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 FLOAT
#1
If
Adultery Could Bring Down a Bubba,
What Would It Do to a Buddha?
Float,
a modern day reincarnation of a disgraced Buddhisava from
ancient time, recently divorced and depressed, is unexpectedly
arrested by the police for the murder of his ex-wife (great
shades of the OJ Simpson case!)...
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FLOAT
is a 24-page, full-color, comic book series published by Yi.magination
Studios (Valencia, California) and the first issue was shipped in January
1999. The initial publishing schedule for this title consisted of 6
issues, one 2-part episode and one 4-part episode. These mini series
are to be recompiled and marketed as graphic novels later for a second
shelf life.
The story of FLOAT is inspired by a 16th century Chinese novel “The
Journey to the West” (by Wu Cheng En, 1500-1582) and the character
Float is loosely based on Hsuan Tsang (596-664), an actual Buddhist
monk who journeyed from China to India (628-645) in search of sacred
scriptures. However, according to the creator of FLOAT, Yi-Chih Chen,
“the historical event serves only as recurring background texture
to provide a metaphorical dimension to the story. Our plot and characters
are purely fictional and resonate 100% with our time” In fact Chen
categorizes his title as a “post modern techno political sci-fi
adventure, explicitly violent, implicitly erotic and spiritually enlightening”,
in other words, it’s not your father’s comic book.
Yi-Chih Chen, with a background rooted in animation and multimedia,
is a seasoned director/producer, animator, and storyboard artist. His
credits include Producing the 1995 season of IRON MAN TV series for
Marvel. Chen and his collaborators, writer Eric Luke (a veteran of both
screen and comic book writing, including Ghost and Wonder Woman ) and
artist Fred Carrillo (another multi-talented comic book and animation
layout artist, with credits in a wide spectrum of media and entertainment
titles), bring a unique visual perspective to the comic book story telling.
The plot is carried by punchy camera narrative instead of wordy balloon
grammar. And the emotion is delivered by suggestive montage instead
of disengaged captions. We see jump cuts, severe close-ups, and sharp
angles interlaced with a visual quiescence of the classic East. The
mood is tense, controversial, psychotic, and at the same time blissfully
karmic.
FLOAT is also published online in cyber space. In fact when it was first
conceived in 1997, the title was developed primarily for the web. The
print and the web versions complement and enhance each other, and they
are designed to create a more immersive and participatory experience
for the readers. The online version of FLOAT www.yimagination.com/float/
takes advantage of the interactivity of the web media. Through the use
of animation, JavaScript, and DHTML, the web version creates a more
dynamic visualization of the story, while the print version solidifies
readers’ experience by providing something tangible in their hands.
Thus the full aesthetic circle is completed.
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Bubba: Clinton's nickname
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