On the bench, a man wearing an old leather jacket closed the comic in his hand and placed it beside him.
The cover of the comic shows two women talking on the phone. One is wearing a formal dress, and the other is slightly promiscuous. There are bloody snowflakes floating in the corners of the cover, showing a kind of funeral-like atmosphere. of depression.
The man in the jacket took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it, blew out a smoke ring, and then pursed his lips, with some reminiscence in his eyes.
A Lamborghini drove towards this direction, and when it was about to pass the bench, it stepped on the brakes and stopped steadily.
A man in a burgundy suit got out of the car. After the man got out of the car, he looked at the man in the jacket. They must have known each other, but no one was in a hurry to say hello.
The man in the suit took out the e-cigarette from his pocket, and while filling the heating rod with cartridges, he wandered around casually, and finally landed on the comic book on the bench.
"Is it the boss's new work?" the man in a suit asked.
"Yes." The man in the jacket nodded. His hair was so oily that not even the cold wind in winter could shake his bangs.
"How does it taste?"
"It's weak."
Hearing this, the man in the suit narrowed his eyes and reached out to pick up the comic. Start browsing.
The painting, composition, and design are all impeccable and at the level of a boss.
Especially the last painting, which is a large picture with the left and right sides combined. It can be said that both in terms of plot and change in painting style, it has formed a huge contrasting impact.
The initial narrative style of scar literature and the urban neon painting style formed a double reversal in the end. It is a good story and a good comic.
But the man in the suit nodded and agreed:
"It is indeed too bland."
They know the boss's works, he I like to pursue the ultimate sense of tearing. Whether it is the plot or the rendering of the picture, it can give people great oppression, making people even breathe cautiously when watching it.
Compared with Touer’s previous works, this comic is like a chef who is used to cooking hard dishes and suddenly fried a plate of broccoli with just a few condiments. of salt.
"You are so early."
Across the road, a man and a woman were walking together.
They are a pair of siblings. The younger brother is wearing a black down jacket, hat and scarf. When walking, he shrinks his neck and legs and shivers a little. Obviously, he is not used to the cold outside.
My sister is wearing a white down jacket and sky blue jeans. She is not an oval face, but a bit round, but her face is also very delicate, giving people a very pure feeling.
"Siyao, Siyu, you are here."
The man in the suit greeted happily, especially when facing girls, he was even more enthusiastic.
“Deng Ge, wipe your saliva quickly.”
Every younger brother will have a kind of natural hostility towards any man who tries to be his brother-in-law, and Qin Siyu is no exception.
But every reserve brother-in-law will often be hostile to any man who wants to be his brother-in-law. His brother-in-law is very tolerant;
Of course, once he has passed the reserve service, he will start to be wary of his brother-in-law to prevent his wife from becoming a brother-in-law.
"Siyu, why are you out here? It's cold today, be careful not to catch a cold. "
Cheers and greetings with a sincere attitude.
Qin Siyu walked to the bench and ignored Deng Ge. Instead, he looked at the man in the jacket with a smile on his face:
“Brother Qiang, are you still single? ”
The man in the jacket is named Xu Qiang, and he was the oldest in the circle at that time. At that time, everyone was generally still college students or just graduated, but Xu Qiang was already an uncle, but he had always been single, so , this aspect of him has always been the target of everyone's ridicule.
Xu Qiang shook his head, reached out and scratched his hair that was so greasy that it could reflect light, and responded: "It's still early. ”
Qin Siyao took the comic from Deng Ge,
Deng Ge introduced him with some enthusiasm:
“This belongs to the boss. The new work, it seems, was painted a few months ago. ”
Qin Siyao started to flip through this comic. The comic is very thin and the story is not long. If you don’t carefully appreciate the artistry, you can read it very quickly.
Go to the end. After one page, Qin Siyao put down the comic and pursed her lips.
"What's wrong, what happened to the boss's comic? "
Qin Siyu took the comic from his sister. After flipping through it for a while, he said in surprise:
"How could the boss draw such a work? "
Xu Qiang, who was sitting on the bench, guessed:
"Maybe, the boss is short of money. "
If you were not short of money, according to the boss's character, you would not draw such light comics.
"The boss is the same. If you are short of money, why not Find me. "Deng Ge said from the side.
Qin Siyu glared at Deng Ge angrily and said:
"I know you have produced several popular animation movies in the past two years. , making a lot of money, but what do you mean by showing off here? ”
“What show are you showing? If the boss is short of money, will I not give it to him? If it hadn't been for the help from my boss, I would have gone back to my hometown and squatted. "
"Even if the boss is short of money, he will never ask for it from us. "Xu Qiang said with emotion.
Immediately, Deng Ge and Qin Siyu also became quiet. Yes, the boss is the boss after all. No matter how difficult life is, he will never wait for others. He opened his mouth and extended his hand.
At this time, a motorcycle drove over and stopped beside everyone. The driver of the motorcycle was a woman, and her tight motorcycle suit highlighted her perfect figure.
p>The woman opened her helmet goggles and scannedHe glanced at everyone present and said calmly:
"You all came very early."
"Aqiu..."
"Sister Qiu... ”
Deng Ge and others were very surprised, because they never thought that the person in front of them would come here today.
"Well, the boss sent me a message."
Aqiu took off his helmet, hung it on the handle, got out of the car, took out his cell phone, and read: :
"Unit 701, Building A, 3, door lock password 110120."
The place where everyone gathered was facing the gate of Fuhua Community.
Following the prompts on the phone, I quickly found the house.
"Is the boss planning to hold a party?"
Deng Ge said as he prepared to enter the door lock password.
It has been three years since the studio was disbanded. After the dissolution, everyone basically never got together again.
Deng Ge entered an animation company and relied on his own strength and creativity to quickly become the company's management. The two animation movies he personally supervised and produced became well-known hits in the past two years. Money, income and status are not the same.
Qin Siyu's health was not good. After the studio was disbanded, he basically stayed at home and did not go out to work. As for Qin Siyao, she worked as a designer in a clothing company.
Xu Qiang works in a game company, 996, and enjoys good fortune.
As for Aqiu, after leaving the studio, he went to work as a volunteer in the mountains for two years and came back at the beginning of the year.
"Maybe... maybe." Qin Siyu said with some uncertainty, "I haven't seen the boss for a long time. I really miss him."
The boss's name is Zheng Fan is younger than Xu Qiang, but because he took the lead in establishing the studio, he is the well-deserved boss in the studio.
In the five years that the studio was operating, he put in the most effort. Even if the studio was disbanded and everyone left for various reasons, he was still alone. Guard the studio.
Every once in a while, the boss will send electronic comics to their mailboxes, even though these comics are basically impossible to publish and distribute.
Deng Ge entered the password, the door lock was unlocked, and the door was pushed open.
Behind the door is the living room, but the walls of the living room are covered with dark wallpaper, giving people a strong sense of depression.
In addition, the curtains were tightly closed, so even during the day, the room was still dark.
"Is this the boss's home?"
Deng Ge reached out and touched the switch on the wall at the door and turned on the light.
The lamp is not very bright. It is divided into three lamps at the top. They can only emit a faint smoked yellow light, but it is enough to fill the room.
"What's hanging on the wall is..."
Qin Siyu squeezed past Deng Ge and walked to the wall.There is a painting hanging on it.
The painting is nearly two meters long and one meter wide. It looks like a photo and is covered by a photo frame.
In the painting, there is a dwarf.
The face of the dwarf is somewhat deformed, and his legs and feet are disproportionately thick. On the back of the dwarf, there is an iron sword that is extremely inconsistent with his short stature. Naturally, the sword cannot be upright, because the dwarf is not as tall as the iron sword, so the iron sword is hung horizontally on the back, which looks very funny.
"This is Xue San."
When he saw this painting, Qin Siyu's hands began to tremble, because the characters in this painting came from his creativity, This is the main character in one of his comic strips.
Qin Siyu is not tall, which has always been an inferiority point for him, so his protagonist is a dwarf, an evil dwarf. This dwarf has a habit of treating people who mock his height as If the prey is too tall, cut off a section, and if it is too short, lengthen it.
This hobby was born out of Western mythology, but it also explains a commonality of human nature.
"Xue Sanjiao?"
Deng Ge walked up behind Qin Siyu and made a joke.
The dwarf’s name is Xue San, but he has a nickname, Xue Sanjiao, which was a joking name for him by the original comic readers, because the dwarf’s feet are very short, but the proportions are normal. , and Qin Siyu is a person who pays great attention to details, so every time Xue San squats down in the comics, he can clearly see three feet.
"I think this was painted by the boss." Xu Qiang came over and said.
"Probably so, but it's a pity that the sales of Siyu's work were so poor at the time. After all, it's hard for readers to feel a sense of empathy for the protagonist." Deng Ge said with emotion.
When the studio was still there, the boss asked everyone to create a character according to their own ideas, and then everyone helped to make the cartoon.
"Dwarf Xue San" is Qin Siyu's comic, but the market response is the worst. After all, few people can put themselves into the role of an ugly dwarf.
"It's been several years, and it's still interesting to mention this?" Qin Siyu was a little dissatisfied with the tone of Deng Ge's words.
In fact, a person’s temper and character will indeed change depending on the level of the society in which he or she lives. Especially now, Deng Ge is undoubtedly a successful person. Even if he does not mean it, when we see him again When making friends with "down and out" friends in the past, some things will still be revealed naturally.
"No, no, no, this is called market control. At the beginning, our studio spread too much energy and failed to focus on its flagship works, which led to..."
p>"That's enough." Qin Siyao said.
Deng Ge shut up immediately.
Qin Siyu turned a deaf ear to Deng Ge’s words and just stared silently at the dwarf painting on the wall in front of him.picture.
Deng Ge curled his lips, turned around, looked to the other side, and immediately said in surprise:
"Siyao, come and see, this is your Feng Siniang."
This is also a portrait.
In the portrait, a graceful woman is leaning against the door panel. She has a pink face and is wearing an outfit very similar to a kimono. It exposes just enough skin, which is enough to make most men feel uneasy.
Qin Siyao walked to the portrait and looked at Feng Siniang in the painting, feeling a little lost.
Feng Siniang is her comic work. This is a character that is neither human nor ghost. Because she did not explain the background of Feng Siniang in the comics, the original readers only guessed Feng Siniang. Siniang may have experienced emotional betrayal or some changes in her family.
Because Feng Siniang in the comic story is a woman who does things very unruly. She runs a brothel. In different series, she opens it in different cities or different eras. Own brothel.
Feng Siniang likes luxury and torturing people. She pursues an alternative rule of life.
At the beginning, the sales volume of this comic was not bad, because there were many beautiful pictures in the comic, which were delicate, round, full of imagination and visual impact, no less than those of foreign masters of this art. Many readers come here just for this kind of picture.
But you must know that Qin Siyao joined the studio when she was just in college. At that time, she had not been in love yet. Even Deng Ge was sure that she was still a virgin at that time, but what happened in her works The picture looks like such an experienced driver.
Deng Ge once believed that the reason why he failed to pursue Qin Siyao was not because he was too bad, but because no living man could compete with the two-dimensional character written by Qin Siyao.
"This is my Fan Li."
Xu Qiang stopped in front of a painting. He stretched out his hand and scratched his greasy lips with some excitement. Hair, brought a lot of dandruff.
In the painting in front of him, there is a woodcutter carrying firewood on his back. The woodcutter is very strong and looks very simple and honest.
He is a woodcutter, a woodcutter who kills without blinking an eye. He kills people as often as he chops wood. He does not simply take pleasure in killing people, but does it mechanically and habitually. kill.
The sales volume of this comic is the same as that of Qin Siyu's Xue San. It is the bottom character in the studio and can be regarded as a blockbuster.
The reason is very simple. Contemporary comics are an industry chain with a very detailed division of labor. There are still too few all-rounders who are proficient in painters, scripts, plot design, character creation, etc.
For example, Qin Siyu and Xu Qiang, their advantages lie more in practical operations.
The plot of Xu Qiang’s comic, which features a woodcutter butcher as the protagonist, is just like him, a bit too plain and simple, and readers can’t stand it at all.
“There’s no reason why my boss painted it for you but not for me, hey., found it, A Ming! ”
Singer Deng pointed to the scroll, which showed a slightly thin man with fangs looming at the corners of his mouth, and his whole person looked sickly pale.
He His name is A Ming, and he is a vampire, a character designed by Deng Ge.
It can be said that Deng Ge’s current success showed signs as early as when he was still in the studio. The vampire-themed comics ranked second in the studio's sales at that time, second only to Boss's "Magic Pill"
The vampire with an oriental face, coupled with the cold and wanton character, Paired with a high-paced and bloody exciting story, the market response is very good.
Characters that can make the audience like it, and a story that can ignite the audience's passion are the key to grasping the market, and it is precisely because of the belief. With this principle, Deng Ge has become very popular in his career in the past few years.
In the comics, A Ming's character is also absolutely crazy. No matter what opponent he faces, he will just flip the table. Just go ahead and do it.
At the same time, A Ming is lonely. He doesn’t think he is a vampire, and he is indeed no longer a human being. He has no friends. After every madness, what is left is able to It's heartbreakingly cold.
Because of this, this character has many female fans.
Aqiu walked silently behind everyone,
She. She seemed a little afraid, but also a little hopeful.
But what was supposed to come came anyway.
She saw a painting of a man with a slightly blue face. The man squatted on the ground, and next to him was a pile of corpses.
His name was Liang Cheng, and he was a zombie.
He was bloodthirsty and ruthless. /p>
He has lived from ancient times to modern times, and time has brought him an increasingly severe sense of alienation from the world.
And his name, and his author. , the same.
Liang Cheng...
Qin Siyao had already turned her attention away from Feng Siniang. After seeing Aqiu and the painting in front of her, she couldn't help but Also silent.
There were seven people in the studio at first.
They were the boss, himself and his younger brother Siyu, Deng Ge, Xu Qiang, Aqiu, and, Liang Cheng.
Liang Cheng and Aqiu were once a couple, and they were already together when they entered the studio. However, Liang Cheng died in a car accident more than three years ago.
p>The dissolution of the studio can be said to have originated from Liang Cheng's death, but it was not the main reason.
Liang Cheng's death made Ah Qiu feel discouraged about many things, but It is not impossible for a seven-person studio to continue operating without two people.
The main reason is because the studio has always focused on the horror and bloody comic style, which is relatively niche. Policy restrictions and strict crackdowns have made it increasingly difficult for the studio to survive.
When the studio is at its most popular, sales will be the best.After both the "Magic Pill" series and the "Vampire Aming" series were banned, the studio suddenly fell into a dilemma with a confused future.
Deng Ge strongly suggested at the time that the studio should cater to the market and draw some more positive themes that were at least less bloody and scary. In this way, the living environment would be better and the audience would be larger. Can bring higher income.
But the leader at the time directly rejected this suggestion.
The boss said that everyone got together because they liked horror and bloody themes, and he didn’t want to tarnish everyone’s original intention.
As a result, the operation of the studio was completely paralyzed.
First, Deng Ge quit and joined an animation company to start a new career.
Next are the Qin family siblings. The Qin family’s family conditions are average, both parents are workers. Qin Siyu’s health is not good, and annual medical expenses are a problem, so Qin Siyao had to quit and choose a new career. .
The last one to leave was Xu Qiang. After everyone else left, he quietly packed up his things, ordered a bowl of noodles for his boss, and went to a game company.
Back then, we got together because of similar interests and hobbies, and we went through five years of ups and downs side by side, but in the end they couldn't compete with the reality of the law of a banquet that lasts forever.
Beside the zombie Liang Cheng, very close to him, there is a painting. This is the comic protagonist of A Qiu, but it is not a female character, but a male with hollow eyes.
His name is Bei. He is a blind man who is good at playing the piano. When killing people, he likes to put his hands in front of him and let his prey be tortured to death while playing the piano melody in the air.
The main writer of this comic is Aqiu himself. The painting style is very realistic, but the plot is very weak. In many series, Bei is often killing people at the beginning. It seems that the entire comic is just for Kill for the sake of killing.
This made readers who originally liked horror themes a little bit intolerable. After all, everyone still needs some plot adjustments.
However, it seems that because of the uniqueness of the female perspective, the character Bei has also attracted many die-hard fans. Therefore, its sales volume is still slightly higher than that of the dwarfs Xue San and Ali.
In the work "Blind Man North", the characteristics of the protagonist are probably related to Aqiu's family background. Her father died in the line of duty at the hands of a criminal.
There are three paintings hanging on the walls on both sides of the living room.
On the wall opposite the door, there is a separate painting hanging.
After everyone read the protagonist of their comic, they gathered in front of this painting in a tacit understanding. In the painting, there is a baby, full of violence and fierce flames.
This is Boss's comic called "Magic Pill", with a baby as the character.
Whether it is the plot or the picture, it is almost impeccable. It can be said that the pure horror and twisted nature attracted many people at the beginning.With a large audience, even Deng Ge's "Vampire A Ming" was suppressed by "Magic Pill" in terms of popularity.
"Magic Pill, you are as stubborn as the boss." Deng Ge said with some regret.
He thinks that he is excellent, but at the same time, he also thinks that the leader is a better person than himself.
It’s a pity that the boss is very stubborn. Just like the characters in his works, it is obvious that a slight change and a little adaptation can lead to better development, but the boss continues to be stubborn. With.
When it comes to complaining, I really don’t have any. After all, everyone can be said to have deviated from the original intention, but only the leader has always adhered to his original intention.
What everyone thinks more about is their admiration for their enemy.
"Where's the boss?" Qin Siyu asked.
There is no doubt that the seven paintings in the living room were painted by the leader, but what about the leader who invited everyone to gather again in three years?
Xu Qiang pushed open the bedroom door on one side and found that the light was on inside.
There are no sheets on the bed in the bedroom, and everyone’s work series are neatly stacked on it. Some of them are published, and some of them cannot be published but are printed by themselves. It can be regarded as illegal publishing. Things.
This is an accumulation of memories from the five years that the studio existed, such as "Vampire A Ming", "Woodcutter", "Dwarf Xue San" and so on. After the studio was disbanded, everyone Every once in a while, I will receive electronic manuscripts from the boss in my mailbox. The boss is still silently continuing to draw the story for everyone.
Under the bed, there is also a thick stack of comics.
Everyone walked over and picked up the comics below, and found that they were basically similar to the comic with the theme of two women talking on the phone.
The boss has always adhered to the original intention of the studio, but the boss must be short of money, so he painted a lot of works that can be monetized to make money.
After seeing these works, Deng Ge frowned even more. He was a little dissatisfied. Originally, he thought that the leader had always adhered to his principles and never forgot his original intention, even if he could not make much money. It’s okay not to be famous.
But since the boss is already making money by painting these works, it proves that the boss has already thought about it. In this case, why doesn't the boss come to find him?
Is it possible that it’s because of embarrassment?
Deng Ge felt that if the boss thought so, it would really tarnish the friendship between everyone over the past five years.
At this moment, Deng Ge’s cell phone rang, and a video was sent from the WeChat account labeled “Boss”.
"Is this the news from the boss?" Qin Siyu asked.
Deng Ge nodded and raised his phone at the same time.
The rest of the people stood behind Deng Ge. Everyone was really concerned about how the leader was doing now, and they were also curious about what the leader wanted to do by gathering everyone here.
In the video, there was only one chair at the beginning, and the camera was shaking a bit.It was the boss who was adjusting the angle of the cell phone camera.
Soon,
A back figure appeared from the camera and was walking towards the chair.
This man was wearing a dark red sweatshirt, walking very slowly, and seemed to be walking with difficulty.
When the person in the video walked to the chair, turned around, and faced the camera,
Deng Ge and everyone behind Deng Ge had a look of astonishment on their faces.
"Long time no see...everyone."
The person in the video is indeed the boss, this cannot be faked.
But what everyone couldn’t believe was that the head sitting on the chair at this time had a face that was so thin and sunken, and the arms that exposed the cuffs were only skin and bones, and Still twitching very clearly.
"Why did the boss become like this!" Deng Ge exclaimed.
Three years ago, when everyone broke up, the leader seemed to be in poor health due to working at his desk for a long time. This is nothing to modern people.
But at this moment, the leader’s appearance already gave the impression of a skeleton.
Is this, sick?
The purest relationship is the most worth remembering. No matter how successful we are now or how well we are doing, no one can erase the friendship that shared the same interests during those five years.
"Deng Ge, do you still blame me?"
Zheng Fan (the boss)'s voice was already very hoarse, and when he spoke, it was as if he was pushing two living bodies. The rusty gears are rubbing.
"I'm sorry..."
Zheng Fan's voice was very weak.
Deng Ge gritted his teeth.
"Deng Ge, forgive me for not listening to your suggestion. Otherwise, we might not have broken up, and the studio should still be there."
"We are living through it now. Not bad." Deng Ge said to himself.
“I don’t want to change. Once I like some things and tastes, I just want to continue to like them wholeheartedly. I don’t want to change, and I’m too lazy to change.
Because , I don’t have long to live.
So, Deng Ge, everyone, please forgive me for being selfish.”
Zheng Fan seemed to be planning to stand up. , bowed to apologize to everyone, but as soon as he stood up, he seemed to be unable to do anything, so he sat back again. In the end, he could only sit on the chair and lowered his head.
“Five years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare terminal disease. There may only be more than a hundred people suffering from this disease in the world, and there is no medical solution. So, at that time, , I knew...I knew I wouldn't live much longer."
At this point, Zheng Fan laughed at himself, which in turn caused him to cough, and it seemed that every time he coughed, he was coughing. It's like taking a breath away.
“Sorry, in order to make money, I drew some comics that are not my style. Actually, I feel pretty good.
Those comics,I quite like it, but it's really not my favorite style or type.
But when I discovered that my physical condition was deteriorating and I had a premonition that I would eventually be paralyzed and lingering in bed, I decided to go to the Netherlands to undergo euthanasia.
I drew these cartoons to raise money to go to the Netherlands for euthanasia.
When you see this video, I should already be in the Netherlands, haha.
Siyu, you have to pay attention to protecting your body. Your physical fitness is really too weak, haha... Of course, I am not qualified to say that you are in poor health.
Siyao, don’t set your sights so high. It’s time to find a companion. Well, don’t choose Deng Ge. "
"..." Deng Ge.
"Brother Qiang, the last bowl of noodles you made for me on the day you left, I have never forgotten the taste. ”
“Deng Ge, I have watched all of your movies. They are very well done and the pictures are very good. They are really good. It is a pity that those works we had originally had no chance to be adapted into comics.” , and it is impossible to appear on the screen. "
"Aqiu, you should learn to let go of Liang Cheng's matter. By the way, Aqiu, there is a suicide note I left in the desk drawer, and the inheritance certificate has been notarized. I don't have much money left, all I have left is this house. I know that after Liang Cheng left, you have been doing charity. Help me sell this house. The money from the sale should also be used for charity.
After drawing the devil for so many years, I have to leave something when it comes to an end. Therefore, I have never chosen to sell my only house to raise money to go to the Netherlands. ”
“My body is really failing. To be honest, I don’t want to spend the last part of my life lying in a hospital bed, so today, I choose to take it.” A day to say goodbye.
I am really happy and happy to see you all again.
I am very happy to have your company during those five years. I am very happy to create so many wonderful stories and characters with you. I will miss you.
I wish you success in your career and good health. ”
………………
In a ward, Zheng Fan sat beside the bed, his eyes slowly moving on the seven comics placed around the bed. Scan.
"Magic Pill", "Woodcutter", "Vampire A Ming", "Blind Man Bei", "Feng Siniang", "Dwarf Xue San", "Zombie's Blood"
When a person's life is coming to an end, the most favorite thing to do is to look back.
It's like an old man lying on the armchair, basking in the sun and squinting. p>
“Let’s get started. ”
Zheng Fan said to a doctor and two nurses standing in front of him.
Then,
he himself lay on the bed. Zhang, a hospital bed surrounded by cartoons.
"Mr. Zheng, are you sure you don't need a priest to be present?" "Out of professionalism, the doctor David asked again, and at the same time added: "He can let your soul rest in peace in heaven."
Zheng Fan shook his head calmly and said: "David , I believe in the devil, and I will not go to heaven."
David shrugged, nodded, and motioned for his assistant to come forward and start.
Zheng Fan slowly closed his eyes,
feeling a cold needle piercing into his arm.
Phew,
Is it going to end...