TOP TEN FRANCHISES (PLUS FOUR) on which I would love to work (in no particular order)
Filed under: Uncategorized | 4 Comments »As I mentioned in my last post, this last convention got me thinking about what properties and franchises I would get really excited about drawing. What surprised me was that the list covered very few comic properties.* When I think about it though, that shouldn’t really have surprised me that much. I don’t actually read a ton of comics. That doesn’t mean I don’t love comics, but it can be very hard to find quality new material, just as it is unlikely that you could walk into a bookstore and grab a random paperback from the New Releases shelf and wind up with something worth reading. I love comics because of the unique opportunity they afford me for visual storytelling on a tight (aka non-existent) budget and this is reflected in the material that I read. But I digress.**
The list of properties I would want to work on shouldn’t have surprised me because, predictably, it mirrored my own interests. As soon as I stopped thinking about a long list of Marvel and DC characters that I like but don’t care to draw and started thinking about the things I actually do geek out about (Old-school comics, radio and pulp literature, with some videogames, novels, and movies thrown in for good measure) I was bursting with ideas. So, without further ado, I present my TOP TEN FRANCHISES (PLUS FOUR) on which I would love to work (in no particular order).
- The Shadow
I enjoy listening to old radio serials, and The Shadow is by far my favorite. Since it’s origination it has also gathered a robust visual history including costume design that is to die for. Also, a title like The Shadow invites a rich graphic style employing shape and solid blacks. What’s not to love?
- From the Earth to the Moon/Around the Moon
If you have not read these books, you should. They are ludicrous. Men build a giant gun, and then climb into the bullet, and then shoot the moon. That is all you need to know. Also, it would be a great opportunity to have fun with lots of perspective and texture. I am getting giddy just thinking about it.
- War of the Worlds
Why? Because I want to draw Martian Tripods. There is no other reason. - The First Men in the Moon
Many of these made the list because I like drawing mechanical things and industrial architecture. This has the opportunity for all of that but I put it on my list for the Moon Caverns. Dynamic Lighting + Mechanical Architecture + The Moon = Awesome. - John Carter of Mars
I debated whether or not to add this one to the list. I think the subject matter would require a classical style of rendering figures that would be a huge challenge for me. After all, I am not Alex Raymond. Regardless, I love it too much and I could still work in some air-ships and an atmosphere plant. There. I’m feeling more confident about it already! - Metroid
The main character is in a Robot Suit. I could draw a robot, and claim to have drawn a hot chick at the same time. - StarCraft
If I had to pick a number one thing that I would be excited to draw, this might be it. It has space marines, bug-monster aliens, robots, star-ships, space, everything. Feel like getting lost in the isolation and void of space? Covered. In the mood for sweeping industrial sci-fi landscapes? Covered. In the mood for something more organic? Zerg. - Final Fantasy VI
I list FFVI specifically because I don’t think I would (if I had my pick) have taken the same visual route that the series took following this game and before this, the in-game art was so limited that it didn’t have the same effect on me. FFVI struck that perfect balance of suggestive visuals and stunning concept art that make a tribute mandatory at some point in my life; like a pilgrimage to Mecca or something. Also Yoshitaka Amano is one of my professional idols. - Flash Gordon
Similar feelings to #5 but more challenging. Instead of crazy industrial atmosphere plants I would get to have fun with classical, phallic, Mongo architecture. I may also go a different route and pick out a scene so obscure that only a connoisseur would recognize it. Also tempting: Make a tribute piece for the 80’s film adaption. - Star Wars
Included because it is Star Wars. I have a smorgasbord of droids, stormtroopers, Star-Destroyers, alien civilizations, ATATs and more to choose from. I don’t even know where I would begin. - Sherlock Holmes
It took a while, but we at last have another listing that does not involve robots OR space. Instead we have another chance to showcase technique: light, shadow and texture against the backdrop of Victorian England’s urban underbelly. - The Prisoner
This one makes the list because I love it, and it has been, to my knowledge, woefully under-represented in the world of pop-culture tribute. Also, I am confident that, if pressed to it, I could make a fair likeness of Patrick McGoohan. This would be a non-negotiable. - Rawhide
Competing with The Prisoner for farthest outlier on the list, Rawhide is another one of my obsessions that doesn’t get a lot of buzz anymore. Also, while any tribute should at least include Clint Eastwood’s visage, the piece would be far and away devoted to the likeness of Eric Flemming as Gil Favor, Trail Boss. Also excited about the prospect of: Beeves, dust, and big-sky country. This would almost certainly be a dry-drive piece. Don’t know what I mean? Watch a few seasons of this show. - Automata
Included because I would love the chance to do a tribute piece for something that is contemporary, ongoing, and almost completely undeveloped. Also it meets my criteria for: robots, pulp sentiment, gritty texture, graphic light/shadow opportunities, urban/industrial city-scape. I think it is also a huge bonus that my style is nothing like Mike Krahulic’s (of Penny Arcade fame), allowing a tribute to exist as a compliment to his creation and not an imitation.
The exercise of rigorously examining this topic has made me extremely eager to play within these worlds in the near future. If a can find the time, I’d love to do a pin-up of each to post on the site and to fill out the site’s gallery. At the end of the whole thing, who knows, it might make a great sketchbook or at least a well-rounded portfolio. I will have to dwell on this at some length…
Are there any franchises out there that you love and/or feel are under-represented? Are you familiar with my art style and have something that you’d love to see of which I am oblivious? Tell me about it! I always like a full queue of ideas.
*Let me amend that. The list contains very few properties which originated as comics. Some of these properties have become comic series since (Star Wars for instance) or have had comic adaptions made of them before now. In case you’re wondering, Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen felt like a personal gift from him to me .
**This in itself is a whole separate post which I won’t get side-tracked on right now. Maybe next time.
Great post!
I’m not sure if there’s anything I would add to it. I’ll note that despite consuming a decent amount of anime, your only Japanese franchises are video games with lo-fi art. What about something like Neon Genesis Evangelion (giant semi-organic robots) or Cowboy Bebop (space western; Jet seems right up your alley)? As with Automata, you would be lending your own style to a universe whose orthodox style is vastly different from your own.
Also, you probably want to spell “Fantasy” correctly. =P
Thanks for that, John. Spelling corrected!
Also, I think I intentionally leaned towards lo-fi art games because it leaves me more room for artistic interpretation.
Anime is a tough nut to crack as well since I don’t draw manga. Still it might be fun to reinterpret the characters in my own style…
What the hell is a Robot Suit? Chozo Battle Armor does shit tons more than a silly Robot Suit. They don’t call her The Hunter because of a Robot Suit, and a mere Robot Suit would not at all explain prophecies of the Newborn.
But yeah, I’d love to see you do Metroid–especially if it involved Samus locked in combat with Ridley.
Ah Robert, I knew I could count on you to flame me for that one.