TWCL

[jamesisraelson]

I contacted the game company that currently has the rights to the Lode Runner franchise and asked them about making a comic based on the property with a link to my webcomic (www.joeandnancycomic.com) for a reference of my work...

My question is would anyone here read a Lode Runner comic if one was available?

[iaviv]

The game should only be a starting point. What exactly happen in the comic?
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[Kail]

jamesisraelson wrote:

My question is would anyone here read a Lode Runner comic if one was available?

Probably not? Or, if i did, it would be because it was an excellent comic, not because it had anything to do with Lode Runner. Lode Runner isn't exactly an IP that's rife with narrative possibilities. It has almost no plot, no characters, no real setting as far as I know. Seems like it would just hold you back.

I mean, I can see one of two options for this comic, either it's full of obscure in-jokes regarding the mechanics of a game that's twenty years old, in which case I won't get any of them and neither will the average reader I suspect, or it doesn't have much to do with Lode Runner at all, in which case, why are you bothering with the license?

[rylearron]

How would that even work? Lode Runner doesn't really have a deep and rich backstory, or a story at all really. Any serious story would either become cheesy or outgrow the source material, and as for a more comedic story I don't know how long that could last before it gets stale and repetitive.

I'd like to know what you actually plan to do with the story.

[Duskglass]

I don't know the game; I generally prefer original stuff.
However, I would read it if it was a good comic.

I agree with the other posters-- what do you gain by basing your comic of this game instead of writing something original?

[Gual-kun]

It looks difficult to made a story, yes. Like to see what do you have in mind. Anyway, I would read it, specially if it describes how the guy turns from Bomberman to Runner.
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[Clint Wolf]

A Lode Runner story should work fine so long as there's a Coyote.

<whisperwhisper>

Oh.

Well. Let's just say you're going to have an upward battle with brand recognition. We're not even talking 20 years old, we're talking almost 30... and though it was popular in it's day, it's no Super Mario Bros.

That said, it's a property you could do almost anything with because it's such a blank slate. It's from back in the days when you got those intriguing box covers that in no way resembled the game itself.





I mean, are those guys aliens or robots or just dudes in funky helmets? And the main character appears to have taken his fashion cues straight out of 1970s sci-fi like Logan's Run or the old Buck Rogers TV series.

Visually speaking it could be intriguing enough to get people to check it out. To keep them will (as always) be the trick.
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[vulpeslibertas]

I'm kind of curious (not that you need to tell us) why you fixated on this particular video game. As Clint says, you could go almost anywhere storywise with this, depending on how you treat it. Jokewise, I think you'll run out of decent material after a few updates.

I think you'd probably be better off with a more generic comic based on platform games in general (Lode Runner, Pitfall, Super Mario, etc.). And while the game is old, and the while IP owners probably don't mind you basing a comic off their work, I can't imagine that they would give you official permission to do it for various technical, legal, and artistic reasons.

To be honest, I doubt you'd get much serious following because of the brand name itself. I don't think I've ever even heard of the game before. You are probably severely minimizing your audience, if that's why you are choosing this particular game. If you're trying to get your popularity count up, go with Zelda, Mario, Final Fantasy, Team Fortress, or some other Mega-hit game. Heck, Halo threw in that awesome theater system just so people could make derivative fan works (ala Red Vs Blue).

All that said, do what you enjoy doing.
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