In last month's issue of Realms of Fantasy Magazine, they did a feature on the artist Dan Dos Santos. Now, I'd never heard of him before, but I had seen his work. This is the guy behind the Mercy Thompson book covers.
However, Dos Santos does more than girls with tattoos. He does some amazing guys, too, not to mention what he does with magic and dragons. I'll be eagerly awaiting the day when he puts out an art book. Until then, I'll just have to content myself with lurking around his digital gallery, The Art of Dan Dos Santos. Not only does he have a full portfolio of work for you to feast your eyes upon, but a few tutorials, as well, including a free one on how he created the cover for Moon Called. For the really in-depth stuff, there's a 5-hour video tutorial available for download (at a price, of course).
Definitely worth checking out.
Showing posts with label cool finds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cool finds. Show all posts
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Kit Learns a New Skill
Every now and then, I like to go cruising through Etsy to check out what other people are doing, maybe get inspired to haul out the old arts and crafts materials and work on a new box. This time, I came across some of the handmade journals. Now, there are two things that consistently test my willpower whenever I go shopping: decorative boxes and blank books. I have an enormous collection of of sketchbooks and journals that have caught my eye over the years, but I'd never seriously considered making my own. After all, you need special glues and tools and things like that, right?
And then I saw these.
Pay special attention to the bindings. I've seen that kind of binding a few times in stores, but I'd never known what it was called. Say hello to the chain stitch, aka the Coptic Stitch in reference to the fact that this binding has been used at least since the days of the Dead Sea Scrolls (so sayeth Wiki).
A quick Google search led me to this tutorial. Turns out all you really need to bind your own journals is a needle, thread, and maybe something to punch holes with. It's kinda complicated to explain, but once you actually DO it, it's not all that difficult. It took me about an hour to bind a 60 page test book. I'm not saying I'm an expert or that I created the Bestest Little Journal out there on my first try, but the basics aren't too difficult.
I'll have to see if I can refine my technique and hunt down some better materials than what I used for my test book. If I can, I might be able to make some pretty cool stuff.
And then I saw these.
Pay special attention to the bindings. I've seen that kind of binding a few times in stores, but I'd never known what it was called. Say hello to the chain stitch, aka the Coptic Stitch in reference to the fact that this binding has been used at least since the days of the Dead Sea Scrolls (so sayeth Wiki).
A quick Google search led me to this tutorial. Turns out all you really need to bind your own journals is a needle, thread, and maybe something to punch holes with. It's kinda complicated to explain, but once you actually DO it, it's not all that difficult. It took me about an hour to bind a 60 page test book. I'm not saying I'm an expert or that I created the Bestest Little Journal out there on my first try, but the basics aren't too difficult.
I'll have to see if I can refine my technique and hunt down some better materials than what I used for my test book. If I can, I might be able to make some pretty cool stuff.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
More Avatard Kit
And for all of you who have been wallowing in despair ever since M. Night's bastardization of The Last Airbender hit theaters, a ray of hope! Yesterday, Nickelodeon announced the greenlighting of an animated sequel series set in the Avatar universe: The Legend of Korra.
You can read the full press release and see the pretty promo picture here.
Now, normally I'd be worried about a sequel series, especially after what a certain director decided to do to one of my favorite TV series, but there is one very important aspect of The Legend of Korra that makes me really look forward to it: it's done by Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the creators of the original series. They have proven to put the quality of the story and the characters at the top of their priorities list. Perhaps just as importantly, they are willing to listen to their creative team's suggestions and use them to craft the best story possible.
They also have an excellent track record with creating strong female characters . I'll admit, I had a twinge of doubt when I read the description of Korra. Well, less of a 'twinge' and more of a bevy of alarms developed from years of reading urban fantasy, which is filled with so-called "strong" female characters who can be described as "hot-headed, rebellious," and "independent." None of which are bad traits, mind you. It's just that in the hands of a lesser writer, "strong + female" translates into a genuinely unlikeable character you actually want to personally drop off a cliff.
Good writers, on the other hand, don't think of characters as "strong males" or "strong females." They just think of them as "strong," without trying to figure out how they can try to play with gender. At the very least, a character's gender is not that character's defining trait. The Avatar crew probably could write books on how to create strong characters with depth and fully rounded personalities.
It's one of the reasons Avatar was so popular.
In any case, I have high hopes for The Legend of Korra. With any luck, it will stand alone as a good, high-quality story with more great characters and not be a shadowy imitation of the original.
You can read the full press release and see the pretty promo picture here.
Now, normally I'd be worried about a sequel series, especially after what a certain director decided to do to one of my favorite TV series, but there is one very important aspect of The Legend of Korra that makes me really look forward to it: it's done by Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the creators of the original series. They have proven to put the quality of the story and the characters at the top of their priorities list. Perhaps just as importantly, they are willing to listen to their creative team's suggestions and use them to craft the best story possible.
They also have an excellent track record with creating strong female characters . I'll admit, I had a twinge of doubt when I read the description of Korra. Well, less of a 'twinge' and more of a bevy of alarms developed from years of reading urban fantasy, which is filled with so-called "strong" female characters who can be described as "hot-headed, rebellious," and "independent." None of which are bad traits, mind you. It's just that in the hands of a lesser writer, "strong + female" translates into a genuinely unlikeable character you actually want to personally drop off a cliff.
Good writers, on the other hand, don't think of characters as "strong males" or "strong females." They just think of them as "strong," without trying to figure out how they can try to play with gender. At the very least, a character's gender is not that character's defining trait. The Avatar crew probably could write books on how to create strong characters with depth and fully rounded personalities.
It's one of the reasons Avatar was so popular.
In any case, I have high hopes for The Legend of Korra. With any luck, it will stand alone as a good, high-quality story with more great characters and not be a shadowy imitation of the original.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Avatard Kit
This past weekend, M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender opened in theaters. For those of you who don't know, it's based on the completely and totally awesome Nickelodeon cartoon, Avatar: The Last Airbender. The series took place over the course of three seasons, each with their own title (The Book of Water, The Book of Earth, and The Book of Fire) and, unlike most American cartoons, had an overlying story arc with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Add to that characters that actually developed and grew over the course of the series, romance, moral dilemmas, action, adventure, and a serious threat to the world, and you've got yourself a winner.
Oh, and can't forget the humor. Lots of humor... so I knew something was wrong as soon as I saw the previews of a dark, joyless world in the grips of angsty melodrama.
I haven't seen the movie, nor do I intend to in theaters. I know, I know, there are some people who like it, but I'm having a real hard time reconciling some of the changes Mr. Shyamalan decided to make to the actual mythos of Avatar. Cutting things out of Season I to fit it all in a less than two hour movie, I can understand. Drastically changing the plot and the characters' personalities to suit his own personal vision? Unforgivable. And don't even get me started on the names. -_-;;
In any case, I did find something to help ease the anger over some self-absorbed director mauling one of the best things in the past ten years in some quest to make it his own: the Avatar: The Last Airbender Artbook. I spotted this in the bookstore Monday and just couldn't resist. Mike and Bryan (the creators) talk about the development of Avatar and how they got it all together, which is fascinating for anyone who is creating their own world, plus discuss the characters and the process and provide plenty of development sketches and conceptual artwork to drool over.
Yeah. This has made my week. :D
As for the movie? Well... we'll see what happens when it hits DVD.
Oh, and can't forget the humor. Lots of humor... so I knew something was wrong as soon as I saw the previews of a dark, joyless world in the grips of angsty melodrama.
I haven't seen the movie, nor do I intend to in theaters. I know, I know, there are some people who like it, but I'm having a real hard time reconciling some of the changes Mr. Shyamalan decided to make to the actual mythos of Avatar. Cutting things out of Season I to fit it all in a less than two hour movie, I can understand. Drastically changing the plot and the characters' personalities to suit his own personal vision? Unforgivable. And don't even get me started on the names. -_-;;
In any case, I did find something to help ease the anger over some self-absorbed director mauling one of the best things in the past ten years in some quest to make it his own: the Avatar: The Last Airbender Artbook. I spotted this in the bookstore Monday and just couldn't resist. Mike and Bryan (the creators) talk about the development of Avatar and how they got it all together, which is fascinating for anyone who is creating their own world, plus discuss the characters and the process and provide plenty of development sketches and conceptual artwork to drool over.
Yeah. This has made my week. :D
As for the movie? Well... we'll see what happens when it hits DVD.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Ps238: The School for Metaprodigy
It's been awhile since I've really gotten into a webcomic (someone else's, anyway), but yesterday, I was cruising around that void in space-time known as TV Tropes, and I came across the trope page for lame superpowers. Hilarious stuff, there. Superheros with the power to change the color of things, summon pigeons, and even one poor soul saddled with the ability to remove his own arm and beat people with it.
In any case, there was a link there that led me to Aaron William's comic, Ps238, a fantastic webcomic about a secret public school (yeah, you read that right) devoted to the education of the children of superheros, magical beings, and kids who can tap into the cosmos. You can recognize who most of the superheros are based off of, but don't be fooled: this isn't just a spoof comic. Sure, there are plenty of inside jokes for the comic-savvy readers out there, but once it gets going, you've got a great cast of characters in a well-written storyline and some truly fantastic elements. I read through something like three years worth of comic in the past two days.
Fair warning: the first several pages are a series of "Public Service Announcements" and advertisements for the school. They may seem random, but they're used to introduce a few of the characters. The story picks up right after them. Had they gone on a few more, I probably would have stopped reading... and missed out on a great comic.
In any case, there was a link there that led me to Aaron William's comic, Ps238, a fantastic webcomic about a secret public school (yeah, you read that right) devoted to the education of the children of superheros, magical beings, and kids who can tap into the cosmos. You can recognize who most of the superheros are based off of, but don't be fooled: this isn't just a spoof comic. Sure, there are plenty of inside jokes for the comic-savvy readers out there, but once it gets going, you've got a great cast of characters in a well-written storyline and some truly fantastic elements. I read through something like three years worth of comic in the past two days.
Fair warning: the first several pages are a series of "Public Service Announcements" and advertisements for the school. They may seem random, but they're used to introduce a few of the characters. The story picks up right after them. Had they gone on a few more, I probably would have stopped reading... and missed out on a great comic.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Art Blog: James Gurney
On my list of Things That Inspire Me, the work of other artists is pretty darn near the top. The way they compose a scene, how they incorporate characters, how they create backgrounds and moods and so much more can all spur me on to try out a new technique in my own work or drive me to improve overall. And, of course, I have some sort of obsession looking at other artists' sketches and their processes, but from what I've seen, that's pretty common among art people.
In any case, one artist whose work has inspired me for years is James Gurney. Yep, the guy who does the Dinotopia books. I have a well-loved copy of Dinotopia: The World Beneath that I loved to flip through and study the paintings in. I recently discovered that he has done a lot more extensive work for everything from book covers to National Geographic illustrations.
Even better... he has a blog.
This guy posts pretty much every day (and occasionally, more than once!), and Gurney Journey is just bursting with tips, explanations, and inspirations for artists. If you're an art student or just want to improve your work, you seriously have to check this out. You never know what you'll learn.
In any case, one artist whose work has inspired me for years is James Gurney. Yep, the guy who does the Dinotopia books. I have a well-loved copy of Dinotopia: The World Beneath that I loved to flip through and study the paintings in. I recently discovered that he has done a lot more extensive work for everything from book covers to National Geographic illustrations.
Even better... he has a blog.
This guy posts pretty much every day (and occasionally, more than once!), and Gurney Journey is just bursting with tips, explanations, and inspirations for artists. If you're an art student or just want to improve your work, you seriously have to check this out. You never know what you'll learn.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Textures
There is one part of digital art that I've never really utilized as much as I could: textures. One reason for it is that, badly done, pictures can look really bad when textures aren't used right. And believe me, a lot of artists don't use textures well, so I'd always been a little turned off on using them, save for certain circumstances - making something look like it was done on old paper, for example, like in my Medan series.
Then, I started picking up ImagineFX Magazine, which is possibly the most helpful and inspiring digital art magazine I've ever had the pleasure of reading. A little on the pricey side, but well worth it. Anyways, one of the issues from a few months back had a walk-through on a steampunk piece that not only had an interesting way of shading, but proved that well done, an artist can use textures not have it look natural, like a part of the art rather than a photoshopped mess.
Of course, this led me to want to try it... which led to my second problem: finding royalty-free textures, preferably for free, without spending days scouring my home town with my digital camera in hand.
The solution came from a friend of mine who had no idea I'd even been considering doing this: CGTexture.com. A lovely database full of free-to-use textures and royalty-free photos, all perfect for the digital artist. All neatly organized, too. You do have to sign up for an account, but they have a free version. The only catch is that you may only download 15 MB within a 24 hour period, but considering the variety of file sizes available for each texture, I haven't even come close to reaching that limit.
Oh, and no using the textures for scrapbooking purposes. They're very clear on that.
Anyways, whether or not my texture experiment ever sees the light of the internet remains to be seen, but I won't get any better if I don't try, right? Right!
Then, I started picking up ImagineFX Magazine, which is possibly the most helpful and inspiring digital art magazine I've ever had the pleasure of reading. A little on the pricey side, but well worth it. Anyways, one of the issues from a few months back had a walk-through on a steampunk piece that not only had an interesting way of shading, but proved that well done, an artist can use textures not have it look natural, like a part of the art rather than a photoshopped mess.
Of course, this led me to want to try it... which led to my second problem: finding royalty-free textures, preferably for free, without spending days scouring my home town with my digital camera in hand.
The solution came from a friend of mine who had no idea I'd even been considering doing this: CGTexture.com. A lovely database full of free-to-use textures and royalty-free photos, all perfect for the digital artist. All neatly organized, too. You do have to sign up for an account, but they have a free version. The only catch is that you may only download 15 MB within a 24 hour period, but considering the variety of file sizes available for each texture, I haven't even come close to reaching that limit.
Oh, and no using the textures for scrapbooking purposes. They're very clear on that.
Anyways, whether or not my texture experiment ever sees the light of the internet remains to be seen, but I won't get any better if I don't try, right? Right!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The Morganville Vampires
Back in January, I picked up a collection of YA vampire stories called Immortal: Love Stories With Bite. I admit it, I'm a sucker for vampire stories, and while not all the stories were fantastic, there were a lot of really good ones that make the anthology worthwhile.
Rachel Caine's short story "Dead Man Stalking" was one of my favorites out of the entire book, and while I wouldn't have called it a "love story" in the romantic sense, I think it explored a different kind of love, and I am so glad it was included. It was an introduction to Caine's series, The Morganville Vampires, which, I am sad to say, I may never have picked up otherwise. Here's another admission: the back blurb of a book matters to me. The title or cover might get me to pick up a book, but it's the back blurb that gets me to either buy it on the spot or look inside. The back of the first book, Glass Houses, never really grabbed my attention.
The short story? Grabbed me, hooked me, and dragged me back to Borders for more.
Luckily for me, the first two books were published in a 2-for-1 volume back in November, so I picked that up... and have flown through Book 1 in three days. Considering my normal method of reading is a chapter or two every morning, that's breakneck speed for me. I love the characters, I love the writing, I love the quirks and twists and turns and the way it keeps me on the edge of my seat. Caine isn't afraid to put her characters in danger and keep them there, and despite the main character being a 16-year-old brainiac in college, Claire hasn't struck me as a Mary Sue. Sure, she's super book-smart, but other than that, she's pretty much an ordinary girl who flounders in ordinary ways and finds herself in extraordinary circumstances.
I've just finished the first book, Glass Houses, and just started Book 2, The Dead Girls' Dance, about three hours ago... and am already six chapters in. It's not that I read that slow: it's that I have other things to do... or keep trying to do. And yet, I just keep picking the book back up, read another scene or two, try to put it down, and can't. I don't want to wait to know what happens next.
And that, I think, has to be the highest praise any book can ever hope to achieve.
I think there'll be another trip to Borders this week, and I will be grabbing as many of The Morganville Vampires series as they have.
Rachel Caine's short story "Dead Man Stalking" was one of my favorites out of the entire book, and while I wouldn't have called it a "love story" in the romantic sense, I think it explored a different kind of love, and I am so glad it was included. It was an introduction to Caine's series, The Morganville Vampires, which, I am sad to say, I may never have picked up otherwise. Here's another admission: the back blurb of a book matters to me. The title or cover might get me to pick up a book, but it's the back blurb that gets me to either buy it on the spot or look inside. The back of the first book, Glass Houses, never really grabbed my attention.
The short story? Grabbed me, hooked me, and dragged me back to Borders for more.
Luckily for me, the first two books were published in a 2-for-1 volume back in November, so I picked that up... and have flown through Book 1 in three days. Considering my normal method of reading is a chapter or two every morning, that's breakneck speed for me. I love the characters, I love the writing, I love the quirks and twists and turns and the way it keeps me on the edge of my seat. Caine isn't afraid to put her characters in danger and keep them there, and despite the main character being a 16-year-old brainiac in college, Claire hasn't struck me as a Mary Sue. Sure, she's super book-smart, but other than that, she's pretty much an ordinary girl who flounders in ordinary ways and finds herself in extraordinary circumstances.
I've just finished the first book, Glass Houses, and just started Book 2, The Dead Girls' Dance, about three hours ago... and am already six chapters in. It's not that I read that slow: it's that I have other things to do... or keep trying to do. And yet, I just keep picking the book back up, read another scene or two, try to put it down, and can't. I don't want to wait to know what happens next.
And that, I think, has to be the highest praise any book can ever hope to achieve.
I think there'll be another trip to Borders this week, and I will be grabbing as many of The Morganville Vampires series as they have.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Discovering Kirtles
Well, my beta reader for my story got back to me last night, and overall, it was a pretty positive critique. One comment, though, suggested I hadn't really set my setting as well as I might have. Seeing as it's high fantasy, this was a serious concern.
On reading back through with fresh eyes, I realized that I really had left the environment somewhat sparse... along with character descriptions. I blame one of my old creative writing teachers for that - he preached the "never describe your characters" philosophy, and he was very convincing. It made sense that the readers would paint the picture in their head, and I see it working in some of my favorite books, but still - there are some details to sketch out their appearance.
So, I spent most of Wednesday working out what details I need to add and where. One of those details is clothing (kind of an important part of a high fantasy). Of course, "skirt" and "shirt" didn't seem to quite do it, so I grabbed a few references and hit the Google image search.
And that is how I found... the kirtle.
I am familiar with a lot of medieval clothing - chemises, shifts, petticoats, bodices, surcoats, tunics, all that fun stuff. I had never in my life heard of a kirtle. Turns out, it's a dress. Yeah, shocker, I know. This particular dress can be long-sleeved, short-sleeved, or no sleeved, worn over a chemise or shift and worn under an "overkirtle", outer gown, surcoat, or any number of other other gowns. Sources vary on whether it can be the top layer all by itself.
Basically, perfect for what I need, if not for the fact that it's probably going to leave readers going, "what the heck is a kirtle?"
For those of you who are curious, THESE are kirtles.
Yeah, they look kinda like something a first grade teacher would wear to me, too.
On reading back through with fresh eyes, I realized that I really had left the environment somewhat sparse... along with character descriptions. I blame one of my old creative writing teachers for that - he preached the "never describe your characters" philosophy, and he was very convincing. It made sense that the readers would paint the picture in their head, and I see it working in some of my favorite books, but still - there are some details to sketch out their appearance.
So, I spent most of Wednesday working out what details I need to add and where. One of those details is clothing (kind of an important part of a high fantasy). Of course, "skirt" and "shirt" didn't seem to quite do it, so I grabbed a few references and hit the Google image search.
And that is how I found... the kirtle.
I am familiar with a lot of medieval clothing - chemises, shifts, petticoats, bodices, surcoats, tunics, all that fun stuff. I had never in my life heard of a kirtle. Turns out, it's a dress. Yeah, shocker, I know. This particular dress can be long-sleeved, short-sleeved, or no sleeved, worn over a chemise or shift and worn under an "overkirtle", outer gown, surcoat, or any number of other other gowns. Sources vary on whether it can be the top layer all by itself.
Basically, perfect for what I need, if not for the fact that it's probably going to leave readers going, "what the heck is a kirtle?"
For those of you who are curious, THESE are kirtles.
Yeah, they look kinda like something a first grade teacher would wear to me, too.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Finding New Anime
Once upon a time, I used to find my new anime through magazines like Animerica (back when it was monthly... assuming it even exists anymore) or by sifting through the Anipike. Yes, this was back in the days of VHS, before YouTube existed and manga cost a hefty $15.99 a volume - never mind the limited selection of that - when finding a good series was like playing the lottery. I'd hunt down a promising-looking title, my brother would head to Media Play to buy it, and we'd cross our fingers and hope it wouldn't end up on our Shelf of Shame.
These days, I have other ways of finding anime. First of all, there's all that lovely manga now available for under $10 a volume. Generally, I'll check out the first 20 pages or so in the store, then buy it if it's still got my attention, and if I like it, I'll start checking out the anime.
Lately, however, I've found two great series another way: browsing the fan art on devArt. Now, just because one of the artists I watch falls in love with a series doesn't mean I'll bother to look into it, but when five, six, or seven of my watched deviants seem to be obsessed with something, I'll give it a try. In the past year, I've noticed a lot of fan art for Katekyo Hitman Reborn! showing up in my watchbox. I'd seen the manga in Borders, but when the back said it was about a mafioso assassin baby trying to teach a hapless kid how to become the next head of the mafia family, I pretty much put it right back on the shelf and moved on.
But then, I started seeing more and more of the fan art, the characters seemed really cool, and lots of people seemed to love this series. Not all series that fans get all rabid about are great, mind you - I don't really get Axis Powers Hetalia, for example - but when you see that many people getting into a series, it's worth checking out. So, I decided to give KHR a second chance... and now I absolutely love it. Sure, there was a major lag when the author decided to spend so much time on a character I absolutely hated, but she's since moved on from her obsession with her own personal Scrappy, moving into a completely awesome story arc. Be forewarned: KHR starts out as an episodic little comedy, but there is, in fact, character development going on, and the real story kicks in around Volume 8. It's even better in the anime - they cut the character that nearly ruined the series for me out entirely.
Yesterday, however, I came across a single piece of fan art - one solitary little piece - and found it so intriguing that I just had to look into it more. What was so intriguing? A character's name. I just had to see the guy named Frau.
Enter my descent into 07-Ghost (Frau, by the way, would be the blond guy on the cover there). Since yesterday, I've watched the entire first season (subbed, even!) and am planning an expedition to the book store to hunt down the manga. There's action, great characters, beautiful artwork (in the anime, at least - haven't gotten my hands on the manga yet), and a story that kept me interested through 25 episodes. It's high on drama, but like all my favorite series, it's got enough humor in it to keep it from getting too heavy.
Right this second, there would be no better news to me than hearing that 07-Ghost is being dubbed by a good company with fantastic voice actors. That would be amazing, but for now, I'll settle for getting my hands on the manga.
No idea when I'll stumble across a new treasure, but that's part of what makes it fun - and besides, helps keep the cost down if it takes awhile between each new find. Life's sometimes considerate like that. :D
These days, I have other ways of finding anime. First of all, there's all that lovely manga now available for under $10 a volume. Generally, I'll check out the first 20 pages or so in the store, then buy it if it's still got my attention, and if I like it, I'll start checking out the anime.
Lately, however, I've found two great series another way: browsing the fan art on devArt. Now, just because one of the artists I watch falls in love with a series doesn't mean I'll bother to look into it, but when five, six, or seven of my watched deviants seem to be obsessed with something, I'll give it a try. In the past year, I've noticed a lot of fan art for Katekyo Hitman Reborn! showing up in my watchbox. I'd seen the manga in Borders, but when the back said it was about a mafioso assassin baby trying to teach a hapless kid how to become the next head of the mafia family, I pretty much put it right back on the shelf and moved on.
But then, I started seeing more and more of the fan art, the characters seemed really cool, and lots of people seemed to love this series. Not all series that fans get all rabid about are great, mind you - I don't really get Axis Powers Hetalia, for example - but when you see that many people getting into a series, it's worth checking out. So, I decided to give KHR a second chance... and now I absolutely love it. Sure, there was a major lag when the author decided to spend so much time on a character I absolutely hated, but she's since moved on from her obsession with her own personal Scrappy, moving into a completely awesome story arc. Be forewarned: KHR starts out as an episodic little comedy, but there is, in fact, character development going on, and the real story kicks in around Volume 8. It's even better in the anime - they cut the character that nearly ruined the series for me out entirely. Yesterday, however, I came across a single piece of fan art - one solitary little piece - and found it so intriguing that I just had to look into it more. What was so intriguing? A character's name. I just had to see the guy named Frau.
Enter my descent into 07-Ghost (Frau, by the way, would be the blond guy on the cover there). Since yesterday, I've watched the entire first season (subbed, even!) and am planning an expedition to the book store to hunt down the manga. There's action, great characters, beautiful artwork (in the anime, at least - haven't gotten my hands on the manga yet), and a story that kept me interested through 25 episodes. It's high on drama, but like all my favorite series, it's got enough humor in it to keep it from getting too heavy. Right this second, there would be no better news to me than hearing that 07-Ghost is being dubbed by a good company with fantastic voice actors. That would be amazing, but for now, I'll settle for getting my hands on the manga.
No idea when I'll stumble across a new treasure, but that's part of what makes it fun - and besides, helps keep the cost down if it takes awhile between each new find. Life's sometimes considerate like that. :D
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