamp, as a solid nationalistic figure that could serve as a lynchpin: we were working with Judd and Sas as the first two old-timers to appear, with Michael in the background in a non-spandex capacity (at first).

At the time there was a huge kerfuffle in Toronto about the airport on Toronto Island. J, living in Toronto, thought about replacing the airport with a brand-spankin' new Alpha complex.

Then there was continuity waffling, which characters could be used. One version had Northstar and Aurora as part of the team from day 1, and had a slightly darker spin on the Marvel U: there's always been fear of Sentinels south of the border. Just like in the darker days of American history, when slavery was allowed, Canada was a safe haven for black people to flee to: a place where they had full rights under the law. So J came up with the idea of doing the same with mutants -- a new Underground Railroad, of which Northstar was to secretly be a part. (A jerk, but a heroic jerk)

We were also playing with the idea of Camp X. In real life, Camp X was a training ground for secret agents on the north shore of Lake Ontario during WWII -- Ian Flemming, author of James Bond, spent time there. It was set up by a man code-named "Intrepid", who later helped with the organization of the fledgeling CIA. Anyway, given the penchant for public health care, gun control, and public-oriented programs up here, I thought that it was a natural extension that the government, instead of incarcerating mutants, would work to help them lead safe and productive lives: Camp X would be a training camp for young mutants, and eventually serve the same kind of role as Xavier's institute down in the USA -- just safer (no mutant haters stalking them) and government-funded.

It would provide ample opportunity for old favourites to make an appearance, even if only guest-shots. Characters who aren't active in adventures could serve the role of teachers. It would allow for a feasible cycling of cast members without the trite and over-used comic-book method of simply killing off and ressurecting characters ad nauseum. If a writer happened to pop in with a great one-shot idea for using a rarely seen character, it could be done without necessarily having to take that character away from "minor" status.

Again, I'm hoping to tackle it some day, but I just don't see it happening in the near future. Though I'd love to be wrong about that.

[Mokole]

Man, Ed, I'm backing you guys with a shot at V4 if you want. From what you said you're guys' take would include a core of Byrne AF with possibly 1-2 new AFers. Odd that Marvel when in such a radically different direction.

Cheers.

[Northcott]

Yeah, basically we were looking at the classic team. But the truth is that you'll see better stories and more character development from only having a handful of characters in a 20 page comic, so we were looking at creating the story in such a way that the elements of the setting would reinforce the kind of story being told: that is, that there would be ample justification for only a few members being around at any one period of time: so there's always a mix of action (front line characters) and character development (the people back at HQ or Camp X).

As for new characters ... eh, not so much. In fact, we didn't have plans for any new characters, and had no intention of introducing any unless directly ordered to do so. Just thinking about how many characters have already been introduced, is there really a need to introduce more? When you've got so few pages to tell a story, what the story needs in order to be told properly has to be a prime consideration.

I'd rather deal with the characters that exist: flesh them out, and give them their due. There are some great characters that have been terribly under-utilized, or shown in a really bad light. How often has Mac's brilliance been used to good effect? The man invented a suit that proves workable mechanics exploiting the TOE (Theory of Everything -- the holy grail of Physics, based off Einsteins Unified Field Theory). That's only one example. Characters with a lot of potential have been turned into second-stringers and/or jokes time and again, and their location has been considered a throw-away or a liability instead of being used.