As a fellow Conquest fan, I'm curious why you didn't go with the snarky Lambert/Meek version of Raiden.

I've always thought the Raiden we see in the games comes off rather flat and generic as "mentor" characters go and that the live action/cartoon version carried a Yoda-in-Empire-Strikes-Back quality that they really should've carried over, since they weren't above taking the white hair and Kano's accent.

Yeah, I'm channeling the MK4 Raiden somewhat, which I imagine would be an unpopular thing to admit, in general.

I think it just comes from indulging the fiction.
Raiden's key dotpoints all revolve around relatively serious matters. I think the witty Raiden probably came out of the original ending (Have a nice day), and was more suited to the film versions where Raiden remains relatively uninvolved.

I think both versions are valid, but to indulge in the seriousness of the events, I think he has to have that seriousness. Particularly in the sequence of events shown in Kang! He goes from saving who he can from an inconclusive tournament conclusion, to landing in the middle of a massacre of monks, to being challenged and mocked by Shao Kahn, to being stripped of his powers and slightly abandoned by the Elder Gods, to landing in the middle of Outworld.

I think he needs to take that seriously, even if he remains optemistic about their predicament, and not as pensive as he might evolve to be (ie; MK4).

I guess that makes sense.

Raiden does kinda spend most games offended and pissed off at the villains and their cheating ways. Not the best time for joking around.

Yeah, and I think it's especially significant around MKII, particularly when informed by the knowledge that he has a big failure hanging over his head. Raiden, probably better than any of the mortals, really knows what's at stake. He's seen it and has that sense of responsibility.
Which is important for his decision making in Kang.

I think that arc that goes for centuries) is also what makes his darker persona plausible in the later games as an evolution, rather than a snap reaction and 'suicide taint'.

KANG #38 [#90]

KANG #39 [#91]

test thread
Bumping a thread, especially with spam and "test" messages, is not tolerated here. You have a history here, so you already know the rules about it.
Jerrod

Looks adorable.

In before the(possibly) inevitable close of a once epic thread

don't bump threads over 3 months, let alone 3 years.

It's perfectly fine to do that in the Fan Submission forum.

I thought that was only applicable when the post is of substance(like critique), and not spamlike in it's nature, but oh well...

I just felt the need to comment on this here paradox:

Well done.

moar

I always end up second guessing myself, I think it has something to do with my mild paranoia, but I can't be sure.

Not that it isn't thrilling to actually have some comments coming in to this thread, but do you think maybe we could drop the non-conversation about not having conversations? It was such a handsome on-topic thread until that irony.


I've had every intention to come back to these strips at some point.
I lost all the edited material to a HDD crash, and various technological obstacles have made returning an arduous task. As discussed at length already, there was always a very large adaptation structure in place, so coming back isn't too tough on a conceptual level at least.


The resurrection of this thread has pretty much guaranteed at least one more strip in the immediate future, if only to cap off the dangling purpose of the last instalment. I can't quite remember why I stopped when I did, given that the last few scenes were always leading to a very specific decision that will no doubt at least answer criticisms made earlier (even if it won't necessarily satisfy them). Like most things in the strips, it's retroactively kinda obvious what happens.

Yes. I'm speaking cryptically about a fan-made sprite comic strip. Yes. I realise how ridiculous that is.

If anyone wants to post more about the strips themselves to balance out some of the clutter, that'd be appreciated I'm sure. Anything to get you kids off my lawn! Blarghagrhgrhghragh slackers!!!

KANG #40 [#92]

And just like that you've made Special Forces canon!

Explaining what happened to Jax's SF uniform from the comics. Cause people think Jax's pants don't make sense.

I like the gate.



Ka-Tra

Thanks! There was some discussion earlier in the thread about the validity of MKSF and how the details of MKII and MK3 sync up in terms of the MKSF and OIA storylines. I think a lot that negativity really just comes from the stigma attached to MKSF, which is probably one of the most infamous, but also least played MK games.

Apart from that initial shock of giving Jax metal arms before MKII, the story of the game really doesn't change a whole lot. It just adds some texture to how things evolved! They spell out the experimental nature of a lot of the game's tech and provide such a plausible way to get Jax into the action for MKII! I don't remember why I stopped when I did, but this strip was always part of the plan, so it's a shame it took this long to finally put that to bed (for anyone following previous squabbles).

Now I just need to get giant floating Kochal in to the action!


I'm not quite sure if you're asking me to explain, or alluding to the fact that there's a bit of a vague reason for Jax to walk around shirtless.

I wasn't hugely confident with regards to editing sprites when I started, so in hindsight, I kinda wish I'd imitated the comic costume more specifically (with the white stripe down the middle). Knowing that I was going to tear it all off with this strip (#92) was the reason I went with the simple shirt, which makes a bit more sense than a guy going to Outworld half-naked. I think most MK costumes are a bit shallow in the logic department, especially before the 3D games.

Thanks for the gate nod!
I'm not the greatest edit-guy in the world, so it's tough to establish much of a sense of geography with the existing backgrounds. The tree there is supposed to at least allude to the fact that this bridge is somewhere near the edge of the Living Forest. It's just a little thing to try to show movement through time and space, and keep the backgrounds interesting.

Cheers!

I love the fact that you have made the transition from "Metal Arms Jax" as he was depicted in MK Special Forces... to "Regular Armed Jax" as we were first introduced to him, in MKII. And Reptile's acid being what damaged his arms... was that an MK: Defenders of the Realm reference?

Nice job all around!

8.5/10

(Would have been 10/10 but Reptile was not shown in the first panel, so -1.5 points for you.)

Haha! It was definitely inspired by the cartoon!
I thought you might pick up on that.

In a way, it was a convergence of a lot of existing ideas and influences.
I knew I wanted to reason MKSF into the story, but also respect the design of MKII -- which included a characterization for Jax that was much more of an All-American confident soldier -- so the two games have a voice there in #92. The t-shirt is loosely inspired by the comics, as already noted.
Having a Zaterran damage the arms is from the cartoon [Acid Tongue, for anyone wondering], but the visual of Jax ripping his cybernetic arms off is also loosely inspired by the end of Annihilation.

Earlier in the thread I mentioned, in reference to this (then-unmade) strip, that it was important to me to make Jax a stronger character than I think he's been in other versions. Damaging/losing prototype arms - and dealing with it like a hardass soldier - works well to resolve that, I think.


Haha! I thought about it more and in hindsight, I probably should've showed the pan in the first panel, but I think just I'll take my -1.5 and work toward the next lot.

Nice to have comments coming in! Cheers!

I have to say, I like the fact that it has less humor than most Sprite comics, it retains a more serious vibe that part of me wishes more sprite comics were like.

I wish I can think of a serious comic series. If there's action, it would look better in an animation.

most real comic exist with a serious vibe(as in DC & Marvel), and you don't need action to retain a serious vibe, just look at V for Vendetta.

In terms of being limited to using game sprites in a self-imposed 320x240 box, I can see what you're saying. On the other hand, let's not forget that the graphic implication of action is a fundamental part of comics and has been for about 100 years. Animation would be more literal as a 1:1 representation of action, but comic strips have a lot of advantages themselves. I'm certainly enjoying exploiting the pacing opportunities and variety of a four-panel format.

Have you had a chance to read through all the installments in this thread?
I don't know why it is that MK sprite strips have almost exclusively been about jokes -- there's a lot of rich material to explore even if it isn't the most expressive way to do that. It's one of the perceptions I've hoped to challenge with this series and I think I'm doing an okay job so far.

In terms of action, I think there's been good and bad.

#18-#21 [#70-#73] were probably a bit ambitious in the specific movements I was trying to coreograph. It's easy to lose sight of who's interacting with what, with so many sprites in each panel. #20 cheated a bit with graphics vs logic -- Kung Lao leaps forward with a fly kick in Panel 3, and then topples Mileena with a roundhouse kick to the back of the hend in P4. #21 continues with Mileena knocked back by Kung Lao. Kitana is ducking, allowing Raiden to catch Mileena in mid-air with a kick to the head, which supposedly knocks her unconscious. Kitana orders Kung Lao to duck, once Mileena's out cold, and the action continues.

I think issues of depth and the vague nature of the move-reactions made that a scene that was potentially difficult to follow. On that same page (of the thread), however, I think #25-27 [#77-#79] was a much more successful fight sequence. So it definitely can work. I think other examples of movement and action, like Jax ripping off his shirt and arms in the last strip, are also much more successful.

If you get a chance to read through all the strips, I'd be interested to see what you think about the shift in tone. It isn't always greatly appreciated, but I think most of us know there's a pretty good story lurking somewhere inside MK and that it's worth playing around in.

Cheers!