SFM BTS #1

[[SPOILER WARNING for Sharknife Fight Machine plot details! But fuggit look at this anyway lol]]

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Ok here we goddamn go

SHARKNIFE FIGHT MACHINE !!!!!!!!!!!

I am now officially on the 3rd draft of "Fight Machine", like 5th draft in general of "Sharknife 3" 

This is the newest draft unleashed in the last 48 hours. 

There's a lot more pages than this! Just wanted to show you guys the initial HOOK

You see, the drafts I had going before this were decent, but I felt they weren't GETTING INTO THE ACTION fast enough.

Like, all the cool stuff I had planned was gonna show up in issue 2 or something, and I was like fuck that, I want this to ROCK from the JUMP. 

So, that is what this newest (and hopefully final) draft represents. 

We've got new character KENBY in some HYPEBEAST-type gear (he's the only thing "inked" in this draft so far), Sharknife handing out turkeys, gettin TORE UP, a city infested with flaming-headed zombies (that may be difficult to make out in these draft pages)-- and our titillating new villain VIPER SNIPER on deck. All in the first 11 pages. That's what I'm talkin about

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The old drafts were more subtle, hinting at a lot of the themes and artifices I was trying to establish, instead of jump-kicking you in the face with them-- this new version opts for the JUMP KICKS. I mean, that's what Sharknife is about. 

Still, I'd say they are subtle jump kicks. The action is blunt, but what I'm trying to convey is PERHAPS a bit deeper than what Sharknife lore has been used to up til this point. 

It's probably not that discernable yet in these initial 11 pages-- but I have 30 pages of the new draft laid out. And what comes after this just compounds the fun and intensity, imo. 

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It's all about having the CHARACTERS push the story around in the way they want it. The great thing about the several DRAFTS i've done, I've learned so much about the characters. 

For instance, in the old draft, I had SNIPER VIPER lifting Sharknife aloft herself, indicating the beat-down and dread in store for Sharknife. 

I mean, this is cool shit, and I still like the imagery (and will probably use it elsewhere in the story)

But further development of the story and the VIPER SNIPER character, led me to the conclusion that SHE HERSELF rarely participates in the SNIPING-- well, she DOES, but she usually has her PEOPLE set shit up for her, do the grunt work, etc. She's a powerful influencer, so she INFLUENCES other people to do her grunt work. 

That's why in "NEWTAKE" (that's what I call this [LAST] draft), she is mostly chilling on a THRONE, while her thralls take care of shit for her!

I think it's a much sharper contrast between the STREET LEVEL SHARKNIFE, and this untouchable queen in her flying double-pyramid. 

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Another improvement based on that is; in the previous draft I just had Sharknife in PERIL, left for you to assume he got his ass beat. 

In "NEWTAKE", we are going to see that action. We don't have to speculate how powerful some of these characters are, they will SHOW you!

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SHARKNIFE FIGHT MACHINE will start serializing here soon! 

These BEHIND THE SCENES reveal a lot of what's coming up for the serialization. Kinda makes me not want to show you-- but I'm sure a lot more will be revealed when Final Art is applied. Stuff, art, story elements actually tend to morph a bit in those final stages!

Anyway, this is what I'm cookin!