Having just finished reading this ambitious, spirited adventure, my own enthusiasm streaks to keep pace with the consensus: "Bounce Chix Origins I" is out of this world, in every sense! The ladies of your two mighty franchises (Bounce Chix and TIS) conquer the novel format with all the life-loving feistiness that graces their comix outings! And with so much more fertile territory at their disposal, depth and scope have become their new personal watchwords!
Thank you so much, my good friend, for such a wonderful review! And my apologies for the delayed response. It has been a ridiculously eventful week.
I wasn't sure initially if a single novel would be big enough to fit in both the key characters from Tickling in Space, as well as the sexy and saucy Bounce Chix...needless to say I was right. LMAO. Working with both franchises in the same fictional realm was awesome...but it easily spilled into a double sized project.
Andi, Hailey and Janey have always had a firm grasp on fun, funny, slap-happy attitude, a high-energy approach that serves them perfectly in the realm of talking illustrations, where momentum is ceaseless. "Temple of Bounce" and "Bounce of the Dragon" are rollicking sprints, for which all-out effort is essential (let the pace flag during a farce, and reader interest flags with it). 100+ pages of text, however, is a marathon, requiring carefully paced breathing space, a string of intriguing developments, fresh perspectives and increased gravitas... one rejoices to find that the daring Bandito's first installment of "Bounce Chix Origins" triumphs on all these fronts! Readers well familiar with his earlier Bounce and TIS adventures are in for countless pleasing twists and revelations, as the narrative barrels along, pauses to reassess, alters course and generally plays havoc with our expectations! The rather perfunctory Chix of the comix world (shot into action with such velocity that one must note their hair color to tell them apart) have been broadened into distinct and distinctive personalities. The novel format allows them to maintain the spunky confidence that fans expect and crave, but necessitates that they apply it against dire, threatening circumstances that test not only their energies but their attitudes. When Janey finds her friends in peril, she rages to protect; powerful bonds of reciprocal loyalty drive Andi and Hailey to abandon security and return the favor. Such examples of deeply felt concern flesh these figures from mere flawless bodies into complex personalities that earn our continuing attention. The Chix may not have begun to bounce yet, but one can clearly see the adhesive of complimentary skills and affection that will bind them into an iconic unit.
I am so glad that the novel format is better suited to tell the full story behind the Chix. As fun as comics can be...I find my own to be too short, and fast paced to tell a real story (Something you continue to do exceedingly well with your matchless Low Roads series).
The illustrated novel format allows me to delve sooooooooooo much deeper into the unique personalities of each of the Chix. Make the reader tune into their thoughts, and their wonderful spirits. And it also allows me to tell a story infinitely deeper, more exciting, and more...involved, than I am able to do in a comic.
So much for the earthbound element of the equation... it's the aliens, of course, who offer up the lion's share of outre fascination! This we might naturally assume, but Deeto cunning sets snares for our expectations. All will recognize familiar faces in the mix... placing them at their stations may test one's equilibrium, though! Perhaps, along with the Chix, these creatures find themselves at the early stages of their careers (incubating juniors of the randy crew-members we know and love so well); the effect, though, resembles the disorienting refit some anime series adopt once they close their original storylines (as we've come to expect from Tenchi-Muyo, for instance). Its a sly tactic which allows us to savor fresh and vintage cake simultaneously... it's fun to track our favorite characters through reworked personas, while poorly regarded players may now impress anew! Should anyone crave further novelty, the ranks of Terran and off-worlder alike brim with virgin recruits!
I thought flushing out some of the TIS origins would be dreadfully fun and naughty, and at the same time, I wanted to introduce a whole entourage of new aliens.
From the venomous space pirate, Captain Blake...
To the tender and tantalizing Spadran crew mates...
Origins has characters to spare.
Artwork (and there's plenty of it) has been allowed to bloom into highly refined, detailed portraiture. Comix requirements force pictures to assume storytelling function. Book illustrations eschew this; they reflect the preexisting action of the text, becoming self-contained entities. The story's characters, their faces having no need to shout out dialogue, lose their rubbery exaggeration. Poses aren't as arch or forced. Alternately, as attention can't be distracted by a bon mot, the viewer is less likely to forgive imperfections or visual shorthand. BCO's art answers the challenge masterfully! Linework is stunningly crisp! The elements of composition fill the frame effortlessly and never fail to direct the eye properly! Background detail is impressively lush, treating us to some of the most successful, beautiful settings in the Deeto repertoire! An attacked alien cityscape (page 43) bristles with ruined flourish as it basks in the heat of a double-star! A ship corridor (page 101) forces perspective with geometric perfection! Best of all, this series features some of the sweetest female faces in the history of fetish illustration! My personal favorite is a demuring Slither on page 37, but she finds easy rivals throughout the whole of the collection (a further surprise, a title page by the peerless Scavenger [page 117], provides wondrously sweaty contrasting character interpretation!) White Lotus likewise outdoes herself; her patented creamy-smooth skintones, in every conceivable hue, burn with ardor; flowing tresses shimmer with alluring silkiness; ship's conduit and plating dutifully dull themselves into non-competing secondary status while remaining distinct and credibly dimensional! A rim of gleaming backlight treats the aforementioned Slither to a halo of starlet glamour! Arcs of electricity discharge savage teasing glee as the air turns rich with ozone (page 91)! Brilliant lighting effects accentuate shipboard amour in its every mood, from playful to poisonous! Such delicate care can lure beauty even from sordid torture chambers!
Thank you so much for your kind and generous words about the artwork. I personally feel like the pin up style allows Lotus and I to capture the hottest part of each sizzling tickle scene in all of its detail, intimacy, and ticklyness.
Comics are great, and I intend to do more of them...but this pin up style novel allows for an entirely different product. In which the reader gets both a gargantuan amount of tickling fiction, hotness, and action, as well as each illustration being so well refined, rather than teeny, boxed in, and cranked out.
Fetish action is as frequent and heavy-duty as any rabid fan could want, and is happily integral to the plot. Well-timed periods of respite allow the reader to catch his breath, while making way for the ongoing non-tickle developments that fuel much of the story's complexity. Even then, an incidental giggly goose or prod will sneak through for momentary thrill value... pennies like these pay richly as silver dollars when they turn up unexpected!
In Origins it's almost as if tickling itself takes over the entire crew. Before you know it, the mood has changed every where on board the ship. Tis isn't just the first story of the Bounce Chix chronology...it is the story that changes the characters. This is where they become the chix, where they develop this love hate relationship with tickling, and where they begin their erotic journey through life.
The title's prominent Roman numeral "I" will tip every reader that this is only the opening salvo of the laser barrage... part 2 has itself a handsome opening act, jammed full of mysteries and foreshadowed excitement! Already epic, the action only promises to grow hotter, in every respect! "Dune" may have its Fremen, "BCO" its Foxies... we'll see who has more fun!
Oh number II is twice as climactic. I can't wait to release it.
**draws furiously**
Yet again you've crafted a masterpiece, my most excellent Deeto! Even more stunning to realize this is only a piece of a masterpiece... taken in toto, "Bounce Chix Origins" will be a work of weighty, daunting splendor! The vanilla crowd really needs to catch on soon... they have no idea what they're missing!
Again...thank you so very VERY much, my friend. Your feedback is so greatly appreciated, as is your incredible contributions to this community.
Your friend, always,
B
