Yuletide
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It's the most wonderful time of the year. At least it would be, if a powerful evil from Santa Claus' past had not escaped to wreak havoc on the children of the world. To confront the beast himself would be a fight that old Nicholas cannot win, so he enlists young Franklin Finch - an optimistic bookstore clerk from Manhattan - as his champion. But while Franklin is one of Santa's biggest lifelong fans, he is hardly a warrior. Why did Santa choose him? Will exposing the secrets of the supernatural world to an outsider solve the problem, or compound it? Is this the advent of a new legend, or the tragic error of a misguided mentor? And are the perils closer to home than they realize? The answers will come at Christmas Day's end, for at the stroke of midnight Yuletide will begin, and the time for a hero will have come and gone.
Yuletide is Christmas mythology re-imagined, where the familiar names from fables and carols around the world come together with a whole new spin in a lighthearted fantasy adventure that can be enjoyed the year round.
::cough:: invitational?? i know it's being continued elsewhere, but worth a try??
I liked it. Anytime Santa has to battle evil.... I am there.
Why thank you very much. And yes, there absolutely will be an "AZ" home for this - and hopefully the matching trading card system, if time allows. By the time I even knew I was accepted for the competition, I had already decided that, no matter what happens with Zuda, I would finish this story.
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And speaking of Zuda... You've not heard the last of me, Zuda staff! I'll be back, with a new comic so great, your minds will explode into grey confetti bits! I can feel the pressure building in my own frontal lobe just thinking about what I shall perhaps write and/or draw!
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And in case I don't get the chance to post tomorrow, thank you to everyone who voted, favorited, complimented, critiqued, or even took the time to read most of these 8 pages. This was my first attempt ever at putting my own ideas out for the public to see, and it was a very encouraging experience.
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P.S. On the original note of post-Zuda, I'm not sure if I should be talking about that until tomorrow, but expect an announcement on the Zudacomics message boards shortly after this month's competition officially comes to a close.
I hope this comic continues AZ (After Zuda) so to speak. I agree that you might have been hampered by the out of season theme of the concept. But you hooked me, and your writing/dialogue is very strong. And we all could use a fresh Christmas story that's for sure. Keep up the good work.
I'm not a slackin' off, I swear! That said, this week's Yulecard is going to be a little late - this was Easter weekend, after all. I'll be making it when I get home from work tomorrow, so it'll be up tomorrow night or Tuesday. I'm not sure how many people have been tuning in to see new cards each week, but even if it's one person I want them to know that the new card is on its way!
Great story. Very intriguing. These days it's very rare to see a comic that features a truly heroic character. I can't wait see the televised X-Mas special! Rankin-Bass, my ass.
I Love it.
Great Work, I wanna read more for sure :D
Congratulations.
I think you have a winner in this story and I also think you have more ideas in you yet to be shown...keep it up!
Yes! I've been experimenting with paragraph breaks. - looks better than _, what I started using, and ., what I've been using recently.
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O.O Kandyegirl got real paragraph breaks? How did that happen?
Ah, Monday morning comes again. If I've been quiet these past few days, it is because my fiancee and I set aside this weekend as "us" time, free of wedding planning, comic promotion, or any other responsibilities. But all good things come to an end, and it's back to crunch time.
For those just joining us, the Yuletide Companion site is:
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http://www.freewebs.com/tonytobin
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Here you can find lots of fun side stuff, including the increasingly popular Yulecards - Yuletide Trading Cards that I have been posting every Monday this month. And this month, the spotlight is on none other than our unlikely hero, Franklin Finch!
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Go to the 'Cards' section of the companion site, and enter the password "Finch"
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And yes, this week is only one card, not two. I promise I'm not getting lazy, it's just that there are only 8 cards in the "Limited Edition Competition Set," and I overlooked the fact that there are FIVE Mondays this month. So I'll be stretching things out a bit in favor of releasing the last two cards when I wanted to.
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P.S. The - key makes an excellent paragraph break. Spread the word.
I HATE Christmas!
But this isn't bad - just difficult to engage with in March!
I so called it.
or- maybe he IS the krampus!
dun Dun DUN!
I think the holiday spirit is alive and vibrant all year long and clearly, Franklin agrees.
I dunno, you might be onto something there, Doc! The card does say he's in darn good shape for his age - old man Howard could have jogged right up to the North Pole, muscled through those bars, and gotten back to Pete's Books with his evil secret weapon before anyone was the wiser. Of course, there's also a chance he's a Skrull.
hmmmm Mr. Clerk's card is quite interesting. I wonder what his story is?
Maybe HE is the one who fread the krampus!!
(joking, joking)
More accurately, what will hurt me is the time of year, not the choice of story. Because this is the story I want to tell regardless. It is a risk that I am still willing to take over and over again, even after seeing the initial rankings.
I have to say, submitting an idea based on a holiday is a bold move. Because personally, it was hard to read a Christmas story this time of the year. Maybe it's a mental block or something, but I don't seem to get into anything Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Your art style's not bad. You definetly know how to lay out panels. But again, I think what's going to hurt you in the end is the choice to focus on a holiday story. That's my opinion, anyway.
Interesting, but one more page could have really sold the cliffhanger...
Happy Monday! At least until the coffee kicks in. With a new week comes two new YULECARDS - the Yuletide Collectible Online Trading Cards, available only at the Yuletide Companion.
Here's what you do. Head on over to
http://www.freewebs.com/tonytobin
And go to the 'CARDS' section. This week's passwords are "Boss" and "Clerk". (Case sensitive) They're Jolly Jpegs of festive fun for all of Santa's helpers. (Wow, that coffee better kick in soon, I'm losing it!) Enjoy!
Hey ~
Great concept and execution! You are talented. I wanna read more :)
XO ~
Kandye
My Moonlight Fan Blog
http://moonlightfan.blogspot.com
Edit: A few more *hours* No more typing while half asleep.
Oh, and just a few more until the next two Yulecards premiere on the Companion Site! This week, we'll get a look at some of the characters influencing Franklin's world from the sidelines. The cards, and passwords, will go up bright and early in the morning, before I have to leave for work.
Ninth Doc - Yes, in bits and pieces. It's no one myth, really - just a reimagination. But as a rule, everything I imagined had to be rationalized by some actual folklore, or I got rid of it.
Famished - well where are those wonderful people now?
Jdeuel - making a mental note to look those up tomorrow after work.
Illinest - I'm off to a slow start, and I obviously have to start thinking bigger. Hopefully a lot of things I did in this past week will pay off this week.
Keith - I won't argue your point one bit. Win or lose, I'm taking a lot of lessons with me from this month.
Looks kinda interesting. 8 pages really isn't a big enough sample for something this slow paced, unfortunately. :(
start pimping yourself hard if you haven't already. Gotta keep up with the Joneses. Bring in your own white star brigade.
the art kinda reminds me of an MS Painted Bruce Timm series, and the story kinda reminds me of a few of the Mike Bell "Super Santa"s from Oh Yeah! Cartoons
but i like it
Wasn't someone on the boards pushing for holiday-themed comps? HAHA, this would have been perfect!
In my experience, people learn their speech patterns from narrative, so, unfortunately, people do indeed speak in cliches often (at least everyone I know).
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I wish more people watched Veronica Mars....
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So, I'm guessing the historical St. Nicholas does play into the Claus Mythos?
I figured "Your secret's safe with me" as Natalie being sarcastic, patronizing, and/or mockingly melodramatic, like it should be accompanied by a snort and/or an eye roll. It's certainly not something you'd say seriously, but considering that it's prompted with "'Santa', right." it seems to fit in context.
Okay, buddy, yeah, sure. *quietly* Weirdo...
I'm really hoping to see the story you have in store for this continue! Yuletide is one of only two comics this month in which I care to see what happens, and it is definitely my favorite of those two!
Yes, I was referring to those. I just couldn't remember Nast's name. (I saw it on the Discovery channel.)
You'd be referring to Thomas Nast's illustrations, correct? There's actually a very vague connection to that use of Santa and the Santa in my story, but it happens in the pages yet-to-come.
In the US wasn't Santa initially use a propaganda in the civil war? I believe he served as a bringer of arms to the North...
Ninth - that's definitely something you and I have in common, if you can't tell by the choice of subject matter.
Maledicta - Thank you for the advise, I will definitely keep that in mind. Odd side note - "And as for you," is something my mother says all the time. "Secret's safe with me," - I've got nothing. I imagine it's said about as often as someone finds out a secret identity? You ARE absolutely right, though, and I'll aim to avoid such things in the future.
I've read eight pages and am hooked. That's what you want. But watch the dialogue for cliched speech, e.g. "And as for you" or "Your secret's safe with me." Ask yourself, do people really use those phrases? Or do we just think they do because that's how they talk in TV sitcoms and newspaper comics? Develop a radar for clunky, unnatural dialogue, as you don't want to spoil a fine strip by veering into it.
I'm shocked I didn't realize it sooner. I've spent many an hour on wikipedia reading up on the obscure bits of history and traditions of our holidays (especially the christianization of pagan celebrations, because I'm interested in theology).
But yeah, that's awesome.
Score! And I was wondering when someone with either a knack for trivia or a search engine would finally catch that!
I have seen the cards. They are very cool, probably the most original form of bonus content I've seen on zuda thus far. And the trailer was very well done as well.
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Yeah, I thought I recognized that name from the beginning. I just realized what it is. Wow. This is going to be seriously awesome. You have my vote.
Thanks! Spread the word, maybe many others will be surprised.
P.S. - trailer is fixed and ready to view
interesting set-up! i didn't think i'd be interested in this at first but hey, consider me interested!
Woops, caught an error on that trailer just now - it's temporarily down, should be re-uploaded and working by the morning, though.
Alright, first order of business for the night - a plug.
UPDATE to the Yuletide Companion: The official trailer! Available now in the MEDIA section.
http://www.freewebs.com/tonytobin
And don't forget: Only three more days to get the first two trading cards (passwords can be found further down in the comments)
Now, on to replies.
NinthDoctor - have you seen the cards yet? Not anything groundbreaking, but hey, it's something! I wish I could tell you more, but I'm saving it for later in the comic (to sound shameless - vote and ye shall find the answers ye seek!) No, seriously, the things you want to know will be revealed, and have EVERYTHING to do with where the story goes.
And to RKB - You make some excellent observations there. It makes me very happy to see people getting what I was going for. But about that 9th page theory - (time to enter tactfully cryptic mode) that may or may not be a different scene. Page 9 is something completely different - in the first draft, it was page 1 - and would have been just as much of a WTF moment as the swirly vortex of sparkly festive festiveness.
Ah, I must see more of the Claus Mythos! It is very close to winning my vote at the moment.
The story has a lot of mystery, and there is a reason to vote for this just to find out what that evil is that Santa doesn't want to face. Why was Franklin chosen, besides the fact he still believes in the power of Christmas? It seems like from the story that Santa has had his eye on Frank for sometime. Most of the comics this month have great colors, yours is one of this. I think the art/colors characters faces are all done very well. Only problem is screen 8 should have been screen 7, and screen 8 should have been Franklin looking at Santa and not believing his eyes. The sucked into a vortex was a well drawn panel, but not a great way to end the screens. However you managed to really give an insight into a possible love interest's character. A jaded woman falling for a guy who still does the secret Santa thing? Of course you got some good built in conflict right there. 4/5 stars from me. Also nice to see the work you put into the supplemental web-site, very good show!
I like where this one's going quite a bit! Eager to see more.
edit: That said, don't let me temper any expectations. Starting on page 9 there are twist that won't stop turning 'til it's over, and a shocker that'll blow the holly clear out of the halls!
Jernell, I'd expect nothing more than that from anyone, especially seeing as this is my first comic (well, second, but the first one was just for a few friends). I'm no more confident in my ability to live up to the hype than anyone rightly should be regarding their own work - you never know for sure what will hit a home run with the readers until they read it. I do, of course, intend to put everything I've got into reaching that goal.
Have no fear! Without giving anything away, I'll just say I have it on good authority that the artist/writer has quite a story planned out for this should he get the contract. I'll leave it at that. :-)
This is actually much better than I expected. Illinest is right about the hallway and the clipped figure being awkward, but your storytelling is clear and your character designs are simple, but effective. Your characterization is also above par, I felt every character was someone unique. I also like the unusual mood you're giving to a Christmas story. I like this idea and the execution thus far, but as usual I'm skeptical about the creators ability to live up the synopsis hype. 4 out of 5 stars.
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–Jernell
may I just say that the password idea is brilliant? Because it is.
Dang, slow day. While I'm here, thank you once again to everyone who has taken the time to read my little idea so far - and if you are looking for a nice time waster, go sneak a peak at the Yuletide Companion:
http://www.freewebs.com/tonytobin
It does not add anything of quality to the comic, but it was a great way to practice html and get my creativity on.