TDM Page 33 and Lightning Lad’s Lament

I had almost forgotten that I didn’t write about this page, then I was considering doing it combined with the next page. Then I thought “Why do I write about every damn thing I draw?” I guess people must find it interesting, because they read it.

So, I’ll say a little about this page. Drawing-wise, the toughest part was coming up with the right bedroom for Black Snow. I looked at literally thousands of reference photos before deciding on this one. You may notice in the background the taped up sheets over the windows, so no light gets in. Always a sign of class, letting you know you’re dealing with high cultured people. Also the air mattress propped against the wall, adding to the overall tacky and impermanent feel of it all.

Oh, Black Snow looks like he is too big for his short bed, further hinting at his poorness, and necessity versus luxury. Added to that is the clutter of some random trinkets, beer bottles and cans spread throughout what is a relatively sparse bedroom, and hopefully I’ve created the feeling I was going for. Kind of an alcoholic, college-esque, pathetic little bachelor pad.

I also wanted to mess up Black Snow’s costume just a bit, to remind us all it is indeed just clothes and a man wearing them. And a drunk too intoxicated to change before passing out. In a related note I stripped Lightning Lad of most of his costume for similar reasons. It also just made sense that he wouldn’t just sit around wearing it at “home” in “private”. This isn’t the silly costume always on world of I’m Famous! Plus, I wanted to stress that he isn’t really “Lightning Lad” at this moment, just a son speaking to his dad.

I mentioned a few posts back that we’ve never really built up sidekicks, we mostly kept them as one dimensional jokes. Not this time around. Lightning Lad has larger things in store for him, as does his father. We mentioned Lightning Man earlier in the story, and we had mentioned him in the original comic book, always with a plan to eventually show him. But we’ve come up with something much better than that old plan, and I think people are really going to be into it.

We really wanted to add some dimensions and depth to the story, and have the wonderful luxury of knowing exactly where things are headed from the start, so we can hint at things and plant seeds early on for big payoff later.

So don’t write off Lightning Lad this time around, as I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by where his story will lead.