Posts Tagged ‘haunted cabin’
18 items.
So Trevor, Devil-T, and Angel-T are off from the lake to try to make it back to the cabin to protect the Book of the Dead. But they’ve encountered a lot of distractions and obstacles along the way. What lies in store for them next will be updating on Friday, and let me tell you – the ending of this arc will be epic. Seriously EPIC.
So I’m recovering nicely from an amazing weekend at Anime Milwaukee. Unfortunately I caught the con-flu (which is rare for me), so the con report is a little delayed. Going to shoot to have it live on Thursday. At the same time, trying to pack up because I’m moving into a new apartment, and trying to get oodles and oodles of comic projects done before the end of the month so they can be ready in time for C2E2 in April.
I will say this: Anime Milwaukee is an extremely fun show, and always sets the bar high for convention season. It’s a great way to start the year. The fans are great, the attendees are great, the guests are great – and the organizers, volunteers, and staff are amazing. If you love anime, you should really attend this show.
And to those of you joining us for the first time, welcome. You are among friends here.
Alright, I’m gonna go drink some tea and try to recover a bit. See you Friday!
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Dire situations abound indeed in today’s strip. Also, a little (see what I did there) nudity. Not that you can see anything inside that glowing orb, but trust me…he’s pantless.
It feels good to be drawing again, and coming back to some of the illustrated story arcs that were left hanging for a while. I included some plot hole fill-ins within the volume 1 collection (which I’ll be selling this weekend at Anime Milwaukee), and plan to include more in future volumes (assuming this bad boy sells well, of course).
I’ll try to post something up about the collection soon. I want to show it off. But I also want to have time to eat. And right now, I don’t have time to do both. Unless someone wanted to feed me while I type. Volunteers?
Anyway, I’m gonna be having a blast at Anime Milwaukee this weekend. I hope to see you there, but just in case I don’t – I hope you have an awesome weekend too!
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Anime Milwaukee is this weekend, and below is my full panel schedule:
FRIDAY:
An Evening with Trevor Mueller (Panel Room B): 9:30pm – 10:45pm
-A hilarious night telling silly stories about con experiences gone wrong, ways not to meet celebrities, and overall life hijinks. A good time for all – but try not to bring the kiddies.
SATURDAY:
Writing Comics 101 (Subprogramming Room): 8am-9:30am
-Learn the basics of three-act structure, how to work with an artist, and how to get that story idea into pitch form
SUNDAY:
Making Webcomics (Panel Room B): 9am-10:15am
-Learn from webcomic pros Trevor Mueller and Alan Evans (Rival Angels) on how you can make your own webcomic, from start to finish
First off, I’d like to say “Happy VD” in post to everyone. And for the single among you, “Happy Singles Awareness Day.”
Yeah, I remember this holiday sucking quite a bit when I was single. Now that I’m dating, well…it’s a fine holiday, but the office job keeps me too busy to do much during the week. Sadly, girlfriends don’t often give you a pass for such things. See this bald guy here? Yeah, he’s in the dog house a little right now. Thanks, steady paycheck…. 
Anyway, back to the comic. So Devil-T is totally macking on Robo-Sarah’s head…which is funny, because when we were first introduced to her, drunk Trevor was doing the same thing.
Sounds like what Robo-Sarah is talking about is pretty dire. We’ll find out more on Friday. And speaking of Friday….
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Anime Milwaukee is this weekend, and the show has finally posted my panel schedule – which I shall share with you below:
FRIDAY:
An Evening with Trevor Mueller (Panel Room B): 9:30pm – 10:45pm
-A hilarious night telling silly stories about con experiences gone wrong, ways not to meet celebrities, and overall life hijinks. A good time for all – but try not to bring the kiddies.
SATURDAY:
Writing Comics 101 (Subprogramming Room): 8am-9:30am
-Learn the basics of three-act structure, how to work with an artist, and how to get that story idea into pitch form
SUNDAY:
Making Webcomics (Panel Room B): 9am-10:15am
-Learn from webcomic pros Trevor Mueller and Alan Evans (Rival Angels) on how you can make your own webcomic, from start to finish
Well, this is like a Roger Rabbit moment….
The lake. We have arrived. And someone in the lake is in need of help. The plot thickens.
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Next week I’ll be attending my first convention of the year, Anime Milwaukee. It’s always an honor to be asked to be a guest at a show, and I’ve had a lot of fun attending Anime Milwaukee the past several years. Not only is it a chance to hang out with my good friend Alan Evans, but it’s a fun weekend filled with anime voice actors, educational (and hilarious) panels, and of course, amazing comics to purchase. And I will be giving some panels at the show, as well as premiering my first book of the year at the show!
It’s going to be a fun time, so I hope to see you there!
So the angel and devil really aren’t taking their day seriously. I guess they don’t really have to worry about dying since, you know…they’re already dead?
Things are about to get real once Trevor arrives at the lake. This is something we’ve been referencing since the first page – that the lake is an important part of
1) directions to the cabin
2) getting your bearings to get back to the cabin
3) keeps directing things back to the cabin…which is haunted
Plot twists and intrigue abound in the coming pages. Stay tuned!
Happy February! February marks the start of my convention season (but more on that below), and also the release of my first book of the year: @$$hole! volume 1: No Pants Tuesday. The book should be in my hands right before my first show (but more on that below), so there will be plenty of news and fun times surrounding it. Maybe we’ll do a book release party?
So this page here…yeah. It was shot on different paths in the woods. In fact, that downed tree – we saw it earlier, when Trevor was “looking through brush”.
In the park where we shot this story, this tree had fallen in the middle of the path and it was kind of shocking – but also a very beautiful sight. It was a fresh break, possibly from a lightning strike or a major wind storm. The leaves were still green, the inside of the tree still bright and alive. It was tragic and awesome at the same time.
So I used it as much as I could in the story. And behold – hopefully you didn’t notice.
So, conventions. Anime Milwaukee will be my first show of the year. I’ll be a guest of honor again, so there will be fun panels and goofy stories to be told for sure. Also, I’ll be hanging out with the very awesome Alan Evans who will also be a guest at the show!
I’ve been to this show for the past 3+ years, and I’ve had a ton of fun every time I’ve gone. Met great people, told funny stories…and even had a few funny stories happen. So be sure to come by the show, say hi, check out the panels, and buy a copy of the new book! I’ll be posting pictures when it comes in (should be the week of the show – fingers crossed there are no delays).
Before we start, yes…I am aware that the angel / devil pair are pointing in opposite directions from where Trevor is looking in the next panel. This was partly done on purpose for a joke…but also partly used because I was a little rushed on this page.
And yes, panel 4 has a girl wearing body paint. I finally included a naked lady in the comic. Be happy.
So the forest we were taking these shots in had a lot of desaturated color to it. Not sure if the green of the leaves was offsetting everything, but it was a lot of fun to play in. Until you start trying to include other images into the shots. Suddenly you find out that it’s so bright and vibrant that it doesn’t mesh well with other outside images. Even the devil / angel photos have to be desaturated to look like they fit into the shots. It’s a lot of work.
However, the good news is this – I’ve been playing with later pages and there’s even more techniques that are totally new to the mix. This story is a ways off from ending, but the ending will be fun and hopefully a shock to most readers – in a good way. Like most horror stories, I try to include a twist.
But maybe I’ve given away too much already….
Anyway, I’m off to a wedding this weekend. Stay warm out there!
Playing multiple characters in the same scene is not easy. Especially when you’re not actually interacting. Maybe that’s why I’m not an actor….
But in any case, the dialogue between the characters is extremely fun. They have some great chemistry, playing off each other’s personalities.
But writing is a great fun process when you have characters with strong motivation. Alan Moore (Swamp Thing, Watchmen, V for Vendetta) says there are 4 elements to writing a story:
1) Character – the subject of your tale
2) Environment – where your subject is currently located
3) Situation – what’s going on where your subject is located
4) Time – hitting the play button on all of the above
If you swap any one of these elements, you can radically change your story. For example:
1) Character – Batman
2) Environment – a bank
3) Situation – Bank Robbery
4) Time – How does Batman react to a bank being robbed?
Now, let’s swap out any of those elements, and our story can radically change. I like to swap out the character, for the sake of argument. Instead of Batman, let’s use Spider-Man. Or Punisher. Or Wolverine.
Pretty different outcomes and stories you see in your head, right? Because these characters have very unique motivations that drive them to deal with the same situation in the same environment in very different ways. No difference here with this story. Except, you know…I’m not wearing tights.
Bruce Campbell gives an incredible DVD commentary on the 38 editions of Evil Dead. In one particular version, he talks about how the movie never stuck with female viewers. How they start to wander off and interest wanes. Right around the scene where a woman is attacked by a tree – in a rather provocative manner!
While those movies are campy and silly (and excuses to soak Bruce Campbell in fake blood of all colors), that scene is pretty disturbing. It’s a little out of context for the feel of the film, and it sticks with people.
That said, since I’m paying homage to that movie here a bit, I wanted to call out that there will be no attacks by trees in this comic. Technically. Certainly not in the same way. You’ll have to wait a few pages to find out what I’m talking about.