Son of a gun… Been using Manga Studio EX for over a year now and JUST today discovered the freakin’ marker tool for shading. What a dufus! So today’s comic was my first crack at using this new tool and I like the results and as I use it more I’ll get better at my shading.
Old dog new tricks week… first CSS/PHP and now marker tools in Manga Studio!
OH! And today starts up an “epic” storyline that takes our foursome to Latvia. Now, why Latvia? A few months ago I noticed that I was getting a few hits from this country that was formerly part of the Soviet Union. 2.5 million folks over there and I want them to know I found them. Now, Latvia also just beat the American Olympic Volleyball team in 2 straight sets, so it was nice coincidence that I had picked Latvia as the location of 1977’s 2008 Road Trip. Okay, technically they can’t drive there, but come on…
I’ve done some research on Latvia and I’ll be showing the Latvia of today as there’s not much I’ve found on the country in 1977. I know Americans could visit the USSR in 1977, so why not Latvia? Fasten your seatbelts and put your trays in the upright positions as 1977 flies to Latvia next week!
🙂
Discussion (10) ¬
Hi!
Being half Latvian (my wife is full Latvian) I’ll be interested to see how the road trip pans out. :^) I was born in the U.S.
And yes, you could travel to Latvia in 1977. However, you needed a Visa from the USSR. Also, you were not allowed to travel outside of the capital city of Riga – even if you had relatives living outside the capital – without special permission from the Soviet government. And even then, you had to have an escort if you didn’t have family there. It was also a well known fact to the locals that all hotels in the capital city that were open for foreigners to use were bugged by the KGB.
My wife and I have many relatives that live in Latvia today. And it’s a massive improvement over the way of life in the 1970s.
First… Hello Aleks! Glad you’re reading the comic!
Second, thank you for your input! From what you’ve said, then most of my storyline is fairly accurate (wild guesses on my part). They do get an escort of sorts when they arrive, I’ll change his name to Aleks now… 🙂
I do have then in Riga as it looked like the central/largest city. I am not going to do any political stuff… mainly just how the gang interacts with the locals and bars.
If you’re comfortable, send me an email at byron@1977thecomic.com and I’d like to ask you just a couple questions so I’m sure I don’t step on anyone’s toes, so to speak. Again, I hope you enjoy the story! 🙂
My grandfather was from Latvia. Hope your gang gets to Daugavpils, though as Aleks points out travelling outside Riga was difficult. Still, your scurvy band don’t exactly have a reputation for playing by the rules. I have this image of “The Blues Brothers,” only with T-62 tanks instead of police cruisers…
It’s like playing Russian Roulette.
Greeting Makkabee! Any tips or suggestions are welcome. You can send them to my email: byron@1977thecomic.com. Thanks for reading the comic! 🙂
Hey, Makkabee!
My mom’s side of the family is all from the Daugavpils area – Naujienes Pagasta, near where Dunaburg castle is located! (for Byron’s info, the current city of Daugavpils is actually a few miles from where the original castle from which Daugavpils gets its name, is located). Anyway, I’ve got several cousins, etc. in that area. 🙂
I am half Latvian (Father born in Riga, family lived in Gulbene), always happy to see Latvia get some recognition!
Too often at school I hear it confused with Latveria where Dr. Doom is president!
Greetings m0moiro! Latvian and a Fantastic Four fan, eh? 🙂
I bet you were very happy to see Latvia beat the USA in volleyball! I picked up on Latvia when a Latvian blog site featured some of my comics. I then decided to take the 1977 gang overseas for this year’s Road Trip… though technically you can’t drive to Latvia from the USA
Welcome to the comic and I’m glad you’re along for the ride! 🙂
You can always do Boney M Russian love machine about oversexed yet hard to kill Siberian mystic Rasputan. Who finally died in the Narva river Saint Petersberg named after Tsar Peter the great. Though in the 1977 it was known as Leningrad after Vladimir Lenin doubt if they will call Putingrad. Since Putin has not given America Red Dawn (fat chance I’m getting deflowered by romantic cassock named Tarras Bulba). Nor blew up the world like in the Rasputin cartoon my nor yours hometown will be called Putingrad anytime soon. I would prefer Kingston to be renamed Friskgrad after the late sexy Russian pop sing Jenna Frisk. Songs like Malinky, wearing sexy ski outfit, dancing in bikinis, playing basket ball in bikini and high heels, she even blew up a car in sexy Hollywood styled video. The moral while it’s fun to dress as Russian flag girl or lady cassock rednecks have a real hate on for fur hats with red stars or two headed eagles. So cheer on Mother Russia in the Red dawn movie with caution and remember “You don’t shoot pigs to catch a wolf”. Famous line by Russian officer hunting capitalist redneck teenagers. Anyway Jenna Frisk died but I can see her sexy videos though I don’t understand the words.