The Fifth Columnist finale is out out OUT! \(^.^)/

...Well, it's been out since last week, but... :3

The Fifth Columnist 2
Elex Media May 2010
114 x 172 mm, 216 pages
ISBN: 978-979-27-7329-3

The synopsis on the back read:

"A series of unfortunate events finally led Bishop to confront her partner, Helix.
But their much-anticipated duel would have to wait as a team of Soviet agents showed up to spray their apartment with bullets..."

(Thank you Niki-chan for 'helping out' with the translation! ^^)

Fifth 2 is the final volume in the Fifth series, which sees Helix's true identity revealed and Bishop's persistence/courage put to the real test. While the ending still left a few things unanswered (albeit NOT intentionally! T.T), it marks the closure of the Helix and Bishop story 'arc' first concocted back in 2004.

It goes without saying that the past few months have been such a joyride for yours truly, especially with the horde of new life-long friends made both in real life and online. I never seem to say this enough but thank you, thank you, THANK YOU again for all your support and for being such great fun! XD

And... though these are not parting gifts but... enjoy them all the same :3

Image 1: A really old manga page, ca. 2006

All done with manual tones! O.O

Image 2: An old sketch of the first scene in Fifth 1, ca. 2007


Image 3: Study of Helix in short hair, ca. 2006

His character design has changed somewhat since the beginning of the project ^^;

Image 4: One of the pages pitched to Elex editor in May 2007

This came from the scene when Bishop took Helix to safety after he was shot,
but limited space prompted me to omit this scene from volume 2 -_-" Digital tones were used.

Image 5: Light drawing of Bishop, Helix and Snatch :D

Hehehe...

Image 6, 7 and 8: Just for fun! :3





See you around! :D :D



NB: Some 18 of us had a Fifth 2 mini-launching/friend's belated birthday party event last week in Jakarta, and Cyan-san has kindly uploaded the video online! Check it out HERE! ^^

*huggles*

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The Fifth Columnist 2 print previews ^^

Hello again and hope you're all alright this blissful (and scorching! -_-) Friday afternoon :D

Just picked up the first proof print of Fifth 2 from my editor's office next door and am now trying to get it ready for an April release ^^; *darn those moire patterns!*

Enjoy! xD



Inside front cover -- am currently lobbying to get this printed in colour on art paper! ^^



Helix looking wet... and willing? xP (No, nothing that provocative actually...)


That's about ALL I can spare unfortunately T_T

For more fun activities and whatnots, check out the recent Helix and Snatch alternative hairstyle parade, courtesy of comediennes @raina_lie and @failedravenclaw. I WAS supposed to craft a post about this amusing 'parade' but haven't got round to doing it yet, so sorry about that... +,+

Until next time, folks! :)

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Verdict and new poll ;)

Happy Friday and a humble thank you for all the feedbacks received in recent weeks ^^ Hopefully everyone's alright and not too caught up with work (or lack thereof) this weekend!

My gratitude also to participating voters of the previous Favourite Character poll, which had finally come down to this:


That was pretty close, phfew! :)
(The 'Other' vote was most probably given to the Dragon Lady ^^)

Meanwhile, a new poll has been fitted to the right-hand frame of this page (Blogspot viewers only) -- feel free to have your say so that yours truly could aim to please you better in the future :D

Much love from andie :D
*signing off and getting back to work*

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The Fifth Columnist 1 half-time assessment :)

FINALLY, IT'S OUT! *tears of joy*

After several months of waiting (which felt like forever!), the release of Fifth 1 in the Indonesian manga market on Jan 13, 2010 came like a huge relief for yours truly. This has been my first manga release and to be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Admittedly, one of the best things about having your work out in the open (ie. displayed in the bookstores right next to Masashi Asaki/Yuma Ando's Kunimitsu and Jun Mochizuki's Pandora Hearts! >,<) is the feedback you can expect from readers -- both the negative and the positive. These precious opinions are exactly what a manga artist needs in the quest for producing better and greater things.

So, without further ado, here's a very brief summary of the real-time and real-life feedbacks on Fifth 1 hitherto (as per Jan 22):

Plus points:

* Attractive cover
* Interesting, enticing storyline
* 'Fresh' espionage theme
* Distinct drawing style, not necessarily manga-esque but not typically Indonesian

Minus points:

* Finishing: inking is often sketchy, distracting and confusing

* Story is built up to take a clichéd romantic direction

* Puzzling backstory due to large number of non-present characters

* Content does not closely resemble cover

Then, on to some interesting points:

* A majority of readers consider Helix their favourite character because he's "cool" and "gentlemanly"

* One reader expressed fascination to Bishop's bust size X3

* One reader questioned artist's motive for using a Japanese-sounding last name (how observant! ^^)

* A couple of readers thought the cover drawing is reminiscent of Manhwa-style art

Response to feedbacks:

I will definitely try my best to consider all the above points when editing Fifth 2 -- which was originally scheduled for release in February but could now come out as late as March or April! One emphasis would be on making sure that all loose ends are tied and another could be on patching up/redoing some pages to improve drawing quality (oh nooooo...)

That's it for now, my humblest gratitude to everyone who has read/bought/borrowed the book and given their comments! ^^ Feel free to add your personal opinions below; constructive criticism is always welcome :)

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Preview in Elex Komikologi for December 2009

Finally, the long-awaited moment of truth is nearly come! The last time I heard from my hardworking comic editor (bless her heart!), Fifth 1 is scheduled for release in the fourth week of December. I can't tell you how giddy/anxious/nervous I am counting the days... if only those proof prints could get done in time!! >,<



Elex Media's 'Komikologi', December 2009



A simple statement was all it took to be doubtful of my new alpha-agent of a partner. How did a former German army recruit end up as a British spy? More importantly, why couldn't our unit chief stop bragging about how good this man was?
(Sorry, some things inevitably got lost in translation... T__T)


Thank you for the preview, Elex! ^^
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Manga marketing for dummies @_@

Being a full-time writer/journalist whose life revolves around words (or struggling over lack thereof!), I consider myself the exact opposite of a sales/marketing guru.

Unfortunately, this does not grant me immunity from the golden 'curse' of Marketing Mix, which basically states that in order for a product to succeed in the market, you'd need to address the four issues of Product, Pricing, Placement and Promotion effectively.

Out of the four Ps above, Product is visibly the only element that a typical manga artist has control of. Pricing and Placement, on the other hand, can get a bit tricky since they are largely owed to each publisher's discernments -- though you can always try lobbying!

Last but not least there is Promotion, which to me represents something else entirely... (to be continued)

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