Comic of the Month

[dmeck7755]

@Keep Looking you are on

Also Claire is doing a Phantobomb, Phantomarine is updating every day this week! Leading to the end of the current chapter, hopefully after some more reveals!

Yes she is!! So far it has been really interesting.  The sad part is after the Phantobomb she will be on chapter break..

I have to say I really like this comic

[Linebyline]

And every page this week so far has been a doozy!

[Keep Looking]

Ah, yes! I've had a rather busy week, so thanks for the reminder, Jitter.

My comic of the month for July 2022 is:

Shaderunners!

Mystery! Espionage! Heists! Theatre!

In a universe that has been stripped of colour, a ragtag team of bootleggers with lofty dreams steal shades of red, green and beyond from society's rich and famous. Shaderunners is set in a 1920s-esque era with drama and glamour aplenty.

The comic has beautiful art, very engaging worldbuilding, and a premise which can only truly be done justice through the illustrated medium. The characters will tug at your heartstrings, while the plot frequently brings you to the edge of your seat.

The comic is comfortably pg-13, with some depictions of violence and partial nudity but nothing particularly gory or graphic. Thematically Shaderunners doesn't get super dark, but it definitely does have its heavier moments. If anything, I would regard it as frequently contemplative when it comes to the themes it explores.

Anyway, Shaderunners is one of my all-time favourite comics and is thoroughly an enjoyable read, so I hope you folks like it!

You can start reading Shaderunners here!

[Keep Looking]

Oh, and I forgot to mention the romantic drama. It has plenty of romantic drama, given that the first main character we're introduced to is a hopeless romantic who's falling in love left and right. Make of that what you will.

[Jitter]

Thank you Keep! I remembered to update the first post too

Last call for August! If nobody else wants it, Linebyline has agreed to go again.

[dmeck7755]

Don't worry, both Widdershins and Phantomarine will be more than happy to give you even more nightmares!

But Phantomarine is now on break until October WAAH!  😿

[Turnstylus]

Thank you, Keep Looking, for suggesting Shaderunners! I've only read far enough to be really introduced to the premise - the tried-and-true device of informing the audience by watching one character inform our point-of-view character! And it's a fascinating way to write/draw about the struggle between social classes by using the boundaries of the medium itself. Very inventive!

I try to be careful about saying too much, for fear of spoiling plot points for the rest of us. Do any of you more experienced forum folk have some advice on how to approach discussing the comic without giving away stuff?

[Keep Looking]

I try to be careful about saying too much, for fear of spoiling plot points for the rest of us. Do any of you more experienced forum folk have some advice on how to approach discussing the comic without giving away stuff?

There's actually a function on the forum where you can hide text so people have to click to view it - this way you can write about potentially spoiler things and people can choose whether or not to read it.

When you go to make a post, you can see all the little buttons above the text box. On the right there's a button marked with the letters Sp - this is the spoiler button. [spoiler)Write your text in the middle like this and it'll be hidden from view! (I changed up the brackets so you'd be able to see what it looks like)[/spoiler)

For example:

Spoiler: show

Oh wow here I am writing some very spoilerific content

Hope this helps!

[Jitter]

Turnstylus, if you wish to open more discussion about Shaderunners, you can also stat a new topic. You’ll see on this board how we have several threads spawned from various comics of the month. Within that topic you can either use (and as others to use) the spoiler tags like Keep instructed, or make the topic include spoiler warning in general. Like we have the Girl Genius thread with open spoilers, meaning anything during the story up to current page may be discussed. In case of GG for example there is such a huge backlog that it might be useful to have another thread with closed spoilers if people want to discuss parts of the story before reaching the current page.

If you are using spoiler tags, it’s useful to mention up to when it may be spoilerific. Like this:

Spoilers: Star Wars original series up to Empire Strikes Back

Spoiler: show

Darth Vader is Luke’s father! 😱

Note that often when people reply to spoilered stuff they either quote (the spoilers stay closed in quotes) or mention who they are replying to, instead of repeating the warning. Like this:

Wow, Keep!

Spoiler: show

What a shocking revelation!

[Turnstylus]

Jitter, Keep Looking - thank you so much for your guidance!

I read through some of the earlier replies in the thread and saw the Spoiler function in action, but I didn't have a good handle on how to make it work.

I really appreciate your patience in advising me in what must be really basic stuff! "Super-Newbie" describes me well!

[Jitter]

That’s why we are here Our members in general are friendly and helpful, but me and Keep are also part of the Forum team, so it is our “job” to help and advise people! It’s also a pleasure, and it always makes me glad when someone asks rather than withdraw, if they are not sure what to do.

The only downside of the “job” is the pay (meaning, this is of course voluntary work) but one cannot have everything

I have also enjoyed Shaderunners btw. I don’t particularly like grayscale, but in this case it’s obviously a must, and the use if color, when it happens, is brilliant both in the literal and the metaphorical sense The characters are fascinating, I like Ivo in particular! And I love the fact that the soppy romantic is a male, and a manly man too. Romantic relationships are described in very interesting ways!

I’m nowhere near caught up yet, but ai intend to keep reading!

[Linebyline]

I was kind of disappointed that there was no discussion on Shaderunners. I guess I got a notification weeks ago and forgot to check it, and haven't gotten any more since.

Anyway I'm enjoying the comic so far, though it has more romantic entanglement than I typically care for. (Incidentally, it's somewhat amusing that there doesn't appear to be a single straight person in the cast.) The interpersonal dynamics are varied and complex.

As of now I'm partway through chapter 10, and, hoo boy, I think this is significant:

Spoiler: ch 10 p 31 • show

"Emporiums of quality and temporary—yes, temporary—colours for you to purchase by bottle!"

Puts me in the mind of incandescent light bulbs. I'm not sure why this is something you'd brag about, though. I mean, to your investors, sure, but to potential customers?

Incidentally, another option for tagging what your spoiler is spoiling is

Code: [Select]

[spoiler=A Link to the Past]Aganimh works for (and/or is) Ganon[/spoiler]

Spoiler: A Link to the Past • show

Aganimh works for (and/or is) Ganon

By the way, Jitter, I have a pitch ready to go if nobody else calls dibs by next week.

[Jitter]

Linebyline, August is yours! I’m sorry I didn’t make it clearer before, but I’m glad you prepared anyways!

Also, Shaderunners chapter 10

Spoiler: show

I was wondering the same. But perhaps they are expecting the common people to be wary of color? Worried about whether it works for something or not? Also the suggested uses for hair and flowers are transient anyways.

I wonder if they are only able to produce temporary color, so they have to make it sound like a good thing. Which is of course is for the seller. Or maybe the R&D work is specifically to make it temporary?

Also, thinking about flowers in a world devoid of color makes me sad 😞

[Linebyline]

Aw, yeah. That kind of defeats the purpose of flowers, doesn't it?

Edit: Something I'm noticing about the world-building... Well, the whole premise of the comic was a spoiler until several chapters in so I may as well put all of this under spoiler tags just to be safe:

Spoiler: show

Nobody (apparently) sucked all the color out of the world. It's not like everything, everywhere was as colorful as our world. Color was a natural resource abundant in the first lands(?) but mostly absent elsewhere, and then it was drained from there by the forces of colonialism and capitalism. I guess I kind of already knew that but it only hit home for me that it was significant when Pam referred to the color as her people's gifts.

[Turnstylus]

I've been working my way through Shaderunners, and I've enjoyed a great deal of the ingredients that come together to make the story work. The dialog is jaunty and has a musical quality to it - the "alternative metaphors" that the author has crafted just for their world give the setting a distinct flavor, and they make sense! "Burn low = Calm down"... I can figure that out!

And even though there's more casual romance here than what I'm used to, there are also moments of homespun wisdom, and great insight. I enjoyed this short monologue from Easton, early on in the comic. Not much detail to spoil here, but I've hidden it just in case:

Spoiler: show

Just a simple challenge to know yourself - and to find the courage to seize the moment.
Also, a reminder that deep down, we have the important things in common. I'm glad when someone brings that up!