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Author Topic: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3  (Read 11150 times)

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Offline Mysterious Benefactor

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #90 on: March 05, 2020, 07:58:31 PM »
Because this was to be a ghost story, I do think the choice of Felipe Echevarria's "ethereal" and "abstract" style was an interesting one because, as the opening essay states, the intent is for Book 3 to be "a haunting mood piece." The problem is it doesn't always work. Though with that being said, I do think that when the artwork is presented with its dialogue in context with the other artwork and dialogue around it, meaning on the page it's presented on in its totality and not taken out of context as one graphic in the slideshow, it's much easier to understand who is being depicted, what they're saying, and what's taking place.

Innovation freely admitted in the opening essay that Book 3 is a departure from what readers of these comics had come to expect. But they obviously didn't realize their hope that the style of artwork they'd chosen would grow on readers wouldn't fully pan out.
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Offline patrickm

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #91 on: March 05, 2020, 09:01:58 PM »
Wow MB, we aren't anywhere in the same universe on this. The only thing haunting about this issue is how hauntingly bad the artwork is. You said it doesn't always work...name some examples where it does. Abstract is one thing but visually illegible is something else. Nobody buys a comic that is blurry, fuzzy and all around unreadable. I expected Innovation to defend Echevarria because they were the only ones to hire him ..either before or after this issue. This was the last comic he drew - could you see him drawing Batman in this style? Fans would revolt.
And I'm sorry... even what you can see, that drawing is KLS, not Sarah. And frame 4 on the full page is Barbara Steele, not Joanna Going. Then if you want to talk dialog, Gothick is right... Sarah DOES sound like some guru.  The comics started off so brilliantly but was already going off the rails with Barrettstown and this issue just ended things with a huge train wreck. Gotta hand it to Innovation though...what a perfect slogan for their going out of business sale... we departed from what readers of these comics had come to expect. LOL.
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Offline Uncle Roger

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #92 on: March 06, 2020, 12:04:04 AM »
Innovation scored an early success with their adaptation of one of the Anne Rice novels which featured painted artwork, rather than the traditional pen and ink work. They seemed to adopt it as their house style, whether it fit the material or not. Yes, you can do things with the art to convey mood and atmosphere but you also need to give the readers something a little more traditional at some point.
DC Comics Vertigo line managed to tell interesting, provocative stories in titles like Swamp Thing, Sandman and Hellblazer, with much better artwork. I bought the Vertigo books because they were quality material. I bought the DS comic simply because it was a Dark Shadows book. I honestly don't know if I would have continued reading the book if Innovation had not imploded.
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Offline Mysterious Benefactor

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #93 on: March 06, 2020, 04:20:41 PM »
Quote from: patrickm on March 05, 2020, 09:01:58 PM
Wow MB, we aren't anywhere in the same universe on this. The only thing haunting about this issue is how hauntingly bad the artwork is. You said it doesn't always work...name some examples where it does.

Well, I really like how the funeral is depicted on Pages 1 and 2. I think Pages 8 and 9 depict the cold associated with Barnabas and Vicki's walk really well - from their breath escaping from their mouths to the way Vicki's hair blows in the wind, it all makes me want to put on a coat.  [wink2]  I also like all the pages (Pages 6, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 13) that deal with Granny Whitlock. And even though the '91 Series never did it that way, I like how the ghosts of Robin and Sarah are depicted as shimmering.

Though given all that, as I said in reply #74, I'm not a fan of the second panel on Page 15. It's a perfect example of what codelphia.com described as "murky artwork" in this issue...

Quote
Abstract is one thing but visually illegible is something else.

Exactly.

Quote
The comics started off so brilliantly but was already going off the rails with Barrettstown

An interesting thing to remember is that David Campiti was responsible for Barrettstown - and it's definitely where Book 1 went off the rails. However, the aspects of that issue that dealt with Barnabas all came from Scott Rockwell. And what's even more interesting is that Barrettstown, which was decidedly not DS-like, came from the one of them who claims to be a huge, life long DS fan, yet the Barnabas material, which is decidedly very DS like and some of the best stuff in Book 1, came from the one of them who didn't become a DS fan until he was asked to work on the comic. And the latter point is one of the reasons I had high hopes for what Book 3 might have turned out to be had it been allowed to continue past Issue 1. But...
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Offline Mysterious Benefactor

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #94 on: March 06, 2020, 04:30:40 PM »
Say what you will about the dialogue, but today's quote -


Book Three/Issue One/Page 17 - Sarah: 'DON'T TRY TO
UNDERSTAND, JUST TRUST ME, DAVID.'

- is decidedly classic DS. If someone doesn't comprehend something, the thing to do is tell them they shouldn't even try to understand!  [lghy]
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Offline Uncle Roger

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #95 on: March 07, 2020, 03:40:32 AM »
That depiction of David doesn't look very much like Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
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Offline Mysterious Benefactor

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #96 on: March 07, 2020, 04:00:16 PM »
 [pointing-up]  I was going to hold off mentioning that myself until I post Page 17, but you are definitely right. Felipe Echevarria doesn't even make an attempt to have David look like J G-L, which is very odd, especially given how E. Silas Smith and Jose Pimentel pretty much nailed him as well as the other actors! But apparently to Echevarria's mind, abstract meant that some characters wouldn't even look like themselves.  ::)  As we mentioned before, Lysette Anthony is another example...
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Offline Uncle Roger

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #97 on: March 07, 2020, 11:08:38 PM »
I never saw the Trilogy of Terror sequel when it first came out but I just saw a clip from it today. A character is shown reading an issue of the Innovation comic!
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Offline patrickm

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #98 on: March 07, 2020, 11:30:51 PM »
I think this is one you could put under a Complete this Phrase game board MB.

The artist was attempting to draw Joseph Gordon Levitt, but he actually drew...

Myself, I'm pretty well stumped but maybe I would say Roseanne Barr.
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Offline Mysterious Benefactor

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #99 on: March 07, 2020, 11:46:03 PM »
The example in reply #94 is definitely more Roseanne than Joseph!!  [snow_cheesy]  [snow_rolleyes]
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Offline Mysterious Benefactor

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #100 on: March 07, 2020, 11:50:35 PM »
Quote from: Uncle Roger on March 07, 2020, 11:08:38 PM
I never saw the Trilogy of Terror sequel when it first came out but I just saw a clip from it today. A character is shown reading an issue of the Innovation comic!

I still haven't seen the sequel - that's a hoot!!  [snow_silly]
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Offline Mysterious Benefactor

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #101 on: March 08, 2020, 01:08:09 AM »
Here's the seventeenth page -


(Click here for a 1328X1996 version)

Note the dialogue and the panels that didn't appear in the slideshow...

This page is the last we see of David in the issue...
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Offline Mysterious Benefactor

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #102 on: March 08, 2020, 04:42:00 PM »
Now we shift to '93 NYC Fest photos from the Dark Shadows Festival Memory Book 1983-1993:




And excerpts regarding the '93 NYC Fest from Jeff Thompson's A HISTORY OF THE EAST COAST DARK SHADOWS FESTIVALS 1983-1993:
 



More '93 NYC Fest photos from the Dark Shadows Festival Memory Book 1983-1993 to come...
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Offline Uncle Roger

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #103 on: March 08, 2020, 07:07:18 PM »
I am especially enjoying these pictures from the festival. Due to a change in work status, I wasn't able to attend that year. [snow_cry] [snow_cry] [snow_cry]
The Millicent dress currently is owned by my friend Helen. She wears it occasionally at Halloween.
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Offline Mysterious Benefactor

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Re: Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 3
« Reply #104 on: March 10, 2020, 04:24:40 PM »
Quote from: Uncle Roger on March 08, 2020, 07:07:18 PM
I am especially enjoying these pictures from the festival. Due to a change in work status, I wasn't able to attend that year. [snow_cry] [snow_cry] [snow_cry]

I'm sorry that you missed out in '93, but I'm glad what I'm sharing is giving you a glimpse of what you missed.  [snow_smiley]

Quote
The Millicent dress currently is owned by my friend Helen. She wears it occasionally at Halloween.

What a great way for her to get use out of it!!  [snow_wink]
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