I’m impressed by how many panels you were able to put on this page and make it look good, not a mess. Also, I think I see where Nikita gets his sarcasm. 😉
Ah, so is Numb set in an English-speaking country? I always assumed it was Europe for some reason.
Heehehe yes! I love these flashback scenes since they give a whole new perspective into Nikitas character.
Well, it was mostly because this comic is in english language. If it would be in finnish, the dad would say ‘how’s your finnish’ etc. I chose to keep it vague instead of using some real place names to avoid getting caught up on secondary elements of the story.
The thing is, that Numb is taking place in some unnamed english speaking country that’ll have imagery named places. Maybe even the country is fiction. Because if it would be some specific country/city/town, I’d like to bring out the culture as well. I feel that if you bring a specific kind of setting to the story, that setting also has a part to play. If I don’t know the place well enough myself, it’s just gonna be awkward. For example, I don’t want to set it in Stockholm or Berlin and then be having people constantly telling me ‘that’s not how things are done over there’. I find it’d be just a distraction from the story.
With Numb, I created a world that’s believable and realistic, but maybe not one you could pinpoint belonging somewhere exact. There’s logic on how things work over there and if there’s some questions from the readers on how or why things go the way the go, I’ll be ready to give them an answer.
Woah, long answer, but I had thought about this a lot when I started Numb, and figured this was the best way to go about it. Other would have been picking specific place and learn their law system and culture and then set Numb there. Maybe I do that for some other comic in the future, we’ll see 🙂
No, I’m happy that you brought to me a long answer. It makes sense that you went this route. I also firmly believe that if you have a particular setting, then you have to know the specifics of that place and it does become an integral part of the story, if nothing else because readers will have questions or you might have readers from those places that, as you say, point out the inaccuracies. It’s best then to go with what works best for the story. Having a setting that is vague on location, yet familiar enough for people to relate to it is the best approach.
I’m actually having a similar debate over a story of mine. The setting is based off a real life area I have been to multiple times, so I could get a feel for the area just fine. But I have to take into account the culture and local politics, and I’m just not familiar enough with that aspect. It’s probably then best if I have the town not be in a real life state or country to avoid these problems. That or I can do lots of research and to make it as accurate as possible, which would take longer to develop the story.
I don’t know if I’m making sense or not, but short of it is that your comments have helped me seriously reconsider the setting of my story. I might just go with the vague but familiar approach. Thank you!
Well I’m happy if my response was food for thought for you. I think both ways have their ups and downs, so definitely think it trough and you’ll have the best possible setting for your story!
I’m impressed by how many panels you were able to put on this page and make it look good, not a mess. Also, I think I see where Nikita gets his sarcasm. 😉
Ah, so is Numb set in an English-speaking country? I always assumed it was Europe for some reason.
Heehehe yes! I love these flashback scenes since they give a whole new perspective into Nikitas character.
Well, it was mostly because this comic is in english language. If it would be in finnish, the dad would say ‘how’s your finnish’ etc. I chose to keep it vague instead of using some real place names to avoid getting caught up on secondary elements of the story.
The thing is, that Numb is taking place in some unnamed english speaking country that’ll have imagery named places. Maybe even the country is fiction. Because if it would be some specific country/city/town, I’d like to bring out the culture as well. I feel that if you bring a specific kind of setting to the story, that setting also has a part to play. If I don’t know the place well enough myself, it’s just gonna be awkward. For example, I don’t want to set it in Stockholm or Berlin and then be having people constantly telling me ‘that’s not how things are done over there’. I find it’d be just a distraction from the story.
With Numb, I created a world that’s believable and realistic, but maybe not one you could pinpoint belonging somewhere exact. There’s logic on how things work over there and if there’s some questions from the readers on how or why things go the way the go, I’ll be ready to give them an answer.
Woah, long answer, but I had thought about this a lot when I started Numb, and figured this was the best way to go about it. Other would have been picking specific place and learn their law system and culture and then set Numb there. Maybe I do that for some other comic in the future, we’ll see 🙂
No, I’m happy that you brought to me a long answer. It makes sense that you went this route. I also firmly believe that if you have a particular setting, then you have to know the specifics of that place and it does become an integral part of the story, if nothing else because readers will have questions or you might have readers from those places that, as you say, point out the inaccuracies. It’s best then to go with what works best for the story. Having a setting that is vague on location, yet familiar enough for people to relate to it is the best approach.
I’m actually having a similar debate over a story of mine. The setting is based off a real life area I have been to multiple times, so I could get a feel for the area just fine. But I have to take into account the culture and local politics, and I’m just not familiar enough with that aspect. It’s probably then best if I have the town not be in a real life state or country to avoid these problems. That or I can do lots of research and to make it as accurate as possible, which would take longer to develop the story.
I don’t know if I’m making sense or not, but short of it is that your comments have helped me seriously reconsider the setting of my story. I might just go with the vague but familiar approach. Thank you!
Well I’m happy if my response was food for thought for you. I think both ways have their ups and downs, so definitely think it trough and you’ll have the best possible setting for your story!
That’s some pretty hands-off parenting 😀
Leave it to Kolya 😉