Posts Tagged ‘haunted cabin’
23 items.
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!
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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.
Yeah, so that strange stuff in the woods? Yeah, it appears to be happening. And this is where our adventure begins.
I had a lot of ideas for this story with what would happen in the woods. Originally I was going to make one of my friend’s kids creepy and then have them chasing me around the woods. But that didn’t happen. Most people won’t consent to their kids appearing in a photo shoot for a web comic called @$$hole!. No matter how well they know me. 
However, I think I found a better solution that really fits with the theme of the photo strips. What is it, you ask? Well, the next update will provide the big reveal!
Until then, cheers my friends!
These shots were taken at a state park in Indiana, and it was a beautiful day that these shots were taken. Crisp, clean air. Refreshing, even. And the light was perfect for picture taking. And the foliage was the kind of green I haven’t seen since Ireland.
So New Years is right around the corner, and there’s a lot of great announcements and projects coming to term in 2012. I really look forward to being able to finally tell you guys about these projects that have been in the works for quite some time now. I really want to tell, but shhhhhhhhhhhh. Soon. Very soon.
In the meantime, I’m finishing up the first official volume of @$$hole! (available for sale in 2012, details TBD), and also prepping a large New Years party with Beth. Going to be a fun time bringing in the new year. I haven’t thrown a new years party since moving to Chicago, so should be a fun time indeed.
I hope you have a safe and happy new year, and look forward to seeing you again in the new year!
This is where it starts to get real, folks. The funny is coming. Act I is about to end, and all hell’s about to break lose. But in the meantime, it’s holiday time. This weekend is that special holiday a good chunk of the country – heck, the world – celebrates. That’s right, I’m talking about …
…Trevor’s Facebook Holiday Sale! Today (December 23) is the last day I will be discounting all of my comics so you can give the gift of reading to someone you love. If you want to buy them at this discounted rate, all you have to do is e-mail me your order and address address on facebook. Below are the prices of the books:
1) Reading with Pictures – softcover -
Price: was $18, now $152) Reading with Pictures – hardcover -
Price: was $25, now $203) Hope: The Hero Initiative – softcover -
Price: was $20, now $154) @$$hole! – softcover -
Price: was $6, now $35) Junkyard Chase – softcover -
Price: was $3, now free with purchase of $20 or more
Any orders over $40 receive free shipping*, and all orders will come with a free sketch inside the book.
Payment will be available via paypal. Please reach out if you’d like to give someone you know a great gift this holiday season – the gift of reading!
*(standard ground, only – expedited shipping will cost extra)
Two things going on in this page that have a personally funny touch for me:
1) Answering the phone in panel 2. Back when I worked in retail I used to have to take regular calls from the other departments to check in. This happened just about every half hour or so. Over the course of an 8 hour day, that gets pretty old and you have to find a way to entertain yourself. So you come up with fun ways to answer the phone.
The first thing I tried was pretending to be another department – but people catch onto that pretty quick. So then you just try to intentionally mess with people. Hence, some of the quotes you’ll see when answering here.
2) The last line in the 4th panel, this is a quote that comes from a webseries called Twiggers Holiday. It’s this crazy little eccentric series about a kid with a purple monkey on his head. It’s wild and zany and silly (until the end), and it has hilarious (and somewhat offensive) quotes in it like this in it.
Anyway, I’m prepping for holiday time this weekend, and getting the book ready for the printers. Progress is slow bu steady. There’s going to be original content, and the first hundred or so strips in luscious full color. It’s going to be a trip to put together, and I’m looking forward to revealing it at convention season next year.
So have a great weekend, get plenty of rest, and prep for the next two weeks filled with HOLIDAYS!
Peace.
Honestly, the flow of the text on this page could be better. This is the problem you run into when you don’t write your script in advance of taking your pictures. Or at least an outline or something. Despite this, however, I’m really liking how this story is unfolding. Right now is the customary set up. Soon will be when the shit gets real.
So holidays are right around the corner. There are really two camps when it comes to this time of year:
1) The people who planned ahead and got their holiday shopping done well in advance of the holiday (FYI: that’s less than 40% of the country)
2) The people who procrastinated and still have to do some last-minute shopping
Guess which group I’m in? I’ll give you a hint: it’s not the second group.
I tend to be a little OCD about planning ahead. I like to get all the details out, at least in my head. I do this with just about everything. Writing comics. Buying gifts. Figuring out my weekend plans. So when I do comics like this which aren’t planned out by the letter in advance, it’s a bit of an uneasy experience. Fun, but uneasy.
In any case, my point is that if you’re going out this week or next to do holiday shopping, be careful. I worked retail for 9 years…people get crazy when they’re desperate for holiday shopping.
See you Friday!