Complex Characters and Epic Storylines in Comic Books
We have written several longer scripts, which certainly expand on both theme and character, but comics are labour intensive and it takes time and devotion to draw them.
In the same time it takes to create one graphic novel, up to ten separate shorter comicbook tales can be created. This is something that only comicbook scriptwriters and artists, and not authors seem to truly understand. Any shorter work can be expanded if the necessity arises. It's all about time and economy.
The tales in Fantastique and several of our other titles were never intended to be "character-driven" epics. They are minimalist in style - part "retro", part "modernist". They are about concepts, other beings and other worlds. Many of their themes are sub textual and often open to interpretation.
Furthermore, we believe it is not always necessary to know everything about a character. It's often better when some things about them are left unsaid and the reader's imagination has to fill in the rest. That's just one reason why some of the characters in our stories are so briefly sketched. After all, when you meet someone for the first time, you do not know every intimate detail about them and such things might never be revealed to you in any event.
Just as crucial as the development of any character is the actual story itself. Does it have character? That question is equally important to us. While there might well be room for improvement - and such is the case for many published artists and their work - we believe that our stories do and feedback from fans confirms this.
Ultimately, complex characters and extended themes are better suited to novels, novellas, extended graphic novels and films rather than short and simplified eight-page comicbook tales, which ultimately serve an entirely different purpose.
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