Wendy Pini's Masque of the Red Death
Encyclopedia
Wendy Pini's Masque of the Red Death is a webcomic
by the comic creator Wendy Pini.
Based on the original short story
by Edgar Allan Poe
, Wendy Pini's Masque of the Red Death is described as follows on the back of the print edition of Volume One: "In a decadent, perfect future, Anton Prosper uses his vast fortune and scientific genius to seek the ultimate power of life over death. But when the beautiful prodigy Steffan Kabala enters Prosper's life, he unlocks a tempestuous passion that may send the entire planet hurtling into a bloody maelstrom of destruction."
Episodes of the weekly webcomic began in 2007. Each episode was created first in traditional comic book page format. Wendy Pini produced pages of full-color digital art then broke them down into individual panels. Using simple "tweens" she animated the panels in sequence, often creating additional art to enhance the illusion of movement. Each roughly three-minute-long Flash movie is viewed using a Flash-based web browser viewer. The final episode in the adaptation was posted to the web in mid-2010.
Other recurring characters include Bittie and Ix, two virtual reality
gossip journalists; and Royess, Anton Prosper's companion black panther.
with Richard Pini. She is currently working on adapting her version of Masque into both stage and film formats.
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
by the comic creator Wendy Pini.
Based on the original short story
The Masque of the Red Death
"The Masque of the Red Death", originally published as "The Mask of the Red Death" , is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. The story follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plague known as the Red Death by hiding in his abbey. He, along with many other wealthy nobles, has a...
by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
, Wendy Pini's Masque of the Red Death is described as follows on the back of the print edition of Volume One: "In a decadent, perfect future, Anton Prosper uses his vast fortune and scientific genius to seek the ultimate power of life over death. But when the beautiful prodigy Steffan Kabala enters Prosper's life, he unlocks a tempestuous passion that may send the entire planet hurtling into a bloody maelstrom of destruction."
Episodes of the weekly webcomic began in 2007. Each episode was created first in traditional comic book page format. Wendy Pini produced pages of full-color digital art then broke them down into individual panels. Using simple "tweens" she animated the panels in sequence, often creating additional art to enhance the illusion of movement. Each roughly three-minute-long Flash movie is viewed using a Flash-based web browser viewer. The final episode in the adaptation was posted to the web in mid-2010.
Characters
- Anton Prosper is a wealthy young man seeking the secret of immortality. He is based on Prince Prospero from the original short story by Edgar Allan Poe.
- Steffan Kabala is the brilliant young scientist who assists Anton in his quest. He and Anton also become lovers in the course of the story.
- Madame Kabala is Steffan's calculating mother, a famous geneticist in her own right.
- Bunchh is a blue-skinned hermaphrodite party planner responsible for organizing Prosper's fateful Masque Ball.
- Daryel Mirrin, a technician who falls in love with heiress Fronda Trankule, a young woman far above his station.
- Tono Trankule is Fronda's immensely wealthy and powerful father.
Other recurring characters include Bittie and Ix, two virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
gossip journalists; and Royess, Anton Prosper's companion black panther.
In Print
- A print edition of Masque of the Red Death: Volume 1 was released in October 2008 by Go!Comi. Further print volumes had been planned but the publisher ceased operations in early 2010.
The Author
Wendy Pini co-created ElfQuestElfquest
Elfquest is a cult hit comic book property created by Wendy and Richard Pini in 1978. It is a fantasy story about a community of elves and other fictional species who struggle to survive and coexist on a primitive Earth-like planet with two moons. Several published volumes of prose fiction also...
with Richard Pini. She is currently working on adapting her version of Masque into both stage and film formats.
Interviews related to Masque
- Interview by Brigid Alverson on Digital Strips web site.
- Interview by Deb Aoki on About.com web site.
- Interview by Wolfen Moondaughter on Sequential Tart web site.
- Interview/podcast by "Jeannie" on gfbrobot.com web site.
External links
See also
- CartoonistCartoonistA cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
- Comic book creatorComic book creatorA comic book creator is someone who creates a comic book or graphic novel.The production of a comic book by one of the major comic book companies in the U.S...
- List of webcomics
- List of webcomics in print
- WebserialWebserialWeb fiction is written work of literature available primarily or solely on the Internet. A common type of web fiction is the webserial. The term comes from old serial stories that were once published regularly in newspapers and magazines...
- WebtoonWebtoonA webtoon is a less common term used to describe an animated comic strip that is distributed via the internet which are often created by amateur creators. Usually webtoons are drawn in full color and read in one long strip per chapter. They are commonly created using Flash, or a simple image...
- Women in comicsWomen in comicsAlthough traditionally women artists have long been a minority in the comics business, they have made notable impact since its very beginning, and more and more female artist gain recognition, along with the maturing of the medium....
- LGBT characters in comics