Friday, December 12, 2003

The Music that we Choose

Craptacular Music!

So this week winds down the Boy Band series, and we've got an entire weeks's worth of denoumont to work through. But don't worry--it's all fun, and we're still making fun of boy bands, and maybe a couple of other genres while we're at it.

I've really enjoyed these comics, though. There's something about having an archangel who's in a boy band that amuses me. In hindsight, there were a couple of comics I wanted to do but didn't come up with until after the fact; that is, until after I'd already posted the comic it would have to come before for it to make any sense. Now the die is irrevocably cast, and the end of this storyarc is at hand, and there is nothing more I can do. *sigh* Ah well, so it goes.

We're also getting dangerously close to the end of Chapter One in Troubled Times. There's maybe three or four pages left before we take a break (and by "take a break," I mean we'll do a little omake outtake thing for a few weeks, then Adam'll careen full-tilt into Chapter Two), which is less than a page of the actual typed script (yes, there is a script! We're not just making it up as we go along!...okay, we are, but that's not the point).

Adam actually made an interesting point about Troubled Times the other day. He said that drawing it was a lot like acting, and I think I know what he means. I've provided him with a script which details dialogue, general action (as in "Earl slices evil demon thing in half with sword in a really cool way"), and some background information about the characters or their opinions of certain things. I haven't done much--if any--of the "blocking" for him, nor have I really told him how everything should look. So he's like an actor (or a whole bunch of actors) taking the script and interpreting it. Which means that when each new page of Troubled Times comes out every Saturday, I'm just as surprised by it as you all are. I have no idea what he's going to do with the script, even though I know in general terms what needs to happen. It's kinda fun that way, and I've really been enjoying the collaboration. I can't wait to see how he's going to do some of the stuff in Chapter Two, where things really heat up and the actual plot gets underway. That's been the one regret I have about Chapter One--the way I wrote it, perhaps the way I had to write it, it came out real exposition-heavy. It almost had to be; there's a lot of backstory to go through, so that we can get to a place where things are actually happening but seem to have a reason. I've tried to keep it interesting--even slipping in the page with the Devil and Azaroth to kind of break the monotony of having Earl and Evan bicker back and forth (at Adam's request, I should note--the interlude was his idea, and it also gave me a great chance to set up an antagonist with a face). But I'm never sure if folks actually like this stuff, because neither Adam nor myself receives all that much feedback on most of this (hint hint).

Anyway, there is more Dim Bulb goodness to come. There'll also be a December Support Gift, too, as has become our monthly habit/ritual. More on that as we figure out what it is.