Here's another one-shot comic page I created with writer Patrick McEvoy! I love his techie futuristic themes. Also, couldn't help throwing in another disco-ball pattern in the computer room in the first panel. (Side note - the window and last panel colors were inspired by Sonic 2's Oil Ocean Zone). It's great that Patrick is cool with whatever I come up with, as writers should allow freedom for the artist to do what they do best! He was also open to suggestions I had for making the second panel two separate panels, so it's more clear that we are zooming into the computer's circuitry.
The Papercutz team on the Charmz School panel at NYCC 2016! Left to right: Sven Larsen (marketing), Jeff Whitman (editorial), Janice Chiang (letterer), Mindy Indy (penciler/inker/colorist), Amy Chu (writer), and not pictured is Jay Jay Jackson (penciler/inker/colorist) who joined us later in the panel!
Working with others was one of our discussion topics on the Charmz School panel at NYCC. letterer Janice Chiang and writer Amy Chu talked about how they worked together on many projects over the years, as writing and lettering are very intertwined. Jay Jay Jackson and I are both "triple-threat" penciler/inker/colorists, so we talked about our experiences working with others, but also benefits of being sole creators of comics.
NYCC's line up of panels was MUCH better than last years! I targeted other writing panels too, as I'm working on rewriting AER HEAD, and panelists kept suggestingfor writers to start working with an artist on one-page comics before delving into their magnum opus. This is great, because it helps both writer and artist develop their communications to see if they work well with each other.
This is something that people don't really think about. Lots of indie creators are just so excited to get their work out there, that they don't take the time to get to know their team-mates working style: Do they respond to email timely? If not, was there a good reason? Do they ask lots of questions to ensure clarity? If not, they may end up doing extra work over changes. What is their schedule like? Do they prefer to work late at night? All of these things and more can be ironed out with a one-page comic before committing to too much if you realize you're not working well together.
I also work with writers in the FD Foundation and RLS Foundation for our weekly and monthly comic strips. My first boss for "No Tears: Life With FD," David Brenner, usually sent me the script and I drew it: easy-peasy. Occasionally, I'd offer suggestions (like "I don't think a kid would say it that way"), and sometimes he'd agree and we'd change the script, but usually the script stayed "as-is." My new boss for No Tears, Paul Schack, and also the team at the RLS Foundation are very open to my script suggestions. They give me the dialogue and I'd sketch it out, realizing that it would be better if some things were changed in the script or action description. Sometimes it's a back-and-forth process, which leads to a better finished comic! For example, the No Tears comic above was originally scripted with just the bottom 2 panels, but I suggested we insert a 3rd panel in the beginning giving more explanation that October is Dysautonomia Awareness month. YAY TEAMWORK!
Jay Jay Jackson and I were talking later on about how we don't like Robert McKee's "Story," a book about screenwriting. It's supposed to be this really great book, but it's so old that I don't get half the movie references, and the writing is pretty dry. I have the book sitting next to my bed, for when insomnia strikes it helps put me to sleep.
