Escape

Busy as always!

2011-01-16T02:31:00.000-08:00

Hey all! How is 2011 turning out for you? For us, it’s going great! Last week, I wrote two new chapters for the second volume of Escape, and today, the artist started working on them. He’s learning all kinds of new techniques to make his art even more beautiful. You thought that Volume 1 looked good? Well, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Luckily I’m just the writer, so I don’t have to learn any new techniques. Just give me a keyboard and I’ll be fine!

Speaking of art, in our last blog post, we promised you some brand new art of our main characters, combined with some extra information about them. And no, we didn’t forget our promise! So please keep checking our site, because the first piece of art is closer than you think!

Well, that’s it for today, stay tuned for more news about Escape!

The Writer

Happy New Year everyone!

2011-01-01T05:17:00.001-08:00

Welcome to 2011! It seems this year will be the best year ever. Last year we released the first volume of Escape, which is still on sale here: (link). But believe it or not, this year will be even better! Right now, we are working on the second volume, which will be even better than the first one. It’s just so cool to meet all those familiar faces from volume 1 again, and to see what they will experience this time!

Speaking about familiar faces, this blog will be busier than ever! This year, we will run a lot of special articles about our main characters, featuring brand new artwork and maybe even some secret information about their daily lives. So just keep checking our blog for the latest news about our manga!

The Writer

Escape Volume 1: out now!

2010-11-15T03:38:00.000-08:00

I know, we promised that our first volume would be released in
october, but we delayed it because of some very important details.
First, as you can see, we changed the cover. Although the first
version was great, we wanted something that would really stand out.
After a version that was much too happy for our dark story, The Artist
came up with a new, much better version. Besides a redesigned cover,
we also changed the size of our manga. The first version looked great,
but it didn't look like a manga: it was just too big. This time, it's
just as big as any other manga, so that it will look great in your
manga collection.

But enough about the delay, it's time for celebration! We are very
proud to present to you the very first volume of Escape. It actually
took more than a year to create it, but it was worth it. And now, you
can finally celebrate it with us! Just click here to order it! We hope you
will like reading it as much as weliked creating it. Please let us know
what you think of it and keepchecking this blog for more news about Escape!

The Final Edition!

2010-11-13T07:58:00.001-08:00

The last blog post...

2010-10-24T07:17:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, long time no see! Have you read the title of this blog
post? Well, don't be sad, be happy! Because this is the last blog
post...before the release of our first volume! As you can see, the
artist and I already have received the first copy. Unfortunately,
there were a few details that had to be fixed, but we are working on
them now. If all goes well, the first volume will be on sale this
month!

And that's not all! At this moment, I'm working on the story of the
next volume. To be honest, I think it's even more exciting than the
first volume. But first, we'll focus on the release of Escape volume
one. I really can't wait! Please stay tuned to find out when you can
order your very own copy of Escape and keep checking our blog to
discover more about the next adventure of Bloom and Marcus. Till then!

The Writer

It's almost finished

2010-10-10T01:04:00.000-07:00

Escape the manga teaser

2010-09-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

I like it!

2010-09-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

When you’re on Facebook, you are undoubtly familiar with the ‘I like it’-button. By clicking, you can support a fan page. Now we all know that of course you like Escape the Manga no matter what, but just to prove it, we opened up a special Escape fan page. And that’s not all! We also created a group, so you can join us and follow us every minute of the day. This manga means a lot for us and we would like it when literally everybody knows of its existence. And now, you can help with that! Just join our group and go to our fan page to let all your friends know that you like this exciting story. Through Facebook, we will also tell you more about the release date (it’s getting closer by the minute!) and we will show you some exclusive sneak peeks of our manga. Sounds great, right? That’s because it is!

So don’t hesitate, just join and spread the word! Click here to visit our fan page, or click here for our group. You know what? Just click them both! Thank you in advance!

See you on Facebook!

The Writer

Almost there!

2010-08-16T10:11:00.001-07:00

Well, my work is done: for the last couple of months, I’ve been writing the story of the first six chapters of our story. That means it’s now up to the artist to finish the very first volume of Escape! I really can’t believe it’s almost done. When we started about a year ago, I never thought it would come to this. The artist and I always come up with the strangest ideas, but we almost never finish them. I remember when we seriously considered making a movie. We even made our own trailer (it contained a lot of guns, an exploding mobile phone...and a sheep – that’s all I’m gonna say about it). But eventually, it just didn’t work out. So, I thought that we might finish achapter or two and then we would get bored with it, just like with the movie, but we just went on and on, until we had enough for our first volume. And now it’s almost there! I surely can’t wait, and I hope you also don’t have any patience left. Because believe me, it’s truly a masterpiece. And I’m not saying that only as the writer, but also as a big fan.

But finishing the first six chapters doesn’t mean my work is done. The story of Escape is actually just beginning, so I still have a lot of work to do for the next volumes and the ones after that one. It’s gonna take a lot of spare time, but at least I’m enjoying it!

Well, that’s it for today! Keep checking this blog to see when you can get your hands on our very first volume!

The Writer

Summer Holiday

2010-07-22T14:02:00.001-07:00

It's summer holiday. Believe it or not, but I'm drawing like a maniac. I want to take every minute I have. And I can tell you, than was not easy!!! Most of the time it was outside like 30 degrees and that was really killing. But I'm making a lot of progress and the writer finished with chapter 6. It's a long chapter but again a really good one.

Most important of course is to make this manga perfect. We are trying the best we can and of course we can finish our manga this year. I told you, I'm drawing like a maniac!

It's time to take a break. Tomorrow it's a new day to draw! Now it's time to watch the Japanese drama Liar Game season 2. It's really good!

The Artist.

An old friend returns

2010-06-16T02:21:00.001-07:00

Hello Escape fans! As The Artist promised in his last blog, here is a new blog post from me, The Writer! This time, I will tell you about a character who you will meet in the first volume: Laurence Steadman. Believe it or not, but he was our first character ever! At first, Escape was going to be a manga about a detective who went after terrorists. That story didn't actually work out, but I liked the main character so much, that I decided to keep him, although his role is much smaller than before. At least, in the first volume. It's never sure what will happen next. To be honest, even we don't know!

But back to Steadman. When we first meet him, he's very depressed. He was always working at the police station, but because of that, he didn't have enough time to spend with his wife and kid. And therefore, on one night, they both left, leaving Steadman all alone. Then Steadman realised what was really important in his life and left the police office. But that didn't make a change: his wife and kid never came back. And because of his sudden withdraw, the police didn't want him back either. So now the poor guy is a private eye, who sometimes helps an old colleague with her police job. At the beginning of his story, he hasn't had a real case in weeks, but that all changes when he's watching the tv, something that changes his whole life.....Do you want to know what happens next? Of course you do! But to find out, you'll have to buy the manga when it comes out later this year!

Well, that's it for time! I'm back to writing!

The Writer

PS Don't forget to check our profiles, they're awesome!

New page: Profile

2010-06-13T05:31:00.000-07:00

I have added a new page to our blog. It's a profile about me and the writer. So don't forget to check it out!

You can also give questions on the profile page, and maybe we will answer it the next time. And now I'm waiting for a new blog, The Writer was busy with it.

You can check the profile page here.

The Writer Returns

2010-05-30T01:19:00.000-07:00

Hey all, long time no see! It's me, the writer! Just like the artist, I was very busy with school for the last couple of months. But now, it's time to return to Escape! Actually, I was kinda forced to continue, because the artist draws like a maniac and he has almost finished everything I wrote. He's that fast!

It was kinda hard to return to the story this time. Because we have a lot of characters and they all want a part in the manga, I have to be careful not to forget anybody. Plus, the story is very detailed and knows a lot of important plot twists, so I have to remember every little detail when I'm writing the chapters. We now have arrived at Chapter 5, and since the first volume will have six chapters in total, we're almost done with this volume. But that doesn't mean the story is done. In fact, this is only the beginning!

Well, I'm back to writing, or there will be a very mad artist!

See you soon,

The Writer

Update

2010-05-24T00:46:00.000-07:00

long time no see!

It's time for more updating this blog. It was a busy time at school, but that doesn't mean we didn't do anything. I have almost finished drawing chapter 4! For sure I can finish it this week, no problem.

I hope the writer can tell you more about the progress of the manga so you are not bored anymore!

We want to know if you like this blog and are you curious about Escape the manga?

Please support us and comment the posts so we know what we are doing ^^

2010

2010-01-09T04:14:00.000-08:00

It's 2010!

First 3 chapters are almost finished, and that's with text included!

And I can say that it looks so great, the story is growing and growing and it's really different.

I have to stop drawing because of some schoolstuff, but I'll begin as fast as possible!

I promise,

The Artist

It’s not a comic, it’s a manga!

2009-10-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, the seventh blog post already! Time goes fast. This time I’m going to tell about something you might have noticed. Since the beginning of this blog, we have always used the word ‘manga’ for our story, and never the word ‘comic’. Right now, I’m going to tell you the reason why. No, you don’t have to read our manga from right to left, but other than that, it’s very similar to other mangas. What I like the most about mangas is, that it’s a genre on its own. There’s often humor, sadness, violence and love, and all in one story. Our manga contains a lot of this elements: it starts out as a simple story about children, but soon enough, hell breaks loose. Fortunately, there’s always room for happiness and even love! It’s never boring in the world of Escape. Also, the story of our manga doesn’t arrive at a conclusion after one volume (which you do see in a lot of American comics) but continues in the next one. It’s really one very long, exciting story.

The art style of the manga also has a lot in common with the Japanese style of drawing. For example, Bloom is incredibly cute, with big eyes and stuff like that. Unfortunately, I can’t show you anything as an example, so you just have to believe me. Maybe next time, I’ll get to show you something more about the manga.

Also, if you have any questions about this project, about the art or the story, don’t hesitate, just ask! Well, see you next week! Next time I’m going to tell you a little bit more about the story and maybe even show some new artwork. Until then!

Matthijs

The real battle behind the manga

2009-10-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to the sixth blog post about Escape! Until now, we have told you a lot about the manga itself, especially about the story and the artwork. This time however, we’re going to unveil some details about the proces behind the manga. You remember the artwork called ‘The battle fought...’, right? Well, believe it or not, it sometimes really is a battle! We don’t fight about the story quite that often, but we do argue about the characters. As a writer, I always have a certain image in my head of the characters. With the family Robins, I had no problems at all: Wilbert designed them long before I was involved. But as the story progresses, more and more characters are introduced. Most of the time, I really like how Wilbert designs them. But sometimes, I just don’t. I know how tough it is for Wilbert to throw away his artwork, so doesn’t always agree with me. So we fight. A lot. But somehow, I always seem to win! (laughs)

But besides the character designs, we don’t argue that much. That’s because we have a very efficient system of co-operation: first I write the complete storyline and sent it to Wilbert, to see if he agrees with the things that happen. Then, I write what I want to see in every frame of the manga and Wilbert draws it and then sends it to me. Then I read them, say if anything’s wrong (which doesn’t happen that much, fortunately) and then Wilbert continues with the artwork. Because he’s such a great artist, I’m always looking forward to his new artwork. It’s just so great to see how the story in your head comes to life.Speaking of artwork, did you see the latest masterpiece, ‘Captured by work’? It’s not only a great piece of art, it also contains a secret about the manga. Look carefully, and if you find it, let me know!

Well, that’s it for this week. Next week, I’ll tell you more about......wait, that’s a secret. You just have to wait and see! Till then!

Matthijs

Captured by work

2009-10-09T04:33:00.000-07:00

The revelation of Chapter 1

2009-10-09T03:24:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, and welcome to the fifth blog post about Escape. This time, I'm going totell you something about the first chapter. It starts with Bloom and Marcus, who are about to play hide and seek. But what Marcus doesn't know, is that it never was Bloom's plan to participate in this game. It's actually her secret plan to escape from Warrington. Every summer she's incredibly bored, because there's nothing to do in this small town. She's reading books and watching tv all the time, but she wants more! Of course she knows her parents can't do much about it, so she decides to go on her own. When Marcus starts searching for his sister, she's actually not hiding, but she's going to the bus stop, to discover the rest of the world. And no one's going to stop her this time!

So, this is what the title is all about, you think? Wrong! Just before the bus arrives, Jeff finds his daughter just in time at the bus stop. He convinces her to go home with him. But that doesn't
mean Bloom is happy with this. She just wants to go out, to do something exciting for once. Her father knows that and feels sorry for her, but because of his busy job, he can't do anything about it. So, Bloom is going to stay home forever? Of course not, otherwise this would become a very boring manga! But if you really want to know what happens next, you'll have to wait for it, because I'm not telling this time. Maybe next time, maybe not. Just wait and see!

Oh, and next time, I'll definitely tell you something about the process of making this manga. It's not as easy as it seems! Till then!

Matthijs

A Promise Fulfilled

2009-10-02T00:45:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to the fourth blog about Escape! As you can see, the artist has been quite busy this week. The site looks a lot better, don’t you think? We even have our own shoutbox now, where you can ask us your questions! Also, he has drawn a very artistic picture of us both. Don’t I look good in this style? I wish I was that good-looking in real life! And stay tuned, because more pictures will appear here soon. So keep visiting this site! The only downside of these pieces of art are, that I have to make pictures of my own head and send them to Wilbert, so he can turn them into art. He says he’s just going to use them for his artwork and that he will delete them afterwards, but I don’t trust him. He likes to do funny things with pictures and he’s a little too good with Photoshop, if you know what I mean.

But hey, enough about me, let’s talk about the manga! As I promised two weeks ago (wow, time goes fast!) I will reveal more about the town the family Robin lives in. As you might remember from the last time, the name of the town is Warrington. It’s a peaceful little town, in the east of our country (come to think of it, our country doesn’t have a name yet! Maybe you guys have a suggestion?). There’s not much to do in Warrington: it has no movie theatre, no shopping centre, only a supermarket and some small stores. That’s why Bloom calls it ‘Borington’ all the time. And yes, I named it Warrington just so I could make Bloom make this joke. Bloom’s and Marcus’ parents both have jobs at Warrington. In fact, they’re the owners of the local bakery, named Scott Bakery. Why it’s called Scott Bakery, you ask? Well, this will be revealed in the second volume of the manga. That’s right, we’re already working on the next one!

Their dad works all day at the bakery, while their mom is always on the road, taking care of business deals with local farmers, to ensure they are paying the lowest price for the supplies and to make sure that they live up to their contract. It’s a tough job in this little town, especially since the supermarket was built several years ago. The parents have to make their products as cheap as possible to make sure they keep their costumers, but at the same time make some profit to live a normal life. That’s why they are always busy with their jobsIk heb and don’t have time to do fun things with their kids.

Now it’s time to finally reveal the names of both the mother and the father: Jeff and Lily Robins. As you might have noticed, both ‘Lily’ and ‘Bloom’ are names that refer to flowers. The name Lily also refers to a character of the popular sitcom ‘How I Met Your Mother’. And the name Jeff? Well, I just liked it, that’s it. No funny back story here!

Well, that’s it for this week! I really don’t know what I will reveal next week, so you just have to wait and see. Until then!

Matthijs

‘Where do you run to, when you don’t know who is your enemy and who is not?’

The battle fought...

2009-09-29T01:36:00.000-07:00

And we are?

2009-09-27T02:22:00.000-07:00

Up and running.

2009-09-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! Good news, you guys! We finally have some artwork online! I begged, I yelled, I even threatened to reveal the artist’s last name (and no, we don’t have the same last name, although it starts with the same letter) and then he finally gave in. So check it out!

But as promised last week, I’m going to reveal a little bit more about the story of our manga. Let me tell you a little bit more about Bloom’s personality. As you might have noticed until now I have only revealed her name, but that is going to change today. So read on!

Bloom Robins is a twelve years old girl, who likes to play outside, but also is a true book worm. She dreams about going to faraway places and countries and reads about these places all the time. She is the complete opposite of her little brother Marcus, who likes to spend whole days inside the house, playing video games. Although Marcus was born only two years after Bloom, she tends to act like his mother. Their parents are always busy with their jobs and that’s why Bloom keeps an eye on Marcus. But now and then Bloom can act really immature, especially when things aren’t going the way she wants. She has a very strong will and doesn’t always listen to her parents.

Although Bloom is a bit of a complicated character, she has a lot of friends at school. She’s actually quite popular. Unfortunately for her, we won’t see any of those friends back in our manga, because our story begins at the start of the summer holiday season. While all her friends are going on a holiday, Bloom is stuck at home with Marcus. Their parents just don’t have the money and the spare time to take them on a trip, which really makes Bloom a bit mad, although she understands it.

I promised last time that I would tell something about the town the family Robins lives in. But on second thought, I’m going to keep that for next time, along with the revelation of the parents’ names and jobs. So be patient! Oh allright, I will tell you one thing about their hometown. To be more precise, its name: Warrington. Well, that’s it for this time! And in case you haven’t noticed, we have decided to make this blog a weekly blog. So, see you next Friday! I promise that I will reveal more about their hometown. This time for real!

Matthijs

‘Escape from your fears, escape from your nightmares, but never escape from who you are.’

Welcome to the second blog about our manga, Escape!

2009-09-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

This is Matthijs speaking! First, some bad news. While this is a blog about a manga, just like last time, we won’t show you any artwork. I begged the artist to let me show it to you guys, but as you can see, that didn’t work. Oh well, you just have to believe me when I say it’s gorgeous. I’ve read a lot of comics and mangas in my life, and this is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Seriously! If you don’t believe me, check out www.littlebigart.nl. It’s the site of the artist and a lot of artwork from his other projects is shown here. I’m sure you will like it.

To make it up for the missing artwork, I’m gonna tell you a little more about a character from Escape. Last time we told you about Bloom Robins, this time I’m gonna tell you something about Marcus Robins. As you might have guessed, Marcus is Bloom’s little brother. He’s a bit of a mommy’s boy, although he would never admit that. He’s 10 years old, 2 years younger than Bloom. Hey, now you know Bloom’s age too! Unlike Bloom, Marcus likes to sit inside the house all day, playing video games or watching tv. He’s a lot like me, it seems. I don’t really know how I came up with it’s name, actually. I saw him in the first sketches and just knew he should be named Marcus. I really hopes he likes his name!

Well, that’s it for now! Next time, I will tell you something about the town where Bloom and Marcus come from. Also, I will tell you more about Bloom’s personality, as we haven’t revealed anything about her yet. Oh, and maybe, we’ll have some artwork next time. Please Wilbert? Stay tuned!

You can run, but you can’t......Escape

Welcome to Escape the manga

2009-09-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to this very special blog!

My name is Matthijs. I'm 21 years old and I'm the writer of this manga project.
It all started with the title, Escape. At first, it was a story about a detective who lived in the future.
Fortunately, that story quickly disappeared in the garbage bin to make place for a much better story. What's it about?
Well, for now, that's a secret. Keep an eye on this blog, because piece by piece, we will unravel this exciting story. But that's not all! My colleague,
Wilbert K., will sometimes take over this website. He's the artist of the story and believe me, he is really good!

But before the artist takes over this blog, it’s time for the first secret. One thing that I can reveal, is the name of our main character: Bloom Robins. Her first name is actually an inside joke that no one will understand if I don’t explain it here. I always liked the name Bloom and if I ever have a daughter (I hope so!) I wanted to give her that name. But then I suddenly realised it’s simply impossible because of my last name: Koole. If you translate ‘Bloom Koole’ from Dutch to English it actually means ‘cauliflowers’. I could never do that to her, the teasing would be unbearable! So, I decided to give this name to this manga character.

Her last name, Robins, is a reference to a game I really like: Another Code (or as it’s know in the United States: Trace Memory). The main character from that game, Ashley Mizuki Robins, acts and looks a lot like our Bloom, as you might discover later on. Well, that’s it for now, come in Wilbert!

And my name is Wilbert K. I'm 21 years old and I'll take care for the artwork. At first, I was the one who came up with the storyline. I even drew six pages before Matthijs was involved! After that six pages, I sent them to him and explained the whole concept. He was really enthousiastic about it and the rest is history.

At first, I worked with old-fashioned paper and pencil, but that was before I discovered Manga Studio. After that, everything was drawn digital and became a lot easier to create.

'You can escape from everything, except....yourself.'

Created by www.littlebigart.nl

You can also listen to this story: