Side by side 6 - final

The original Bolt page 6.

Woah, panel two is so full of random nineties kitch! This page also has some more of what I would term graphic effects. It's also about 2 or 3 pages squeezed into 1. Here is the only time in the original story that the reporter ( She is given the name Wendy Winters in the new version) is seen, though her prior bad experiences with The Bolt are shared through some hasty exposition. I believe her head piece was originally intended to look like an "Electra" style head wrap but looked more like bandages hence the idea of a back story where the Bolt had fallen on her somehow. I like the newspaper headline as a finishing touch. It was left out of the remake due to page count, deadline, wanting the story finished or all three.

The Electrifying Bolt -page 10

The Electrifying Bolt- page 11

The Bolt leaves Timberr's dignity intact in the remake but his heart shaped boxers still end up on display. The remake also shows the chainsaw actually destroyed by the fall. I guess Bolt just carelessly dropped it. Lots of homages to the original story in these panels including the sound effects panel. The whole thing was an exercise in producing a comic completely digitally for the first time. Some of it I still feel is as cringe worthy as the original but it was definitely a very worthwhile learning curve particularly learning about colouring which as stated in an earlier post, is a whole new ball game for a .

So there you have the Electrifying Bolt fly's again with help from Michael Stoneburner providing a new script. Hopefully there is not a remake of the remake in another 20 years but I'd settle for a animated series or movie. Hollywood? Hello? Anyone?

The Adventurers issue 4 pen and ink art complete. On to the digital!

All the pen art is photocopied and scanned in ready to be touched up for issue 4.

A few weeks ago I finished the pen line art for The Adventurers issue 4. I'm currently applying digital finishes and lettering to each page in a far greater extent than previous issues of Adventurers. The main reason is that issue 4 is set at night and I like having the option to use "undo" if any shadows  don't look quite right. A secondary reason is I actually know a little bit more about how to use digital programs compared to two years ago.  I guess you could call the process for issue 4 a "tradigital" process.


Despite a lot of work left to go on issue 4, it really felt  momentous completing the final page inks for a number of reasons:

• It's the conclusion of the first story arc and the set up for future arcs. 
• I've been working on The Adventurers, from concept to print, for at least 13 years! It is nice to get closer to the point I envisioned (albeit a little differently) so long ago and start to explore new story paths.
• Issue 4 is a very demanding issue in itself. It's longer at 24 pages, the first time I use splash pages, a lot of extra big panels and some challenging sequences that require me to push my artistic ability.
• It's also the last time I'll be making comics using the "tradigital" process I have been using. I plan to incorporate a lot more of the digital component for future stories.

For previous issues I largely used the computer for lettering. I experimented more in issue 3 with some tiny art touch ups and using blast line tools to add some drama. In issue 4 I kept in mind what could be done digitally to try and save time. Issue 4 spot blacks, blast lines, background details and even some entire back grounds have been added digitally. I've even used copy and paste in places rather than try to replicate identical images by hand (something my sister, Cara, told me to do for issue 1 but I was too stubborn to heed her good advice. I now know it is not "cheating" to use digital tools). Below is a sample of some panels that have been touched up digitally that I shared on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Panels start to come alive when the black is added.

Using heavy shadows is less risky since you can undo anything that doesn't look right.

Starry nights are a lot easier in digital.

Digital Adventures

It's been quite a while since my last post. There are two reasons; one is that it is hard to put up many images from The Adventurers issue 4 as I don't want to run the risk of spoiling any surprises. The other is I admit I have been a little distracted by what was originally meant to be a side project.

Over the last year I have slowly developed more skill with digital drawing. In order to improve and hopefully speed up my process as a result, I decided to revive an old character and redraw an old story I did while in my late teens. The idea is to see if I can complete a comic completely digitally.

The character is known as The Electrifying Bolt and here is the first completed, colour picture of The Bolt in many years (or possibly ever). He is a really fun character to draw. I know Mike Stoneburner finds him fun to write as well. He helped me tweak some gags from the original story and Mike and I have shared many laughs just throwing around ideas for origin/future adventures of The Bolt over the phone. Hopefully you'll be laughing out loud at his (mis)adventures soon as well.

The Electrifying Bolt flies again and yes... that background character is wearing a suit made entirely of wood.

Teaser Art for issue 2 of The Adventurers Comic.

This art is also a bonus pin-up that will appear in The Adventurers issue 2. It marks the first time a picture of mine has been completely finished digitally. I scanned in a rough sketch and went from there. It was done using Manga Studio 5. I'm not too familiar with all it's tools so it took quite a while to complete. It will be some time before most of The Adventurers art is drawn digitally!