Inking! Initial D! The Diplomat! Into the Woods!

There's a lot on offer this week

Hello from Castrum Lusitania, my fortress in northern Portugal. Welcome to another edition of our weekly newsletter.

We’re all over the place this week. I’ve got a number (three. the number is three) of very good suggestions that will surely appeal to (some) you: the best book about narrative out there, a brilliant show that was way better than I expected and a manga I always knew I’d love and I was right. It’s all stuff I’ve recently gone through which will make for some quick recommendations.

BUT FIRST!!!!!!!

A very sneaky peek of Project Red…

For your eyes only

For now. Then I’ll post it on social media.

But you come first. You gave me your email address and that counts for something.

I spent all week furiously inking 13 pages for Project Red, using more ink than usual. A lot more. I’m usually a line type of guy but on this new book I feel the need and desire to explore a bit more of brush work and big black spots.

I always let the story dictate what it wants and needs and go with it. So soaked brush, dry brush and hatching it was. Here’s a few details.

Some pieces of wood and rock. It’s not much, but it ain’t nothing. I promise you, you’ll feel it’s worth the wait.

Now for those recommendations:

Into The Woods

I’m not very much into those how to write a script books or similar stuff. I find them too formulaic and full of absolutes - a very boring thing when it comes to creative fields.

But it’s undeniable that there are certain patterns you can see across all narratives. Things that all authors use instinctively. I always wondered where it came from and that’s where Into The Woods comes in.

It’s not a how to book, but rather an examination of narrative, it’s commonalities across time, genres, mediums, languages and cultures. It brilliantly explores theories and past books, quotes many examples and offers ample notes without forcing absolutes. In fact, the author John Yorke goes out of his way to avoid precisely that, though I think he’s right on the money in his conclusions.

If you write, create stories of any kind or have any interest in narrative, this is the book to go for. You’ll not be disappointed and you’ll learn a lot. I know I did.

I’ll certainly be re-reading and re-examining it for the foreseeable future, most likely sharing some bits over here.

Initial D

I love cars. I love Japan. I love Japanese cars. I love Manga. So, I always knew I was gonna love Initial D and I have had it on my to read mental list for… 20 years? Make it whenever I found about it.

It’s a very traditional manga in the sense of story development, with detailed and expanded action, moments that last for pages but that are read in a very fast pace. The car drawings are incredible and if you’re into this world you’ll recognize every single one. In fact, it’s so good that it pushed me into playing Gran Turismo 7 avidly again.

And follows a very common stylistic choice in Japan, with extremely realistic cars and backgrounds that contrast beautifully with the cartoony characters and the way they are animated.

One of my favorite details is how the dialog between characters is full of very little asides printed in tiny font to expand on the characters emotions and thoughts. Usually with hilarious stuff.

See here below an example of the style, with the hero’s car (Toyota AE 86 Sprinter Trueno) competing with his first big rival (a beautiful Mazda RX-7).

This manga is from 1995, so we know the author Shuichi Shigeno was not using 3d models for the cars. But their shapes and proportions are so well done and so amazingly consistent that I imagine he was heavily using photo references, perhaps even tracing it. But I don’t mean it as bad thing, quite the contrary: whatever the means used here, this is how you do it. There’s an endpoint guiding Shigeno’s techniques and he’s giving us all a masterclass.

The Diplomat

Just a quick note about this show. Its tone completely surprised me - I was expecting a heavy political thriller and I got more of an absurd comedy-drama about the insanity that is the life of a President, Prime-Minister, Ambassador. People that must measure their every word, for a misunderstanding can cost thousands of lives. People constantly guessing, conniving, back-stabbing, lying, maneuvering.

I watched seasons 1 and 2 back to back in a few days (chunks of it while inking) and after a few episodes you can see some of its formula. For example, the two main characters (a couple of career politicians where the woman is now US ambassador in London) often face an opponent that they think 1. is their friend but 2. is actually their enemy but 3. is actually not that bad and full of redeeming qualities. This happens a few times.

Don’t worry though, it all works pretty well and it’s anything but boring. It’s hilarious, absurd, dramatic and fascinating. And the last scene of season 2’s finale is something to behold. I’ll be thinking about it for a good while.

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If you’ve read or seen any of the recommendations, let me know. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

See you all next week!

André