Mu Suxing leaned back in his chair, sitting in a relaxed and casual manner. He was not angry because of the euphemistic rejection in the words of the person in front of him, nor did he feel uncomfortable at all. He naturally folded his hands on the table, and his dark eyes under his slightly drooping eyelashes looked calmly at the other person:
"Mr. Qiu gave up his original job at Baiyun Comics and came to Huaying to start from scratch. Is his goal just to compete with Baiyun Comics for the market in the Eastern Region?"
Qiu Fengmao was slightly stunned.
But it was only for a moment.
After less than a second of silence, the new editor-in-chief of "Huaying Comics" narrowed his eyes and quickly cast his gaze on the large pile of information in front of him. He rested one hand on his chin and tapped the table with the other hand casually. After thinking for a while with his eyelids slightly drooped, he finally spoke: "What is the feature of the work?"
Generally speaking, when submitting a comic, you need to attach a story outline, the first three episodes of the script, an introduction to the author, and the features of the work. The features of the work are also called the selling points of the story. In simple terms, it is the most unique part of the comic that can attract the target readers.
It is also the most critical part of a commercial comic.
Mu Suxing smiled slightly, knowing that the other party had been half convinced by him. The remaining half would naturally depend on the quality of the work - but is there anything questionable about the quality of the Sherlock Holmes series
"Turn back, I put it after the story outline..." Before he finished speaking, Qiu Fengmao continued to flip through the information he had missed during the previous reading process. Mu Suxing shrugged: "But I personally suggest that you read it in the order I gave you. This may help you understand the charm of this comic."
Qiu Fengmao didn't say anything, but his hands instinctively turned back to the first page.
Frankly speaking, he didn't really trust his de facto boss.
Although comics and animation are the most similar, they are ultimately two different industries. Just because Mu Suxing can run an animation company from scratch doesn't mean he can also run a comic magazine that has no foundation and also starts from scratch.
It's not that Qiu Fengmao has any dissatisfaction or prejudice against Muxuxing, it's purely due to the environment - the reason why Huaying has been able to be smooth sailing in the animation industry is not only because of the high quality of its own animations, but also because there are no giant companies in the animation industry itself.
But comics are different.
Whether it is the eastern area centered on Xingning City or the western area centered on Beipu City, in the comic weekly market, the two culturally different regions have their own monopoly-level comic weekly magazines, which are backed by either important publishing groups or well-known entertainment groups.
Qiu Fengmao's goal is indeed not just to compete with Baiyun Comics for the market. If possible, which comic magazine would not want to expand its market globally
If "cultural barriers" can be easily broken, they are no longer "barriers".
Thinking of this, Qiu Fengmao felt somewhat helpless.
He didn't have much hope for this comic book work, but the author of the comic book was his immediate superior after all. No matter what he thought in his heart, he still had to do the superficial work.
With this thought in mind, he once again flipped through the documents in front of him.
At the same time as him, several other editors present also moved. Huaying Animation is now a large company, and the editors hired are naturally not newcomers with no experience. Several senior editors present looked at each other, as if they understood each other's thoughts, and quickly stopped talking and turned their attention to the heavyweight review at hand.
Placed at the top of the materials is Conan Doyle's original short story "The Red-Headed League".
He had read the novel in its entirety at the beginning.
The cases in the novel are creative and interesting, the plot logic is rigorous and reasonable, and the protagonist Sherlock Holmes presents a wonderful reasoning process.
There is no doubt that this is indeed an excellent mystery novel. Qiu Fengmao also believes that with Mu Suxing's ability, even if it is adapted into a comic, it will still be an excellent mystery comic.
But that’s not enough.
If any good mystery novel can get the same attention after being adapted into a comic book, why do comic book artists still write scripts? They can just adapt any mystery novel.
What limits the mystery comics is not the quality of the comics themselves, but the unpopular subject matter itself. In other words, the "wall" that this comic has to face is not just a cultural wall.
Thinking of this, Qiu Fengmao sighed softly and continued reading.
The next manuscript was the first three chapters of "Red Hair Society" drawn by Mu Suxing. He had read these before. Qiu Fengmao was quite impressed with Mu Suxing's ability in comics. His choice of style was just right, and his ability to control the characters was undoubtedly first-class, but...
Why is it a suspenseful mystery
While he was feeling regretful, he finally found the selling points of the work he had originally intended to read.
By this time, he had gradually calmed down after reading the book again, and he began to think from another perspective -
Although the subject matter is unpopular, the quality of the comic itself is not a problem as the main comic of the first issue. At most, it may rank at the bottom among many comics because of its unpopular subject matter - and this can be reasonably explained to the outside world.
For example, Huaying Comics is not a weekly comic that judges quality by popularity. Whether it is a fast-paced comic or a slow-paced, layer-by-layer drama comic, as long as the quality is good, it can be serialized on Huaying Comics...
As he was thinking, another senior editor next to him seemed to have seen something and couldn't help but exclaimed "Huh".
Qiu Fengmao frowned slightly, and turned his head with several startled editors present to look at the editor who spoke.
The senior editor was obviously a little embarrassed to suddenly receive so much attention. She touched her nose subconsciously. This action seemed to effectively ease her inner embarrassment, because she quickly cleared her throat and her expression was no longer at a loss, but showed a hint of obvious excitement.
"Well, I want to ask, the author of this series of novels should not be an Oriental, right?" Noticing the confused looks of the crowd, she explained, "Sorry, I'm just a little concerned that this novel describes the social image of the Victorian era - when it was still called Britain - too realistically. I almost thought I was reading a history book instead of a mystery novel."
Qiu Fengmao's heart moved slightly, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.
As a comics editor, the female editor next to him is an old acquaintance of his. He knows that she has always been an absolute history enthusiast and is particularly knowledgeable about Victorian Britain hundreds of years ago. Since she said this, it means that even if this novel is put in front of native West End readers, there will probably be no sense of cultural disharmony.
If when drawing the background of the comic, the text description in the novel can be restored as accurately as possible into a realistic picture...
He narrowed his eyes, and without further delay, he quickly read through the selling points of the work listed by the other party.
"Using character setting as the core selling point?" Qiu Fengmao pinched his forehead, a little bit unable to believe his eyes: "Are you serious?"
Muxiuxing answered affirmatively: "Of course."
“This…” Qiu Fengmao couldn’t help but frown again. If this was a cartoon, then the shape of the Chinese character “井” (well) representing irritability would have appeared next to the little man representing him.
The corners of Mu Xuxing's mouth curled up obviously, and he couldn't help laughing.
Indeed, in the eyes of most people, isn't it funny that you, as a detective comic, don't focus on reasoning about the case but instead delve into character settings
But the Sherlock Holmes series is different.
There are so many excellent detective novels, and there are also some with better case layouts than Sherlock Holmes, which are unforgettable and breathtaking. But why is it that in the end, Sherlock Holmes is still the most famous and the most beloved
The reason is simple - because among countless detectives, only Sherlock Holmes is the most real. To many people, he is not like a character in a novel, but a real person.
There are so many famous detectives in mystery novels. Which one of them doesn't have an IQ that far exceeds that of almost all other characters in the book? He can easily connect the complicated clues together, talk eloquently about the criminal's methods, and finally calmly and confidently point to the existence of the real culprit of the case
In this respect Sherlock Holmes is the same as them, yet different.
He is cold and aloof, but his eyes were wet in front of the injured Watson. He sticks to his principles, but he also chooses to stand against the law because of justice in his heart. He is knowledgeable and has many elegant hobbies, but he will deliberately play the violin very badly, draw the curtains and open the woodwork against the wall - and the reason is simply because he is unhappy.
He is the one and only Sherlock Holmes.
"I know what you're worried about," Mu Suxing shrugged. The smile on his face had not yet completely faded, and his dark eyes were always serious. "Attaching importance to character setting does not mean neglecting the case. Besides, you have to admit that for the vast majority of readers, even if they are not mystery enthusiasts, it does not affect their liking for an interesting character."
Who can not love Sherlock
Qiu Fengmao frowned: "But you must also admit that "Huaying Comics" has just begun, and we can't hope that readers will have enough patience to appreciate a mystery comic..."
"I insist on promoting the Sherlock Holmes series as the main comic because it deserves this position both emotionally and logically." Mu Suxing said, "But it is a mystery comic after all. Not only is it slow to warm up, it is also a traditionally unpopular drama. Before it can fully show the brilliance it should have, Huaying Comics needs another interesting and fast-paced comic as a prelude. As for this comic that is responsible for attracting popularity before Sherlock Holmes—"
Looking at the slightly confused Qiu Fengmao, Mu Suxing smiled slightly and said calmly: "Why don't you consider turning the page and reading the second comic?"