Naruto Review #1: Issue #557 "Jokey Boy" Review

The first of many reviews I hope.

The battle between Gaara of the Sand village and the deceased, former Mizukage rages on.  I love the explanations about how the various ninjutsu attacks work, in the case of this issue, the Mizukage's clone of oil and water.  It provides a good basis for explanations on how these attacks are eventually defended against or defeated.  Mashashi Kishimoto always had a long history of prepping his stories with plausible attacks and how they could be defended against/defeated.

As far as stories go, this one is about average.  It shows good character consistency, the fact that Gaara is a long range strategist and uses the environment around him.  This story, however, is one in a number of "battles" in the fourth Ninja War that is taking way too long to finish.  While the battles are extremely entertaining, they only enhance an already complex mythology that probably won't be expanded upon.  While deepening the mythology provides a "fan fantasy" factor, it does little to move the actual story along.  If a story remains stagnant for too long, or too much time has elapsed between critical issues, then fans may shy away from the popular series.  I don't see this happening, but still, like many other fans I'm sure, I wish the story would progress a bit quicker.
Overall, I'd give it a three out of five stars.

"Singular Pursuit" & "Self-Reflection" details

The first 2 stories are set.  Here are the details.

"Singular Pursuit" (2-part story, 8 pages each)
The Kuroi Hiryū gang brutally attack a stagecoach along the Southwest Passage.  They encounter resistance from a man only known as the Mentor.  But what can one frail, old man with a sword do against six vicious riders armed with swords and shotguns?

The Kuroi Hiryū gang is based off the modern day Bōsōzoku,  which translates into "running violent tribe."  They're a subculture in Japanese motorcycle gangs.

"Self-Reflection" (12 page short story)
The ronin known as the Avenger stops at a Goze musician's camp for the night while on his way to kill a prominent governor.  Speaking with her, he examines his motives for the actions he's committed and about to commit.  She turns out to be an assassin sent to stop him, an assassin who can perfectly mirror his passionate actions with icy calm.

I'm still tightening them up, but they're coming off great.  If these two stories sound good, please don't forget to donate.  Only through donations can they be completed.  Just go to the Kickstarter.com link on this blog's home page.

Oh, and there are two spots open in "Singular Pursuit" for the incentives involving your image drawn into the story.  These incentives are still available.

Contest Time

Answer these questions correctly and be eligible in a raffle for "The Mentor" character art print, drawn by Aaron McConnell:

What's the name the popular samurai manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima?
Who is leader of Team 7 in the mange "Naruto"?
Who is the legendary director of the "Samurai Seven"?

The Mentor:

Contest concludes on September 30th.  Winner will be announced on October 3rd.

Now on Facebook

"Ronin Revolver" has a page on Facebook.  Social media, isn't it great?
Ronin Revolver's Facebook page

Yee-Haw!

Well, it's finalized: Ronin Revolver is now a project on Kickstarter.com.  You can find the funding page on this link.  More updates will come as the project progresses.  Be sure to spread the word!  The project is as follows: a comic anthology series featuring samurai and cowboys.  Yee-Haw!

Dark Horse Proposal

The "Ronin Revolver" 6-issue mini-series proposal is all set, just needs to be sent out.  I'm hoping that Dark Horse Comics will pick it up, as I like the broad interests and quality of their work very much.  I've also completed sent them a short story last week featuring "the Knight" character called "Under the Crow's Moon" that I hope they'll print in DARK HORSE PRESENTS.

In the meantime, I've completed another few of short stories featuring various Ronin Revolver characters and am gearing up to post them for free on this blog site.  Probably starting in January I'll be posting a new, illustrated short story every two to three weeks.  Some of these shorts will be single issue stories, others will be multiple part stories.  The art is fantastic so far; here's a peek at the rough colors for some of the characters:

Check out Aaron's own blog site.  He does wonderful work.

Color Previews

The Scarecrow & Archie:

Again, another great design.

Rough Cut Video

Here's a little video I whipped up using Photoshop and Final Cut Express.  It came out better than I thought it would.

Preliminary Sketches

The prelims came in, and they came out great so far.  Here's a couple of them.

I see much potential in both these characters.  Probably could make a series devoted to each one of them.  But for now, these are just two of the seven main characters in the mini-series.  Hoping to have more to share later in the week.  A shout out to Aaron McConnell over at Periscope Studios for the fine work he's doing on these characters.

The Good, the Bad, and the Unfunded

As first posts go, I don't know what to write.  Maybe the beginning would be a good start, but I think the middle is a little more interesting.  "Ronin Revolver" is a concept series that takes place in a U.S. that blends the wild west with Asian influences.  At this point in this world's history, progress is leaving the samurai behind.  Bullets in favor of swords, and honor takes a hit to the head by greed and power.
This project is unfunded, in need of an illustrator and a publisher.  That's why very soon I will be raising funds to pay a professional illustrator to complete at least the first issue.  I'm hoping that enough money will be raised to illustrate the whole series (6 issues total), then I'd be able to self-publish it, but I figure a completed first issue might make for a more enticing risk for a publisher.
Should anyone reading this like the concept of samurai in the Old West, like the updates on character designs, the general status of goodwill, I hope people will help out.  A little can add up to alot with enough people.

So on I go, roaming the dry desert in search of water to give my project life, tumbleweeds passing me by.  More updates to come, including when the launch date of the Kickstarter fundraising will begin.