How things can go awry

Last post I introduced Mr. Pitman. He only plays a very minor role in the Absence (although oddly his one major 'scene' was one of the first ideas I had). He's Robert Temple's site manager and his frustrations at the demands of building Temple's strange house is meant to reflect the readers feelings.
So, this is Mr Pitman:
Now, in my head I imagined him looking something like TV presenter Dick Strawbridge (or at least having a mustache like Strawbridge's):
I added a flat cap. Because he's a builder. And because it's the 1940s. Duh.
And finally I put him period style over-alls:
Brilliant, I thought. Mr Pitman! Until a friend pointed out Mr Pitman's similarity to this guy:

Bugger. Still as I say, he's barely in the fucking comic so frankly I don't care that he looks like an Italian plumber.
Humph.

Issue 2, Page 6, Panel 1

I'm 7 pages of pencils into issue 2 and, with a couple of days off work, I hoped to have them inked soon. Here's one of the panels featuring Robert Temple (right) and his erstwhile building site foreman Mr Pitman (left). That crater? Ah, well, you'll have to wait to find out about the crater...

"They say he didn't sleep during the entire war..."

With issue one finally finished I've allowed myself a month off before launching into issue two. Feedback from the folk who read #1 was very encouraging and has really rekindled my enthusiasm for the project. But it a weird way it's made me more nervous too. I need to make sure that issue #2 is better than (or at least as good as) #1 and I didn't have that pressure before. I think I have 'difficult second album' syndrome.

I've not been idle for the last month. I don't have a lot to show - I've mostly been plotting #2. Annoyingly, I have a very clear idea of what will happen in issue #3 but #2 is a little more... nebulous. I need to introduce the other main character, a chap called Robert Temple, who's a new comer to the town. I have the first few pages roughed out and I know where the issue needs to end to lead into #3, but what happens in the middle is proving a challenge. I think if The Absence was, as originally conceived, a novel it wouldn't be as difficult because it'd be based around interior monologue - but as a comic I'm trying to find a way to navigate the story in a more visual way.

Anyway, while I struggle with this here's a thumbnail sketch of a promo poster I might, at some point, work up, and also some (very rough) sketches from my development of Robert Temple. They say he didn't sleep during the entire war...

(Obligatory sales and marketing comment: Uh, there's more copies of issue #1 available if anyone wants one. See info on the right for details. Obligatory sales and marketing comment ends.)

Issue #1 available now!

So. Back from the printers: a bunch of lovely copies of The Absence #1. A handful have already been sold, but there's still plenty available if you'd like one. Feedback from early readers has been good. Lots of people commenting on the lovely paper stock that lulu have used (a clear case of damning with faint praise...)

Being utterly useless at... well, at many things, but especially at sales and marketing crap, I haven't quite figured the best way to sell these. So currently there's two options:

UM, ACTUALLY THERE'S NO OPTIONS ANYMORE... SINCE I'VE SIGNED THE ABSENCE TO A PUBLISHER I CAN'T REALLY GO SELLING #1 ANYMORE... SORRY!


Here's some pics as proof the thing exists:



Now, buy one.
Or don't.
Whatever.
(See, told you I'm rubbish at sales and marketing...)

Cover

Cover below. As always, it's a composite of a whole bunch of images - not least the photo which is compiled from different photos. The cliff edge, the little village in the distance, the outcrop of rock, the church, the hill in the far distance... all different pics. The illustration is also layered to hell and back.

In other news, I've also uploaded the entire first issue to the printer's, and ordered a couple of issues to proof! If it's all ok, I'll post details here...

Creation of a single frame

So, although this is essentially a sparse frame, what there is is quite technical.

This is the basic artwork:


The pub sign is in perspective, but is important and will appear again. So I decided to draw it as a separate piece:


And created the name of the pub in Illustrator (adding a slightly rough edge to give it a little more of a 'hand-drawn' quality. Yes, ok, I cheated.


The shadow that Marwood casts needed to also be a separate piece due to a cross-fade thing which happens on the previous page.


Bolt it all together in Photoshop and you get, if you're lucky, this:


The fun of working this way is that the final art is a surprise to even me. I do what I can to minimise any errors in the artwork (and anyway, any problems can be ironed out in Photoshop) but until it's put together I can't say for sure how well it'll work. I'm really pleased with the pub sign, for example and I wasn't sure I was gonna pull that off.

The Back

Well, the front's unfinished, but here's the back of issue one...