Expo A GoGo

May 23, 2012

Well, looks like I’m all set for London’s MCM Expo this weekend!

Not that I didn’t get a few scares preparing. I received my 30 issues from the printer today seemingly without incident and checking the top batch found them to be satisfactory; I very nearly packed them on the assumption they would all be the same but fortunately my characteristic paranoia kicked in and I decided to do a thorough examination for peace of mind.

Ever seen one of those movies where someone gets a briefcase full of money and checks the top layer only to later discover the bottom notes are newspaper? Turns out the last 13 copies – of course it would be 13 – had been assembled in the wrong order with a repeated page to boot. Naturally I wasn’t too pleased discovering this and while I didn’t exactly launch into a gangster rampage I was dialling the printer within seconds.

I won’t stoop to naming and shaming them here however as they were more than reasonable about the problem; besides having reprints/rearrangements ready within a couple of hours they also threw in a couple of extra copies as an apology, not really a matter worth holding a grudge over, though an important lesson in being thorough – with print jobs and briefcases of money…

Anyway, this first issue may be a rather modest little booklet but it’s still thrilling to see Branch printed professionally for the first time and most of it has made the transfer from monitor to page rather nicely.

For anyone who happens to be at the Expo and wants to find me (and my work) I’ll be in Artists’ Alley at table F3, for all the rest of you who can’t make it: wish me luck ;)

4 Comments | Miscellaneous | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Ozy

Page 22 + Printing for the Expo

May 22, 2012

Well here it is, the conclusion to Branch issue 1…

This may not be my best page but at least it gives some sense of the issue/chapter going somewhere as the threads mesh together. Curt realising his delivery has being stolen more or less concludes the introductory section and marks an important shift towards the main plot.

On the downside I haven’t covered anywhere near as much of the story as I would’ve liked though. The first third of my script was written with the intention of setting everything up and giving readers a balanced cocktail of excitement, drama, intrigue and dark humour; as it is I manage about half of that first act here, with the majority of my favourite moments infuriatingly just around the corner. There’s no use in dodging it, I need to work faster.

Not that I haven’t been working hard. I doubt it shows in the finished piece but I seriously short-changed Mr. Sandman this weekend finishing this last page for the printers. I’ve still got red roadmaps all over my eyes and the kind of complexion which has people barricading doors and brandishing crucifixes…

Still, I guess it was a valuable lesson in working economically, I didn’t get time to do everything I wanted to with this page though maybe that was the point. While the backgrounds are a little sparser than usual and the shading less detailed the flow appears reasonably clear. I could quite easily have spent another four-five days polishing this up and adding things in but would it have been worth the additional wait? Maybe having an unbreakable submission deadline yesterday demonstrated the kind of discipline I’ve been lacking till now.

Anyway on that note it’s at the printers now and will be ready just in time as I leave for the MCM Expo. As planned I’m going with an A5 colour format going for a suitably modest price of £4-5 – I’ll see how it sells :p Given that it’s the first time I’ve done something like this I’m naturally terrified, but like everything on this project I’m sure it will be a useful experience even if it isn’t a massive success. I’ve had various people telling me to get my work out there in physical form so I can at least say I’ve finally given it a shot – that and seeing other folks at the comic village should also be a lot of fun!

I’ll post again before I set out to London, in the meantime I just need to make sure I’m prepared. Stay tuned.

2 Comments | Production | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ozy