Issue 2 - Party Like It's 198X - Page 21 - Aboard the Turboceptor-1

[Adam Dravian]

This is a page we’ve been looking forward to for a long time. In the previous draft of the story, Kit and Darwick weren’t going to be “unmasked” until much later in the comic, but we decided that was too long of a wait to fully reveal two such important characters.

The reason the bounty hunters spoke with black balloons was to represent their helmets applying a vocal filter to their voices, making them sound more deep and gravely to hide their girlishness.

Being the comic’s main representation of ‘80s anime, Kit’s design is something that has gone through a lot of iterations. Even as recently as the day before posting this, her hair got a last-minute re-design. One concern we had is that we wanted it to be obvious that Kit was meant to look like an anime character.

We studied all sorts of ‘80s anime for inspiration. We know a lot of people in the US have a strong association between anime and the ‘90s, but there was a lot of awesome anime and manga that came out in the ‘80s, well before Dragon Ball Z blew up on Toonami. Fist of the Northstar was the first time I knowingly watched anime, and its badass brutality blew my young mind.

[aett]

I was about to post "See? I was right!" until I realized that I never actually posted in the last page's thread. Anyway, for what it's worth, I guessed that the bounty hunter was a woman a while back - at first it was just because of the callous way she disregarded the slaves, but then I figured that there are a million good reasons why a straight male would act like that. Maybe "he" is just a total badass who can get babes anytime he wants, or maybe he's in a committed relationship. But it was her pose in panel one of page 20 that gave it away to me.

The '80s anime vibe is spot-on. The first full anime I ever watched was Iria: Zeiram the Animation, which was made in '93 but still has that certain aesthetic that hasn't been around since the turn of the century and computers started being used even for traditional animation. Anyway, that style holds a special place in my heart. I'm reminded of this anime music video which shows off some of the best animation from older anime - the clips skew mostly towards the '90s, but there may be some '80s stuff in there, and in any case it's all pre-Naruto/FMA/whatever the fuck has been popular over the last fifteen years.

Darwick creeps me out a bit. I think it's the teeth - cute-styled anime characters don't typically have teeth more detailed than the simple tiny white line that Kit is sporting. Adults and spirits/monsters/etc. from Ghibli movies do often have teeth like that, though, so it's like a cross between two different styles of anime.

Babe alert: Shit, the babeometer nearly burnt out. Furries may have left their reeking stains over big parts of the internet, but nothing can take away the fact that cute fox/cat/rabbit ears with tail(s) are sexy. Looking forward to seeing more of that titsune.

[Adam Dravian]

I was about to post "See? I was right!" until I realized that I never actually posted in the last page's thread. Anyway, for what it's worth, I guessed that the bounty hunter was a woman a while back - at first it was just because of the callous way she disregarded the slaves, but then I figured that there are a million good reasons why a straight male would act like that. Maybe "he" is just a total badass who can get babes anytime he wants, or maybe he's in a committed relationship. But it was her pose in panel one of page 20 that gave it away to me.

We tried not to show Kit (the fox-babe) from angles that would make her extremely feminine form too obvious. The big utility belt on her bounty hunting costume was to help hide her tiny waist, and of course the big bulging chest armor was to obscure her tits. I think the first picture that strongly hints at Kit's true nature is the second panel of page 14.

The '80s anime vibe is spot-on. The first full anime I ever watched was Iria: Zeiram the Animation, which was made in '93 but still has that certain aesthetic that hasn't been around since the turn of the century and computers started being used even for traditional animation. Anyway, that style holds a special place in my heart. I'm reminded of this anime music video which shows off some of the best animation from older anime - the clips skew mostly towards the '90s, but there may be some '80s stuff in there, and in any case it's all pre-Naruto/FMA/whatever the fuck has been popular over the last fifteen years.

Holy shit, it's refreshing to see a fan-made anime music video that is set to an actual Japanese song as opposed to some shitty Linkin Park or Evanescence song. You're right, they mostly used footage from '90s anime, but there was quite of bit of '80s stuff in there, like Urusei Yatsura, Project A-ko, and Riding Bean (which was actually one of the first OVAs I ever watched, and one of the few anime I currently own on DVD).

I've never seen Iria: Zeiram the Animation, but that's pretty damn fitting that it's about a female bounty hunter in space.

Darwick creeps me out a bit. I think it's the teeth - cute-styled anime characters don't typically have teeth more detailed than the simple tiny white line that Kit is sporting. Adults and spirits/monsters/etc. from Ghibli movies do often have teeth like that, though, so it's like a cross between two different styles of anime.

Darwick's main inspirations actually aren't from anime, but we gave her the big anime eyes so she would make a more fitting partner for Kit. For instance, I'll just say that the teeth are taken from a certain type of cute little furry critter that a lot of people thought ruined the final movie of a trilogy.

Babe alert: Shit, the babeometer nearly burnt out. Furries may have left their reeking stains over big parts of the internet, but nothing can take away the fact that cute fox/cat/rabbit ears with tail(s) are sexy. Looking forward to seeing more of that titsune.

Heheh, for just a second I thought "titsune" was a typo, but then the pun hit me. So fitting.

Hey, maybe Kit will cause a few furries to check out the comic. That might help make up for however many readers this page will cause us to lose because they have an extreme hatred for anything anime-related.

[Rijst]

I was about to post "See? I was right!" [...]

I, on the other hand, did not see this coming at all. Perhaps I was just expecting another bad ass like Viperelli? I love it though..

[Michigander1911]

Wow.  Truly a surprise for me.  I have never got into anime at all.  I do remember several  of my friends were reall into Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon, but i really dont remember any of it from the 80s.  Darwick resembles a Carebear though. 

[Rijst]

Darwick resembles a Carebear though. 

Each Care Bear comes in a different color and has a specialized insignia on its belly that represents its duty and personality.

I guess Darwick's duty is to boldly go where no care bear has gone before then?

We tried not to show Kit (the fox-babe) from angles that would make her extremely feminine form too obvious. The big utility belt on her bounty hunting costume was to help hide her tiny waist, and of course the big bulging chest armor was to obscure her tits.

I like how you guys try to obscure her tits instead of, say, not drawing them and come up with a lame explanation later. Alternatively you could have not given her enormous boobs but that would be uncharacteristic for both this comic and the anime genre..

[aett]

We tried not to show Kit (the fox-babe) from angles that would make her extremely feminine form too obvious. The big utility belt on her bounty hunting costume was to help hide her tiny waist, and of course the big bulging chest armor was to obscure her tits. I think the first picture that strongly hints at Kit's true nature is the second panel of page 14.

Well you guys did a good job - if I had been reading the comic all in one sitting, I never would have noticed the slight feminine touches, but the fact that they exist is a testament to Jessica's attention to detail.

Holy shit, it's refreshing to see a fan-made anime music video that is set to an actual Japanese song as opposed to some shitty Linkin Park or Evanescence song. You're right, they mostly used footage from '90s anime, but there was quite of bit of '80s stuff in there, like Urusei Yatsura, Sailor Moon, Project A-ko, and Riding Bean (which was actually one of the first OVAs I ever watched, and one of the few anime I currently own on DVD).

It's the only anime music video that I still remember in detail for exactly the reasons you said - it's unique and actually uses Japanese music. Plus it's cool that it's actually showing off some of the best animation of the time.

I've never seen Iria: Zeiram the Animation, but that's pretty damn fitting that it's about a female bounty hunter in space.

I hadn't thought about it in years, but looking back, it's amazing how forward-thinking that series was in regards to having a female lead. Despite parts of her outfit being skin-tight, she's not really sexualized at all and she's a total bad-ass.

Heheh, for just a second I thought "titsune" was a typo, but then the pun hit me. So fitting.

I was worried that it would be thought of as a typo!

Alternatively you could have not given her enormous boobs

Somebody get him the fuck out of here

[Rijst]

Somebody get him the fuck out of here

Hey I said they made the right choice right? Talking about quoting out of context jeez..

[aett]

Somebody get him the fuck out of here

Hey I said they made the right choice right? Talking about quoting out of context jeez..

Sorry, I've got a persona to maintain!

[Adam Dravian]

I, on the other hand, did not see this coming at all. Perhaps I was just expecting another bad ass like Viperelli? I love it though..

Good! We wondered how many readers might get pissed off that this badass space bounty hunter turns out to not only be a girl, but an anime fox-girl. With an adorable pink sidekick.

Wow.  Truly a surprise for me.  I have never got into anime at all.  I do remember several  of my friends were reall into Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon, but i really dont remember any of it from the 80s.

Not even Voltron? The first Voltron series was originally an anime called Beast King GoLion ("Go" being the Japanese word for "Five"). And then there were the pseudo anime cartoons like Transformers, which was drawn and animated in Japan, but the rest of the production was handled in the US.

Darwick resembles a Carebear though.

That's absolutely one of Darwick's inspirations.

I guess Darwick's duty is to boldly go where no care bear has gone before then?

That, or it could just be her radical tummy tattoo.

I like how you guys try to obscure her tits instead of, say, not drawing them and come up with a lame explanation later. Alternatively you could have not given her enormous boobs but that would be uncharacteristic for both this comic and the anime genre..

Hey, not every chick in our comic is stacked. Why, just look at... uh, Tina! Yeah. See? Tit equality. But yeah, it certainly would have been easier if we hadn't made Kit one of the most boobacious characters in a roster that already skews top-heavy, but we've always imagined her to be over-the-top sexed out.

But actually, huge tits weren't so ubiquitous in '80s anime as they became later. They weren't unheard of (Fujiko Mine from Lupin III had been boobing it up on television since the '70s), but they were surprisingly rare. It seems the general style of the time favored girls with very petite frames and modest busts, I would guess in large part due to the extreme popularity of the character Lum from Urusei Yatsura. Even characters that were meant to be busty "in-universe," like the Dirty Pair, were drawn with boobs that would seem rather small by today's anime standards.

That's right. I'm like a sage of anime tits.

Alternatively you could have not given her enormous boobs

Somebody get him the fuck out of here

Hahah!

[Edit- added links for Fujiko, Lum, & the Dirty Pair]

[Rijst]

Somebody get him the fuck out of here

Hey I said they made the right choice right? Talking about quoting out of context jeez..

Sorry, I've got a persona to maintain!

And you're doing it rather well, using tried and tested methods..

I, on the other hand, did not see this coming at all. Perhaps I was just expecting another bad ass like Viperelli? I love it though..

Good! We wondered how many readers might get pissed off that this badass space bounty hunter turns out to not only be a girl, but an anime fox-girl. With an adorable pink sidekick.

Not pissed off, pleasantly surprised. You're truly presenting us with a hors d'euvre of 80s culture even though I'm totally unfamiliar with 80s anime. My limited exposure was probably due to my growing up in the Netherlands, although we did get Transformers..

I like how you guys try to obscure her tits instead of, say, not drawing them and come up with a lame explanation later. Alternatively you could have not given her enormous boobs but that would be uncharacteristic for both this comic and the anime genre..

Hey, not every chick in our comic is stacked. Why, just look at... uh, Tina! Yeah. See? Tit equality. But yeah, it certainly would have been easier if we hadn't made Kit one of the most boobacious characters in a roster that already skews top-heavy, but we've always imagined her to be over-the-top sexed out.

But actually, huge tits weren't so ubiquitous in '80s anime as they became later. They weren't unheard of (Fujiko Mine from Lupin III had been boobing it up on television since the '70s), but they were surprisingly rare. It seems the general style of the time favored girls with very petite frames and modest busts, I would guess in large part due to the extreme popularity of the character Lum from Urusei Yatsura. Even characters that were meant to be busty "in-universe," like the Dirty Pair, were drawn with boobs that would seem rather small by today's anime standards.

That's right. I'm like a sage of anime tits.

Ignoring the subtle plagiarism there (quote cock-up?), you made quite a study of this subject. It shows a level of dedication to fun bags the comic that few writers can match. You're right though, Tina doesn't have huge knockers. This proves that they're not a main topic in SN8X at all.. 

Anyway, I don't see much anime but from what I've seen breasts are usually water melon-sized..

Did I mention I like the name Turboceptor? I keep being distracted from this for some reason..

[Michigander1911]

Not even Voltron? The first Voltron series was originally an anime called Beast King GoLion ("Go" being the Japanese word for "Five"). And then there were the pseudo anime cartoons like Transformers, which was drawn and animated in Japan, but the rest of the production was handled in the US.

Actually I didn't see many of the popular 80's cartoons until much later.  I didnt have cable or more than 1 tv in the house for years.  I was familiar with most of the Saturday morning line up of the late 80s but mosly only remember TMNT.   Of course other stuff like Inspector Gadget was frequently on. 

[Adam Dravian]

Ignoring the subtle plagiarism there (quote cock-up?)

Whoa, yeah. No idea how that happened.

It shows a level of dedication to fun bags the comic that few writers can match. You're right though, Tina doesn't have huge knockers. This proves that they're not a main topic in SN8X at all.. 

Exactly!

Did I mention I like the name Turboceptor? I keep being distracted from this for some reason..

Thanks. Turboceptor-1 is, like a lot of the names in our comic, a combination of a few names taken from different '80s sources.