Friday, January 4, 2008

Before there was RuneStone there was...SLYTHE Part 2

Here is more art of SLYTHE, a character I created in my junior high days before Elders of the RuneStone. The artwork is not quite as good as Robert's, but I sense his anxiety anyway. Enjoy! (Click on any image for a larger version)An unfinished cover. Still one of my favorites.

Page 1 of my original attempt at the comic, in all its ballpoint pen-inked, crayon-colored glory! Taking place in the distant future (at the time) of 1995! I originally taped a bunch of sketchbook pages together to make the "book."
Page 2. In hindsight: They didn't have enough money for food? On a farm? But they had enough money to move to New York? And don't you love little Slythe's cute cartoon eyes? :)

Page 3. Pay no attention to the "4" at the bottom of the page. I'm trying to remember why I was so insistent on Slythe only knowing karate and kickboxing; I think it's from the influence of Van Damme movies. Darn those "troublesome punks"!
Page 4. Still a pretty cool fight scene in my opinion. Love those punks' hair! When you have Slythe reflections in your eyes, kiss your butt good-bye.

Page 5. Some time must have passed before doing this page; notice the abrupt change in art style. This is when I was discovering the Ninja Turtles comics by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and tried to emulate the toning / inking style. Can you say overkill?

Page 6. The introduction of Mavery, who would go on to be Slythe's wife. Originally I gave the female Reptillians lizard faces too, but made the (weird) decision to give them human-like faces instead. I mean, lizard-faces just can't be hot.

Page 7. Another sweet fight scene.

Page 8. You can tell where I messed with Mavery's face a lot. You can also tell where I ran out of steam. Regarding the last panel, don't be alarmed, they were just going to be having lunch.

A homemade advertisement for my own "Masters Comics", featuring Mutant, a character from another series I had ideas for. They were the "Ultimate Force of Fun"!

The cover for my 2nd attempt at the Slythe comic, a major revamping of the original version. Love that over-inking with the ballpoint pen! I liked the palm-strike effect though.

Page 1. The kidnapper at the bottom would be the Dark Hood's main henchman. Don't worry, Slythe would save all the kidnapped children.

Page 2. Good thing there were "military soldiers" there, as opposed to the regular kind.

Page 3. Notice where I ran out of steam again (hint: there's only half a page).

A drawing of Slythe as a hero in a video game I had in mind called "Fear City." It was one of my first of him, and the only time I had him breathe fire.

The Dark Hood, formerly the Reaper. This fellow was the template for the Monolith in RuneStone.

In the Slythe comic, it would be revealed that the Dark Hood was not human! The effect was lessened when a kid in my class asked why he was wearing a diaper.

A later drawing of the big, beefy Dark Hood (diaper still intact).

Slythe's sensei Wu Shu, who later became Adder's sensei Koji Nakashi in Elders of the RuneStone.

A dream match inspired by the days of the Batman Vs. Predator comic: Slythe Vs. Predator!!

An idea I had for a team of superhero Reptillians led by Slythe in his alternate future. The lone female, Eynstine, was Slythe's wife Mavery.

Inspired by the Marvel Comics Infinity War where everybody fought their evil clone: Slythe Vs. Un-Slythe!

And how that fight would have ended, when Slythe unleashes the mystic powers granted him by the spirit of his sensei Wu Shu. It's payback time. FOOM!!

For great justice. I realize now that back then I liked conceptualizing more than hunkering down to make an actual comic.

Slythe montage. Complete with Final Fight street fighting moves!

As the story got more complex and I envisioned a "Sega CD" video game, I had ideas for a team of operatives as Slythe's back-up.

Concepts for Slythe's "spirit powers" for the video game.


One of my first attempts at using a crowquill pen. And a rare shot of Slythe in kung fu pants. That cloaked fellow is another vague character idea.


And last but not least, a shot of Slythe plus two other characters I never did anything with.

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