Here are pages 9 and 10!

For example, this scene will be in a cramped office, not a campus cafeteria, so things are VERY basic. It’s just to get the poses and relative space between figures, anatomy notes, etc. They wear form-fitting clothes so I can change their builds by adding or subtracting weight, dress them however I need, etc. It makes drawing the book a lot easier, because I have these to build from. I’ll post the finished versions of these pages after I draw them so you can compare. Comic artists who reference sometimes get shit for ‘tracing’. It’s really far more complex and involved than that.

I like her tattoo. And yes, I put it somewhere I won’t have to redraw it every panel. Sue me.

Second, I’ve decided exactly what the $100 special reward will be, and I think it’s pretty frickin’ awesome. You all know I draw digitally, so there are no ‘original’ pages, right?

Now there will be.

I’ll blow up the pages to 11×17, the size that comic book art-boards come in, and print ONE copy of each sans lettering and texturing (so lines and flat grays only), mouth-signed (get it?) as the ‘original’ artwork. There are 18 pages in an issue, and I’ll let those 12 backers get first pick of which page they want. They can pick from the first three issues, one page, and it’ll be theirs. I’ll NEVER print those pages like that again.

What about the remaining 42 pages? Those I’ll sell or hold onto as I choose. If I sell any of them, it will never be for less than $100.

I’m interested to hear what you think. Let me know!

And they’ll be my photos.

If you’re wondering, no, the people who model for me look nothing like the characters. I often have different people each time, for starters, as they’re friends helping me for free, so I change a lot of the details. Faces are ALWAYS different, as I want my characters to look consistent and I don’t need refs for faces. Builds are often different – I generally work with average or slender models and add weight and muscle a needed, as another example. Clothing is almost always different, too. I have them all wear tank tops or form-fitting shirts and pants so I can focus on their build and not their clothing. So really I’m just using the refs for posture, body language, and hands.

In other news, I’m 3 pages away from finishing the script for #1, then it’s off to the editor. My lawyer is sending out the contracts for editing services as I write this. As soon as that’s done (to protect my sole ownership of the title and set the official rate I’m paying), the script will be edited and I’ll write a second draft. Usually that’s all it takes as far as edits go, and then I can get down to drawing the pages.

So that’s the latest. Things are a bit slow right now as I wait for all the funds to go through, wait on the contract, and finish the script. I’m not good at waiting. I should be hard at work by next weekend, though, and well on schedule for the planned release dates. It shouldn’t take me 55 days to draw 15 pages. If anything, I’ll be ahead of schedule.

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave comments and ask questions!

Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, and especially Gail Simone deserve a HUGE thanks for the attention they stirred up in the final day. Also Kurt Busiek, Jamal Igle, and Warren Ellis for earlier support.

But most of all, I need to thank YOU. The 652 (mostly) strangers who saw my work and decided to take a chance on me. I can’t thank you enough, and I really hope you find that your investment was worth it. I’ll be working my gimpy ass off to be worthy of your support.

This past month has really felt like a sea level change in my life, and I look forward to crashing the gates of the comic book world. I’m glad to have you all along for the ride.

If you haven’t yet, please bookmark this site so you can follow my progress as I go. I’ve got a lot of work to do, and I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you all.

Larime

This, of course, means a 54 page trade containing three issues in one, written as a self-contained story-arc. Originally it was just going to be one issue, then it became two, but with three I’ve decided to make it a full story as opposed to just the first issue or two in a bigger, longer story. That means LOVE KILLS, the first story-arc I had planned, is being shelved and bumped back as it will take at least six to eight issues to tell. Instead I’ll be doing A VOICE IN THE DARK, a three-part storyline about Zoey’s first days away at college, her radio show, and her attempt to use it as a way to stay sane and safely contain her darkness. This will be more of an introductory arc that will spend a bit more time developing the foundations of the bigger series rather than jumping head first into a major, lengthy plot. Hopefully you’ll like it!

In other news, page 8 is toned and finished, making it 3 pages already in the can – 1, 7, and 8. It took me about 6 hours in total to do from layout to tones and lettering. I spent 4 hours on it on Friday night, and 2 more on Saturday finishing the toning. Here it is!

I’ve also finished all four of the pinups I’m offering as prints (I’m still brainstorming on what the super-rare fifth print the $100 backers get will be!), and have included them below.

I think that covers it for now. Thanks again to everyone who has helped to make this happen!