Good day Squadron!
It is time to share with you some of my vaguely legible scribblings on the mini comic.
To put this into context, I have recently returned to the habit of listening to podcasts and watching youtube videos on the subject of Comics covering the theory and practice of bringing them into being. During this time I was fortunate enough to hear some solid advice on the subject of creating your main comic and I found it cathartic to hear.
I want to tell you because it may apply to whatever it is you’re working on whether it’s comics, a rockin’ war game load-out, an idea for a fun app or whatever it is that you’ve got brewing away in the back of your head that you’re looking forward to so much that you put it off for a whole raft of reasons that may feel like practicality or priority, but deep down in your soul you know it’s just a very clever procrastination technique.
The advice came from Jake Parker in his video about the World Building Trap. I think it’s something that’s easy to get sucked into, I know I’ve been in it a lot in the past and for some projects I’m still in it.
The advice stems from a medieval quarry workers creed that goes something along the lines of this.
“We who cut stones must always be envisioning cathedrals.”
And the theory growing from here is that these grand ideas we keep in our minds are the cathedrals and we look around for the perfect rocks to shape into a fitting piece, in this case it’s a great plot to twist or a dramatic scene, character epiphany, or even just the look of the characters. Sometimes it feels great to just draw characters in a cool pose and suddenly you find you’ve spent hours exploring and analysing these characters or environments outside and beyond the need of the story you’re trying to tell. And when you take a step back to view the progress of your cathedral you only find a pile of ornate but ill-fitting rocks.
Jake’s focus with this points out that you may think you’re building something, but in reality you’re just stalling. We are spending too much time envisioning these cathedrals and not enough time building them. That may come down to a lack of direction, understanding and education on the process of getting from concept to completion and what we could learn from actually doing the work gets lost in chronic preparation.
So how do we get out of this trap? One effective pathway is to reduce the scale. Instead of building a cathedral, we start by building small straw huts. Small wins that will keep us on the right path while at the same time learning the process, growing our knowledge and honing our craft.
For me that is where a mini comic comes into play. A straw hut in terms of a story but it contributes, as all my comic endeavours have, to an overarching experience of what the Tactical Teddies universe is about.
But what separates this comic project from any other comic project?
First and foremost, with the exception of the Contractor 47 Comic and a raft of strips created for Airsoft Action, this will be my first comic to go to print. It will be larger than the former two in terms of storyline and physical scale and it will be a huge learning curve for me in terms of how to improve for the comics that come after it. I’m excited, but I’m also as nervous as I have been with any project before.
That’s where you all come in, you are my accountability team. Just telling you about this project gives me a sense of responsibility not to talk myself into the usual pitfalls.
So enough preface. Here is a preview of the comic story so far. I will attach some photos followed by a typed up slightly embellished transcript of the four page spreads just in case my scribbling is entirely illegible.
Panel 1 – We (the readers) meet the team at the edge of a Forgotten occupied swamp. They look rough, “Bloodied” and have clearly been through some kind of hell to get to this point.
We get a look at their gear. Suppressed sidearms, NODs, full packs, pouches, primary weapons slung. We are looking at seasoned professionals.
Panel 2 – The team move along the coast of the swamp despatching Forgotten stragglers. Staying out of sight, knowing that being seen will cost them the mission. Once the vicinity is cleared they regroup, ready to move on but a sound rings out of the wastes. An engine?
Panel 3 – We (the readers) meet a team of two Hunters, bickering over whose fault it was that they lost the Family convoy. They’re making a lot of racket, judging by the Forgotten dead laying around them they can afford to be a little careless. They can handle themselves.
They finally free their transport and in the near distance bubbles begin to roil and break on the surface of the swamp.
Panel 4 – With a mighty crash, something gigantic breaks through the surface of the swamp, rearing its long, boil-ridden worm body up and towering above the Hunters who are frozen in shock, they know exactly what it is and how stuffed they are.
…
And that is all I will drop for today, with as much intention as I have to share this story with you for the sake of its development I also struggle with unveiling the whole plot as I want you to have a sense of the unknown when it comes to reading it for the first time.
So I will take any critique from the first few sections and apply it as liberally as possible to the parts of the comic that will remain covered for you by the fog of war haha. Though should there be any crossroad I find myself at or I find myself in need of some tie breaking with decision making, you will be my go-to team!
You will see this section of the comic go from this skeletal page structure onto a more fleshed out concept with dialogue and greater descriptions and visuals as the comic develops!
So let me know what you think in the comments below, or on the facebook post, and I look forward to reading your thoughts of this rough story arc so far.
Stay awesome, stay safe and stay furry!
Hiwez out.