Original Art Sundays (Friday) Nos. 212 - 215: Speedy Recovery, pp. 8 - 11

Finally back! Working so much. New story on the board, a very ambitious 2 or 3 page thing, but I want to finish posting this one first.
When we left our stalwart group, they were planning to go to Runnovia for a gig, playing big band music for royalty.
Read on...

Notes on these pages:

I love the name Runnovia. It's so Rocky and Bullwinkle!

Page 8 (the airport scene) REALLY would have benefitted from more background in the first two panels. I was going for a remote airfield feel, but there's just too much left out for it to fully read. I do like the flying Packard. It was inspired by Harlan Ellison talking about his Packard on the old Anti-Gravity Room series and by the flying sedan Will Eisner used in a couple very early Spirit stories.

Page 9 (the grand ballroom scene) resolves much better. I had real fun inking those arched cathedral ceilings! I don't know enough about architecture to get every detail, so this is pure swipe file stuff.

Page 10 (the lead-in to the next big moment) also resolves nicely, I think. Speedy's kneeling and the reflections in the floor tiles in Panel One are nice touches. I love Speedy's little "not now" out of the corner of his mouth in Panel Two!

I'm not completely happy with the way the vibrations on the valet are rendered, but I wanted it to be less obvious than simply drawing in a ghost image and speed lines between the two of him. After all, if it were blatantly obvious, Speedy would have seen it right away!

Page 11, the cube dropping over the band, is exactly what I wanted it to be. I particularly like Sandy Beaches, the drummer, passed out over her kit. I like rendering transparencies. We learned in commercial art school that those streaky lines indicating glass or plastic just aren't right, but darn if they don't look right in something like this!

I'm stopping there because the next pages start off with a two-age spread, and rather than cobble it together from multiple scans, I want to wait until I can get to the MCAD large format scanner and get a clean scan of the whole thing. I have a mountain of scans I need to take care of, and will make time for it Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, I think. 

For this section of the book, I had a great confidence in the work, and a conviction that I really controlled my storytelling. That held for most of the rest of the book (posted soon), and was very satisfying. I look back at this whenever I lose confidence in craft. While there are always things that can be improved, looking at your strengths can help you through rough patches, even if they come from 16 years ago!

Next: more Speedy Recovery.

Best Comics of 2013, No. 12: A Distant Soil

Still trying to catch up from a couple days' illness. Only two behind, so three tomorrow would do it if I can manage it.
My lists tend to be dominated by older works and revivals. This is not to slight new work. I'll add any work that I think makes the cut, regardless of age. But there are so many great newer works by established creators, it would be wrong to neglect them. I've toyed with the idea of doing a separate list of older and newer creators, but drawing the line becomes arbitrary.
Today's offering is a delight.
I've written in the past of my admiration for the art, writing and professionalism of Colleen Doran. Like many, I was first exposed to her work on A Distant Soil as a backup feature in Elfquest, before the Pinis gave the story its own title. I thought it quite good even then, though those issues hardly stand up to the standard she's since set.
As a case in point, this is from the first issue of the current run.

After seeing a self-published run from Aria Press, followed by a run at Image Comics, the title went on hiatus for some years, mostly due to Doran's other commitments. This year, it resurfaced, promising to complete its SF/fantasy storyline at long last.

Cover of the digital edition of No. 42

The book retains its strongest elements: tight if often labyrinthine plotting (that's good, in case you're unsure), consistently strong and empathetic characters (even the villains, of which there are plenty), precise and ornate drawing, and tons of action.

All appears lost for our heroes and the rebel forces they lead. But all is never as it seems. My favorite character, Dmer, has proven to be much more complex than I had originally seen.
I'm deliberately talking in generalities to avoid spoilers. This is one story you really must fully appreciate on your own.
And luckily, you can. Doran has undertaken the dual projects of completing the story and creating a series of remastered collections of the work. As her blog is linked here, it's easy enough to keep up with her progress by the old click of a button.
And it's worthwhile to do so. Doran's insights on the process and the business of comics are a master class in themselves. She spends at least as much effort on marketing as she does on the work, or so it seems from the outside. I've purchased art from her in the past, and circumstances permitting, will again.
And she does both admirably, thank you very much. With canny success, she's cross-marketed to the digital market, and used original art sales and auctions quite successfully to continue promotion of her work. I can well imagine her last words being the same as those of Tezuka: "for the love of God, let me keep working!"
While I'm a couple issues behind on this as well (again, pesky finances), I have noted that the plot has reached the point at which all hell breaks loose. Lots of action with dire consequences for all concerned. Doran's characterization is a perfect embodiment of Robert McKee's three levels of conflict: inner, personal (based in relationships) and social (the character's conflicts with society as a whole, including the larger implications of the character's actions). Every move made by every character incorporates all three of these levels. I don't think this is a deliberate construction on Doran's part, so much as it is a reflection of her understanding of the things that make people tick.

All that aside, this meets my primary criteria for a great comic. It's a very engaging read. There's a genuine excitement to opening every issue!
A Distant Soil always has been and it's only improved through the years. Now, as it winds towards its denouement, Doran is at the top of her craft.
Next: Best Comics No. 11, offering more space adventures, but with sea hags.

The ayes have it: Bone stays in schools! And thoughts on craft, again.

This is old news by now, but I just realized that I never followed up on the reports of Jeff Smith's classic BONE being threatened with expulsion from a public school library.
Wisdom prevailed. Bone is in.
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund intervention proved unnecessary, but I'm still glad i renewed my membership.
Follow this link to Jeff Smith's commentary on the issue.

Here's some video of Jeff inking on his follow-up book, The Power of Shazam!
In this book, Jeff uses the Captain Marvel story as a vehicle to revisit some similar themes in a very different way.




Watching Jeff ink, I wonder about my own process. I know this is manipulated for the camera, but even so, the control of someone who Has It Down is both inspiring and intimidating.
Of course, Jeff has done close to 2000 pages, and that's just the stuff that's in print- Bone, Shazam!, RASL, and assorted pinups.
I'm not sure what my page count is. Let's tally what's been in print:
Gay Comics: 2 pages
Ink Tantrums #1: 24 pages plus covers
Tranny Towers: 35 strips plus about a dozen editorial strips for trans political magazines
Speedy Ricuverri #1: 24 pages plus covers
The Street Giveth: 12 pages of art and covers
published online: The Surrealist Cowgirls #1 (14 pages) and The World in Love (24 pages).
unpublished:
short stories: The Road to Heroism, Lassie Come Home, Musically Midwifing Death: roughly 30 pages
in progress: another Surrealist Cowgirls story (4 pages in), TranScending (14 pages done), A Private Myth (11 pages done), Mother Was a Lovely Beast (2 pages done).
That's roughly 210 pages.
Reed Waller told me once that it takes about 400 pages for an artist to become comfortable enough to be adept at craft. I think I'm about halfway there. With all my fits and starts at this stuff, I don't think Jeff Smith will be staying up nights sweating about competition from me.
But bit by bit, I am honing my craft.
And I'm glad kids can go to school and read BONE!