I'm surprised you used the version of page five without the visible shirt in panel five. Do you want me to draw another version, or did you just decide no shirt?
That's the panel. I'd asked Rick to add the hem of Robin's shirt just visible in the frame, so it wouldn't be misread as if he'd taken it off, only to have it back on the next page.
@JKevinCarrier - Thanks. I'm trying to apply half-remembered principles about color from art classes here, and also go beyond the paint-bucket tool... and I'm starting to get the hang of it. In the script (written before I knew Rick existed), I stressed that these were Halloween costumes, but I didn't need to... he got that right off the bat. So to speak. He even made sure the background costumes were all year-appropriate.
@Jimmie_Robinson - That's the song lyrics doing that. Glad to know the dialog helps. Dale Lazarov's porn comics are all wordless, in part because he thinks porn dialog is inherently corny. He has a point (the "mute" button on my DVD player gets used a lot), but I try to write dialog that makes it about more than just the sex. In this story, the banter and dirty-talk between Bruce and Jason illustrates the changing power dynamics between them. Talk should be part of sex, IMHO. When I write a sex scene without dialog, it tends to be a story about isolation or degradation. Which is not at all what this one is about, so they never shut up.
I've been wrestling with the script for a story that's based pretty directly on a true story (as opposed to the ones that are merely "inspired" by actual events, or just made up). The problem is that it doesn't work very well that way. The dialog and action lose something in the translation to word balloons and panel descriptions, and as I read it... it just seems... fake. So I'm trying to revise the story to seem more.... real.
I pulled up a script that I wrote several months ago, to take another look at it, and discovered that the two "guest" characters were named Paul and Ryan. I need to fix that.
OK, so I've been writing Tales for SeqWorkGrNoWriMo, and not getting as much done as I planned.
Main reason: I'm not putting in the time. Me culpa totalmente.
Secondary reason: I underestimated the difficulty. I picked the 100-page count figuring I could cherry-pick a bunch of the simpler story ideas and just crank them out. But it's not that easy, because the project is so personal. I resolved from the beginning that every story would serve a purpose in the larger narrative or character building, not just telling mechanical sex scenes. So the story premise "Jason picks up a hitchhiker" becomes a Road Movie touching on the long-term aftermath of personal tragedy. "Jason meets a set of twins" becomes an exploration of the dilemma of decision-making. Or at least that's how I'm trying to write them.
But isn't the real purpose of the NoWriMo just to get the ball rollin'?
Sounds like you're allowing the personal aspects to get in the way of just writing it -- in any form. It doesn't have to be polished or even good. Just the point of writing is good, right? Doesn't mean you have to publish or even show anyone what you did.
But like you said, you're not even putting in the time; polished or not.
And don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to preach from up high because I'm in the exact same boat as you. I have put in ZERO time to actual writing for my November challenge. However, if I did I would only be writing a skeleton our outline. Nothing polished.
Or is it that you feel if you write it you'll cement the rough draft / unpolished attempt AS the standard and that it would taint your idea of the story?
It probably isn't a good fit for this kind of challenge. Or it is but I'm a cussed mule who doesn't want to do it that way. I'm not really much of a rewriter... more of an obsessive get-it-right-the-first-time writer. Which is probably all the more reason why this challenge is good for me, but it's why it's hard for me. For these stories in particular – each one a quickie of incitement, struggle, and climax – a rough draft without the theme is essentially useless (except as scripting practice) – just a meaningless sex scene – and the theme is what sometimes takes me time to work out for each piece... but isn't reflected in a page count.
I've been in the *commercial* mode of cranking out books that often I forget the real personal aspect of writing. As they say, "You've got a book in you". It's not always a matter of technical pounding on the keys. It's a personal decision.
Granted, that pounding of the keys is also what gets the engine warmed up, and the knife skills sharpened. But it should come together because one without the other is pretty damn obvious.
I've been reading some prose porn lately. Partly for simple entertainment. Partly to get a better understanding of how other people do it. Partly to see how not to do it. Some of the dialog in this stuff is terrible. Not just porn dialog (e.g. "oh, suck it, baby!") but dialog in general. I hope I'm better than that... I figure I must be if this stuff hurts so much to read.
On the other hand, some of it's pretty good. There was one piece in an anthology (by its editor) that mixed some well-described sex scenes with some serious character development (one guy had lost his lover – and custody of "their" daughter – in a motorcycle accident), which is the sort of thing I'm trying to do. I also like the amount of foreplay... gotta try to work more of that in (where appropriate)/
OK, the NaGraNoWriMo exercise was worth trying, but I need to stop writing for a bit. I need to get drawing. First, finishing Dale's story. Then working on Tales. And meanwhile, getting some other people drawing some too.
OK, time for JAQGraNoDrawMo. I have ... 20 panels left to ink for "Everybody's Doin' It". Some still not quite ready for inking, but fairly close. Allowing for interruptions due to holiday social activities, that means if I complete one panel per day, I'll have it done before the year is out. There's still coloring to do after that (no lettering needed) but it'd be good to reach that essentially-finished stage.
Since his original digital-store plan isn't going to happen, Dale's been putting out feelers for where to publish "Everybody's Doin' It". One good possibility (as he's had stories in previous volumes) is the annual TPB Best Gay Erotica. The deadline for the 2014 book is June 2013... since I have the equivalent of a few pages left to ink, I think I can make that.
At 13 pages, it might be a tight fit. If we absolutely have to, the format of the work (mostly a strict 2x2 grid) would allow a page or two to be trimmed. The other issue is that it'll have to be B&W. I figure I'll still color it (the line art by itself is kinda flat), but keep an eye on the values so it'll reproduce well in grayscale.
But yeah, get your work spread around. New work, old work, whatever. You got the chops, bro. AND you are putting in the work. Submit it fer christ's sake! Don't get cocky, June 2013 is not as far away as we'd like to think. I've seen whole years erode right before my eyes when it comes to comic production + life. I don't want to come back to this thread reading about how you're staying up all damn night because the deadline is coming up. Hahah!
It's a 2x2 grid because it's telling four stories in parallel, 1 panel of each per page (a technique Dale borrowed for this story from Rick Veitch's Bratpack). There are a couple pages where it splits to 8 panels, and each story takes over for a page at its climax, where I get to loosen up the layout a little... and I think there's enough going on in those panels to keep it interesting. Like I said in the landscape-vs-portrait discussion: it's just a constraint... you work with it.
The loss of color is unfortunate, because a different color palette for each story was supposed to help the reader connect the panels from page to page, and it's a deliberately multicolored cast. But if the anthology is black and white... then black and white it is.
Oh, and if I can't finish this before June... just send me home.
Some of the art for a story I wrote is going to part of a big-city exhibition!
Rick Worley got to talking with another cartoonist about the Tale he illustrated... someone who'd also done an autobio-ish Batman-on-Robin sex comic. Figuring that stories that actually live up to Wertham's fever dreams about the Dynamic Duo are pretty common, Rick and the other cartoonist are curating a show based on that theme, which will be on display at a San Francisco comics store for the month of February. A few original pages of our story will be part of the exhibit, along with... Rick hasn't said yet what else, but he promises it'll be good.
While I'm a little... irked that he put this together without even talking to me about it (it is my story, after all, both in the sense that I wrote it, and that I'm in it... plus WFH and all), I'm also excited about the exposure it will give me. So to speak.
That's fuckin' good, man. Yeah, it would have been nice to know about the deal, but it's good that your collaborator is working the angles. Nothing wrong with being in an exhibit. I've been in two and it's an interesting and unique position to be in. You say it's at a comic store? Which one? I live near SF.
It's always nice to see people stop and look at your work. Even if for just a moment.
It's a place called Mission: Comics & Art. In the Mission District, no doubt.
I'd be more geeked about it if it was people stopping and looking at my art. It's a comics shop, so the patrons will understand that there's a writer behind it (and I'll be credited)... but I expect the thought they'll walk away with is "this Worley guy draws hot pictures" rather than "that Quest guy writes hot scenes" (or "that Quest guy is hot" 8->) Even so... it's publicity.
I asked Rick if he was thinking of a print thing in conjunction with the show (thinking of how to get it into people's hands as a finished story), but they're understandably nervous about the legal implications of doing a book that's nothing but "Batman" and "Robin" stories. [-X
Oh, and if I can't finish this before June... just send me home.
Don't send me home just yet, but... there will be a brief delay with further work on it. I just inquired with Rick if his show might have room for a page or two from the sequel (of sorts) to the tale Rick drew, a story that takes place five years later, with a change of roles and a corresponding change of tone. He said "yes".
I've only started scripting it, and haven't started drawing. But if I can get a couple of choice pages inked in the next three weeks (the show opens the beginning of February), I'm in. To be honest, it's about 40% wanting to get this story done, and 60% wanting to have some of my own art on display. Which means I better make it good.
But at least this detour from one project is bringing me back to the project the one detoured me away from! This is just multitasking... in very slow motion.
My father surprised me with $500 for Christmas. Not nearly what he "owes" me (in the metaphysical sense), but still a rather nice move on his part. He's expecting me to spend it on a lifestyle upgrade of some sort, like a down payment on a used car. But the "lifestyle upgrade" I need most is this project, so it'll get spent on porn instead... that is, having it drawn. (And I'll tell dad that I spent it paying off my credit card, so he'll still feel good about me being responsible, instead of having to be judgmental about my "lifestyle choice"... as a cartoonist.)
Comments
I'll send you full-size copies as soon as I get it lettered. It's on the back burner at the moment, as I'm trying to get Dale's pages finished.
In the script (written before I knew Rick existed), I stressed that these were Halloween costumes, but I didn't need to... he got that right off the bat. So to speak. He even made sure the background costumes were all year-appropriate.
@Jimmie_Robinson - That's the song lyrics doing that.
Glad to know the dialog helps. Dale Lazarov's porn comics are all wordless, in part because he thinks porn dialog is inherently corny. He has a point (the "mute" button on my DVD player gets used a lot), but I try to write dialog that makes it about more than just the sex. In this story, the banter and dirty-talk between Bruce and Jason illustrates the changing power dynamics between them. Talk should be part of sex, IMHO. When I write a sex scene without dialog, it tends to be a story about isolation or degradation. Which is not at all what this one is about, so they never shut up.
What's that? You don't need suggestions?
Main reason: I'm not putting in the time. Me culpa totalmente.
Secondary reason: I underestimated the difficulty. I picked the 100-page count figuring I could cherry-pick a bunch of the simpler story ideas and just crank them out. But it's not that easy, because the project is so personal. I resolved from the beginning that every story would serve a purpose in the larger narrative or character building, not just telling mechanical sex scenes. So the story premise "Jason picks up a hitchhiker" becomes a Road Movie touching on the long-term aftermath of personal tragedy. "Jason meets a set of twins" becomes an exploration of the dilemma of decision-making. Or at least that's how I'm trying to write them.
On the other hand, some of it's pretty good. There was one piece in an anthology (by its editor) that mixed some well-described sex scenes with some serious character development (one guy had lost his lover – and custody of "their" daughter – in a motorcycle accident), which is the sort of thing I'm trying to do. I also like the amount of foreplay... gotta try to work more of that in (where appropriate)/
At 13 pages, it might be a tight fit. If we absolutely have to, the format of the work (mostly a strict 2x2 grid) would allow a page or two to be trimmed. The other issue is that it'll have to be B&W. I figure I'll still color it (the line art by itself is kinda flat), but keep an eye on the values so it'll reproduce well in grayscale.
The loss of color is unfortunate, because a different color palette for each story was supposed to help the reader connect the panels from page to page, and it's a deliberately multicolored cast. But if the anthology is black and white... then black and white it is.
Oh, and if I can't finish this before June... just send me home.
Some of the art for a story I wrote is going to part of a big-city exhibition!
Rick Worley got to talking with another cartoonist about the Tale he illustrated... someone who'd also done an autobio-ish Batman-on-Robin sex comic. Figuring that stories that actually live up to Wertham's fever dreams about the Dynamic Duo are pretty common, Rick and the other cartoonist are curating a show based on that theme, which will be on display at a San Francisco comics store for the month of February. A few original pages of our story will be part of the exhibit, along with... Rick hasn't said yet what else, but he promises it'll be good.
While I'm a little... irked that he put this together without even talking to me about it (it is my story, after all, both in the sense that I wrote it, and that I'm in it... plus WFH and all), I'm also excited about the exposure it will give me. So to speak.
I'd be more geeked about it if it was people stopping and looking at my art. It's a comics shop, so the patrons will understand that there's a writer behind it (and I'll be credited)... but I expect the thought they'll walk away with is "this Worley guy draws hot pictures" rather than "that Quest guy writes hot scenes" (or "that Quest guy is hot" 8->) Even so... it's publicity.
I asked Rick if he was thinking of a print thing in conjunction with the show (thinking of how to get it into people's hands as a finished story), but they're understandably nervous about the legal implications of doing a book that's nothing but "Batman" and "Robin" stories. [-X
I've only started scripting it, and haven't started drawing. But if I can get a couple of choice pages inked in the next three weeks (the show opens the beginning of February), I'm in. To be honest, it's about 40% wanting to get this story done, and 60% wanting to have some of my own art on display. Which means I better make it good.