PAGE 8
Mathletes, the perfect cover, right?
With Page 8, Conrad gets some face time and we start getting a bit of the natural dynamic that occurs between a hardened secret ops agent and a 16-year-old high school student. For me, this stuff is just tons of fun to write.
Coloring-wise, I’m a big fan of what Lisa did with the final panel of this page. I knew I wanted a “transitional effect” for the Slide– the “teleporter” element we’d established in the original pitch– but, when I was writing this page, I realized that I had no idea how to show what it would look like inside the Slide.
Lisa came up with a really cool “negative” effect, while leaving Cally and Conrad positively colored. It’s obvious that something is happening in the space around them, while not distorting our main characters– It’s something I wouldn’t have thought of on my own, and yet another example of how a comic page is a summation of the entire creative team’s talents.
From a storytelling perspective, take note of DJ’s paneling on this page: Panel one starts with establishing shot that cants to the left– which is balanced by the final panel, where he pulls it to the left. It’s very subtle, but to your eye, the layout creates a sense of conclusion to the page. You always want to be aware of your flow when creating a comic page– In a gag strip, you can get away with two characters talking in one medium shot, but for “Graphic Novel” type storytelling, you should always be aware of creating interesting shots to create a sense of movement and drama with each panel to avoid reader eye fatigue.
I do jokingly call the final panel of this page our “Sam Raimi” moment– I grew up a big Evil Dead and Army of Darkness fan (I challenge anyone in my age group to deny their love of those two movies.) One of Sam’s stylistic trademark shots is the camera cant. Lisa’s special coloring effect and DJ’s panel layout creates a really fun “Raimi moment” here– I just love it.
Speaking of the Slide, during the Zuda (where we originally showcased it as a narrative element) we came under a little heat from a few readers who claimed it was too convenient as a plot device– I didn’t want to argue it at the time– and honestly, I can see their point– but it isn’t to say that MK Black’s teleportation tech isn’t a major part of the story to come…time will tell, I promise that it isn’t lazy storytelling!
Speaking of popping all around the globe– as I’d mentioned in the write-up on last week’s page, I’m off on my Honeymoon right now. Funny, enough I actually AM halfway around the world (possibly at least, and relative to where you are in the world) in Fiji– The island is amazingly beautiful and the people are extremely warm and friendly. The really funny part is that I’ve crossed the International Date Line and I’m currently writing you from the future!
That said, the fact that we were all able to coordinate to get this page up on schedule is a real testament to the fact that webcomics know no location boundaries. Honestly, if you’ve been thinking about doing one of your own, jump on it– it doesn’t matter where you are or where you’re going: all you have to do is get it done!
Ok, cutting this entry a bit short since I’m getting glares from the Bride– Also, I think there’s a fruity rum drink with my name on it.
We’ll be back next week and resuming our normal blog schedule– Next week will also start the initial wave of our marketing campaign, so I’ll be talking a bit about that!
Until then, BULA! (which apparently means “I’m alive and well!” in Fijian)
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