Comic Book Feeds

I don't know about the whole 10,000 hours to master a craft, but I do know that between teaching English for 23 years, directing dozens of plays and musicals, publishing hundreds of pages of comics, thousands of pages of RPGs, and a few dozen prose narratives (along with a few hundred poems), I've learned a bit about storytelling. I think I know how to tell a story at this point.
However, I've also spent the same amount of time refining my drawing. Through RPGs, I've made myself strip down and rebuild my art style a few dozen times. For each game I've done over the last decade, I've gone from drawing 'my way' to developing a new style or vibe or approach or whatever that best fits that game. As a result, I've tried on a few different artistic philosophies. 
I'm working on page 8 of my Cupcake Scouts comic, and I can tell you - this is the moment where everything came together. I am stopping to pause for a moment to appreciate what's happening as it's happening. I am a bit blessed, I suppose, at understanding moments as they happen to me. I remember that when I directed my first Shakespeare production, Romeo and Juliet, I stopped the rehearsal during the balcony scene and told everyone to look around and take a mental picture of this moment. We were staging the most famous moment in all of theater history. I just wanted my young actors to appreciate what they were doing - they were in the midst of staging a sequence that the greatest actors of all time have taken part in. We were standing in the flow of theater history.
This is my moment as a cartoonist. I can see in these three panels everything I want to do. I have a variety of visuals. I communicate character through body language (look at the silhouettes of the girls in that bottom panel - I cannot BELIEVE how much a few lines communicate there). I set up the primary themes of the comic - do we control fate, or is fate pre-determined? I set up each of the characters in significant ways that will have later payoffs. I establish several rules for how the world works, and how some of their adventures are going to transpire. I move the story forward one giant step. I have some foreshadowing that you don't see yet, but you will (and some more foreshadowing that you will see even later on). I use a variety of drawing approaches.
Thanks for pausing with me. Now, back to work. This comic isn't going to create itself.
And I wouldn't want it to.

RED ZONE TPB Called in by the U.S. government for a secret international mission to Russia, unassuming American professor of Russian and Slavic Studies at NYU Randall Crane finds his…

  An Inventive Coming-of-Age Graphic Novel by Lars Henrik Eriksen Miami, Fl – Papercutz is thrilled to announce the upcoming release of THE INVENTOR: BOOK ONE: THE DANGEROUS DISCOVERY, a captivating…

Al Ewing and Leonard Kirk’s AVENGERS INC. kicks off on September 13.   New York, NY— August 11, 2023 — You’ve heard about Avengers-level threats. Now, get ready for Avengers-level mysteries!…

STRANGE SCIENCE (ONE-SHOT) Danni Malloy is Jinx Holliday’s best friend, and where one goes, the other is sure to follow… even if that means through hell and back and forth…

ARCHIE MILESTONES DIGEST #21: JUGHEAD’S TIME POLICE JUN231597 (W) VARIOUS (A) VARIOUS (CA) Rex Lindsey Jughead Jones is on the case on these stories about mystery and intrigue throughout space…

The crew from Silver Sunday spend the evening playing trivia. Originally aired May 15, 2023. Included in this episode are Roland Mann, Lord Peter Clinton, and Thomas Florimonte.

There’s been a bunch of chatter this past week concerning the “secret mission” that Dan Buckley spoke with me about that got mentioned in my Newsletter—some of it pretty funny.…

One of the important celebrations 2023 is Iron Man’s 60th anniversary! IRON MAN TURNS 60! It’s a big time for Shellhead! Recently, his Iron Man initial film was inducted into the National Film Registry…

It's been an adventurous few days! One of our old cars got terminal news, so Mary and I decided to trade in two cars that had 150k+ miles each for one car with under 10k. Since Mary has to drive Grace all over creation for diving, and because I work a mile from home, Mary got a new car, and I have embraced a walking lifestyle. I also received my LEGO 3-in-1 Creator Castle set (it was 20% off!) and spent a good chunk of yesterday putting that together. I have been cleaning the basement, rearranging my LEGO room/Gaming Room/ Man Cave, and walked over six miles today (since the girls are away for the weekend, I'm footing it everywhere).It's been fantastic. I have forced myself to slow down. I'm finding that I am more centered and present and just kind of in the moment. I'm in no hurry to do anything. I worked on the castle set on and off all day yesterday, and today started noodling with a Cupcake Scouts page. Any time in the past when I've worked on a comic strip or webcomic, I have a little clock in my head - I'm always trying to get the page done, so I can get the next page done, so I can... you get the idea.
With this, I just started drawing. And just kept drawing until it looked right or I was tired of drawing and went on to something else. And I ended up with an image I really like of the girls on their first quest (this will be part of page seven of the webcomic). 
School is coming up, and with it a drama club production, followed by a musical, with teaching and class advising and being a team leader all part of the equation. I'm going to be busy. A lot will be going on.
But if I can stay in this headspace, I'll be very happy indeed.

Christopher Cantwell and Luca Pizzari deliver an all-new Thanos epic this November.   New York, NY— August 11, 2023 — This November, Earth will once again tremble before the power…

From New York Times and multi-Eisner Award-winning best-selling author James Tynion IV and Tate Brombal MILWAUKIE, Ore., (August 11, 2023)—The hit genre-bending horror series, The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos,…

August 10, Mt. Laurel, NJ: Dynamite Entertainment announces a thrilling collaboration with two historic artistic families, as the world of Fire and Ice makes its way to the tabletop with a board game…

Under the terms of the transaction agreement, upon the completion of the Transactions, the New PubCo Board will consist of 11 members who will be determined prior to the Closing,…

A CITY-SPANNING CONFLICT THAT WILL CRACK THE BAT-FAMILY IN HALF! JOE QUESADA’S CONNECTING COVERS FOR BATMAN #137 AND CATWOMAN #57 REVEALED! connecting Batman #137 and Catwoman #57 variant covers by Joe Quesada (pencils), Kevin…

Two iconic monsters clash in an electrifying graphic novel adventure! Prepare yourselves for the imminent arrival of an electrifying graphic novel that will soon have you on the edge of…

Cthulhu is close to waking from his long prison of sleep. The keys to his awakening have been found and all but two have been collected. Avril Williams knows her…

Join Robyn in this historic issue as she takes a trip down memory lane, reliving some of her most memorable events while battling new enemies—and, for the first time ever,…

 

Sometimes, always with an eye toward being able to use the published material for some well-supported game or another, I get (possibly mad) idea to take parts of one setting and combine with another so that the result wouldn't immediately be recognizable.

Ideas I've had in the past playing a wuxia game using the map of Middle-Earth (and MERP materials), The Known World replaced with Talislanta equivalents, or Creation from Exalted, but built as a D&D setting (using published 5e material).

I've never done any of these as at the end of the day the work required wouldn't be that much less than making up my own stuff in some instances, but it's still an idea that pops up from time to time.

 In the game I'm working on, all PCs are defined in part by two Archetypes. These represent types of characters found in comic book Sword & Sorcery. In game terms, they provide bonuses to Attributes and Domains and also special abilities. 

Each archetype has a primary and secondary Attribute and Domain. Should a player pick two Archetypes with the same primary Attributes/Domains they can use that one and their choice of the two Archetypes secondary Attributes/Domains. The character also gains the Expertises and Talents of each Archetype.

While the Archetypes remain a work in progress, below is a sampling of the ones I've come up with. At this point, the plan is not to give any description of them beyond the abilities they provide, letting players interpret them as they will.

ACOLYTEAttributes: Presence (Intellect)
Domains: Words (Sorcery)
Expertise: Religion
Talent: Divine Favor. Make a successful roll to call upon the aid of your gods or guiding spirit. Any successes can be used like Momentum to aid you or another hero for one scene. It does not add to your Momentum pool. 
BARBARIANAttributes: Daring (Instinct)Domains: Wilds (Deeds)Expertise: Survival or HuntingTalent: Like A Jungle Cat. Gain an additional die when detecting dangers in the wilderness or when trying to sneak up on a foe.
COURTIERAttributes: Instinct (Presence)Domains: City (Words)Expertise: PersuasionTalent: We Were Close Once. Once per session, succeed at a Persuasion Challenge to create an NPC and/or declare a recently introduced one a former intimate acquaintance. A failed roll means they now harbor some ill-will against you.
DABBLERAttributes: Intellect (Instinct)Domains: City (Sorcery)Expertise: Occult LoreTalent: Just What I was Looking For. Add an extra die to any roll related to quickly finding a particular magical formula, ritual, or piece of information in a tome or even library.
GALLANTAttributes: Presence (Daring)Domains: City (Swords)Expertise: PersuasionTalent: Flashy. Use Presence instead of Might as an attribute for melee fighting when you have an audience but deal one less Blow.  
REAVERAttributes: Daring (Cunning)Domains: Deeds (Swords)Expertise: SeamanshipTalent: Bloody-Handed Buccaneer. Apply your Seamanship Expertise to shipboard combats and to attempts to intimidate foes or lead pirate crews on the high seas.
WARRIORAttributes: Might (Daring)Domains: Swords (Wilds)Expertise: choice of a weaponTalent: Valor. Spend 1 Momentum to shake off any Fear condition in a combat situation.