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The Toa- A retelling of Bionicle


NickonAquaMagna

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I had to shrink these down to fit BZP's 500 kb limit. To see higher-res versions of these pages and more, simply visit the DA gallery. https://nickinamerica.deviantart.com/gallery/64101494/The-Toa-A-Bionicle-retelling

 

Please also consider checking out Planet Ripple, my original series.

 

And now, read on gathered friends.

 

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Before anyone asks about Nova Orbis.... Trust me, I will get back to that someday. But every time I've tried to get back into it lately, I've just given myself a headache and gotten overwhelmed. Keep in mind, I'm also working on Planet Ripple every day that I can, so I'll be lucky to finish a page of this per day on top of that. But I wanted to give people here something simple and refreshing that I could update regularly, so here it is. "The Toa" as I'm calling it, is going to be a simple retelling of the original story, mostly focused on 2001 but referencing some other things. It's not a simple recap of the Mata Nui Online Game's story, as you may've noticed already from some of the twists shown so far. The Toa Canisters actually do fall from space this time, there are boys and girls in all Matoran tribes (there's a female Ta-Matoran to the left in the panel where Vakama emerges from his hut), Tahu nearly dies landing directly on the island, and Takua doesn't have amnesia from falling on a beach. I have many other tweaks in store, and it's going to diverge more and more from the original story over time.

 

Basically, if I had to take the BEST things about G1 and cram them into one simple, easy to follow, streamlined story that addresses many of the criticisms made over the years... this is how I'd do it. Rather, how I'm going to do it.

 

So yeah... feedback is appreciated. I hope this first taste has people excited.

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The Toa- A Bionicle Retelling by NickonAquaMagna http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/25275-the-toa-a-retelling-of-bionicle/

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I am a huge fan of the silent beginning, it creates a fittingly mysterious atmosphere. The art style is interesting, and I like the Toa's faces without their masks, as they're both reminiscent of the old sets yet have a certain 'alien' vibe to them.

Overall, this looks really promising, I'll definitely keep an eye on it!

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Thanks. I hope more people do as it goes on.

 

Here's the next page.

 

thetoapage11_by_nickinamerica-dbn3zkw.jp

 

Look at Lewa, getting that kind of attention and just eating it up. Haha You know that bit in "Elf" where Buddy (Will Ferrel's character) keeps getting handed flyers and saying thank you? That's basically how I imagine Lewa's delivery sounding here.

The last panel's depiction of Onu-Koro was inspired by this amazing piece that just...
bionicle_mata_nui__onu_wahi_by_fotusknig
Oooogh, look at that. Beautiful. As soon as I saw it I had to feature it in this story.

As for Onua's line... Who here can relate?

 

(I can't help hearing it said in his synthesized, "Reviving Bionicle" voice).

Edited by NickonAquaMagna
  • Upvote 5

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The Toa- A Bionicle Retelling by NickonAquaMagna http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/25275-the-toa-a-retelling-of-bionicle/

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Kick me in the nostalgia, why don't you =P

 

It's good to see you back on BZP!  And I'm loving your take so far.  Poor Tahu, bravest and boldest of the Toa, brought to pieces by a simple navigational glitch...

 

Also I'm getting flashbacks to the numerous broken pieces I have on my own Tahu set - it was very well loved =P  His sword is bent, one of the arms is broken and his mask has a chunk taken out of the side.  I had to come up with ever-more inventive solutions to give him proper limbs and a face again.  Vakama certainly has his work cut out for him.

 

Anyhow, all that to say, consider me hooked.

Avatar by Nicholas Anderson (NickonAquaMagna)

My blog: The Jaga's Nest

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The original faces were trick to work with, what with their four lips and gaping mouths. I tried to make them look more like a series of overlapping, sliding plates.

 

Also, here's page 13.

thetoapage13text_by_nickinamerica-dbnam9

 

Mini Visorak? Oooh boy. Time for some mind games.

  • Upvote 3

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The Toa- A Bionicle Retelling by NickonAquaMagna http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/25275-the-toa-a-retelling-of-bionicle/

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The original faces were trick to work with, what with their four lips and gaping mouths. I tried to make them look more like a series of overlapping, sliding plates.

I totally understand. :) It's just that when I see a Toa without his mask, I instantly think of Hakann and his jab about Toa wearing masks just to cover their ugly faces :P

 

 

Mini Visorak? Oooh boy. Time for some mind games.

Hmmm my guess is they're actually Skull spiders... but we'll just have to wait and see :D

 

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Formerly Iron_Man5

 

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Mini Visorak? Oooh boy. Time for some mind games.

Hmmm my guess is they're actually Skull spiders... but we'll just have to wait and see :D

 

 

 

More like mini-visorak. Just wanted to give things from Bionicle's later years cameos here and there.

Edited by NickonAquaMagna

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The Toa- A Bionicle Retelling by NickonAquaMagna http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/25275-the-toa-a-retelling-of-bionicle/

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Mini Visorak? Oooh boy. Time for some mind games.

Hmmm my guess is they're actually Skull spiders... but we'll just have to wait and see :D

 

 

More like mini-visorak. Just wanted to give things from Bionicle's later years cameos here and there.

 

 

Ooo a horde of them then? Well in that case...

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SPIDERS! A GIANT LEGION OF SPIDERS!!

 

(Apologies if no one else gets this reference. It was taken from the Nostalgia Critic's interpretation of Dr Smith from his review of Lost in Space.)

Edited by Iron_Man5

 

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Oh WOW, this is cool. I absolutely love the art style you're using here; and the story's coming together flawlessly so far. Between that, the layout, and the pacing, it has a real 'authentic graphic novel' feel to it, which honestly makes it a real treat to read. Very much looking forward to see where you're going with this :D

 

I really enjoy the callback to what the Turaga said in Island of Doom, too; the way that the Toa's muscle tissue is regrowing as they reassemble themselves, rather than just snapping Bionicle pieces together like they did in the original animation. This way makes them feel more vulnerable, somehow, in those starting moments, which is a really nice touch.

 

I've often considered 'rewriting' some of Bionicle's earlier years myself, but never moved past the considering stage; it's really cool to see someone else had the same idea, and is executing it much better than I ever could have ^^

  • Upvote 1

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"New legends awake, but old lessons must be remembered.
For that is the way
of the BIONICLE."

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Oh trust me, I get that NC reference.

 

And thanks for the continuing support, everybody. Here's another page!

 

thetoapage14_by_nickinamerica-dbnf142.jp

 

Ooooooh boy. Yeah, I know I said this wouldn't be a beat-by-beat retelling of MNOG, but you can probably see where this scene is going.

  • Upvote 6

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The Toa- A Bionicle Retelling by NickonAquaMagna http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/25275-the-toa-a-retelling-of-bionicle/

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They're all right, just got a little singed is all. He hallucinated that he was being attacked by Visorak.

Makuta's doing no doubt. Glad they're alright, I wasn't too worried about Vakama, Turaga of fire and all... Takua on the other hand might not be quite as fire resistant, being an av-matoran *coughspoilerscough* and that was a pretty large fire blast. Glad they're alright. :D

 

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Kapura's so chill. Almost got toasted on one side, and he's so cool about it.

I find these moments are funnier if you imagine the characters speaking with synthesized voices, like in Reviving Bionicle.

 

 

 

Aaaaaaand here's another page, for the 16th.

 

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Mata Nui compels you!

Edited by NickonAquaMagna
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The Toa- A Bionicle Retelling by NickonAquaMagna http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/25275-the-toa-a-retelling-of-bionicle/

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Wooo go Vakama! :D

 

I just noticed that Tahu's coloring is a darker red than the matoran's, is that symbolizing the darkness of makers hanging around him, or is there another reason behind it?

 

He still isn't doing too well, health-wise. His color will return to him as his strength does.

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The Toa- A Bionicle Retelling by NickonAquaMagna http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/25275-the-toa-a-retelling-of-bionicle/

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Thanks. Also I just realized "You" was missing in "welcome you to our" so on. Fixed that.

 

Also, new page.

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I'm sure things can only get better for our heroes from here.

Edited by NickonAquaMagna
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The Toa- A Bionicle Retelling by NickonAquaMagna http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/25275-the-toa-a-retelling-of-bionicle/

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thetoacover_by_nickinamerica-dbntjwf.jpg

 

This is... probably pretty plain for a cover. I wanted something minimalist and clean, but I might whip up a "proper" cover and rework this as a back cover sometime.

I was a little cautious about putting my name at the bottom since it sounds like I'm claiming these things are mine. No I am not, this is a simple non profit fan comic. A tribute to something that hugely influenced my sensibilities growing up and inspired me to become the writer I am today. I owe a lot to this silly toy line. Will upload page 19 tomorrow.

Not sure what kind of "theme" music a project like this should have. While I love most of the music in the old Bionicle movies, the "epic" orchestral themes just doesn't seem as fitting for something like Bionicle to me as they would for more traditional fantasy like LoTR. Sure, the more somber tracks fit well in the 2nd and 3rd movies, which are all about a fantastical culture dying overnight, but for those early days on the island...

Maybe something more like the music you'd hear in a Metroid game? Come on, just listen to this or "Tallon Overworld 2" and tell me that doesn't sound like living, singing machines in a wild natural setting with temples an' stuff.

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The Toa- A Bionicle Retelling by NickonAquaMagna http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/25275-the-toa-a-retelling-of-bionicle/

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Oooohh, then you're gonna love him in today's uploads.

 

Also... Dangit, I really wanna call him Jala but I don't wanna get hacked by a troll or something claiming to be a maori representative... which is basically how things went the first time. Guess I'll go with the name changes just to be safe. Sigh.

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The Toa- A Bionicle Retelling by NickonAquaMagna http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/25275-the-toa-a-retelling-of-bionicle/

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You might enjoy this, then. A debate about what the three virtues actually mean.

 

Yes, this is happening.

 

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Remember, if these pages are too small to read you can enlarge them on DA. https://nickinamerica.deviantart.com/gallery/64101494/The-Toa-A-Bionicle-retelling

Edited by NickonAquaMagna
  • Upvote 7

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The Toa- A Bionicle Retelling by NickonAquaMagna http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/25275-the-toa-a-retelling-of-bionicle/

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