Manga Recon at NY Comic Con: Masque of the Red Death
Posted by: Erin F. on March 2, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Go! Comi announced a new title by Elfquest creator Wendy Pini at New York Comic con this year. You can read more about the announcement in other Manga Recon coverage, on the Mangacast blog, or in Brigid’s interview with Wendy Pini.
The way that Go! Comi introduced details about the title was through a series of PowerPoint slides. It’s an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story Masque of the Red Death. I read that in high school, I found it interesting enough.
Next slide: It’s got yaoi. I read a lot of yaoi anyway, so… Next slide: It’s set in the future. My interest level dropped. I haven’t finished watching the Gankutsuou anime yet – but is it really necessary to set old stories in the future?
As they announced more details about the title (robot mechanics!) I made the chart below. And then I made Ed and fellow Ninja Consultant Noah draw their own charts.
I really don’t like color comics. I’ll basically read anything in black and white. Ed likes robots. Noah has actually read a good part of Elfquest, so of the three of us, he’s oddly the most interested in reading Masque of the Red Death.
Audry March 4th, 2007
Having been on the panel, let me clarify a few things…
Masque — Yep
Yaoi — Not *just* yaoi :::sideways glance:::
Set on a technologically advanced planet on the verge of hedonistic destruction — yep
Nudity — Yes please
EQ art — Nope. No elves here. While Wendy has her own style, I’ve been watching it morph before my very eyes to suit this more mature, more senuous project.
Robots — Nope (just part of the landscape, not part of the story)
Hippies — There are no literal 60’s hippies in the story. They do have orgies and are accepting of all sexual orientations, though, which are some of those “boring” ideas that hippies came up with. ;-)
Webcomic — Damn straight. It’ll be a great way to “taste” before buying, and it will give Wendy a chance to do some pretty sexy pans…
Color — Online, yes. We’ll talk about what we’re doing with the print version later on. This whole thing is still in the conceptual phase so we’re considering all our options — and sensuously colored GNs are definitely one possibility.
Erin F. March 4th, 2007
They do have orgies and are accepting of all sexual orientations, though, which are some of those “boring” ideas that hippies came up with. ;-)
Brigid also was quick to defend the hippie aspect, but the characters are having orgies in chakra-themed rainbow colored rooms, which kind of says “hippies” to me.
Robots were only mentioned briefly, I believe one character was described as being a robot mechanic? Maybe he was just a bio-engineer.
To be fair, it’s not really Elfquest art, but Pini’s style is very distinct.
Your panel was fun! Noah had the same childhood experience with Elfquest that the girl on the panel mentioned.
Ad_Haage May 6th, 2008
One of the worst comic art ever, gay couple are just ugly – and if I was gay myself I’d consider it homophobia.
