www.the-agencies.com presents Yelena #8

[oblesklk1]

www.the-agencies.com presents Yelena #5

Yelena #5 is available for sale!

To see prior issues of Yelena, along with dozens of other tickle torture comics, go to www.the-agencies.com

Those purchasing The Agencies #19 got the first sneak peak at our upcoming release, Yelena #8. It will hit the shelves early February.

Our long search for an amazing art studio to take over the Yelena line has come to an end. We spent the better part of 9 months in 2012 poring over hundreds of candidates, reviewing and scoring dozens of submissions from incredible artists from all over the globe in a massive push to continue to improve what we do at Agency Publishing. Our bar for artists is very high already, and it just got higher with this latest push. We are quite thankful for the dynamic duo that put Yelena together, we are quite happy with the results! Although we loved the artwork presented by Javier in Yelena #4, we really want Javier to focus his amazing talent on The Agencies and continue to produce that comic line at fast speeds.


So what's going on with the Yelena #5 cover art here? Oh dear, it looks like Gretchen has gotten herself into a pickle. When we last saw the girls, Yelena and Gretchen were enjoying themselves at a local club, entertaining a cute dancer named Jade. Little did they realize their friend Kirsta was captured by the Witch Hunters and tickle tortured until she broke and told them where Yelena lives. Now the clock is racing.

And has poor Gretchen been captured next? Check out Yelena #5 when it goes on sale February 8, 2013 to find out!

In summary, this issue has:

• 14 interior color pages
• Includes a cover of Gretchen
• Issue offered in hyperlinked PDF format
• Pencils/Inks by madstalfos
• Colors by Dany
• Written by Oblesklk
• Director by Oblesklk and Jonathan Essex
• ?/F tickling (meaning the identity of the tickler is unknown)
• F/F tickling
• Dedicated foot tickling scene
• Genital tickling
• "Kidnapped woman off the street" scene
• Agency Publishing's first ever crossover. I don't want to give any spoilers, other than I'm pleased how it turned out.
• Major plot points about Yelena and other comic lines revealed
• Costs just $12.95 !

 

[oblesklk1]

Here are some images from Yelena #1, found at www.the-agencies.com.

 

[oblesklk1]

Here are some images from Yelena #2, found at www.the-agencies.com.

 

[oblesklk1]

Here are some images from Yelena #3, found at www.the-agencies.com.

 

[oblesklk1]

Here are some images from Yelena #4, found at www.the-agencies.com.

 

[oblesklk1]

Page 1, panel 1 preview

To see prior issues of Yelena, along with dozens of other tickle torture comics, go to www.the-agencies.com

The issue opens up following Gretchen as she thinks about her friend Kirsta, whom she hasn't seen in some time. As we know, Kirsta was taken by the Witch Hunters in an earlier issue to try to get closer to Yelena. The Witch Hunters broken Gretchen's childhood friend, and move in on both Yelena and Gretchen.

 

[oblesklk1]

Page 1

To see prior issues of Yelena, along with dozens of other tickle torture comics, go to www.the-agencies.com

Here is the entire shot of page 1, low res.

I think the action speaks for itself. So here is some interesting production trivia. So we spent all of 2012 putting an exhaustive search for the best of the best artists. We get the pencils for this issue and I really like them since the artist puts a likeness to the characters that are quite similar to the early issues of the Yelena series. I like that continuity, I think it's much less jarring to the fans when they pick up the new issue. So he gets the green light. Then we move onto the colors.

Then we get this color submission of page 1 and it just blew me away. I knew these guys had done work for some very large, very well known clients in the past, but seeing them work there magic here was just jaw dropping. Everything from the coloring of the autumn foliage, to that shadows creeping across the scene (lending a rather eerie aspect), to dirt marks on Gretchen's socks. They're very talented, and just bring a certain pinache to the work here. I like what they've done for Yelena #5 and we certainly hope to maintain a good working relationship for many years to come!

And I hope you guys like their work, too 🙂

 

[oblesklk1]

Proof of Concept Sketch

To see prior issues of Yelena, along with dozens of other tickle torture comics, go to www.the-agencies.com

Before production, before colors, before feedback on the cover was given, there was a concept. I wanted the artists to convey to me two women. Two powerful women in love with each other. Arturo submitted this piece of Yelena and Gretchen standing with each other and I was really liked it. Gretchen here appears as young as she should be in the books, and Yelena is her ever watchful guardian, mindful of what the Witch Hunters have done to lovers of her past. Although this sketch never made it into an official colored pinup, I wanted to share it because we get a lot of artwork and it's a shame so much of it never sees the light of day!

 

[oblesklk1]

Proof of Concept Sketch

To see prior issues of Yelena, along with dozens of other tickle torture comics, go to www.the-agencies.com

Here is a cute pic showing the intimacy between Yelena and Gretchen. Gretchen playful starts nibbling on Yelena toes as our favorite witch tries her best not to laugh 🙂 I really dig this piece as Arturo really captures the closeness and fun between the two, while showcasing their love of tickling with each other.

 

[oblesklk1]

Yelena #5 is available for sale!

To see prior issues of Yelena, along with dozens of other tickle torture comics, go to www.the-agencies.com

In summary, this issue has:

• 14 interior color pages
• Includes a cover of Gretchen
• Issue offered in hyperlinked PDF format
• Pencils/Inks by madstalfos
• Colors by Dany
• Written by Oblesklk
• Director by Oblesklk and Jonathan Essex
• ?/F tickling (meaning the identity of the tickler is unknown)
• F/F tickling
• Dedicated foot tickling scene
• Genital tickling
• "Kidnapped woman off the street" scene
• Agency Publishing's first ever crossover. I don't want to give any spoilers, other than I'm pleased how it turned out.
• Sneak Peak at a brand new tickling comic line premiering in 2013
• Major plot points about Yelena and other comic lines revealed
• Costs just $12.95 !

 

[Sinister-Lurker]

Although we've seen hints before of it before, this issue fully reveals Agency Publishing's first true cross-over. The cross-over is, of course, a staple of comic books. It's the team-up you always wanted to see, the rematch you craved, even the inter-company smack down you never dreamed possible. It's a showstopper that only some of the best talent in the company can handle.

Which, of course, is what we have in this issue. As you can see, the new art team has produced jaw-dropping work. Even the simple scene on the cover, which we've seen permutations of dozens if not hundreds of times, is outstanding. And that's only the lead in to the main event!

If you're a fan of Agency Publishing's comics, this really is a can't-miss issue. The reveals here will affect how we tell our tales across all our lines for the foreseeable future. Come for the art, but stay for the twist ending!

 

[oblesklk1]

Although we've seen hints before of it before, this issue fully reveals Agency Publishing's first true cross-over. The cross-over is, of course, a staple of comic books. It's the team-up you always wanted to see, the rematch you craved, even the inter-company smack down you never dreamed possible. It's a showstopper that only some of the best talent in the company can handle.

Which, of course, is what we have in this issue. As you can see, the new art team has produced jaw-dropping work. Even the simple scene on the cover, which we've seen permutations of dozens if not hundreds of times, is outstanding. And that's only the lead in to the main event!

If you're a fan of Agency Publishing's comics, this really is a can't-miss issue. The reveals here will affect how we tell our tales across all our lines for the foreseeable future. Come for the art, but stay for the twist ending!

Thanks!

I went back to read this issue again before release and I was surprised how much of the main storyline is really launched with this issue. You might expect that in our marquee comic lines The Agencies or The Ruthless, but not necessarily in the humble Yelena series. I hope fans of the series find that to their liking.

And ya, I can't even properly express how happy I am with the artists' work on this comic line, they truly are a talented pair of individuals and I feel blessed for the opportunity to be able to work with them. They are just incredible professionals, and the feedback I am hearing so far validates their skill and dedication.

Here is to many more years of Yelena!

 

[oblesklk1]

Alternate Cover

To see prior issues of Yelena, along with dozens of other tickle torture comics, go to www.the-agencies.com

Here is something people might find interesting about the production process. Now that Yelena #5 has been released, it's pretty safe to say the cover art to the issue is now rather iconic for the series. We've had some really nice covers earlier in the series to set the overall tone, but this one really stands out in much the same way The Agencies #7 stood out for that series and ushered in truly a new saga for that comic line.

But the cover that is for Yelena #5 almost wasn't. I had wanted a scene showing Gretchen chained to a dungeon wall. Here is the first pass at the cover art:

(Image 1)

But I had a few problems with it. First, the camera was zoomed too far out. Although I appreciate keeping the feet in frame, it lost some of its impact with the zoomed out feel of the camera. So we needed to zoom in quite a bit with an upper half body shot of Gretchen. Also, I didn't like that she was looking down, evading the camera. Even though it's always a risk to have a character look directly at camera (there are two main problems with it that I won't go into detail here), I wanted to take that risk and see where it got us. The result was a haunting, tired look from Gretchen as someone whose already seen the taste of the feather and worries when she'll be subjected to it again. And Dany's coloring really brings Gretchen and the entire stone wall to life in an incredible way.

(Image 2)