Whoo boy. Better late than never! I realize I’m backdating this to Monday, but it’s actually late Tuesday night as I post the second half of this spread. Every week I wonder what the heck I’ve gotten myself in for. The SA-13 “Gopher” missile tanks were just too cool to pass up, though. This whole scene required an enormous amount of research. I make extensive use of photo reference, mainly for things like body position and gesture, but also for the tanks and airplanes, which I then modify on the go. This spread sent me to my library in search of books on Vietnam, old newspaper clippings from the war in Georgia a few years ago, books on the Soviet army, photos from both World Wars… it took a lot of work to amass all the right information. Then to turn it into a composition I could sketch from, refine, ink and color properly – it was quite an undertaking!
But the result is as close as I have managed to get so far to making this look like a book that’s ready for print. When I talk about editing earlier pages, I mean bringing it up to this standard. That’s the real thing, you see, with drawing to a weekly schedule – too often the deadline becomes the goal, not the product. And that’s legit, of course: people are following along and I hate to delay the story. But sometimes I end up taking shortcuts, even small and unnoticeable ones, and the results are not quite there – and sometimes are really off the mark. That, combined with the haphazard moments I had early in this chapter and late in the last one, has had me trying to pull up my socks, and has led me to wonder whether, at the end of this chapter, it might be well to pause the story and go back to fix old pages that didn’t quite “do it.”
I doubt that I will. Better to move forward. But if I ever print this thing, I better get used to the idea, I suppose.
Anyhow, two things. First, the next page of the guest story for reMIND that our little arts commune did is up, so go give’er a look. This week’s the work of Chris Wrann of Aquarium Drinking, who incidentally got the whole thing started, and wrote the story as well! I urge you to check it out and support all of our comics with your readership, comments and votes. After all, we do this for free, and we do it for you!
And second, if you want to see the full spread, in all its glory (including some corrections and enhancements to the last page!) all you have to do is zip on over and cast your vote at topwebcomics.com! And here’s a handy link for you to do so, as well!
So again, thanks for the patience, and we’ll be back next week. be well, everyone!
But yes, it looks like Mike is back! Everybody loves Mike! But is he too late? The Federates seem to be making their move, missile-wise…
This insane spread is the best thing to appear in this comic so far. You’re getting so much better, my friend. So much better. Everything’s really coming together.
Thanks, Aviv! I am finally getting to the point where I feel confident enough to start pushing the art forward in a major way, and the encouragement really helps a ton!
–M
I understand that there’s a war on and everything…but still, how can you not notice Mike sneaking up on you like that?
Also, I think you should drop the exclamation point on “I’ve come to help you!” Maybe. Is Mike excited, or nervous, or is he just informing Sarah that he is there to help you. I think it would be cooler if everyone is all like “Oh shit giant robosupertank!” and mike’s like “Oh, hey guys. What’s up? Sorry I’m late. It’s all right, I can take her from here.”
Also, Mike’s back! Yay!
You’ve hit on an important point, perhaps inadvertently. I don’t want to spoil it for you. Just sit on your suspicions for a while – and be assured that, triangular guns aside, I have done things very deliberately here…
–M
My god!
All hail MIKE The BOLO progenitor. I think I am in love.
Everyone loves Mike!
I was actually surprised how quickly everyone developed an affinity for him, to be honest. In my early story outlines he was a secondary character, more like a prop than a real “person” like he is now, albeit a person shaped like a tank. But rest assured, the next chapter is very Mike-centric, so there’s lots of him to come!
–M
I think the appeal you’ve uncovered is from those of us who have read the B.O.L.O. series, military types and those who have the practical realisation that those giant anime robots had to have an A.I. start out somewhere. You don’t just suddenly have giant walking robots with autistic teens driving appear out of nowhere. lol
I know, right? Why would they wait to develop AI until they had a humanoid robot for it to go inside? The BOLO/Ogre/Rumbler type vehicle is a far more plausible one, I always thought. And the idea that I always loved about Laumer’s stories was that the BOLOs were, in the end, actually better and nobler than the humans who created them, which flew in the face of the “machines run amok” cliché. Mike may be messing things up and disobeying orders, but he’s doing so according to his own logic and morals, being almost loyal to a fault. That’s why I love him, anyway.
–M
It slightly puts me in mind of Gort from The Day The Earth Stood Still (The original, not the crappy remake). In that Gort was one of a race of robots, who’s purpose was to keep the peace among the sentient races of the galaxy and to prevent wars that would surely sterilise the galaxy of all life with the kind of technology they could throw around.
That said, there are going to be serious questions regarding Mike’s AI, since it was him charging off against orders that has escalated this situation.
Thats always bothered me in anime, why were giant robots always given to such petulant whiny little teenage snots? Why were such powerful weapons put in the hands of CHILDREN from lack of a better word? Evangellion sort of gives an answer in that only certain people can control the mechs, so the military took what it could get, but why why WHY are none of the Gundam pilots even old enough to shave?
Yeah, what the heck is up with that? That is the weirdest Anime trope: how can advanced technological nations win interstellar wars when their entire officer corps is made up of prepubescent teenagers? I think that the Macross series was the last time the pilots and crew of super-advanced Anime warplanes and vehicles were actually draft age. It’s probably because the recapitulated epics of the Anime genre are all meant to be coming-of-age stories, and the writers have been taking it all more than a little bit too literally.
–M
Too awesome! Absolutely loved this one
Really glad you did, Saleem. I’m getting more confident and adventurous with this story and its artwork, and I really feel, particularly after this page set, that as far as an artistic experiment goes, this is coming out well, in that it’s definitely helping me improve my skills. Having a supportive audience is key to that, and I really do appreciate the support more than I can possibly say!
–M
This is the cue for all the Sarah/Mike slashfics to commence. Oh, don’t look at me like that–‘shippers manage to ruin everything, eventually.
Good God. Now I belong to the ages!
–M
Also, mike has portal eyes.
😀
–M
Quick Mike! To the Enrichment Center!
Aww, but he just escaped!
–M
Awesome action going on since i was last able to check, Good stuff with this on here. Totally looking forward to Mike based slides. Only one thing i got to say though..
Dam i wish AI in my VIC.
Thanks, man! If nothing else, this comic has been seriously helping me improve my drawing skills. And let me tell you – some days I wish I had Mike to clear out the highway for my morning commute!
–M
Hehe, from the experience i’ve had, i would love to have Mike in front of me when i roll, provided that turrent is facing a different way then i am that is. Lead the way mike!
I’m starting to really love this comic. It’s got an old school ‘G.I. Joe’ feel.
Don’t know if you read some of my early posts on the various forums about this, but that is EXACTLY what I was going for!You basically made my day by recognizing the link between 6-Commando and the 1980’s Late Cold War Ameritrash cartoons! This is meant to be like the dark side of the super-heroic military cartoon.
–M
Keep up the great work!!
Thanks, man! It helps to have support like this, for sure!
–M
Awesome spread man! Really well done!
I by the way like panel 3 the most, with the sun behind Mike like that and then “Put her down”. I bet every person standing there has wobbly knees by now :).
Thanks, Joost! It nearly killed me, but hey, suffering for one’s art, huh? The biggest challenge is using photo reference properly to compose a scene, because it can be so time consuming, and the perspectives almost never match up so I end up doing a lot of construction myself anyway. It’s like how some people make 3D models to help them with their composition – in a sense it’s easier, but in another sense it’s more complicated, since you have to really keep your eye on all the parts to make sure they work together in the composition.
–M
You wanna know how we coulda won the Cold War without all that Reagan era expenditures. Challenge the Russians to a drinking contest. They would have drank themselves to death, we’d just drink til we pass out.
@ Mr. Average: I tend to think the Gundam franchise showed the dark side of the super-heroic military cartoon. By showing wars effects through the eyes of children and teens. As kids we all played “soldier” with our plastic rifles and grenades.
‘ ‘ Na-ahhh, you can’t shoot me, my T-shirt is armor and its indestructable.’ ‘