Correction: I need a whole new page, not just a panel. Because look, this is how I originally closed the chapter (dialogue blurred to avoid spoilers):
Look at that mess. In planning it, I figured I had this big wide panel, I could fit in a bunch of dialogue easy. But it just doesn't land right that way at all! Especially for a closing panel that ought to have a bit of a punch to it.
To fix it, my first thought was to maybe crop the panel down to half, add another panel, and let the dialogue carry on into that one, but no, that just won't cut it either.
It needs to flow across an entire new page, and an entire new page is exactly what it's getting...
It'll have to go on the “inside back cover”, which is a little unorthodox but not entirely unacceptable. And that sort of thing doesn't really matter in digital formats anyway.
Should be able to finish this page up easy today, and hopefully work in the cover art too. 🤞
We could all probably use a double eklips on the rocks right now, it can't just be me, right?
6 days until THE SOLAR GRID #5 drops at [TheSolarGrid.net]
It's pretty much done, save for a few last minute finicky bits here and there. Reading through it this morning, I realize I may need to add just one last panel at the end of the chapter, more for mood than for “content”. Somehow it feels that one last panel will give impact to the entire thing, let it land right, avoiding the possibility of it feeling like an abrupt close. Will sit on it for a couple hours and see if I still feel the same way.
Looking forward to to treating myself to some icecream when it's actually finally done. Or maybe invent an actual double eklips on the rocks. I suppose it should probably include a little Moonshine.
A lot has changed since releasing chapter #4. Moved to a different state, global pandemic unleashed upon the world, and the wife and I acquired a new family member, who is now napping on my desk between myself and the keyboard like an overly possessive cat.
One of the things I enjoy doing with THE SOLAR GRID is invite other artists/designers/makers to contribute non-comix material to the book. Usually something that contextualizes the speculative comix madness I'm doing and adds a ton to the world-building.
Proud to sat that Chapter 5 will bring the daft authorship of Josh MacPhee to the table, with a brief essay on the history of Martian street-art!
Excited to share this chapter with everyone, which brings forth a rich tapestry of interplanetary art, politics, and science!
THE SOLAR GRID #5 is now 87% complete. Exclusive preview will go out to press, reviewers, and fellow makers later this month. Anybody who wants to be added to the list can totally just let me know.
So late, but getting closer! Currently lettering, which is kept enjoyable by making the dialogue up as I go. I obviously had some idea what was being said in the drawing phase of these pages, but not in any detail and I kept it very loosely floating around in the back of my head without committing any of it to paper.
I didn't always work like this. Chapters one and two of THE SOLAR GRID I wrote full scripts for. But then I realized that only really makes sense if you're writing for someone else to draw (and letter and edit, etc.). It's not really necessary if you're doing the drawing yourself, might as well save on that scripting time. Also, from the standpoint of the craft of comix, unlike film where you can't really change the dialogue after a shoot (minor exceptions include scenes where you can't see an actor's lips), in comix you totally can! So why not save dialogue till last anyway? Seems odd to ignore a facet that is so specific to this medium.
Easier for makers who work all aspects of their comix though.
Of course, I cheat a little, because I've got the best assistant in town:
A few years ago I created a multimedia installation (acrylic on wood + animation on screens) titled HANDS UP (VOL. 2), which toured a number of European cities as part of an exhibition titled MAGIC CITY: THE ART OF THE STREET. Since the last leg of the tour though, the installation's been sitting in a Berlin warehouse accruing costs. Time has finally come to clear out said warehouse. Happy to offer it for a reduced price to any institutions willing to receive it. Otherwise... I may just have to have it destroyed (alas, it is how things go sometimes ツ).
