Well, here we are then.  Another week, another page, another paycheck… oh, right.  But still, I have to say this is pretty all right, pagewise.  One thing I realized in drawing this is that, unless you have a heavily stylized way of showing it, like the Japanese and some European comic art styles do, people who are undergoing complex emotional strains are just positively terrible to look at.  This is why it makes people uncomfortable to see other people cry – their faces contort in a really horrifying way, when you examine it from an artistic standpoint.  Men, in particular, look awful.  I struggled with this when drawing Major Rucker in panel 2.  But in the end I had to just dive in and do the best I could.  A more complicated perspective might have been better, but I think I captured the basic element I was going for.  The typical response that one expects from a military strongman like Tom (based largely on the movies and other such cultural stereotypes) is anger and violent resolution.  But that’s not what he’s giving us.  This is more akin to a nervous breakdown.

So anyway, Joost Haakman repeats his appearance this week (in my badly-estimated cartoonized form).  I needed someone to drag Rucker back from the brink, so to speak, so his cameo got extended.  Again, apologies for whatever ways in which I may have failed to properly render your noble visage – it’s just a cartoon though.  And of course, I might remind everyone that Semmie the Forest Gnome is in print and available for sale for a very modest sum – Joost’s website (here) will direct you to a place of purchase.  I urge everyone to pick up a copy – not only does it help support an independent artist like myself, the book is simply first rate.

Anyway, another week down!  Crawling, crawling forward!  A friend of mine told me this week how he wished I could update more frequently, and I said, as soon as I can draw a paycheck at this, I’ll do it!  But until then, be well, and I’ll just see you next week!