CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Hi everybody, I was just wondering. Does anybody here make their own manga? If so, tell a little bit of what its about and what genre it is. I personally really enjoy this and I work on mine whenevr I have the free time. Here is what mine is about.

Robowars
Genre: mecha
Synopsis: This is one I have been working on for about two years. Over these last two years, my artwork skills have drastically increased.(they still are). Anyway, the year is 2045 A.D. and an evil organization known as the Legion Empire has launched an assualt on Earth using a fleet of heavy space cruisers and mechanized war machines known as gunmechs. While they came close to world destruction, the hero of the story, Captain Joe Cool( I know it's not original, but it's not like I'll ever sell this) aided by the United States Space Forces, or USSF, against all odds, repell the major offensive. The few remaining forces, led by Lord Marzel, retreat to the moon colony to regroup and prepare for another offensive in the future. Than in vol. 2 Lord Marzel brings his flagship to Earth to see a great movie, and he encounters Joe Cool, and my new character, Sera(Joe Cool's hot girlfriend ) This comic was a lot goofier than the first. In a nutshell, Joe Cool saves Sera, blows up Marzel's flagship, the end. Than in vol. 3, Marzel and two bumbling soldiers are reduced to living on a desert island in a shack with a damaged gunship. Basically, Marzel gets off the island, has a skirmish with Joe Cool, kidnaps Sera, takes her to his moon colony, and Joe Cool and his new friend, Matt Thompson(another new character) set off to save her. Also, near the end, a mysterious vessel destroys two Legion battleships. This is another character who' identity is not revealed 'till the next vol.
In vol. 4, Joe Cool and Matt set off and encounter the same mysterious vessel from before. They have a small skirmish. Using his legendary skills Joe Cool wins, with Matt's help. THey are asked to come aboard. The mysterious pilot is revealed to be a anttractive young woman. Her name is Jenna. With Jenna's help, they infiltrate the moon colony. Joe Cool tells them it's his fight and they leave(they come back of course, what kind of friends would they be if they just left him ) Joe Cool goes to confront Marzel and he learns that the USSF fleet is launching a major offensive that will destroy the Legion army and the moon colony once and for all.
Vol. 5 I am still working on, basically it will wrap things up. It will have the downfall of the Legion Empire and all the butt-kickin' on the way. After this I won't stop making this series. I will just begin a new saga with a new villain.

Whew... that a lot. Now post about your manga/s.

I have made several but they have yet to be completed ^_^

Yes. I've scripted far more than have been produced (7 titles in the works, 4 of which have been completed/picked up).

My current one is more of a weekly comic than a manga, though it's done manga style. It's called lobster tales, and it's the comedic adventures of a certain waitress. You can find it at http://www.lobster.christianmanga.com

Inkhana and I are working on 2 other titles, as well as a collaboration effort between me and Calabhach, both of which I'm very excited about. ^^

Ashley, does it cost much for a dot com address?
Your manga sounds interesting but all I get is "Error 404 File not found" when I try to read it.

I draw, and I have scripts for manga, but I've never gotten farther than one or two pages. ^^;

Ashley, does it cost much for a dot com address?

Well, the magnificent Inkhana has agreed to be my hostess for my manga, so that part's free. XD *hugs Ink*

But for the record, CAA costs about $44 per month to keep running...I don't know how much it costs to register a domain or to buy the vbulletin license, but this is how much it costs to keep the forums running each month.

Your manga sounds interesting but all I get is "Error 404 File not found" when I try to read it.

Hum, that's weird. Try this: http://lobster.christianmanga.com/
And if that doesn't work, try just plain christianmanga.com; there should be a button on the main site.

Oooh. Not cheap!
Thanks Ash, that link works great!
Great start to the webmanga, keep up the good work!

I'm thinking about creating one... which is the main reason why I am trying to learn how to draw manga properly.

It is going to be set in a fantasy type setting. The two main characters are a girl and guy. The guy is an ex-druid who (through misc events) ends up saving a slave girl. This slave girl is rather special, and eventually turns into a prophetess who leads a group of 7 to find the armour of God before the armies of 'The Dragon' (the head druid) conquer the six cities of refuge (inspiration from Numbers 35:13 ). The Dragon will end up being the main guy's best friend.

So far I have created a rough profile for 7 characters, but you wont be able to see them until I draw this thing up

Does this sound interesting? Im worried it isnt very original....

I don't think your plot sounds overly cliched at all, Talame. ^_^ I like how you've taken a fantasy setting and incoperated Biblical elements into it.

I didn't notice the post the plot part in the thread initially...*cracks knuckles* ^^; I hope I don't end up rambling or sounding narcissic.

Like I mentioned, I've had a few plot lines and character designs in my head, but I've never really taken any story anywhere. I hope to change this when summer rolls around and I have more time to focus on one idea I have for a story, which I have titled (just today, actually) NeverEnd.

It's not really going to be a big webmanga or anything, just a sort of "me" project that I want to carry through.

The plot basically serves to tie up some of the loose ends I plan to weave into the two books I'm currently authoring, the Crescent Moon and Key to Infinitum (<-- title pending). The basic story takes place in a fantasy world that has turned into a modern setting not unlike our own. In this world, where the heros and deities of yesterday have faded into nothing more than myths and bedtime stories, and natural and unnatural disaster plague everyday life, a young reporter named Puk runs into Korrid, a freelance writer, and his amiable twin brother Mian. (Mian and Korrid appear in my books as well - they're kinda the link between the three plots. o.o). The twins, as it would happen, are cursed with eternal youth (from the plot of Key to Infinitum) and carry memories of a time where a boy named Raiyuu, the son of angels walked the earth, and sacrificed himself to prevent an evil of unimaginable power from taking hold over the earth (from the plot of the Crescent Moon).

Korrid insists that the forces of evil are moving again, and mentions in passing the boy who sealed the evil away once before may be planning to return to the earth once more. Korrid, though he appears indifferent, enlists Puk's help in locating Raiyuu once more, with the hope that he may be able to find the source of the world's troubles and put them to an end once and for all.

I have a couple ideas for manga-type stuff, but I don't know if I could really call it manga, being caucasian. One's a story about an angel's life and struggles, and the other is just a little short exaggerated series about events in my life. (Kinda similar to what I've read of Ashley's "Lobster Tales." Very Nice job, btw! Anyways, right now I'm mostly focused on trying to draw better and stuff. I'm not exactly sure where I wanna go with this either.

Aww, thank you! ^^

If you want my honest opinion, even though I'm certainly not the best artist, what counts is pratice. Practice, practice, practice. The skills are fairly straightforward enough, it's just getting comfortable with them. I've heard from a rather distinguished artist who happens to be my manga-sensei that good art is 2% talent and 98% determination, will power, and drive. So if you have a good story, get drawing! You'll get better, and trust me if stick men and my comic can get readers, I know yours can too!

So far I have created a rough profile for 7 characters, but you wont be able to see them until I draw this thing up

Does this sound interesting? Im worried it isnt very original....
[quote]

Are you kidding me? It sounds great! Keep up the good work. BTW, it's always all-good to borrow from certain stories and stuff. George Lucas did it, C.S. Lewis did it, J.R.R. Tolkien did it, and look at where they are! Keep up the good work.

Hello there, I have two ongoing webmanga like anonymous mentioned earlier, KingdomCome and Home. (pls feel free to check out the KCome.net link at my signature below)

They are both of shoujo genre and were meant to depict real life dramas (as opposed to fantasy) with the inclusion of the Christian faith. I'm also working on a manga with writer, true_noir_chloe.

I have many other ideas running in my head but there's still so much to learn about mangakaing so I'm taking it easy with the projects already at hand. ^___^;

Are you kidding me? It sounds great! Keep up the good work. BTW, it's always all-good to borrow from certain stories and stuff. George Lucas did it, C.S. Lewis did it, J.R.R. Tolkien did it, and look at where they are! Keep up the good work.

Aww thanks Heero! I suddenly feel inspired to come up with the rest of the story

I'm planning to start a manga soon.

Quote-- Are you kidding me? It sounds great! Keep up the good work. BTW, it's always all-good to borrow from certain stories and stuff. George Lucas did it, C.S. Lewis did it, J.R.R. Tolkien did it, and look at where they are! --Quote

Lewis and Tolkien? In Heaven! What a great place to be!

Anyway I don't have manga per se, but I created a comic with several manga elements in it for TAFE last year. Its 14 pages long and is the first part to a novella I'm writing. Its in the fantasy genre and inspired by some of Frank Peretti's writings. I call it "Idol Moments." I will put up the comic when I've created a website (maybe a couple weeks). My comic's deals with the issues of temptation, faith and idolitary. The main character is a young man by the name of Luemas (pronounced Loo - mus) who returns to his village injured. Several days later a traveller (from the village) returns with a statue and the people being to worship it. Luemas and his wife aren't to happy about it and he confronts the people about their faith. Chaos enures... (My drawing style has been described as a hybrid of Herge, manga and my own.)

Hmm. I don't really have a manga, but I've written a ridiculus amount of (mostly one-page) Trigun doujinshi, mostly with me in them. I would put them up, but they're really horrible. ^^;;

Ashley wrote:Aww, thank you! ^^

If you want my honest opinion, even though I'm certainly not the best artist, what counts is pratice. Practice, practice, practice. The skills are fairly straightforward enough, it's just getting comfortable with them. I've heard from a rather distinguished artist who happens to be my manga-sensei that good art is 2% talent and 98% determination, will power, and drive. So if you have a good story, get drawing! You'll get better, and trust me if stick men and my comic can get readers, I know yours can too!

Thanks for the advice! I should get working.


[quote="AngelSakura"]Hmm. I don't really have a manga, but I've written a ridiculus amount of (mostly one-page) Trigun doujinshi, mostly with me in them. I would put them up, but they're really horrible. ^^]

I doubt they're horrible. I'm sure there are a lot of people who would think they're good. In most cases, we are our own worst critics. There are always going to be people who hate you and your work, but there are also people who love you and your work. I think it will be worth while when you find someone who loves it.

<<I doubt they're horrible. I'm sure there are a lot of people who would think they're good. In most cases, we are our own worst critics. There are always going to be people who hate you and your work, but there are also people who love you and your work. I think it will be worth while when you find someone who loves it. >>
^^;; I only ever intended them for my reading anyway.

Hm; I do not draw in any form, but I do write, and fairly prolifically. By the grace of God, I'm actually working with some artists on some Christian/general manga projects. Currently said projects include:

The Dreaming: Webmanga with Uriah, has yet to be launched. This will be an interesting project, but at the moment I think I won't say much about the plot/theme, as he did not either.

Pilgrim's Progress: Technically, I suppose, I am writing CAA's official manga, a modern, action-oriented version of John Bunyon's Pilgrim's Progress. At the moment very little is happening with it, though.

Tic Tac Toe Joe: A satirical look at game manga, with Psycho Ann. Now that she's with her family in Jakarta, however, there are obviously more important things to be done. I'm confident it will eventually be completed, however.

Eschaton: Project with VELyuki_26; intended for publication through Tokyopop. As such, I can't say a great deal about that.

My biggest project, The Fall, is currently being retooled and generally allowed to mature. I'd like to not begin work on it until I have a lot of manga experience, ideally professional experience.

I did comics for my college newspapers, which borrowed a lot from manga style because that is one of my biggest influences. It was mostly gag strips about college life, but I did work in an overarching story about Sandy, overzealous practitioner of social engineering.

I also made an abortive attempt at a Keenspace comic that is a bit closer to what one might call "manga." It can still be viewed at pmm.keenspace.com. It started out alright, but the other artist and I soon found overselves creatively overextended.

Lately I have been sticking mostly to doodling and practicing fundamentals. My latest real manga effort is a one-shot parody that grew out of the question "Why are shoujo heroines always late for school?" I have attached it for your viewing pleasure and my "please look at my art" pleasure.