the page: Thursday Sep 08, 16

Page 16 of 26 pages.

This blurb was written when this comic page first went online. It might not accurately reflect the current state of the RACIANTAU project. Consider it a piece of history.

I’ve been scripting ahead in RACIANTAU and I’ve got to tell you, it feels really good to step back and work on “Battlemon” after some of what I’ve written. “Battlemon” is simple, sweet-ish and largely unassuming in a way that later scripts are decidedly not.

That’s not a spoiler, since A) you can’t possibly know what I’m talking about unless you’re reading FROM THE FUTURE and, B) all of my scripts usually start out in a much sadder headspace than I’m comfortable actually working in and future drafts are in many ways exercises in making the core ideas I’m trying to communicate palatable to a healthy human being’s mindset and outlook.

Oh, and the fact that the “HANG IN THERE!” poster is displayed in such a prominent position here is another happy accident of the sort that found Racia’s “Home is where the heart is” decoration in such an ideal location on earlier pages. I wish I could take credit and I will, since even though the end result was unintended I was still responsible for the things that made it happen. There, little peek behind the curtain for you.

Minimalism is really hard to do. I really respect highly stylized, vibrant, and distinct minimalism like the sort you’d find in Rick and Morty or Adventure Time or whatever. I’m not actually trying to draw something that looks like any of those shows, but RACIANTAU is very much a creative exercise exploring a few themes I find myself obsessed with lately. So this page, 16, is one of a few “Very Special Pages” in “Battlemon.” This is one I tried restraining myself the most on; completely ignoring objects that would “be there” but would interrupt visual flow, as little SFX as possible– I don’t know why I’m listing things off you can clearly see up there, but you can’t even see her eyes on this page yet it’s rather clear how she feels throughout. Plus, the Racias featured in panels four and five are cuuute.

the story: Battlemon

In a cheap but legally permissible knockoff world in the style of Pokemon or Monster Rancher we peek into the shared lives of a young woman (Racia) and her Battlemon partner (Bunners) as they navigate the expectations society has of them and they have of each other.

the comic: RACIANTAU

An ongoing study in comics, storytelling, and philosophy, RACIANTAU is a comics anthology structured in the form of an essay. The title of the project (pronounced /rɔsiɑntoʊ/) is a contraction of the names "Racia" and "Antau" — the two main characters. The kids try to make sense out of a senseless world of VIOLENCE, IMPERMANENCE, ISOLATION. Anxious about the FUTURE OF OUR SPECIES, they find themselves face to face with the VOID WHICH CONSUMES ALL THINGS. In each story, one or both of them inch closer towards self-realization.


We're a self-taught comic-making duo with absurd politics and philosophy. We've made every page out of a desire for exploration and improvement. But if you enjoy what we put forth, your kind words will motivate us (email: hello@raciantau.com). If you want to read more, please join our fans and become our patron.


Yours,

Em & Iris