astridv: ("Synth" Hellbound; icon by Yoon Ha Lee)
astridv ([personal profile] astridv) wrote2007-03-24 02:10 pm
Entry tags:

Comic: "Synth" by yhlee and astridv (AtS/Fray xover; COMPLETE)

Well, it took a little while, but it's finally done. :o)

"Synth" is a crossover between AtS and Fray. ('Fray', for those who haven't read it yet, is a well-crafted tale, written by Joss Whedon himself, with gorgeous artwork by Karl Moline. In my opinion it's hands down the best of the Whedonverse comics out there, not to be missed!)

This comic is also a follow-up of sorts to [livejournal.com profile] yhlee's fic Radio Free. It is pretty much self-contained so should make sense even if you're unfamiliar with 'Fray' and 'Radio Free'. All you need to know is that in the aftermath of "Not Fade Away," Angel and Gunn are swept via dimensional slide into the future world of Fray, where there is only one Slayer (Melaka Fray) and Haddyn (once Manhattan) is divided deeply between the haves in the "uppers" and the have-nots in the warrens.

Disclaimer: AtS belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Fox. Fray belongs to Joss Whedon. Joss is our master. This is an unofficial and unauthorized fan comic, no money is being made. Unless you all rush off to Amazon to buy "Fray", which you should, in which case someone somewhere will make some money (but not us).

The look of Fray's world and its denizens is loosely based on the designs that Karl Moline developed for 'Fray', but I didn't want to cling too closely to the source there.



Story: [livejournal.com profile] yhlee
Artwork: [livejournal.com profile] astridv
Many thanks to [livejournal.com profile] tkp for the invaluable beta, and to Birgit and Steffi, my favorite housemates, who provided many helpful comments. Dedicated to [livejournal.com profile] makd, for being a good ghost of the fandom. :)



























For those with a slow web connection: here is the comic split into six parts (each part still about 700 KB...):
page 1-2, page 3-4, page 5-6, page 7-8, page 9-10, page 11-12
ext_1771: Joe Flanigan looking A-Dorable. (Default)

[identity profile] monanotlisa.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 01:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow. Astrid, this is utterly amazing -- both the story and the artwork. Wow. SelenaK will love it, too, I'm sure!
wychwood: chess queen against a runestone (Default)

[personal profile] wychwood 2007-03-24 03:05 pm (UTC)(link)
This is *gorgeous*. I adore your visuals, and the layout, and the panels, and *all* of it; the flying cars and everything are awesome *g*, and the sort of watercolour style works really well for me. Plus you do a better job than most *official* tie-in comics of making the characters recognisable! *g* A beautiful piece of work.
minim_calibre: (Default)

[personal profile] minim_calibre 2007-03-24 03:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, WOW.

[identity profile] wisemack.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 04:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Fantastic! So much talent... you should be proud. ;)
deepad: black silhouette of woman wearing blue turban against blue background (Default)

[personal profile] deepad 2007-03-24 04:23 pm (UTC)(link)
this is startlingly beautiful - both the visuals and the script. The tricksy overlapping dialogues, the non-linear panels, its so layered. And I haven't read either the fic or Fray, and it still made perfect sense.
(and the little B/A shoutout didn't hurt either ;))
ext_2333: "That's right,  people, I am a constant surprise." (Default)

[identity profile] makd.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 05:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Dear gods, but I love this!

Each page, each drawing brings me into the world of this comic. I love it. I love it. I love it.

thank you so much for doing this and sharing it with us.
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[identity profile] lakrids404.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 05:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Mostly excellent; you got the violence this time, but you still miss the other part.
;)

[identity profile] selenak.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 06:13 pm (UTC)(link)
She does, she does. This is so good! *is awed*

[identity profile] a2zmom.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 07:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Absolutely gorgeous work, both of you. Astrid, I think my favorite is the beautiful shot of Fray and Gunn on the roof, everything so different, yet in the end, not different at all.
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[identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 09:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks! So glad you like it. It took ages, but I think it was worth it.
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[identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 09:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah, das geht runter wie Butter. :)
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[identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you kindly! I'm happy you like it.

Plus you do a better job than most *official* tie-in comics of making the characters recognisable! *g*

*looks modest* I try. ;) The lack of likeness in some of the official tie-ins confuses me... after all, a tie-in is all about reading about familiar characters. And it's not like it's hard to find picture references in times of computers and screen caps.

Some of the Buffy and Angel comics are very good though, with satisfying likeness, too.
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[identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 09:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Hehe. ^_^

[identity profile] scribesds.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 09:47 pm (UTC)(link)
I've not read the original story yet, and I have never seen Fray. But I did enjoy this very much. Interesting idea, and the graphics are gorgeous. Well done to both of you!

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[identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 10:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks so much. :) I'm quite happy with how it turned out. *pets comic*
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[identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 10:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks, I'm really glad you like it. Some of the unconventional dialog placement was born out of necessity, because space was so limited and the baloons were handy to direct the reader's eye in certain ways.

I can highly recommend Fray. I only read it when Yoon suggested this project to me - 'Fray' being sans Angel, I hadn't been interested before (yeah, so I'm a bit single-minded in my fannishness) - and once I read it I was thrilled. It's like discovering a whole new part of the Buffyverse, new canon. The writing is pure Joss.
liliaeth: (Default)

[personal profile] liliaeth 2007-03-24 11:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Well this was good, esp. if I imagine that in the past Spike became human and ended up happy ever after (or at least for the rest of their lives) with Buffy.
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[identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
And all it took was nine short months *g*. I'm pleased that you like it so much. I had fun drawing it. And the really cool thing: ever since I started with the fan comics, my drawing's gotten much faster, so at the end of the day I got more time rather than less. Fandom rulz.
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[identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 11:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Hah. That'll have to wait for the next one :P
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[identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 11:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh yeah, that's one of the scenes that triggered a particularly strong visual when I read it, so I gave it a whole page. I was also sorely tempted to end with a full-page view of Angel and Gunn walking off in front of the Haddyn background... but you gotta find an end somewhere.
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[identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks so much. :o)
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[identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Who knows. Like I said before, Spike tends to fall on his feet. ;)

[identity profile] yhlee.livejournal.com 2007-03-24 11:55 pm (UTC)(link)
My personal theory is that in this 'verse, that is in fact what happened. Angel is not made for that kind of happy ending. *g*

(Nota bene: I am not a Spike/Buffy shipper, but it's what would make the most sense.)
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[identity profile] astridv.livejournal.com 2007-03-25 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
Ever since I read [livejournal.com profile] rahirah's drabble tryptich, I've become something of a A/S/B shipper. OT3!!!1! Those three are so right and so wrong for each other; at the very least it makes for good stories.

Ah, maybe I can find a link to the fic... hm... *browse*
Ah, got it. (http://rahirah.livejournal.com/182293.html)

you know what, I just had a brainwave... an idea, downright: Sometime I gotta comb through the bbf message archives, pick out all my recs over the years and archive them here in one place. (Not that I need a new project or anything ;).)

[identity profile] awmp.livejournal.com 2007-03-25 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
this is utterly stunning. I love the artwork! and everything else, too, of course!

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