This was going to be the start of a big 8-page story that deals with loss and mashes Coleridge poetry and a Nez Perce coyote myth. I wrote it out and drew the first couple of pages, but stalled out. Something about it just wasn’t working. So you get a weird comic today. Might come back to it later.

All strong possibilities. Still not sure.

This one started as a doodle of the guy in panel 1 and just descended into madness from there. My eye is fine, really.

Transcript

Panel 1: The guy looks up through his sun roof as a drop of possibly acid rain heads for his eye.

Panel 2: The guy is sleeping, out cold, and it looks like his cat is batting at his dangling eye with his paw.

Panel 3: We get to look inside the guy’s head to discover that red bellied woodpecker is foraging for bugs in his eye.

Panel 4: Oddly, it looks like his right eye is refusing the romantic advances of his left eye.

There are compelling arguments for rededicating Columbus Day as Exploration Day. There’s a WhiteHouse.gov petition, too, if you’re interested.

Transcript

Panel 1: Caption: “On October 8 we celebrate Columbus Day in honor of Christopher’s arrival in the Americas.” Christopher Columbus says, “For me? You GUYS. You shouldn’t have!”

Panel 2: Caption: “No. We probably shouldn’t have.” There are men and women being led in chains away from a tropical beach. Men with weapons and armor watch over them and there is a ship in the distance.

Panel 3: Caption: “There’s an idea out there to change Columbus Day to Exploration Day.” An astronaut clicks his heels on the moon. Caption: “We’re always exploring.” Amelia Earhart sits in her cockpit. Caption: “Discovering new things.”

Panel 4: A scientist pours a drop of liquid from a vial to an erlenmeyer flask. He looks nervous. Caption: “THAT’S worth celebrating.”

Everything went wrong that day. The ear buds still work, though! Whew, I’ve bought too many of those already.

I’m excited to attend CCAD’s Mix 2012, a comics symposium at my alma mater. The sessions look great. Even more excited to see friends and family.

Transcript

Panel 1: Hands open a tube of white gouache.

Panel 2: The bottom of the tube explodes, all over the lap, the shirt and shorts are covered in white paint.

Panel 3: At the sink, washing the shorts.

Panel 4: OH, I left my ear buds in my shorts. They may be soaking wet now, but at least they’re clean.

There are many creatures to be appreciated in the mountains of North Carolina, where Jen has family with whom we often visit. They’ve seen bobcats, wild turkeys, snakes, bear poop and coyotes, (or at least heard from them.) I’ve only seen woodpeckers, humming birds and butterflies, thankfully.

Behind the Scenes

Materials:

• Sketch paper (not recommended for watercolor!)
• 2H pencil, kneaded and plastic erasers
• Lamy Safari fountain pen with Noodler’s black waterproof ink
• Holbein watercolor paints: Burnt Sienna and Yellow Ochre. Cottman Ultramarine Blue
• Windsor Newton Series 7, nos. 1 & 2

This video talks about the kinds of things I have on my mind when drawing with ink.

Transcript

Panel 1: On a mountain highway, an SUV has stopped and a woman leans out the passenger window, looking back at a slithery reptile on the road. “That was a snake!”

Panel 2: Inside the car, the woman says to her husband driving, “Go back and get him.”

Panel 3: The SUV’s tire runs over a none-too-happy snake.

Panel 4: The man says, “I’ll be,” as the snake multiplies into two snakes.

This comic came about as a submission for Illustration Friday‘s topic of the week, “book.” Nick Marsh wrote a very enjoyable, spooky bonus story for backers of the fundraiser to print “The Express Diaries,” called, “The Ausperg Affair.” The story mentions a poor man whose love for his dead wife sends him into the occult and madness. Nick’s good Cthuluery inspired this comic.

(Oh, I’m dropping down to M-W-F comics. Going to use the extra time to improve the drawings and work on a larger project.)

Read more if you’d like to see some behind the scenes sketches and videos for “Book of Darkness.”

Behind the scenes

Here’s a bit more about the process I used to make this comic.

Sketching

Materials:

• 2H and HB pencils, Lead holder with HB lead
• Kneaded and plastic erasers
• Sketch pad

First, I wrote it with a rough drawing in my sketchbook. I knew how I wanted it to end, so I started with the 4th panel … well, let’s watch, shall we?

You can see from all the erasing and smudging that several of the drawings were a struggle. The drawing changed quite a bit from what you see in the video, too, especially panel 3. Here’s the final rough sketch:

Inking

Materials

• Hunt 101 Nib and nib holder
• Higgins black magic india ink
• Fluid Easy-block watercolor paper

I lightly redrew the comic on a watercolor block in 2H pencil. (See “Painting” below.) This gave me a chance to correct some of the drawing, especially the acting going on in panel 3.

Then, I redrew the comic in ink, choosing to use a nib pen instead of my trusty Lamy Safari fountain pen. I like the accidental lines I got, but I made a mistake thinking I could letter the comic with a nib pen. I ended up redoing the word balloons on bristol board with the Lamy and cutting them out and pasting them on. Live and learn.

Painting

Materials

• Winsor Newton permanent masking medium
• WN Cottman ultramarine blue and burnt umber watercolor
• Winsor Newton Series 7 brushes, nos. 1 & 2
• Painter’s blue masking tape

I’ve been making my comics in my sketchbook for the past month. I like the idea of having them all in one place, and in the beginning, the low quality of the paper didn’t matter because I wasn’t painting as much. I’ve been enjoying the watercolor phase, though, and this old sketchbook paper doesn’t hold up too well. The paper buckles and I usually leave the sketchbook under a pile of heavy books all day to try to flatten it out.

I recently bought a Fluid watercolor paper block, not too expensive and does the trick. Blocks are like pads of paper but are glued on the edges. This way you don’t have to stretch or wet the paper and it keeps the paper from buckling.

Here’s a look at painting the 2nd panel in octuple time.

Transcript

Panel 1: A man sits at his desk, reading a large book. A woman sits on a couch behind him. “At last, I have acquired the medieval tome, Libre Tenebrae,” he says.

Panel 2: “I believe it can tell me the secret to making you well again. However …” The woman walks by him.

Panel 3: The man studies the book. “Curious. A riveted brazen head … baptized in burning blood … Deep things. Deep friends.”

Panel 4: The man looks up from his study. “You’re quiet tonight, my darling. Is anything the matter?” He’s talking to the corpse of his wife.

Happens almost daily. It’s payback for all the times I scared someone, well, Steve, and laughed about it. I’m sorry.

Transcript

Panel 1: I sit in my cube, focused on my task. It’s quiet.

Panel 2: I work away in the quietness of my cube.

Panel 3: A paper face on my cube wall calls out to me, and I am startled.

Panel 4: It was actually my coworker, but I’m still having a heart attack.

Someone on a radio news story said that it seemed like everyone he met was “down in the mulligrubs.” I didn’t think that sounded so bad. Probably better than “waylaid with the Smurfs” or “crawling with the care bears.”

Transcript

Panel 1: Two men walk in a park. The tall man says to the short, “Things will get better. Just gotta stay positive, I tell her.” The short man agrees. “Right. Don’t be down in the mulligrubs.”

Panel 2: Silence.

Panel 3: The tall man starts to ask, “what’s a mulli-” The short interrupts: “I don’t know but it’s gotta be bad.”

Panel 4: The members of a mulligrub welcome committee look dejected.

I can’t believe it went this easily, and with neither a towel nor a partner. (Jen was held up and I wanted to go to bed.) For a moment I thought I just squirted liquid all over his neck, but when the syringe was empty, his fur was dry. He didn’t budge, didn’t make a sound, and probably had no idea why I was hootin’ and hollarin’ when it was all done.

We’ll do it again in two weeks.

Transcript

Panel 1: I have the needle ready and Pip is nearby. I get a text: “Ugh. Stuck at the thing. Won’t be home until late. Sorry hun. ”

Panel 2: I say cartoon a swear word.

Panel 3: Anxiously, nervously, I jab the cat’s scruff.

Panel 4: I’m pleasantly surprised as Pip sits peacefully. “Huh,” I say. “Holy [cartoon swear word.]“

Another cat story. Look away, anti-cat-people, I beg you. Tomorrow, too.

Pip’s losing too much weight, so we’re trying to kickstart his appetite with biweekly injections of vitamin b12. I confess, I’m not really sure what the thought was behind this, I didn’t do a good job of listening. Once the word “needle” came up, I was lost.

This comic is a pep talk. Stop by tomorrow to see how it all turned out.

Transcript

Panel 1: Tonight, Jen and I will give Pip an injection. The kind with a needle. We’ve never done it before.

Panel 2: First, we’ll wrap him up in a towel. Make a kitten burrito.

Panel 3: Then, while Jen holds him, I’ll squeeze some of that loose skin on his neck, stick the needle in and push the plunger. No problem!

Panel 4: Everything will go perfectly with no loss of feline or human blood.