Just to back up a bit--these are the first 9 pages of what would have been a first chapter of 18 pages (the first chapter of 9 in a graphic novel of 100 some-odd pages). These guys only want to print the first 9 pages (thank God because at this rate it would take me a year to do all 18 pages). So this will (and should) feel incomplete. But I'm hoping it makes some sense. Inevitably, some of it will be lost on an audience that doesn't know anything about this period of music, but see what you think.
18 comments:
If you just assume effusive praise I can get persnickety. Page 7, top panel, the shirt isn't bendayed. And even though a real comic typeface is kind of soulless, it might be less distracting than the hand lettered. If you have time, try on a page. Enough of that, it really flows. After reading it I feel like I watched a documentary with a famous voice actor narrating and looking at real stills or home movies.
Ben, thanks mucho for the comments. You are so right--I must abandon my dream of hand-lettering everything. I spend quadruple the time on correcting lettering than everything else.
You're right, I messed up that shirt's benday...it was supposed to be a shadow--a carryover from page three--but it doesn't read. Dang.
I thank you for yr very kind comment about feeling like you've just watched a documentary!
Great stuff! I love the "graphic novel journalism" feel of it. Harvey Pekar meets Rolling Stone Magazine. And what a great little story to focus on. I love all the details and the sense of place (LA was THE Punk scene). Really top notch work.
I agree that the letter is a bit uneven. You might try going to Mad Magazine route and not even try to make it look hand lettered. Maybe even do a Chick comic sort of font: http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/aa/67/aa670d10cedc7c0c43d0c0103d4e5b75.png?itok=KUQ6WQon
I think there will be demand to continue the story. Great job. I want to know the story and see the pictures to go with it. I bet there is a big reaction to this.
I like working in the nice Rambler looking car into the mix.
I've right click saved. Looked it over close. I'm not bumped by any of its hand made look. I can read it. It invites you to read it. It is interesting as all caption style. No word balloons except for off stage "You're putting it on crooked." And that's still caption looking. Reminds me of my favorite feature of the old Outdoor Life. This Happened to Me. With Sam Glanzman illustration. I have to go to work. Great job.
Just an incredible job all around Marty. You will have to refresh my memory even more though. Who are the people who are going to publish this piece? They aren't a comic book company, right? Or a record company... but they publish musical... history... stuff?
Tom, that's right--this is going into a college textbook (!) on how to write about music (mainly examples). The publisher is well-known in music circles for their series of books called 33 1/3...each book is one critic/poet/writer/nutcase writing about any single album.
Check it here: http://333sound.com/
The textbook is due out spring next year. Get yr orders in now....
And so glad to hear you guys like it--thanks for all the kind words, it really gives me a lift. El, I'm glad the hand-lettered look doesn't put you off! The pages will be 6" x 9" so I don't think any of it will be too hard to read...but I hear everybody on the difficulty of scanning the lettering.
And yeah--hopefully I can get some solid interest on doing the whole story!
...and El, re: the lack of word balloon dialogue: as I was writing this, I realized I DIDN'T have direct quotes for any of these scenes, and it felt really uncomfortable trying to write them. Felt like a more honest (and artistically challenging) approach would be to tell the story without faking dialogue. I kept with this idea thru the whole chapter and I think it works pretty well.
Even that first (and only) piece of dialogue on page 1 ("CHUCK, YOU'RE PUTTING IT ON CROOKED") could be the narrator talking, and not one of the band members.
Love that you noticed this--and approved!
Removed a comment that compared two panels, but I may be mistaken. Is it Chuck on page 2 and Robo on page 6?
Ben! No worries--I saw yr comment pre-deletion, but thought there might be some character confusion going on--which is ultimately the artist's fault, right??
It's the shared receding hairlines....
Rick, thank you mucho for the comic font link. I'm very much inclined to take the Ellis route and create my own, I think.
Ellis, are you listening...?
Comic characters should all have widows peaks and front cowlicks. All of them.
I think you've drawn the two characters well, and very consistently. Character confusion can occur even in a movie or T.V. show if two people happen to look somewhat alike. Since these two characters were real people, you weren't at liberty to just make up some distinguishing characteristic merely for the sake of clarity.
I caught my mistake with the baseball cap on page 3 and page 6 and then looked more carefully.The cap is a good identifier. The noses are visibly different too.
Phew!
Outstanding work as always Marty. One of those guys reminds me of Tom Smothers
Thanks, Jimmy--and Ellis, thanks for the fonts link. I''l get on it!
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