The Specialists

Here’s the conclusion of our look at our first comic project, The Raven. The first part is here. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

Last week, I talked about The Raven, a comic project that Al and I worked on in college. Al suggested that we post some of the pages for you to see. Apparently he is privy to some cosmic crime for which we must atone. Outside of a few fashion faux pas from my youth, I can’t think of what I might have done to deserve this. With Al, it’s anyone’s guess. His past is mysterious and frightening. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…

Al and I met in college. We both liked comics, he liked to draw, and I liked to write. It wasn’t long before this confluence of interests manifested itself as our first comic endeavor, The Raven. But things were a lot different back then. While he was always talented, Al lacked the skill and refinement he would later acquire through art school and years of practice. I lacked the good sense to be embarrassed by names like “Dominic Stearn”. And most significant of all, aside from the writing of the script, the entire process was done on paper, without the aid of computers.

Today, Al does his initial drawings with pencil and paper, and then scans those drawings into his computer. The rest is done electronically. He darkens some lines to produce an effect similar to inking, then ads color and lettering. That’s more or less how most professional comics are made these days (though most of them still go through an inking stage before being scanned). But back in college, Al did the pencils, then the inking, and because that was so time consuming, I did the lettering. That might sound like a reasonable arrangement, if you don’t know that I have the handwriting of a drunken toddler. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…