Comparison between Gaia and Scarlet
I plan to publish the first page of my new comic The Adventurous Scarlet Carolus and the Machine of Eternal Summer on 29 January. Just like Gaia, it will be a serious, long adventure story with some humorous scenes here and there. However, Scarlet will also differ from Gaia in several aspects. In order to align the expectations of the readers, here’s a short overview of the main differences between the two comics:
| Gaia | Scarlet | |
| Setting | Science fantasy with many elements from high fantasy | Dying Earth subgenre of science fantasy with limited fantasy elements |
| World | Young world in full bloom | Old, dying world |
| Conflict | Man vs. Man | Man vs. Nature |
| Species | Humans, elves, dragons, imps | Humans, anthropomorphic foxes and wolves |
| Story | Complex main story with several side plots, created ad-hoc during publication | Straightforward main story, entirely planned out in advance |
| Duration | Story takes place over four months | Story takes place over many years |
| Cast | Ensemble cast with several main characters and many supporting characters | Strong focus on the two main characters Scarlet and Tibor |
Despite the differences, all Gaia readers should also enjoy Scarlet. My general approach to storytelling hasn’t changed. Moreover, Scarlet Carolus will share several personality traits with Gaia’s most popular character Viviana. Like Viviana, Scarlet is brave, smart and practical. I hope you’ll like her, and Tibor, as much as I do.
Foxes and wolves but no catgirls? Why? Will there be in-story reasons for that?
“Straightforward main story, entirely planned out in advance.” Good luck with that. Let me just say that plan your journey as you may, you will still find the coolest stuff on the sideroads.
Is it here (sandraandwoo front page) that we are to be expecting the first page on the 29th? Also, looking so much forward to it! Any idea on when you’ll be updating it?
Rick Nigh wrote:
No… that’s actually normal for serious authors to plan things well in advance. Some even get lost in the planning phase entirely and end up never publishing. Tolkien was notorious for this as most of his work went unpublished as long as he lived.
@ Foye:
There are some who work like that, and some (also amongst the serious ones) who don’t. I have an essay by Hemingway where he summarize an interview he has given, and when the interviewer asks him whether he always knows where his stories will go, he answers ‘Hardly ever’. So neither of the generalizations are really correct – it depends on the author and their personal methods and temperament
HKMaly wrote:
On top of that, due to the constant cold weather on Lavarel, the cute fox girls also won’t ever appear in scanty bikinis! The reason for that is, I’m afraid, that I’m a complete moron and didn’t think things through when coming up with the setting for the comic.
I have added this question to the FAQ: https://www.sandraandwoo.com/scarlet/about/#faq
Derptastic wrote:
The comic will be published on https://www.scarletcomic.com
Thorfinntk wrote:
agreed, you’re not debating me here, you missed the “some” in my comment.
Novil wrote:
No snow leopards either?
And no hot springs?
No traditional Finnish saunas?
… although those rarely involve bikinis anyway 🙂 …
(Frankly, I didn’t though about fanservice in my original question. But seems the reason you didn’t included catgirls is that it makes YOU think about fanservice.)
Scarlet and Julius were reminding me more of Sandra and Cloud than of Scarlet was reminding me of Viviana!