Page 3 – It’s Time To Come Inside
UPDATE! 08.11.10
Well, being as how it’s a slow week commentwise, and I happen to have a bit of a moment on my lunch break here, I thought I’d add something a little less terse to the mix here. Despite a lot of really tiny things probably noticeable only to myself and some very sharp-eyed individuals, I think this page is up to the standard of the previous one. Originally, the “dream sequence” (I hate the term but I can’t think of a better one at the moment) was going to be in full color, but it was way too much – it overwhelmed everything. And when I started running short on time, I just basically turned it all to greys, and somehow it “clicked.” I think the result was pretty good.
My mother, by the way, who reads this comic (thanks, Ma!) immediately understood what this scene was all about. So I was really pleased that it was “readable.” I also thought that making it so down-to-earth (the pickup truck, for example, and the wooden house and barn, and the electrical wires) counterpointed the high-tech military aspects of the story so far, showing that there’s a “real world” behind everything that’s going on, something that I really want to emphasize, despite the possibility of it turning off some readers who may be looking for non-stop tank action. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of that to come, but the characters are not superhuman or anything. Like real soldiers, they’re just people, and they have lives and families and the burden of lifetimes of human ups and downs behind them, and I really like exploring that. Not to mention having a female “action heroine” type character who’s really just mortal like everyone else, and is neither the vulnerable ice-queen nor the indestructible amazon, but rather, just a person. I think it’s pretty rare in North American comics where a female character doesn’t fall into one category or the other. Television and films, too. Western archetypes die hard.
So, maybe this whole chapter will constitute a risk that won’t pay off readership-wise, but in the end I have this urge to just stick to my plans and let the whole thing play out. Sarah is an important character who needs exploring. But don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about, nor will I be neglecting, Rucker, Mike, and all the rest.
And on that last point, I haven’t forgotten about my promise earlier this summer of cool 6-Commando stuff. On the one hand, it feels presumptuous to be providing “fan junk” like that, since everyone does it and it seems like such a saturated angle that it kind of leaves me cold. But promotion’s promotion, and so one has to look to one’s “business,” such as it is. I am, as of now, planning to attend the New York Comic Con, albeit as a visitor and not as a vendor/exhibitor, since I have nothing to vend, and precious little to exhibit, and I simply need to get the lay of the land before I try to actually get in on it. But the “6-Commando Crap” is still in the works, I promise – slower than intended, but still on the way.
Anyhow, there you go. A little more insight than simply “Mathieu Sleep Now!” So I hope that fills it out, and I’ll see you on Monday. Be well!
Original Post: 08.09.10: It almost killed me, but I did it. Sixty-five hours in the office this week, including Saturday, and somehow I managed to draw and color a full page. A year ago I’d never have been able to do this. I guess that’s a good sign, that I can, now.
So there it is. I’m totally beat and I have a third week of Extreme Architecture to get up to first thing in the morning, so I’ll spare you all the usual jabber. If, later in the week, I have something insightful to add, I will, but for now, I’m down for the count.
Zzzzzzzzz.
–M
Wow, that i call a change of scene. 😀
Also i love the details you put on the tree, looks like some time you spend there.
Actually, since this page is closer in style to what I produce professionally (renderings and drafted drawings) it was a lot more natural than I’d expected. I think I need to dial back the cartooniness a little and let more of my classical training take over. This page almost made me forget I was working on my comic and I think it was a real benefit, art-wise.
And by the way, putting Placeman in upside-down was one of those little things I just did on the spot. Somehow it just seemed to work.
–M
Ditto, the trees and mountains are fantastic. Not sure about the dress that little Sarah is wearing, but that’s ok. She has really tiny eyes, though.
About that truck. I would put in a bit of greeble in that wheel well. Since you colored it green, we can apparently see inside the wheel well, and there is no detail?
Maybe putting a shadowy leaf-spring suspension and some brownish-reddish-blackish rust would look better.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Leafs1.jpg
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/classic-motoring/FinWhlWell.jpg
Just a bit of shadowy detail would make that look much better, imo. You do whatever you want, though. Don’t burn yourself out, don’t kill yourself over this. I’d rather see the art degrade or you take a week off than see you beat yourself up over this.
P.S. is it officially allowed to start shipping MiloxSarah yet?
Actually there was more to it but I simply missed the lines when I penciled the final board, and it was not worth the time, at that moment, to go back and fix it. Once again, as a background element, I thought it was working, so I didn’t see the need to go overboard. Though you do see the struts and the axle bushings under there. All that was drawn from a photo of a 1978 Chevrolet, by the way. Sarah, incidentally, is meant to be about 29 years old, in the story, and in this scene “young Sarah” is 12. So that would put this “memory” in 1980 in the story.
As to the scheduling and time factors – this week is hitting me pretty hard, but I do want to keep up with this. I took a lot of time off last fall and it really was a downer to me. Having this comic keeps me sane. Though I do pursue (and love to hear from and interact with!) my readership I’m really doing it mainly for myself, to give my mind something to engage on, and to give my life some discipline. And actually, my brother once said that “work is what you do for other people, and art is what you do for yourself,” and it’s something I take very much to heart. So I do try as much as possible to keep up with the comic even when times are difficult.
–M
Actually, I think this is an interesting interlude in between all the Mike awesomeness.
Also, I think 6-Commando crap would be pretty cool.
Well, at the very least, there’s one item in particular that I’ve been working on – slow process, but I think it’ll be really popular when I finally get the deal done.
And I’m glad you like that the story is kind of taking a character-oriented track. Pure action is cool, but momentary, and unmemorable. I hope people will really like the human side of the story. Even though one of the “humans” is a robotic tank!
–M
Hi M!
Great page! I really love that background very detailed. Seems to me you not only took your line work to the next level but also everything else! And you were working on a high level already.
By the way, I think it’s really impressive that you are able to maintain your update schedule even though you had several very busy weeks at work.
Keep ‘m coming!
Yeah, the variations you get with pencil are a lot subtler – the lines themselves are just so much softer. I really think it’s a good mix of practicality and effect.
This week has been harder to keep up with than most, because, though the hours in my office were shorter, the fatigue from last week really started to catch up with me. I think I’ll still make it though.
–M
Dear M.
I just stumbled upon this WC because it had an interesting name. Turns out I’m now hooked.
I love the style and your art. The story is just tripped! As I’m a tank freak, whenever I find a pen and paper near me I start doodle tanks, which means this is my cup of tea in comics.
So far I like how the story is turning out with some cool action scenes mixed in with some personal character development.
I just had to say that I appriciate your work and look forward how the story will progress in the future.
Keep up the work!
Tanks have been a real lifelong interest of mine. Which is wierd I guess because I’m kind of a pacifist. I’m fascinated by manchines of all kinds, really – the Machine Age in general, which tanks represent.
I’m really glad to see another new name on the reader list here, too – and your note here is a huge compliment to me, so thanks! It all just happens a bit at a time, but knowing that people are reading is a real motivator to me.
–M
If you want, I can help you for translation russian phrases. Autotranslated ones don’t look very correct to my russian eye))
Yes, they are admittedly quite bad. One other reader already forwarded me corrections on the language for Chapter 1 (and has offered to take a crack at the lines in Chapter 2, when they appear) but I haven’t had the time to make the updates to the older pages. When I decided to use Russian in the story I kind of got ahead of myself. I’ll definitely keep it in mind.
–M