Titling a chapter is a source of great stress for me. I’m not very good at it and I put it off until I absolutely have to come up with something. That said, “The Techno Shuffle” very much fits what this chapter is going to be all about. Originally, this chapter opened on two characters [...]
Archive for ‘Chapter 03 – The Techno Shuffle’
The super-prison in the first panel is loosely based on the design of the Hall of Justice from the old Superfriends cartoon show. I don’t have a good reason for this other than it’s a design that always stuck with me and seemed strong enough to house all the wonderful bad guys that must be [...]
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Aug 5, 10 | 268 – Sick and Unflattering |
Apr 15, 10 | 252 – Like A Son |
Feb 9, 07 | 99 – The Tale of How Captain Spectacular and Star Maiden Met and Married, Conclusion |
Jan 6, 11 | Guest Strip by Marjorie Rishel |
Apr 29, 10 | 254 – Why Kill An Innocent? |
How is it than in one strip I have both my worst and one of my best drawings of Dictator Tot? I like the idea of what I was going for in the first panel, but I don’t think I pulled it off very well. Love the drawing of her in the last panel, though [...]
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Mar 13, 07 | 112 – Budapest ’68 All Over Again |
Nov 10, 20 | 854 – Don’t Touch the Lava |
Nov 25, 08 | 182 – Someone Steps Forward (Bubbles of Light 3) |
Mar 16, 07 | 115 – Star Maiden Flattens Dr. Rocket |
Aug 20, 14 | 619 – The Repentant |
My wife loves, loves, loves Dictator Tot in the first panel. I don’t usually do a lot of shading in SF, but that first panel screamed for a different lighting scheme. I don’t know that you’d be able to tell what’s going on without it. Second panel could have been better. A more arresting visual [...]
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May 13, 10 | 256 – A Misnomerstanding |
Apr 5, 07 | 135 – The Tale of How Captain Spectacular Met Dr. Klein, Conclusion |
Mar 20, 07 | 119 – #@$% Heroic |
Mar 27, 07 | 126 – Who the @#$% is the Third Man? |
Aug 12, 10 | 270 – Freakin’ Huge |
The Third Man is a character that first appears in the backup story in the First SuperFogeys Collection. I have big plans for him. His look is directly inspired by the film “The Third Man,” and Orson Welles’ character in particular. I think it’s fair to say I took a bit of inspiration from one [...]
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Jan 1, 07 | 60 – Introducing Dictator Tot! |
Feb 11, 10 | 243 – A Deal is a Deal |
Jul 9, 08 | Guest Strip by Rufus Edge of “comicdeoxyribonucleicacid!” |
Sep 28, 11 | Chapter 5, “The Redemption of Dr. Rocket” Recap by Geoff Munn |
Jan 3, 07 | 62 – Conditions of Release |
Visually, this strip is meant to be a direct reference to Episode 55. I’ll make it clear right here: Yes, The Third Man is the person the Healer was talking to. The Third Man’s connection to Gene was a surprise to me. I had planned for the Third Man to be involved with the shenanigans [...]
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Feb 17, 12 | Pg. 2, “Devil Horned Goodbye” |
Mar 31, 07 | 130 – When Pigs Fly |
Jan 15, 07 | 70 – Gene and Dictator Tot Reunite |
Jan 20, 11 | 292 – Everything Was Chaos |
Jan 4, 11 | Guest Strip by Javier Del Villar, Part Two |
Finally we’re back to the Fogeys. It was a conscious decision on my part to not have the Fogeys enter the stage for so many strips—six, to be exact. I wanted to try something new. Re-energize myself. I found I really missed them and the strip seems to come alive when they’re “on screen.” I [...]
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May 7, 12 | 409 – Walkin’ Blues |
Jun 22, 11 | 327 – The Buddy System |
May 3, 08 | 86 – WebSpace Page: Jerry |
Jan 11, 17 | 725 – Slaughter Many, Many More |
May 26, 22 | 892 – Ejection |
Something I’m starting to return to that I haven’t really done since Chapter 1 is repeated panels, something I swore off of (for the most part) for Chapter 2. The difference now is that it’s not a crutch. I truly feel that this strip (and the next one, for that matter) was best served by [...]
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Oct 21, 11 | Pg. 4 “Zombie Madness” |
Aug 21, 15 | 672 – To The USZ! |
Oct 16, 08 | 172 – The Superhero Code |
May 7, 09 | 207 – Not My Story to Tell |
Feb 29, 12 | 391 – Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun… |
Visually, this is one of my absolute favorites. You can see I’m trying something new with the background. I first used the “faded background” technique in a guest strip I did for Wes Molebash’s strip “You’ll Have That” Once I did it there, I knew I needed to try it for SF. More copy/pasting [...]
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Aug 7, 15 | 666 – When He Can Smell You From in There, It’s a Problem |
Jun 17, 08 | 139 – Jerry’s Fate Revealed |
May 20, 11 | Pg. 6 “Invisible” |
Sep 21, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg. 4 “The Best Day Ever, Ever” |
Oct 14, 06 | 21 – You Must Respect Women, Dr. Rocket! |
Whew. What a mother of a strip this was. For those of your keeping track at home, that’s 21 panels there. This marks Swifty’s return to the story after an absence of about 18 srips. I wanted it to be huge and Swifty playing frustrated is just fun. Originally, the last panel was silent—no joke. [...]
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The first panel shows a depth of field we haven’t really seen in SF thus far. My goal was to do a drawing that would also work well as a group shot and, possibly, a wallpaper. Plans are in the works for just such a thing. Obviously, this is a huge change of pace for [...]
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Dec 28, 09 | Guest Strip by Don Oskowski of “Conduit Flux!” |
May 15, 13 | 504 – A Striking Mustache |
Aug 13, 14 | 617 – 4 Seconds Earlier |
Jun 9, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 17 “Er-Hurm!” |
Aug 18, 22 | 916 – Restoration |
What a nightmare this strip was. Sometimes moving the plot along is a joy. Anytime I do it I already know what the point of the strip is, I just have to figure out what the joke is. Except…for this one…I had no joke. I had a set-up, but no payoff. Still, I started drawing, [...]
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Jun 27, 11 | 328 – Pairing Off |
Aug 25, 10 | SF Origins: Operation: Valhalla, No. 2 “Interrupting Tea Time” |
Nov 25, 08 | 182 – Someone Steps Forward (Bubbles of Light 3) |
Jan 12, 07 | 67 – Dr. Rocket Draws a Webcomic? |
Mar 21, 07 | 120 – Swifty’s Losing? |
Gene’s closing line in panel one was originally something like “Give her your utmost respect.” I quickly discovered at the lettering stage that I didn’t have enough room for that. Thank goodness. I love that he just shouts “Respect!” Kinda’ thing that makes me laugh. Spy Gal threatening violence on a little girl makes me [...]
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May 14, 08 | SF Collection #1 Cover |
Jul 27, 12 | Pg. 5 “Long Night of the Monsters” |
Aug 22, 16 | 692 – See! You Are Needed! |
Jun 19, 15 | 645 – Say the Name Correctly, Idiot |
Dec 23, 08 | 190 – The Origin of Captain Spectacular and Dr. Rocket, Pt. 7 “Test Subjects” |
The Swifty-Jerry dynamic is one of my favorites, and this is one of my favorite exchanges that I’ve had a chance to write. I love how Jerry just ignores Swifty. A fun strip that segued into one of the biggest mistakes I ever made with the SuperFogeys…
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Dec 3, 20 | 859 – Snakes on a Swifty |
Oct 30, 19 | 808 – 2.5 Seconds Later |
Feb 1, 07 | 92 – Not the Woman He Used to Know |
Nov 14, 12 | 458 – Quite An Entrance |
Aug 19, 19 | 792 – Dashing, Like Hyphens |
Could I just not be bothered to draw backgrounds this time? Looks like. Still, the colors are pretty, right? Right? I try to make the Space Pig be an animal of as few words as possible. You never quite know where he’s coming from, I think. He’s a popular character, so he must be [...]
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Dec 25, 09 | Merry Christmas From Swifty (2009) |
Dec 31, 13 | Guest Strip by Crystal Murphy, 3 |
Dec 14, 10 | SF Origins: The Thrice Evil, Pg. 2 “No One Should Die Among Strangers” |
Apr 2, 07 | 132 – Shake! Shake! Shake! |
I don’t remember if this strip was done this way out of laziness or because I wanted to shake things up. Honestly, if I had to guess I’d say I was trying to shake things up. I think I was trying to create the feeling of overhearing the conversation before you really see who is [...]
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Nov 10, 09 | SF Origins: Spy Gal vs. Star Maiden, Pg. 2 “Girlfight” |
Mar 13, 07 | 112 – Budapest ’68 All Over Again |
Mar 26, 07 | 125 – Jerry’s Down |
Oct 9, 13 | 542 – The Visible Man |
Nov 20, 08 | 181 – The Thrice Evil |
Another “colorful” strip. Seriously, this is just ugly. I never pull off the silhouetted figures thing as well as someone like Mike Witmer over at Pinkerton. I try but…no. Still, Jerry getting rejected by Spy Gal…that’s always gold as far as I’m concerned.
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Dec 27, 11 | Guest Strip by Dan White! |
Dec 19, 12 | 468 – Jerry’s Savior |
Aug 26, 13 | 529 – Why Did Jerry Do It? |
Oct 12, 11 | 354 – Snap Out of It! |
I think my ink line is too thick in these middle Chapter 3 strips. Also, the camera is just a little too tight, a constant problem of mine overall. Knowing what I wanted to do with Dr. Klein by the end of this chapter, it was important to keep him present in the story. That’s [...]
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Feb 2, 07 | 93 – Beginning the Tale of How Captain Spectacular Met and Married Star Maiden |
Jan 22, 14 | 565 – Suckface |
Mar 12, 18 | 770 – Bumps in the Road |
Feb 20, 12 | 388 – Bay-buh |
Oct 7, 10 | 279 – Gina Galloway |
I love the panel with the close-up of the hands. From the drawing to the colors, it just works. Too bad the rest of the strip doesn’t. A lot readers asked me what those sparks near Spy Gal’s wrist were in the last panel. Then answer: My feeble attempt at visually depicting her arthritis. …I [...]
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Dec 2, 10 | 287 – GAH! |
Feb 2, 21 | 870 – Spy Gal’s Patience Runs Out |
Jul 31, 13 | 522 – A Favor for Spy Gal |
Jan 9, 12 | 376 – Beaten But Not Broken |
Sep 11, 19 | 799 – Redemption is Possible |
Swifty coming in at the end was kind of cheap. I didn’t have a real gag for this one, and he usually does in a pinch. It was an important Dr. Klein moment though.
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Mar 5, 18 | 768 – Boy-Haired Crone |
Mar 2, 20 | 835 – Because of the Struggle |
Sep 10, 09 | 224 – The Race |
Dec 29, 09 | Guest Strip by Crystal Murphy, Part One |
Sep 16, 08 | 163 – Dr. Klein’s Got Some Splainin’ to Do |
Just keeping the Third Man alive here. Also, it was important to me that Dictator Tot get her animal crackers.
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May 28, 09 | 210 – What Happens Next |
Jan 9, 07 | 65 – Co-Conspirators |
May 18, 11 | 317 – Why Dr. Klein Needs a Robot |
Apr 29, 10 | 254 – Why Kill An Innocent? |
Aug 14, 08 | 154 – Tangerine’s Surprise |
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Mar 24, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 6 “Beaten to the Punch” |
Sep 23, 06 | 2 – Introducing Jerry! |
Sep 14, 15 | 682 – Milk and Cookies |
Dec 2, 13 | 553 – Capture and Rescue Mission |
Jan 25, 17 | 729 – After the Battle |
Dr. Rocket is always a lot of fun. Perversity is one of the worst evils, I think, because it reduces people to objects. That’s pretty dangerous thinking. Here, the good doctor is showing another side of his evil–the clumsy, bid-for-power type of evil. It’s not a very good plan for world domination, but in the [...]
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Mar 18, 13 | 489 – Change in Plan |
Sep 8, 09 | SF Origins: Herman’s Story, Pg. 2 “The Happiest Year” |
Feb 29, 12 | 391 – Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun… |
Mar 19, 14 | 581 – Gorgeous Guy Has Feelings |
Mar 15, 07 | 114 – Enter: Star Maiden |
And now we see the real plan. Get the Captain on the computer to see his ex-wife. In the end, it’s kind of weak. There should have been something extra on the plan, or a bigger reaction from the Captain. It bears fruit, sure, but I think the Captain’s reaction could have been stronger and [...]
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Apr 20, 10 | SF Origins: Star Maiden, Pg. 2 “Into The Night” |
Oct 24, 12 | 452 – Book of Mormon Story |
Dec 4, 19 | 816 – Who’s Crazy? |
Apr 4, 07 | 134 – Driving Everybody Off |
A fun, fun page. Star Maiden is just a pure pleasure to right. Star Maiden started out as Star Woman. Eventually, that character turned into Spy Gal (as explained in the commentary for episode 6, I think). Still, the initial idea for Star Woman wouldn’t let go. I knew I wanted a Wonder Woman type. [...]
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That last panel of Star Maiden is something I’m really pleased with. I wanted a really fluid figure and I often have a hard time drawing women. I surprised myself here. For some reason, readers really latched onto the phrase “Spill it, Gramps!” I have no idea why. I didn’t think it was particularly funny. [...]
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Aug 26, 13 | 529 – Why Did Jerry Do It? |
Nov 19, 12 | 459 – A Family Thing |
Jun 17, 10 | 261 – What Happened to Star Maiden, Pt. 3 “Feeling Refreshed” |
Nov 2, 10 | SF Origins: Spy Gal, Pg. 10 “Anywhere But Here” |
Nov 5, 09 | 232 – It’s Insane Here |
93 – Beginning the Tale of How Captain Spectacular Met and Married Star Maiden
by Brock Heasley on February 2nd, 2007The genesis for this flashback came from Daniel Woodhouse, artist on “Thog Infinitron” and sometime artist of “Beaver and Steve.” I asked Dan to do a short backup story for the second SuperFogeys book and asked him what he wanted to draw. He said “Captain Spectacular fighting in the skies above a city. Maybe a [...]
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Sep 3, 18 | Pg. 14 “Fire and Light and Rain” |
Dec 10, 20 | 861 – tink tink tink |
Mar 25, 10 | 249 – How to Prove Your Love |
Jun 27, 11 | 328 – Pairing Off |
Nov 18, 13 | 549 – Zurida’s Visitors |
I don’t know why Mr. Crook is in there. It doesn’t really add anything to the story to have him there. Great Dr. Rocket moment though. I had a lot of fun drawing that tongue and making it as yucky as possible.
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Sep 30, 08 | 167 – Captain Spectacular’s Shame |
Jan 14, 10 | 239 – How Captain Spectacular Knows The Third Man |
Nov 16, 06 | 44 – Beginning the Tale of How Captain Spectacular was Paralyzed |
Dec 18, 13 | 558 – Sokol Steps Up |
Apr 8, 07 | 137 – The Operating Blues |
The obvious signified of a flashback is to do the art in black and white. That gray shading I add in there is an effect I wish I had time to do on all the SuperFogeys strips. Plans are for that effect to be added to the strips for the trade collections. Once that happens, [...]
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Sep 4, 08 | 160 – Best Friends Forever? |
Mar 24, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 6 “Beaten to the Punch” |
Oct 23, 17 | 740 – Boop |
Aug 29, 10 | SF Origins: Operation: Valhalla, No. 6 “Spy Gal Arrives” |
This strip is a favorite of mine. It’s some of my favorite dialog I’ve written and the sparse look really works for it. Portal could have been drawn better though.
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Jan 16, 17 | 726 – Harrison Ford Finger of Doom |
Oct 8, 09 | 228 – The Star Maiden Strip Show |
Sep 5, 16 | 696 – Account Closed |
Aug 25, 22 | 918 – Not Going in There |
Sep 16, 15 | 683 – What Makes Peace Worthless |
Obviously, something big went down in that other dimension. For the whole story, check out the backup tale “Captain Spectacular and Star Maiden in the Inevitable Dimension” in the second SuperFogeys book. It’s drawn by Julio Molina-Muscara, artist on “Omega Chase.” I wanted a “no bad guy” break-up here. I think you get where everyone [...]
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Aug 22, 16 | 692 – See! You Are Needed! |
Jan 1, 10 | Guest Strip by Chris Watkins of “Odori Park!” |
Oct 7, 13 | 541 – Husband |
Jan 11, 17 | 725 – Slaughter Many, Many More |
Feb 3, 14 | 568 – Old Biddy |
The Pig is the minister! That’s the payoff to the Space Pig’s WebSpace page. Don’t know how many people picked up on that. I had a lot of fun with this page. Designing the Ninja Bridesmaid was particularly fun.
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Nov 26, 12 | 461 – He Escaped |
Dec 14, 10 | SF Origins: The Thrice Evil, Pg. 2 “No One Should Die Among Strangers” |
Mar 3, 09 | SF Origins: The Society of Heroes, Pg. 3 “The Captain and Jerry” |
Sep 9, 11 | Pg. 1 “Blood on the Table” |
Jan 17, 18 | 755 – Under the Radar |
Some people objected to the Captain and Star Maiden getting a divorce over a stinky sock. Them I would say: it’s one panel. Obviously, there’s a much bigger story there. I had a lot of fun with the interplay between Dictator Tot and Captain Spectacular here. I need to get those two together again.
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Sep 22, 06 | 1 – Introducing Captain Spectacular and Dr. Rocket! |
Mar 19, 18 | 772 – Showdown at the New California Coast |
Aug 12, 19 | 790 – Hey-O! |
Oct 16, 06 | 23 – The Incontinent Duo |
Remind me never to do a triple-sized again. In fact, this burned me out so much that not a single double or triple-sized strip appeared in all of Chapter 4. I had been waiting a long time to do this one. I knew from before the beginning of Chapter 2 that the Third Man and [...]
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Apr 15, 10 | 252 – Like A Son |
Jan 17, 07 | 72 – Dictator Tot’s Marching Orders |
Nov 9, 06 | 37 – Is Dr. Klein a Sexy Beast? |
Jun 10, 11 | Pg. 9 “College Years” |
Mar 31, 07 | 130 – When Pigs Fly |