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Re: Scarab 8 comments

Posted By: MACK!
Date: THU, 9/6/01, 6:17 p.m.

In Response To: Scarab 8. No spoilers (Victor Destefano)

: I just got back from the comic shop and I could not wait
: to read this. I had no idea what to expect, but
: figured that between Mays' art and the story so far,
: it could only be good.

: Man, this is one of those rare issues that has me
: dredding to turn the page while, at the same time,
: speeding through the page I'm on to get to the next
: page as fast as I can. It was like one of those movies
: where you can't bare to see what might happen next,
: but you just have to.

: The last thing I'll say about the story is that it
: actually feels Japanese. Not because of the characters
: or setting, but because, after recently viewing alot
: of Japanese cinema and reading on the nation's
: mythology, I've noticed that alot of the stories don't
: fall into place the way Western stories do. Every
: story isn't: man kils dragon, saves princess and lives
: happily ever after. There's more of a realistic, and
: even poetic, element to 'em.

: What I said is probably confusing, but I don't want to
: give anything away. This is definately my favorite
: Scarab and Kabuki issue yet. Great stuff.

: The art: Mays is up there with Mignola, Risso and Frusin.
: Basically, all of these artist can do the art for
: anything and I'll buy it weather I'm interested in the
: story or not. But, as luck will have it, they always
: seem to attach themselves to great projects so it's
: always a win/win.

: The three styles used in this issue(Mays' cartoon ,
: regular Scarab style and Mack's style)all worked
: really well together. I love seeing different art used
: to convey different moods and emotions so long as it
: works and, here, it definately did. Rick has the
: ability of drawing the situation so well that you
: often see the art when you flip the page and you know
: exactly what's going on before you read any text.
: Also, he can draw some truly grizzly shit that,
: between David's writing and Rick's ability, comes out
: not shocking, but poetic(I really hate saying shit
: like 'poetic', but when you see how some of the stuff
: is so bold while being so subtle, it's hard to
: describe it any other way).

: Then I look at Mack's Kabuki and it feels like I'm
: looking at a well taken photograph. Again, there's
: more I'd like to say about the art as well, but I
: don't want to give anything away.
: Oh yeah, Ryan Graff's cover is also really great. That's
: the kinna thing that needs to be on a poster! I might
: even blow it up at Kinkos or something.
Hey Victor,

Thanks for the feedback. We really appreciate your kind words and your perspective.

I appreciate the "it feels Japanese" comment about the ending to this story. ANd your comments about the differences in traditions of story and cinema in East and West.

The outline of this story (and the ending) stayed true to the way I outlined it about five years ago. And the story (including the ending) was indeed influenced by eastern (both Japanese and Chinese) cinema, folktales, and story traditions, that I was immersed in at that time. There were several times in the past year when I questioned myself about the possibility of changing it, (for reasons you can probably understand after reading it) but I felt that I had to stay true to the story, and the character, and any change in that ending would have felt like a comprimise or an easy way out.

I'm very pleased that this issue was your favorite, and that you enjoyed the different art styles. I'm very happy about this Scarab story. I'm pleased that the entire story has its own flavor, and that each single issue has its own pace and tone and ambiance, different from the preceeding Scarab issues. I think that each issue reads at different speeds, different depths, and on different character levels, and on different emotional levels. I'm lucky that I have readers adventurous enough to stick with a story that changes and evolves in these regards from issue to issue.

And as different as it is, the story fits into and enriches the preceeding Kabuki stories with new info from a new perspective. So on those levels it succeeds for me.
And of course Rick's art adds a wonderful and rich new dimension to the world of all of these characters. I owe a big thanks to him.

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