13 Jul 2016

Artwork - Mat Life Comic Strip

Above: First appearance of our hero, Matt


Mat Life is a comic strip I created for publication in Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine. The character, Matt, is a complete novice and each episode followed his progression as an early beginner who makes all the mistakes that everyone else makes. The strip was also an excuse for me to attempt sequential art, something I had previously never tried before.

The first appearance wasn't an official episode 1, it was merely a two panel sequence to illustrate a written article. The next issue of the magazine expanded the format to a four panel story. Editor Callum then wanted the strip to fill the whole page, hence a six panel format appeared. I discovered that a six panel set was much more of a challenge. Telling the story without too much 'filler' material or repetition is a real art. I admire comic artists who can deftly add story, action, humour, drama and dialogue, all within the space of one page. 

It was a great exercise for me. Sadly, I have decided to end the strip, the final episode appears in Issue 33 of Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine. 



Above: This first nerves when lining up for sparring!


Episode 2: perpetuating one of the many BJJ memes out there


Episode 3: dreaming of success and glory!




Episode 4: sucked into the gi addiction game
Epsiode 5: trying out a bit of nogi for the first time

Episode 6: Finally, the day has arrived! 



About the Author

Meerkatsu

Author & Artist

Meerkatsu is the artist name for BJJ black belt Seymour Yang.

1 comments:

Jiu Jitsu Times said...

haha the pictures is really funny

 

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