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Volume Two served to expand the story past the first book but also begin the arc that would culminate in Volume Four. With the third volume being the issue to bridge the two, I needed to come up with a stand alone story that moves the characters and events along without being a filler issue. I'm happy that the story I've written hasn't strayed too far from my original notes written at the end of Volume One, and am excited at the prospects of the four part series being read from beginning to end as one big story.
The process behind these books is a rather arduous task. Once I figure out the storylines, I have to find a resolution in the books that make them a complete chapter. I've concentrated on the characters and specific events in the third book, developing their stories while moving forward. Once I comb through the pages and pages of haphazard notes in the notebooks, the next step is figuring out the basic structure of the book - the number of chapters, the tone of each, and the pacing. At this stage,
I move to a large sheet of newsprint and draw out each little page, figuring out the length and pacing of each scene.
I've had to spend a lot of time on this stage, as there is a lot of new characters and settings that are introduced. There isn't a lot of room for wild exposition and backstories in comic books, so the writing has to be succinct, and matching the writing with the imagery is done at this stage as well.
Working on these newsprint sheets has helped to keep the story focused and on target, this is also the stage when I can add in more of the humor and specifics to each scene. Stylistically, I wanted a more open and relaxed sense of imagery than the rigid panel by panel structure of the second book. While the drawings will be just as specific and detailed as in Volume Two, I think they will flow and integrate with the text even better.
As far as the story goes, this volume is set a few months after the second issue, so it takes place during summertime. Often a time for vacations and slacking, our young hero finds himself with General Malaise and a new issue that cropped up in East Austin. In addition to that, there are two new forces introduced that counterbalance and push our hero. I do believe that parts of this issue are some of the most personal moments in the already slightly autobiographical tale, and will flesh out our hero past
his cartoonish ways.
I've experienced a weird finality working on this issue, as if, for the first time the series is finished and in the past. This is partially due to two factors: that the complete story is fully realized and written, and there is a feeling that I just can't draw and publish these stories fast enough. I have a rather ambitious plan to publish the next two volumes before the end of the year, and I think if I try hard enough, I can keep up the necessary pace.
Once the layout pages are done, my work only begins: I've already started in on the finalized storyboard pages, which will be followed by shooting reference pictures throughout East Austin, then starting in on the 68 pages of drawings. Once drawn, the pages are inked, scanned, and the gutters and text are added in Photoshop. Then there's one last step to wrangle before sending it off to the printers. It's going to be a very busy four months.
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