I swear I am almost done. I have two pages left to do, hopefully can finish them by this week! Some more previews to keep you guys from getting impatient…
Finally picking up after a busy december. Coloring really slows me down. (Also just been drawing the action scenes with some complicated lighting so that also takes a while. Drawing and coloring stuff I never have before, it’s likely gonna look wonky. But I am trying!)
Excited to see it!
One page left to draw and then issue 2 is complete.
The second issue is released! Choose whatever platform you prefer. I have been trying out GlobalComix as well. Good website.
Comments and critiques are appreciated! Need engagement.
Nice! I like the way you had Stephen make armor out of stone. That would be really nice in a gunfight…
Working on issue 3 now, after a small break to draw a comic with a very misleading title. February is a short month and I have a birthday in it, so probably won’t have a February update. I expect to be done around March. I originally wanted to make this a monthly comic but that just isn’t feasible at the moment when working by myself.
I will also be changing how I handle drawing the comic. I used to go all 14-16 rough pages, then ink all said pages, and then convert all pages at once and color at once. I will probably change how I go with this. I will instead be drawing 1 rough page, then inking a rough page, and then convert and color a page. I think this will keep me more motivated, but we shall see.
Just food for thought, but when I did my graphic novel, I set a page quota for the day and then used the same approach you plan to use (finish one full page, move on, repeat).
So if you do want to aim for a once a month thing, you could try setting a deadline for say, the end of the month, and then divide the pages up across the entire month.
So if you want to do about 16 pages per issue, that’s about a half a page per day. You could instead do maybe 1 or 2 full pages per day and have time left over (or do more pages), or perhaps set aside only a few days a week and do 3-4 pages on those days.
I just find it helps to spread that workload out and make sure a full day’s worth isn’t too much. Allowing for days off is also a big help in terms of motivation.
Excited to see more!
I’d love to do half a page per day… but working full time makes that sorta hard. It’s possible but I get exhausted after work often and desire rest and breaks. I certainly will try to shoot for it. It’s just a lot of time to spend.
What did you think of the issue Pakari?
I relate to this completely.
Overall, a great improvement over the first.
The first page definitely stood out. The full use of the space on the page works very well, and it’s actually something I think you can definitely take more advantage of in the future (the large top panel with Danu and Stephen on Page 7 would be a good place to remove panel borders entirely and just take it all the way across the page, for example).
It was also intuitive to read and well laid-out, so that critique of mine is entirely alleviated.
I can see that you’re starting to mix in some more dynamic panel shapes, which is good, but I think you can definitely push it more to add more immersion.
When everything fades to black after Carolina gets kidnapped on Page 3, for example, you could gradually fade all of the panels out until the very last one is black, or maybe even have an entirely blacked out page. As it is on that page now, the “blackout” feels like an almost negligible amount of time has passed. I barely even registered that panel was there. She gets knocked out, kidnapped, tied up, and interrogated all in the space of half a page, which is too short in terms of “page real-estate” to really feel like a significant amount of time.
As a brief aside on that note, if you didn’t know already, page turns are a really great way to add moment-to-moment suspense for the reader. The time it takes to flip the page is like a mini-cliffhanger and can keep your reader, well…reading. I think Page 3 would have benefited greatly from hiding the reveal of Carolina’s fate and the introduction of Mario Valentine (which, by the way, it might be good to actually name certain characters even if they’ve already appeared an issue prior. I actually forgot Mario’s name and had to look back on this thread to find it. I don’t think anybody, even Carolina or Stephen, actually name him in this issue).
In terms of the story, I’m still invested.
I really enjoyed the ending cliff-hanger. It’s certainly one that would have benefited from a page-turn and maybe a full-page spread to really emphasize it, but as is I was quite shocked.
I really liked the themes about man’s dominion over nature and the use of rock “alchemy.” I think that could really be expanded upon, or even challenged, later down the line in future stories.
If I did have a writing complaint, I think it would be that it feels like Stephen’s first transformation (or suit-up, if you would) into the Emerald-Man isn’t really a big deal. Or, even a deal at all. He just kinda does it. No big reveal, no questions asked or testing things. Secondarily to that, the random mob enforcer knows what an Emerald-Man is? I can’t tell if that’s meant to be significant and it’s a mystery, or are Emerald-Men and their powers just a known thing in this universe?
Overall, a lot improved over the first issue. I am always excited to see more!
Your intuition is correct, Emerald-Men are a known thing. Will delve into that next issue, but let’s just say one confronted the mob before Stephen. Also in the first issue it was shown that Stephen’s father was one as well. I’m trying to be subtle in some things and have readers pick up connections. Not the best at it but I’m glad you’re noticing it at least!
And thank you for critiques on the dynamics. I originally was having my script lead my plot and drawing it but I realized after making NAG that I should let my drawing tell the story first. I will use that in my next issue.
I will try to use the names more. It’s hard however because I desire natural dialogue.
Anyways thank you. I sorta want to make a fanmail or questions page at the end of my comics too. For more fan interactions. If you guys have questions or things to say, I’d love to feature them!
A third way done through the comic. I feel a little bad, I kinda slacked through half of february. (Not to say I didn’t draw; I have a third of the comic done. But I could have gotten MORE done.) However, I plan to work continuously through the rest of February and March. There are some pretty strange pages I drew this time, so it is taking me a while to color and stuff. Also did some last minute writing changes, to make the script a little more dramatic.
I would love to share some panels, but everything I want to share is a massive spoiler! I am pulling no punches with this one. And hopefully addressing some burning questions (but not all of them).
I love the reference there. Great work!
9/16 pages finished. My goal is to release on St. Patrick’s day. Let us see if I can make that goal!
Best of luck! Excited to see it whenever it drops! 
So I’m actually ahead of my goal pages wise (about 13.5/16 done, plus needing to draw a cover), but because of plans on St. Patrick’s day, I doubt there will be a release on that day. 
However, the comic should be coming soon.
Well dang guys, I hate to say it… But I won’t be able to make the St. Patrick’s day release at all.
Such a shame!
Per usual, constructive comments and critiques are welcome and appreciated!
By Katie Ellen - March 5th, 2022
Last night, a 4.0 magnitude earthquake hit the city of Portland in the center of the town, leading to minor damages and four injuries. Police reported that the injured were four prolific gangsters in Portland’s criminal database.
The first was Robert “Bobby” Poppins, who has previously been charged with armed robbery, coercion, extortion, and armed assault. The second was Russo Marino, who had previously been charged with assault and fraud. The third was Joseph Marino, older brother of Russo Marino, who in 2021 was charged with armed robbery and trespassing. Most interesting of all was their apparent boss, Mario Valentine, the son of the prolific Enzio Valentine and his mafia family, previously known for committing kidnapping, extortion, theft, and armed assault.
Police believed the four were behind a reported attempt at extortion toward a local small business, Barnes Jewelry. According to testimony from an employee at the store, the four asked for 15,000 dollars. The four were charged with the kidnapping of the store’s accountant, Carolina White, as well as armed robbery for stealing the store’s jewelry.
Detective Jackson Hemsworth of the Portland Police Department stated, “The four were completely unconscious, and looked like two of them suffered a slashing wound against their chest, likely from a knife or other bladed weapon. We found Valentine unconscious against his desk, apparently taking significant head trauma from the earthquake.”
The Portland Police Department stated that Mario Valentine had claimed he was assaulted by the vigilante Emerald-Man during the time of the earthquake, leading to his and his associate’s injuries. “It certainly explains why we didn’t find Ms. White with them,” Detective Hemsworth said.
The Portland Police Department had also stated Ms. White was found at her apartment, injured but otherwise safe.
So what does this mean? Emerald-Man has not been spotted since late last summer when the police claimed he was behind the events that orchestrated the capture of Enzio Valentine and his gang. Why the long hiatus, Emerald-Man? Are you back for good?
What did folks think of the newest issue? Would like feedback, as I’m working on issue #4 right now (finishing up the scripting process and rough draft.)
I’m not the best critic the world has ever spawned, but I really enjoyed it. This was a good arc for his origin story, and I’m definitely interested to see who he takes on next. I’m sure Valentine isn’t necessarily gone for good either. My favorite visual was when he was seeing all the badness in the world at once, I think that panel expressed the “visions blurring into visions” atmosphere really well.
