HOPE's parents...

they only appear for a brief moment in one of her flashbacks,
but their identity is one of the many pieces of the puzzle that is HOPE's shattered past...

and that's why i'll keep them anonymous for now...

underwater crime scene...

OMNICORP is involved in running the world. It's net of influence surrounds the globe like a spider's web, and the members of it's board of directors are quite possibly the most powerful people on the planet.
so rest assured that a leak at the site of one of their numerous (illegal) deep see mining operations is nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Officially, everything is under control, and OMNICORP denies any wrongdoing or responsibility - but HOPE and her friends from the MIDGARD initiative are not being discouraged by the corporation's intimidation tactics...

"I say. You do. No questions."

quick sketch of HOPE's sensei Masamuro Hiroshii, to go with the previous material of her in martial arts training poses - obviously inspired by a bunch of such masters, from Rocky's Mickey through Yoda, Mr, Miyagi to Kill Bill's Pai Mei...

Larry, we have to close the beaches!

Cyborgian Carcharias. The great robotic shark!

who would build robo-sharks, and for what purpose?
how did HOPE get into this predicament, and HOW is she gonna get out of it?

i really don't want to say too much about it, just 'cause it'll be too much of a spoiler....

;)

the robot sharks are influenced by hajime sorayama, whose 'sexy robots' became part of pop culture, and whose work i admire from way back when we were all using actual airbrushes

stay tuned....



oh, one thing to note is that HOPE's 'outfit' is a direct homage to honey rider in dr. no, down to the exact same knife on her belt - somehow, in my mind, this makes total sense...

you're going to teach me kung fu? whoa!!

like every hero on her journey, HOPE gets to her teacher/mentor, and will be instructed in some ancient but very effective martial arts technique, and, alongside the extremely difficult exercise and the increase in the mastery of kick-assness, be taught a lesson or two about life in general, which i'm sure will also come in handy later on in the story...

"Even though these characters and events are fictional, any resemblance
to cliches past or present is purely and completely intentional."

;)

character is not properly inked yet, and color is also only roughed in - WIP

happy thanksgiving, everyone!!

m

the secret laboratory within the hidden temple...

hiding your secret high tech laboratory underneath long forgotten temple structures deep within the jungles of borneo seems to be THE most perfectly logical thing to do - who would EVER think to look THERE?? - except HOPE, of course...
well, it's actually not that simple (is it ever?), but you're gonna have to stick around and eventually read the book to find out

it IS pretty much a 'james bond'ian setup, though, isn't it? secret villainous lair hidden in or under some exotic landmark? LOVE IT!!
"No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!"

the set design is also inspired by my favorite comic strip, 'terry and the pirates', which took place in numerous picturesque locations along the chinese coast

junk

not THAT kind of junk - the romantic type, the boat...

this is work on 'background detail', it will be part of the first page splash panel...


homage to milton caniff and his masterpiece, 'terry and the pirates'

background

here is the background for the panel in progress - it's somewhat inspired by anime, which i feel is totally appropriate for all the tech-y elements in the hope universe, the look of which creates a nice contrast to the characters with their unmistakable franco-belgian heritage.

interesting to see the BG in its unobstructed glory - it will be mostly covered up in the particular panel i'm working on, but even though this creates more work right now, designing and drawing and coloring the whole panel - if you think about this workflow more like you would in animation, this 'shot' is being prepared like in a multiplane set-up, and thus it allows you to use all the elements separately, and possibly in a slightly different way, in other panels requiring the same (or a similar) location...