Issue 12, page 18

Again, my apologies about my "slacking off." I'm finally feeling better - nausea is gone and the pain, while still around now and then, its pretty mellow. I still haven't heard back from the doc, but with how busy his office is, I'm going to assume no news is good news.



So yes, work is beginning on the pages again. Finally. Though my poor desk is getting crowded. Between the print-outs of previous pages, sketches, reference materials, pens and styluses, and this little male anatomical model... everything seems to have camped itself on my desk. I finally pulled a little collapsible table nearby to catch the paper overflow. All of which means that I need to reorganize a bit. Sometime. Maybe.


"Chaos furnishes the building blocks for order, and order breaks down to replenish chaos."
-- Betty Brooks

Ten years and the Silver Age

Hey, guys! Darc here. Unfortunately, I spent all of yesterday on the couch battling nausea, fever, and a migraine. Today's not shaping up to be much better, so it's back to the couch for a bit. Hopefully this afternoon will bring a change. My buffer is being eaten into. This can not stand!

But enough about all that. I have a confession to make. It's a confession that may just shock a few of you. You ready? Here it goes...

I'm in love with the Silver Age Batman and Robin! *squeee* You see, I picked up a copy of DC Showcase Presents: Batman, Volume 1 a bit ago and have been reading through it. It's so much fun! And I love the artwork. There's no color here, just the original line art, which makes it much easier to see (at least for me) the various panel compositions. I do have one small complaint, though... they killed Alfred! *sob* I like Alfred. Not fair! He comes back, obviously, I just haven't figured out how yet.

But yes, I'm loving these old stories. Yeah, they're a little campy at times, but it's a refreshing break from all that's coming out now. I'll have to pick up volume two sometime soon.

Well, now that I've probably traumatized some of you (How can she read that stuff?), I've been thinking ahead to August of this year. Why August? Because this year will be the tenth year of CN:H! No, not as a comic, it'll be the eighth year of that. CN:H was a series of stories before it became a comic, remember? And while some in the webcomic community may disagree with me, I feel those stories count. The comic wouldn't exist without the groundwork done during those early years. And, I want to celebrate that. In fact, I have the right to celebrate it!

The only trouble is, I'm not sure how to celebrate it just yet. Hmm... I need to work on that. I'd like to come up with something fun for you all. If you have any ideas, please let us know. I'll keep thinking as well.

For now, I'm going to go sit for a bit and hope this passes. Why do I keep getting sick?! My poor workout routine... shot down in its prime! Oh well, there's always tomorrow. Later, guys, and take care!


"For every ailment under the sun, there is a remedy, or there is none. If there be one, try to find it. If there be none, never mind it."
-- Mother Goose

Issue 12, Page 17

Sorry about all the quiet this week. I haven't been feeling all that talkative lately. At the moment I am so tired. For some reason, I just couldn't get to sleep last night, so today I'm more than a little drowsy.

Anyway, here's the sketch for page seventeen. More dialog in the kitchen.




"No matter what time it is, wake me, even if it's in the middle of a Cabinet meeting."
-- Ronald Reagan

Issue 12, Page 16

I finished the sketch up yesterday, but forgot to post it. So, here it is now. I had a lot of dialog to cover, so I thought I'd try doing a four-by-four grid - sixteen panels.



I know, I'm sure someone will bitch about Talking Head Syndrome. "It's so lazy and slapdash. Were you phoning it in today? Don't you know any better?" To answer that, I think we all know by now that no, I don't know any better. But, I have been reading a lot of comics lately, and I think I'm starting to fall in love with Jim Lee. His art, I mean.

He did a few pages of four-by-four panels in the All Star Batman and Robin, Boy Wonder comics that I thought were pretty interesting. (Page from Issue 2, page 17.)



So I thought I'd give it a try. And, to be honest, I'm happy with the results so far. I was a little worried about getting the words in there along with the art - such tight, confined spaces. So, I did things a little backwards from what I normally do and lettered the comic before laying the sketch in. Once the sketch was set, I added the balloons so I could get the tails pointed in the right direction.





It was kind of neat. I'll have to try that again in the future. But for now, it's early and I need to do my morning workout routine. Later.


"What works for one artist doesn't necessarily work for another - try anything and everything and go with what works for you."
-- Paul Dixon

Rashanna (sketch)

I'm still tinkering around, trying to find the best working schedule for me. Why has it taken so long? Because I'm flighty at times, that's why. Though I may have hit on something here. I'm thinking at least two pages completed a week minimum (that will maintain my four month buffer), with one done by Monday evening and the other Wednesday. It still takes between a day to a day-and-a-half for me to ink a full page. It depends on the level of detail and my wrist. Thursday and Friday, meanwhile, are left for extra art, sketching, and the recolors.

There are a few reasons for this. One is to allow me some flexibility in what I'm drawing. Nothing but comic pages can get dull after a while. I'd love to do a color character drawing at least once a month (and perhaps turn it into a wallpaper for the Supporters). I also have some extra storyline ideas I want to explore in side comics. Not to mention Dad's car drawing I still need to work up. I think I finally have a fun idea for that one.

Or, I can sketch pages up ahead of time if nothing new comes to mind. It's worth a shot.

So for starters, here's today's sketch... Rashanna.



I'm going to shift gears now and do a bit of recoloring. I'll ink this and do some more page sketches tomorrow. For now, I just want to color. Later.


"As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion."
-- Antisthenes

A new year, a corgi, and digital downloads

Hey all. Welcome to 2011! I hope everyone had a great new year. I must admit, I'm a little nervous. The last few years have had a rather nasty ending in January. 2009 had the house fire and 2010 the death of Godzilla (my old comp). I can't help wondering what this year may bring. They say things come in threes after all. Maybe we'll luck out this year. Fingers crossed.

I've still page fifteen to ink. Unfortunately, Holly seems to have other ideas. She's been driving me nuts all day, wanting out every half-hour or so. All I've gotten today is a headache. Usually she sleeps most of the day, but today and most of yesterday she's been going out of her way to be distracting. I've closed the office door, but it's just warm enough outside to make this little room into a mini sauna. Woo - hot stuff!

Ugh, I'm thinking of using the rest of this afternoon for reading/research and inking this evening. Manic corgis are not good art buddies.

I swear, it's the slightly warmer weather. The stray cats, squirrels, and other little random critters are out and about in her yard. This can not stand. Her corgi honor must be avenged! Avenged she says!

Tiny, meanwhile, hasn't moved all day. Yay, cats.

Oh, before I forget... we now offer digital CBR versions of the comic in our store for $1.00 each. You can find the current issues available here. The Prologue isn't up yet since I still haven't had a chance to do the edits we received from Joanna last month. I'll get to that soon.

For now, I'm going to take Holly out yet again. Hopefully this will calm her down for at least another half-hour. Later.


"Happiness to a dog is what lies on the other side of a door."
-- Charleton Jr. Ogburn