Ten Notes on Page 280
New page! Here are some note!
1. Last week I posted the script for this page, though only patrons can see it–if you want to read it and can’t, maybe consider becoming a patron? Anyway, you can compare the script to the finished page, see how the vague descriptions were interpreted and transformed into reality.
2. If you look at the script, you’ll see that I included an illustration from How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, to demonstrate how I wanted the punch to look. Kaylah took Big John Buscema’s lesson to heart in that first panel. (Yes, Jack Kirby defined the Marvel style, but it was John Buscema who illustrated the book. He was able to break down Kirby’s dynamism in a simple way.)
3. At his best, John Buscema was SO GOOD. There were also so many pages that he clearly didn’t care about, that are pretty lackluster . . . but when it came to showing a villain slouching in a chair, no one’s ever been better.
4. I thought it would be interesting to share that How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way image, since Kaylah didn’t grow up with Marvel comics; she has her own set of influences. And her brain is probably less rotted than mine.
5. Speaking of influences, “Can’t . . . black . . . out . . .” is very much a Frank Miler line. I was fully cognizant of that when I wrote it.
6. As you can see, after that punch, Jaxula is indeed shellshocked, once again showing how relevant this story’s title is.
7. I really like the blurry turtle effect in the last panel. That’s one of those things where I put it in the script, I wasn’t sure how she’d do it, and I was pleasantly surprised to see it. And he looks like such a sadistic turtle!
8. There’s only a few things happening on this page but, you know, sometimes you just have to show a turtle punch a dude.
9. I really like those background colors, especially in the last panel. The colors in this story have been trippy as heck.
10. There’s only two more pages after this; the battle between Jaxula and Barnacle will be settled soon. There’s a little twist in the next page that you probably don’t see coming . . . I hope it works, dramatically speaking. We shall see!