A Train Can Hide Another One - My First Comic

Hello guys,

I'm back with an original comic but this time it's not my latest work. This is from 2005 as I try my hand to comics in a serious manner for the first time. Of course I did tiny strips on homework margins, and colorful animal stories as a kid but I never really got into building a story from scratch and exploring the dark themes I enjoyed in movies.

You might have read my on going series Shades Of Men which I'm posting here on Steemit twice a week. I thought it'd be fun to compare both to see how I progressed.
The interesting thing is that they are not that far from each other, story and character wise.

I see this first comic as an experiment that evolved into the other.

I'll do some more comparing after that.

As you read this, please don't be too tough on me. I know it's hard to understand due to the dark panels and the writing taking too much space. This is very early work so it makes my eyes bleed a little when I go back to it...

A Train Can Hide Another One

The End

That's all I got I promise. Sorry for the abrupt ending there. The story was suppose to carry on. And I think the art was already getting a little better by the end.

The main problem was the story. I realized the "Double-Crossed" hitman plot was way too cliché and in the end just an excuse for epic action scenes. Reminds me too much of that "Machete" trailer, right?

Anyway, that's why I left the project on hiatus at the time and moved on to create short films with friends from 2006 to 2011.
I make another post about that later on if you're interested.

I came back to comics in 2012 with Shades Of Men and it's been on going ever since.

Now if we compare the main character Brent Douglas to Lev Timychenko we can see a lot of physical similarities.

What changes is the setting of the story. A.T.C.H.A.O. taking place in a America with an American character, Shades Of Men taking place in Paris with an Ukrainian character. Wouldn't it be fun to oppose both characters in a crossover comic. Hummm... interesting. ;-)

Also the whole plot was revamped for a more complex story (At least I tried...) but still including cool action scenes and gritty characters. There's also more humor in general. That's an important part making the whole thing more appealing in the end.

Here are panel comparisons using similar poses from one comic to the other. It is surprising how one reflects the other.
The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, right?

That's all for now.
Hope that was fun for you to read. Brings me all kind of lovely memories.
I'll have to post a blog about school time sketches. I'll probably die of shame by this time.

Don't hesitate to leave a comment with your thoughts.
It's always a pleasure to read some feedback.

See you on the other side,

Jrej