Production Notes | Spring Chickens and King St. Capers

What I'm sure nobody's wondering is: what do the comics look like before you're done with them? Well, to answer the question nobody's asking, HERE's what they look like.

Here's we've got the Silent Pirate fan art, kitty sniff, Call Me Gail and the neighbourhood cat's middle finger.

Here we've got Ignacio, from Silent Pirate; Call Me Gail which was my twist on an expression that's a bit of a pet peeve of mine; the Neighbour's Cat; and Fishy Smell.

All of these come from the time before I learned how to add colour to the strips. You can see that I try and speed things up by drawing a bunch on one sheet of paper, then scanning them all at once, and doing the finishing touches digitally. 

Indoor v. Outdoor cats, microadvertizing, laptop kitty and Fretting over brownouts.

In this image I squished two multi-panel cartoons into one quarter of a page - - this can significantly reduce the detail, and make the images small to work with when adding colour afterwards. A lesson learned. Plus, when deleting the whitespace before adding colour, the smaller the details and images, the more difficult.

Here we've got The Difference Between Indoor and Outdoor Cats; Microadvertizing; Cybercrimes; and Fretting Over Brownouts.

I've had the rough draft of Indoor v. Outdoors cats drawn for literally three years before I got to it. I didn't like how it looked, so had to completely redraw it -- and of course it's for the better. Adding colour has made a significant difference, I think.

The Dahmer gag was another joke that'd been in the back of my mind for years and years - - now that I'm drawing up a bunch of the comics, it was time to finally get it done.

When I'm finished with a page, I'll order them to be published with the what I feel is the strongest cartoon to go first. From the above selections, it went Brownouts, Cybercrimes, Indoor v. Outdoor and then Microadvertizing. How would you have ordered them?

Great work and Cuddling Experience

Here's a quick example of two images where I was still making the shift from heavily shaded images to clean outlines to simplify the colouring process later on down the line. It looks like I've left some notes on the page for me while in the digital editing process, too.

In Great Work, I was really pleased with how the shading in the boss's suit turned out. It gave me hope that this could have some positive returns going forward.

My wife is still haunted by Cuddling Experience, which is unfair, because it was more of a joke than a critique, but also an observation ;)

The Hot Tub Drops on King St.

For the Hot Tub story arc for the King St. Capers, I tried something entirely different than what I'd been doing with other strips. Instead of drawing an entire gag in one cell, I chose to draw strip elements that I could incorporate into a series of gags. In this case, the image of two people observing the hot tub can be used in any instance when these people are observing the hot tub.

In Someone Leave Their Hot Tub, panels one, two and three were used; in Hot Tub in the Middle of the Street, I used panel four and another panel from a second page (there were four used in this story arc); and I reused panel four again in What Could Be Worse Than That?

I have to say, adding colour to the Capers has brought a LOT more life to them, and I'm even more happy with how they're turning out these days. The digital editing is making a lot more interesting stuff possible, as well.

Just one further example is, I've only had to draw the barber pole outside Mr. Minestrone's shop once, and then reused it every time - which is much faster than drawing and colouring a new barber pole every time. Same thing with the pile of butts and the pile of empty liquor bottles.

Production Notes | Spill Your Guts

Once again,  I have to note, Spill Your Guts is a scene that I conceived early in the writing phase for the story and have been looking forward to creating for years and years. It's taken that long to get here, but I think it's worth it.

It seemed a showdown in an abandoned slaughterhouse would be incomplete without resorting to a captive bolt stunner -- traditionally you'd see people hanging from meat hooks, but this was something I thought would be a good balance between gruesome and effective.

I was a little dismayed a few months ago when I was watching Person of Interest (I think) when the protagonist grabbed a captive bolt stunner and executed a combatant, too, stealing a bit of my thunder, but that was at the same time when How I Met Your Mother also created the "Bro Bibs" which encroached on my "Gentleman's Bib" idea -- frankly, it's stupid that there isn't a classy  apron or bib out there we can wear to protect our three-piece suits when we're sipping on lobster bisque.  RIGHT?!

Another scene where I've tried to balance plot, exposition and action - - though they have to occur sequentially instead of concurrently. But perhaps later on I'll have another go at it.

The circled numbers all over the page are measurements - - I freely sketch the cells and images during the conception drawings, and then measure them a bit more accurately for the good copy. For the horizontal measurements, I usually just turn to a cell being 1/3, 1/2 or 1/4 of the page's width, rather than measuring it out specifically.

Sometimes in the rough sketches I find I REALLY like how an image looks, and I have trouble duplicating it - - like when Mugabe is glaring up at Miller after being tossed into the stall. I worked hard to make sure that image was as close to the concept drawing as I could. I think it worked out - - other times I haven't been so lucky.

In the final page, I wanted Mugabe to look like he was preparing for a coup de grace, accepting his fate -- and I thought that came through well in the scene above, which is probably why I was hoping to recreate that cell as closely as possible when drawing the good copy.

As we near the midway point of Act III, of course we're probably hitting the point of no return for most of these characters - - Miller has now committed murder, everybody is show, slashed, tortured and beaten, and they realize that the stakes are pretty high, even if they seem pretty ridiculous (is releasing another plague on the earth a cool villainous plot or a bit farfetched?)

However, "releasing a plague" does live up to the "He wants to kill everyone" remark from earlier, which might have been difficult to live up to when you read it at the end of Act II.

I hope some of these production notes are a handy complement to reading the story as we go. I'm happy to answer any questions, too.

Thanks.

behind the scenes for "Saves the Day"

Here are some more behind-the-scenes rough work when I was prepping the latest scene, Saves the Day.

While writing this whole story, I wanted Evelyn to be a motivation for Casey, but I didn't really feel it was right to have her be a burden, or bait, or the damsel in distress all the time. However, she's young and a bit reckless, perhaps a bit moody, and obviously spontaneous - - something you'd expect in a student, and perhaps not in a professional academic.

In any case, I'd like to think this played out well in this scene, when Mugabe expects he can threaten her to save himself, when in reality (in every other instance when Casey isn't in berzerker mode) Evelyn is by far the more dangerous captive.

I hope after a brief flash of mortal action that you're prepared for a few more talkative scenes of exposition.

There's something to be said for the clever Batman and Spiderman scenes where the exposition can be revealed during a duel, as they parry and lunge they spar verbally as well. Alas, this scene would have been prohibitively long and I just don't feel I have the patience to put people through much more than four pages at a time anymore.

I hope you'll find in Act III the scenes are more brief and to the point than some of the lengthier scenes in the previous acts.

I hope you're enjoying it!

Behind-the-scenes background stuff for two recent scenes

I'm not sure if people are "into" this sort of thing, but here are some "behind-the-scenes" stuff that might be interesting to check out from the latest scene. Basically it's just the rough drafts of the pages that helped me organize the pacing and spacing.

I hope you might find it interesting:

Yup -- it's all done on 8.5 x 11" sheets of paper.

You can compare them to the finished pages here: Silence of the Lambs

I named it "Silence of the Lambs" as an homage to the book series - - the idea of winding up in a slaughterhouse was pretty bad-ass and villainous to me, so I hoped to include that as a great point of confrontation for my characters.

In "Hannibal" Mason Verger was hellbent on hiring some Italians to capture Hannibal and feed him feet-first to a hybrid of man-eating hogs while he was still alive in revenge.

I really liked the idea and optioned to let it influence what happens in here - there was also a great scene in "The Hills Have Eyes" (the 21st century remake) that didn't occur in a slaughterhouse, but was influential in writing this scene, too. 

The emergence from the freezer is intended to act as a traumatizing rebirth for Dr. Miller to shape his story arc moving forward -- to give him some "guts" as Dr. Bolam would implore of him.  I hope it turned out well.

From my choice of medium, I'm a little restricted in two ways - - first, a comic would usually been drawn on a larger sheet of paper, then shrunk down to fit a print piece. This offers a lot more room and detail in a panel, much more room than an standard-leaf sheet of paper.

Second, because I'm using simple graphite pencils, it's awfully difficult to use black and darkness to its fullest effect. I would have loved to made this MUCH darker, but the sharpness of an image goes WAY down when you're using a soft graphite pencil, the details are lost in the blur. Even the maggots in the meat had to be re-inked after I'd finished shading to stand out.

Also, it's a wicked mess when you've poured all that darkness onto a page - - if you think your hands get dirty reading the newspaper, working with soft graphite is like reading a couple papers in a row and losing track of your soap.

Anyhow, I hope you found this informative - - and you liked the scene!

Majoring in Comics as Literature, Dragons and the Graphic-Novel Trend

Cellphones make for a difficult challenge in dramatic irony anymore. You see them in almost everything, as information is instantly forwarded from one agency to another as the pace of a narrative rockets along. In fact, watching old films where characters stand around a rotary phone, or check in at a hotel desk to receive their "messages" seems so clunky and awkward now.

But cellphones have changed storytelling forever. Writers have had to adapt.

In the world of cellphones, it's hard to delay characters from interacting with each other - so often as soon as someone learns something new or dangerous, they go to inform the protagonist, but are stopped - and then viewers just watch as we know full well the hero is diving head-first into peril. Cellphones basically eliminate the possibilities of this - unless you get creative about why a cellphone isn't working.

And those scenes (where a nemesis is removing of disabling a cellphone) always seem a bit contrived - HOWEVER, I'm certainly not above it. Do you think anything will happen to Casey's cellphone while he's chatting with Barney? (probably!) Think this will be the last time it happens in the script? (probably not!)

Struggling with jet lag and his professional relationship with Howard,
Casey looks to make necessary changes in Why'd you do it?

See more by following the links:

• King Street Capers (updated Mar. 11)
• General comics (updated Mar. 12)
• Tomb of the Undead (updated Mar. 13) 
• Dinosuars (updated Mar. 7)
• Sketch Gallery (updated Jan. 17),
• Fundraising Faux-Pas, or the
• Mugabe comic strip (Pinocchio parody)

Graphic novels and webcomics
Check out Accursed Dragon, and see some of the other neat stuff that's being said about graphic novels at the academic level now! You can find them in the classroom as a learning aide, but you're also able to MAJOR in the style, as well.

Accursed Dragon
Ryan Smith
Accursed Dragon.com

This week I've started reading Accursed Dragon by Ryan Smith, and I'm liking it a lot. I've had this on my reading list for ages - and now I'm mowing through it. What I'm especially impressed with is that each page tells a little gag - which is great writing. It's a constant pleasure to see the narrative continuously propped up with pleasant breaks, while the pacing and serial story telling flow together seamlessly. It's definitely worth checking out!

Click to read more.

The Graphic Novel Trend
Harper Academic
Harper Academic.Blogspot

Reading the review of The Cartoon Guide to Genetics got me thinking about a huge trend we’ve noticed in the academic department: graphic novels. In fact, most of the books that teachers were really excited about (especially teachers of boys) at the National Council of Teachers of English Conference were graphic originals or adaptations. So I thought I’d share a few of our graphic books that the teachers I’ve met seem to really love.

Click to read more.

Yes You Can Now Major In Comics Literature
Rich Johnston
Bleeding Cool.com

As an English professor (Professor Jeremy Larance)at a relatively small public university in West Virginia, West Liberty University, I often try to find ways to sneak comics and graphic novels into my courses. For several years now, for example, I’ve used V for Vendetta as the culminating text in my British Literature course, because—let’s be honest—there just isn’t a better example of a modern-day Byronic Hero than Alan Moore’s V. Some scoffed, but my decision was ultimately validated by the fact that The Longman Anthology of British Literature now includes an excerpt from that graphic novel in its section of contemporary British fiction, just a few hundred pages after James Joyce’s Ulysses.

Click to read more.

Commemorating Will Eisner and Tarzan and the Top 100

After the completion of the second act, I've decided to complete the storyboards for the third act before I begin. So far it's going well, but of course it's taking a little while. I think the third act has been a bit of a challenge, but so far it's turning out pretty nicely. I hope everyone will enjoy it.

Struggling with jet lag and his professional relationship with Howard, Casey looks to make necessary changes in Why'd you do it?

See more by following the links:

• King Street Capers (updated Mar. 4)
• General comics (updated Mar. 5)
• Tomb of the Undead (updated Feb. 5) 
• Dinosuars (updated Mar. 7)
• Sketch Gallery (updated Jan. 17),
• Fundraising Faux-Pas, or the
• Mugabe comic strip (Pinocchio parody)

Graphic novel and Webcomic news
This week I've got the top 100 comic blogs to follow, the Lost Tarzan stories that will be coming out and an announcement on the theme for Will Eisner week. Check it out!

TOP 100 COMIC BLOGS TO FOLLOW IN 2013
Nikki Jeske
SnailBird.com

SnailBird lists the top 100 web comic blogs to follow, placing themselves at 60, which is very modest of them. Starting off the list is Webcomic Resources, which I've linked to a lot in the past. Check out the rest of the list.

To read more click here.

Lost Tarzan stories featured in new graphic novel
Michael Sangiacomo
Cleveland.com

I read these stories as a kid and was knocked out by the raw power and majesty of Burroughs' writing. The books are far superior to the simpler Tarzan movies. Powell has written hundreds of science fiction, mystery, and horror stories. He has worked in the comic book industry since 1986, writing for Marvel, DC, Malibu, Caliber, Moonstone, and Disney, among others, and has been nominated for the coveted Eisner Award.

Click to read more.

Will Eisner Week To Celebrate the Graphic Novel
Calvin Reid
Publishers Weekly.com

The theme for this year’s Will Eisner Week is “Read a Graphic Novel," Danny Fingeroth, said Will Eisner Week Organizing Committee Chair, “This year, we will be having Will Eisner Week celebrations in more places than ever before. The people doing the events are planning some amazing happenings that will spread the word about how cool graphic novels are, and that celebrate Will Eisner’s astonishing body of work done over a career that spanned seven decades.”

Click to read more.

King-esque editing and Dogs of War in a Thrilling GooglePlus Community

Most importantly to announce, after completing the artwork for the second act to The Tomb of the Undead, I knew I would have to tackle a big chore that was waiting for me at this point - reviewing, revising and editing the third act to the story. It was something I KNEW I was going to have to do, but I'd been putting it off. Well, I'm finally there, after years of working on the story, so ... that's what I've been up to.

Struggling with jet lag and his professional relationship with Howard, Casey looks to make necessary changes in Why'd you do it?

I knew I would have to revise the third act of the script by the time I got to it - which wasn't until now. I just wrapped up the edits this week- and was able to put into practice one of Stephen King's first rules of writing - edit out 20 per cent.

8,224 words in the last draft I'd performed - the latest 6,533, which is pretty significant! It was like 31 pages in the .pdf format, and I trimmed it down to a lithe and svelte 24 pages, which is pretty good. Oddly, the last draft was like nine scenes, but I broke the action down into 19 scenes, which is pretty significant.

Only after doing the math do I discover that I've edited/revised the script down by 20.56 per cent, which is almost a coincidence. Very King-esque in my quantitative editing, which is great (to me).

See more by following the links:

• King Street Capers (updated Feb. 18)
• General comics (updated Feb. 19)
• Tomb of the Undead (updated Feb. 5) 
• Dinosuars (updated Feb. 21)
• Sketch Gallery (updated Jan. 17),
• Fundraising Faux-Pas, or the
• Mugabe comic strip (Pinocchio parody)

Graphic novel news

Sexy, Seductive, Thrilling Graphic Novel Not For Kids or Faint of Heart
PRWEB
PRWeb.com

Blaque Sun Mediaworks to publish sexy, murder mystery Thriller Graphic Novel with a mature audience in mind. First of Five (5) Graphic novels in production for release beginning this summer.

Click to read more.

Nathan Fox teases upcoming graphic novel ‘Dogs of War’
Chris Arrant
Comic Book Resources

Men and women working with dogs in military actions has been going on for decades in the United States; the practice actually goes back centuries. And it’s something writer Sheila Keenan and artist Nathan Fox are celebrating in the upcoming graphic novel Dogs of War.

Click to read more.

Webcomic Creators' GooglePlus page
GooglePlus

Image from Patrick Yurick's American Booom (@ www.american.booom.us)

A community for anyone who has created a webcomic. Introduce yourself, Share your work, ask questions and let us all work together to improve our storytelling abilities.

Click to read more and get involved.