I’M FAMOUS! 37 – Yes, I am!

This is the first of 12 strips that I wrote by myself one night and the following morning.  Why did I do that? Well, Alex had been encouraging me to write for awhile as I’d often think of new ideas and we created an online wiki type environment so we could both update and edit the script for the comic anytime.  We were starting to run low on comics and while I was thinking about it I was struck with a story that took place on the plane, and the storyline continued to expand the next day until it spanned 12 strips.  Alex had the option to tell me they sucked and he didn’t want to do them, or to go in and edit or tweak them, but instead he seemed to really like them.

I’d like to draw your attention to the fact that we actually have stories in our comics, something you won’t find in most other webcomics.  We have plots, subplots, character development, subtext, basically the whole shebang.  Just one of the things that sets us apart and makes us the best.

So here we find ourselves today.  You might say after reading today’s Famous that it doesn’t seem to different from Alex’s writing.  I think you’re right and wrong.  I was trying to mimic his style as I wanted this to just feel like part of the normal strip and not take the average reader out of what was happening.  That meant making the characters speak in Alex’s idiosyncratic manner and capturing a similar tone and flow.  Not that hard really, as we’ve worked together on these comics for so long.

What makes it different? The thing that I love about this one, and the rest to follow, is that it expands on the characters’ personalities.  Today we get to see a vulnerable, flustered Lone Wolf as he (and we) get to know this new female character (SPOILER: Her name is Nicole).  We are reminded that the Lone Wolf is a human, a man no less, and that he is indeed a super hero.  Usually we focus on him being an incredibly eccentric celebrity, but there is more to him than that.  That’s what I really wanted to show, and was part of my motivation for writing this storyline.

Another thing about today’s and the last two comics; I drew them as I was reading my The Tick: The Complete Ben Edlund. Tick was one the only comic books I really liked growing up, and I finally got to read the whole original run story by Ben Edlund.  I loved it, and moreover I really loved the art.  While reading and enjoying it I was simultaneously trying to learn artistically from it and absorb some of Edlund’s techniques.  So you may see how some of that influenced my recent drawings.

I’m very happy with how this new female character turned out.  As any long time reader knows I loathe drawing women and find it a struggle, but I think I’m getting better, and this new girl represents a strive forward.  Why even Alex upon seeing her the first time felt compelled to tell me how cute she is.  Of course this is close to his real life type.  I like her look. and originally based it off of a celebrity, much like I did for Angel.  I’ll never tell who… OK, it was Anne Hathaway.  Angel was Angie Everhart.  So look forward to getting to know this new girl and maybe more about the Lone Wolf.