Jeriah Everquest 2


Facts Answers and Questions. What is the premise behind this book? I wanted to create a story using some of the storyline and lore from Everquest 2, with a personal touch. The world of Norrath is enormous with a rich history. Sometimes when people are rushing to the "endgame," they don't take the time to appreciate the journey it takes to get there. I am just trying to give them a taste of what's out there. Why a Web Comic? I have always wanted to make a comic, since the days of Underroos. Growing up, I soon realized that I wasn't going to make it as an artist and abandoned the idea of making comics. When I got older, I realized that I missed using my imagination. When I came up with the idea of screen shots from a game for a web comic, I jumped right in. Why Everquest 2? I had been playing Everquest for two years. When I decided that I wanted to do a Web comic, Everquest 2 became the perfect choice for me. Do I have to like Everquest 2 to enjoy this Comic? Not necessarily. My goal is to make a book that is accessible to everyone, whether they play EQ2 or not. I do have many easter eggs in the book for people that do play the game, but hopefully people can still enjoy Jeriah without having to even know what Everquest is. Do I have to like Comics to enjoy this comic? I hope that people that don't particularly like comics, but play EQ2 can also enjoy the comic, since I have many of the same themes they will see from the game, including some major quest lines and familiar faces. How did you come up with the Characters names? All the names that I use have a religious meaning behind them. Not because I am very religious, I am just cRaZy :) For instance, Jeriah means "throwing down of the Lord." What does it take to make this comic every month? Well, it actually takes the whole month of working on Jeriah to make it happen. The first thing I did before I even started working on Jeriah was to come up with an underlining plot line that would play out over the duration of the series. I then flesh out a story arc, usually about 3-4 books long. Then I have to level up the characters that will be in the story arc to the appropriate level for that zone, or area of the game, because if the "actors" are not up to the same level or above that of the creatures near them, most of my screen shots will be of them face down in the dirt. :) Next, is the fun part. I have 3 accounts and 3 high-end systems for the filming of Jeriah. I take over 4,000 different screen shots for each issue, making sure I can get the best pictures available. I then take the screen shots I like and put them into a program called Comic Book Creator. There, I can lay them out how I want. Once the pictures are placed according to the plot, I then finish the script. The script is done after the screen shots, so that I can try and use the screen shots to tell my story as much as I can, using limited facial expressions and what not. When the book has the pictures and the writing the way I want, I then go over a lot of the images with Photoshop. I have to clean up anything that might look like part of a user interface or some characters that jumped into the shot at the last second, or even just adjusting the color of some of the images. Once the photos are cleaned up, I hand it over to my girlfriend so she can edit the heck out of the book, because god knows I can't spell to save my life. Once the book has been completed, I use a program called Jalbum so that people can view it from the web. I have gone through many programs, trying to find the one that would make it easiest for people to view Jeriah. This has been the best piece of software I have found. Lastly, I use Dreamweaver and Photoshop to update the website with the latest issue of Jeriah. Well, that's all for now. If you have any additional questions e-mail them to jeriahbook@hotmail.com Thanks

Facts Answers and Questions.

What is the premise behind this book?

I wanted to create a story using some of the storyline and lore from Everquest 2, with a personal touch. The world of Norrath is enormous with a rich history. Sometimes when people are rushing to the "endgame," they don't take the time to appreciate the journey it takes to get there. I am just trying to give them a taste of what's out there.

Why a Web Comic?

I have always wanted to make a comic, since the days of Underroos. Growing up, I soon realized that I wasn't going to make it as an artist and abandoned the idea of making comics. When I got older, I realized that I missed using my imagination. When I came up with the idea of screen shots from a game for a web comic, I jumped right in.

Why Everquest 2?

I had been playing Everquest for two years. When I decided that I wanted to do a Web comic, Everquest 2 became the perfect choice for me.

Do I have to like Everquest 2 to enjoy this Comic?

Not necessarily. My goal is to make a book that is accessible to everyone, whether they play EQ2 or not. I do have many easter eggs in the book for people that do play the game, but hopefully people can still enjoy Jeriah without having to even know what Everquest is.

Do I have to like Comics to enjoy this comic?

I hope that people that don't particularly like comics, but play EQ2 can also enjoy the comic, since I have many of the same themes they will see from the game, including some major quest lines and familiar faces.

How did you come up with the Characters names?

All the names that I use have a religious meaning behind them. Not because I am very religious, I am just cRaZy :) For instance, Jeriah means "throwing down of the Lord."

What does it take to make this comic every month?

Well, it actually takes the whole month of working on Jeriah to make it happen. The first thing I did before I even started working on Jeriah was to come up with an underlining plot line that would play out over the duration of the series. I then flesh out a story arc, usually about 3-4 books long. Then I have to level up the characters that will be in the story arc to the appropriate level for that zone, or area of the game, because if the "actors" are not up to the same level or above that of the creatures near them, most of my screen shots will be of them face down in the dirt. :)

Next, is the fun part. I have 3 accounts and 3 high-end systems for the filming of Jeriah. I take over 4,000 different screen shots for each issue, making sure I can get the best pictures available.

I then take the screen shots I like and put them into a program called Comic Book Creator. There, I can lay them out how I want. Once the pictures are placed according to the plot, I then finish the script. The script is done after the screen shots, so that I can try and use the screen shots to tell my story as much as I can, using limited facial expressions and what not.

When the book has the pictures and the writing the way I want, I then go over a lot of the images with Photoshop. I have to clean up anything that might look like part of a user interface or some characters that jumped into the shot at the last second, or even just adjusting the color of some of the images. Once the photos are cleaned up, I hand it over to my girlfriend so she can edit the heck out of the book, because god knows I can't spell to save my life.

Once the book has been completed, I use a program called Jalbum so that people can view it from the web. I have gone through many programs, trying to find the one that would make it easiest for people to view Jeriah. This has been the best piece of software I have found.

Lastly, I use Dreamweaver and Photoshop to update the website with the latest issue of Jeriah.

Well, that's all for now. If you have any additional questions e-mail them to jeriahbook@hotmail.com

Thanks