After the minimalism of last week, there had to be a payoff, and this page is as close as I’m currently able to get to a “tour de force.”  For people with very sharp eyes, you may notice a slightly different style to the linework here – I actually scanned and enanced the pencil lines rather than doing a full inked drawing.

It gave the scene a subtly grittier look that suited it, and, though I’m still developing my personal angle on the technique, I think it worked out pretty well.  There’s something about the pencil work that has consistently been more satisfying to me than the inks I’d been using up to now, and I want to explore pure pencil further.  So I will.  And the aftermath of the bomb gave me a good place to make the switch without it being to jarring.  Frankly, at this scale, the difference is barely perceptible.

Beyond that, there’s not much to report.  This was an exceptionally busy week, with the travel to and from the West, and then the drawing and such.  I’m bound to thank everyone for the outpouring of comments last week – they were all great, and a lot of them had points that were extremely helpful.  You might notice, for example, the redesigned helmets for the UNA armored infantry.  I retconned that in on the advice of a reader.  And also that I’ve officially blown off Mike’s lasers (the last bits are flying off in the breeze here), which were causing too much trouble plotwise.  I won’t tell if you don’t.

On the subject of conventions, I have to announce that, after some correspondence with Knowledgeable People on the inside, my decision to attend the New York Comic Con is currently on hold.  There are a number of concerns in play here and I’m not willing to say I will not go, but the decision needs reassessment.  So more word on than when the time comes.

However, as Chapter 1 comes to a close (next week, in fact!) the prospect of cool 6-Commando stuff is back on the front burner.  What KIND of stuff, you may ask?  Well, so far, we’re looking at T-shirts, caps, decals and possibly a messenger bag, for starters.  And also some as-yet super-secret but exceptionally cool things that I can almost guarantee you will not expect.  And some others that you MIGHT expect but didn’t really believe would come to pass!  So stay tuned on THAT front!

So, as a co-worker of mine says, “Here go de nex’ one.”  Sometime early in the week I’ll switch up the voting incentives with some other little goody to see from the next chapter.  And as ever, keep voting, commenting, critiquing, nitpicking – I love it!  And also one last note: 6-Commando has been appearing in the forums of the Gamer world lately – more proof of the comic’s status as a renegade underground… whatever.  So to you who have been going to the trouble of spreading the word on 6-Commando, thank you very much!

Keep on rollin’, folks!

–M