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A few days ago I talked about my new comic needing a name and now I can tell you that a name has been found.

After some bouncing around and showing images to people I finally came to the name of No Tie Zone.

So where did it come from? Well I have a very deeprooted dislike for ties. So by extention so do most of the characters in my comic. It also kinda sets the tone of what sort of company it’s going to be.

Already some changes have been made in who owns the company and who fulfils what function. Added to that the comic will also feature jokes and things that are not entirely IT related.

Currently still working on ending THOM but this ending is coming closer and closer.

When I started this blog and the plans for a new comic I was confident I was going to call it The IT Comic. As it was going to be about IT, so in that sense the name makes sense. But lately I’ve been worrying just a tiny bit about it. While the name is simple and conveys what the comic is about, it also locks it in the IT scene.

Now as I stated earlier, Limitations aren’t a bad thing. But a name such as this will cause some serious limitations. As such I’ve decided that I’m going to look for a new name for the comic. One that better embodies the idea of the comic. The setting and characters are going to remain the same, though I’ve already planned some changes.

Of course the problem now is that thinking up a good and catchy name is quite challenging. So that’s something to I’ll be thinking on.

And I’m open to suggestions if you have them.

At the Stripdagen in Haarlem I picked up this gem and it’s sequel. One of the reasons I was there was to look for inspiration for a longform comic I am planning.

In this case the artwork really caught my eye. The author, Christophe Arleston, apparently have various different comic series in his name. This being a more recent one where the art is being done by Alberto Varanda. I totally dig the stylized way of drawing Varanda has.

But on top of great artwork the writing and story are surprisingly entertaining. Elixirs tells of a fantasy world that is constantly on the brink of decay. Through the use of elixirs produced by mages this decay can be countered. The story starts with a princess attending the school of magic which is situated in a neutral city. Though a portal under the city monsters invade it and start ransacking it. With the help of a not so succesful magic student, who spends most of his time chasing girls, the princess and her bodyguard manage to make their escape.

They soon find their way through strange temples and snowy mountains fighting for their survival. Big things are happening in their world and it would seem they are the ones chosen to save it.

On the one hand the story is kinda standard in terms of a group saving the world. But the characters are quite endearing and it’s rather interesting to see something other than orcs and elves these days.

The second book continues the story as they try to find their way. The secret of the Glupion (a small furry animal) that accompanies them is revealed, as are other facts about their adventure.

I’m looking forward to reading book three once it’s released and translated to Dutch. If you get a chance to pick it up I can certainly recommend it. I’m not aware of any official English translations, which is a shame.