Friday, June 16, 2006
More Competition Entries
Another batch of entries arrived today from a school where I gave my 'How to Make a Comic Book' masterclass. This lasts all morning - so any teachers out there who are interested - it's a nice thing to do near the end of term - Years 7 & 8 are probably the best ages (10-13) but older students may also benefit. It's very hands-on with a short introduction on world comics; followed by a brainstorming section for the characters and plot outline; the group then breaks down into script writers, artists and 'editor' (progress chaser) before coming together with a four-page finished product at the end of the morning which is then copied and distributed. This is also good for marketing (always an issue in modern schools) with the opportunity for lots of newspaper-friendly photos.
Please contact me if you are interested.
Meanwhile, here are some of the latest entries:
Jason Fleming's characters are The Caliph, The Emir, The Sultan and the Shah. They command the four 'fundamental' forces of nature. The Caliph can produce lightning from his fingertips but also can control all electrical machinery such as computers. The Emir controls magnetism and through that has power over metallic objects - he can twist the barrel of a gun for example. The Sultan controls gravity and can levitate but also make other objects so heavy that they fall helplessly to the ground. The Shah commands light and can make himself invisible by bending the light. But each of these characters has a different but equally strange weakness. You will need to read Jason's stories to find out what they are.....
Jason has slightly broken the rules of the competition by having all-male characters (but we don't care!) but this is balanced by Sheila Ahmad's entry which are all female characters! There's Princess Amina, who is from West Africa, and can duplicate herself to form an army of dozens - but each time one of her 'army' gets killed, it takes one day off her life - how long does she have left? Princess Amina lives in the 16th century. There's Tanya, a Scythian warrior from the mountains of Kazakhstan. Tanya comes from a tribe that has isolated itself for centuries and which follows the 'old' religion of paganism. Tanya lives at the time of Ancient Greece. Tanya is seven-feet tall and carries a broadsword equal to her height! The third member of the team is Siti Sati, who comes from Zanzibar. Siti Sati has the most beautiful voice in the world and is able to bend others to her will when she sings to them. Siti Sati lives at the time of the German occupation of Zanzibar in 1900. And finally, there's Jasmine, a fashion model in LA today. Jasmine has the ability to walk through time with the same ease that others walk through space. These four characters have their own individual stories but Sheila has this amazing idea that all four of them are connected telepathically, that there is something drawing them altogether to a place in Egypt in 2006 and Jasmine has been somehow given the task of making this happen. Wow! What an imagination this girl's got!! She's also written a great story that goes with her descriptions - if I have time, I'll stick that on the web as well.
Another entry comes from Salman Singh and is based on Arabic mythology, in which he has a deep interest. His characters are: Belit, who likes to be known as Belle Star. She is an extremely beautiful goddess. When other women look upon her, they cry in shame at their inadequacy. Belle is able to control the power of the Sun, but she can be a bit vain and is not terribly bright - a tarnished angel perhaps. Bes, who likes to be called Beast, is a happy, cheeful, short, fat ugly God who likes to get drunk and have a good time - which usually includes having a good fight with the bad guys. Nergal, who likes to be called Nerd (which tells you a lot), commands the Code of Life - the program or the DNA, if you like, that is the operating system for all living things. With this talent, he is able to create new forms of life when he needs to in order to help the Gods to combat the bad guys. Astarte, who likes to be called Bad Ass, is a tough, militaristic woman, who (from the look of Salman's drawing) likes to wear a lot of leather and rubber! She is beautiful in a cold, clinical kind of way and is a master of all forms of weaponry. Salman's Gods have lived on the Earth for thousands of years, ever since their spaceship crashed here. They are not immortal but have an average life span of 100,000 years. Originally, there were twenty of them, but slowly over the centuries, this has been eroded down to four who remain very close to each other - but also they have become very protective of the humans amongst which they live. They call themselves the Annurabi.
Remember, the UK competition ends on June 30th but is also open to people outside the UK - in fact one entry has already arrived from France and another from the US.
Please contact me if you are interested.
Meanwhile, here are some of the latest entries:
Jason Fleming's characters are The Caliph, The Emir, The Sultan and the Shah. They command the four 'fundamental' forces of nature. The Caliph can produce lightning from his fingertips but also can control all electrical machinery such as computers. The Emir controls magnetism and through that has power over metallic objects - he can twist the barrel of a gun for example. The Sultan controls gravity and can levitate but also make other objects so heavy that they fall helplessly to the ground. The Shah commands light and can make himself invisible by bending the light. But each of these characters has a different but equally strange weakness. You will need to read Jason's stories to find out what they are.....
Jason has slightly broken the rules of the competition by having all-male characters (but we don't care!) but this is balanced by Sheila Ahmad's entry which are all female characters! There's Princess Amina, who is from West Africa, and can duplicate herself to form an army of dozens - but each time one of her 'army' gets killed, it takes one day off her life - how long does she have left? Princess Amina lives in the 16th century. There's Tanya, a Scythian warrior from the mountains of Kazakhstan. Tanya comes from a tribe that has isolated itself for centuries and which follows the 'old' religion of paganism. Tanya lives at the time of Ancient Greece. Tanya is seven-feet tall and carries a broadsword equal to her height! The third member of the team is Siti Sati, who comes from Zanzibar. Siti Sati has the most beautiful voice in the world and is able to bend others to her will when she sings to them. Siti Sati lives at the time of the German occupation of Zanzibar in 1900. And finally, there's Jasmine, a fashion model in LA today. Jasmine has the ability to walk through time with the same ease that others walk through space. These four characters have their own individual stories but Sheila has this amazing idea that all four of them are connected telepathically, that there is something drawing them altogether to a place in Egypt in 2006 and Jasmine has been somehow given the task of making this happen. Wow! What an imagination this girl's got!! She's also written a great story that goes with her descriptions - if I have time, I'll stick that on the web as well.
Another entry comes from Salman Singh and is based on Arabic mythology, in which he has a deep interest. His characters are: Belit, who likes to be known as Belle Star. She is an extremely beautiful goddess. When other women look upon her, they cry in shame at their inadequacy. Belle is able to control the power of the Sun, but she can be a bit vain and is not terribly bright - a tarnished angel perhaps. Bes, who likes to be called Beast, is a happy, cheeful, short, fat ugly God who likes to get drunk and have a good time - which usually includes having a good fight with the bad guys. Nergal, who likes to be called Nerd (which tells you a lot), commands the Code of Life - the program or the DNA, if you like, that is the operating system for all living things. With this talent, he is able to create new forms of life when he needs to in order to help the Gods to combat the bad guys. Astarte, who likes to be called Bad Ass, is a tough, militaristic woman, who (from the look of Salman's drawing) likes to wear a lot of leather and rubber! She is beautiful in a cold, clinical kind of way and is a master of all forms of weaponry. Salman's Gods have lived on the Earth for thousands of years, ever since their spaceship crashed here. They are not immortal but have an average life span of 100,000 years. Originally, there were twenty of them, but slowly over the centuries, this has been eroded down to four who remain very close to each other - but also they have become very protective of the humans amongst which they live. They call themselves the Annurabi.
Remember, the UK competition ends on June 30th but is also open to people outside the UK - in fact one entry has already arrived from France and another from the US.
