Super Mario Bros. in Neo Bowser City-Now Hiring

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

So, it's no small secret that hey, I'm a Mario fan. And I'm also a comic book fan. As it so happens, I even like some comics based on Mario. Go figure.

Something I'd hoped to do when I was with Nintendo Power was to revive the concept-- I figured at the time that it probably had a better chance of happening within the pages of Nintendo's official magazine more than anywhere else. After all, NP was no stranger to Nintendo comics: Howard & Nester, Super Mario Adventures, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Mario vs. Wario, Mario & Wario, Super Metroid, Star Fox, Metroid Prime, and I think a few others over the years. Incidentally, of the different Mario comics that have been made, the ones NP featured by Tamakichi Sakura (aka Charlie Nozawa) and Kentaro Takekuma were my favorite.

Unfortunately, Nintendo Power didn't last long enough for me to try to set the wheels in motion. I had kind of hoped that maybe if the magazine were to provide something beyond what would be found online (i.e. news and stuff; NP had plenty of exclusive reveals, but once stuff like that is out...), it might help its chances of survival. Alas...

So when Nintendo Force started up and I was invited to be on board, I saw my opportunity. Rather than go with what I figured would be a more "officially acceptable" direction for the comic (better to save that for later, should I ever be so blessed), I had another story which had been long gestating that I thought would be a perfect fit. Sort of something I'd long been planning and hoping to do online, but never finding the time to act on it, NF provided the motivation to make it happen. And so, with the launch of NF's first issue, "Super Mario Bros. in Neo Bowser City" debuted to the public, carrying on the tradition set by Nintendo Power.

...and then we had to stop including it after the second issue, because of reasons.

Nonetheless, the spark had caught fire and I've been motivated to keep it going. After several months, I finally launched its own website at SMBNBC.com (or just click the link in my sig) just before the Sonic Lost World "First Play" marathon. (And the reason I'm only mentioning this now has been because I've been doing some fine-tuning to things, including trying to make sure my butt is covered as far as any legal stuff might go.)

And if you're interested in the creative side of things, you can check out my scripts (for what's been published thus far) here. This is a learning experience for me, and I figured sharing these might help allow others to hone their craft as well, if they like.

I'd hoped to pick it up with the start of the new year, but I'm currently waiting to hear back from my artist, Mark Kelly, who has a busy schedule. We've got some plans for what to do here, and hopefully they'll bear fruit soon (I haven't been able to get a hold of him in a while), but in the meantime, I invite you to check it out. Fingers are crossed that we'll be able to continue soon-- I especially want to be on the radar if Nintendo really does start licensing for stuff like this!

Note: Those clicking to find out about the "Now Hiring" part of the title, click here.

[1upmushroom]

The idea is cool enough, and the art is well done for a webcomic. Unfortunately the dialogue could use some work. It seems a bit wooden and too exposition based. Though i admit the line "This is becoming like a horrible running gag" got a chuckle out of me.

I'd say work on your dialogue but other than that it's fine.

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

Thanks! I'll see what I can do-- under the page constraints, I admit I did have a lot of exposition to get out without as much room as I'd have liked to space it out. Now that the stage is set, though, I hope I can let more of it flow freely. =)

[Phlibbit]

I really appreciate you picking up the ball with this. I LOVED the "Super Mario Adventures" comics in Nintendo Power--the humor and "marioness" of that series is one of the best Mario things ever, IMO. It's cool to see a spiritual successor.

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

Thanks! Wish me luck in upholding the standard! =)

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

Okay, so it's been a while since I've touched this. The reason being that Mark has found himself too busy to continue with the comic, and I myself have been a bit too busy scrambling for work and doing other things to assemble a properly-worded post about what I'm hoping to do. At least one of those things has now changed for the moment (the latter one).

Basically, I'm looking for a person or persons to help take over the art chores on the comic; in the case of persons, things would be divided up by chapter, unless we find people wanting to contribute in different ways, i.e. lines, inks, colors... all the fun comic stuff.

To be up front about this: The comic is not paid in any way; there is absolutely no money changing hands with this comic, save for my paying for a domain name, SMBNBC.com, out of my own pocket. It's Nintendo's toy box, and the last thing I or anyone else wants to incur is their wrath for making a profit off of their properties.

The main reason I'm doing this is for experience, learning to script for comics. This gives me practice at doing that and something I can show off if I ever try for any sort of work doing the real thing, with the only bonus for me personally being that I get to play a part in bringing to life a story I've had in my head for quite some time now.

As such, I'm looking for people who wish to benefit similarly, by being able to practice and hone their craft, perhaps even have something to show prospective employers as well.

And as much as I kind of loathe the whole "for exposure" thing, I can at least reassure you that I'm not drawing a dime from this, but also that we do have the support of the magazine the comic launched in, Nintendo Force. Heck, the magazine still runs comics (just not longer-running serials like this), and you might even be able to get a gig there that does actually pay. No promises there, but this could prove a good start.

About the comic itself: This is not a particularly long-term gig. The story is basically a self-contained mini-series, and while I do have ideas for a potential follow-up/sequel/or whatever, depending on where the winds of fate lead, Super Mario Bros. in Neo Bowser City was only meant to run for about two years (NF is a bi-monthly magazine, keep in mind); roughly 12 to 14 chapters, depending on where things fall.

Things such as page count. The first chapter ran about seven pages to kick things off, and the second chapter was five, which is what it was looking at remaining for the duration. Ideally, I would like to get it back up to the 7-8 page per chapter range, to allow a little more breathing room (the second chapter had to be cut short from the original plan). As you might be aware, this is still significantly shorter than the 21 or so pages that Archie's Sonic and Mega Man titles run with, among other titles in the industry.

Being a Mario comic, I want to keep the characters with a more cartoony style. Some of the realistic depictions of Mario do rock, but in addition to a sense of consistency, the more cartoon-like style helps add a certain gravity to the story which might be lost otherwise as the world around Mario, Luigi, and Toad have changed.

Basically, I'd like it to be as close to the "classic" Mario style as possible, as seen here:



Alternatively, the style seen in the Mario & Luigi games is pretty good and close as well, even if slightly different, and Super Mario Adventures style is great as well.

As for backgrounds, there's more room to experiment.

If you're interested in participating, drop me a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net and we can discuss it further. If you're interested in seeing what's been done or checking out a script page to try your hand with it, you can find all of that at SMBNBC.com. The first chapter follows a more common style, or at least what Ian Flynn of Archie Comics uses, while the second wound up going for something closer to a more classic Marvel-style. I can work with either as needed, though I'm hoping to do more in the former style (including Chapter 2's to match), since as far as I know, that seems to be closer to the industry standard now.

Thanks, and I hope some of you will be interested!