Confessions of a Pop Fan

Friday, October 07, 2005

NO DISTANCE LEFT TO RUN

Another week down. I didn't feel all that productive, and yet I feel wiped all the same. I think it's the autumn changeover, darker mornings and darker evenings. Lots of sleepy headedness and an ache in my back. Whine whine whine. I'm hoping to hook up with Mike Allred this weekend, though, as he's coming up for the Portland Comic Book Show, and I always love hanging with Mike.

The first draft of Honey Mustard 4 is done, and I have to say this is one of those books that gets better as it goes. So many series in any medium get less effective over time, but the story in Honey Mustard is growing more complex, emotional, and riveting, and the art smoother. It's worth investing your reading time in. Some reviews are out, both with somewhat fair criticism of the first volume. I hope they stick with it to see it improve. (And it should be noted that this is Korean, so the complaint about it reading left to right is invalid, as that's how it was originally published.)

I also finished that short comic script I was mulling over. I often think and think and think on something and when I sit down to write, it tumbles out. In this case, I intended to write something humorous with a light first person narrative voice, but what ended up on the page was somber with no narration at all. The only concrete thing I had going in was the opening page--a shot of a young man in a health clinic, worrying about taking an STD test--and instead of it being all goofy, it took on some heavier issues. I need to take some time to read it over, to figure out if it worked. Right now I'm calling it "You Can't Uneat the Apple," but that has to go as it implies the story has a more moral point than I want.

I also need to find a new ending for "Walk Like A Panther." I originally had the image of the cat cutting its tongue as an opening for a project years and years ago that never got off the ground, so I co-opped it here. But now I have a reason to maybe pursue this other project--a noir-ish tale--and want to steal it back from myself.

Lara sent me a demo of our song, and I'm really liking it. I'm really curious about where it will go once we're recording it for real. She also played a show on Wednesday that was smashing. Her on acoustic guitar backed up by a man on accordian. Nice to hear her air out "Not For This World," the song quoted at the top of Cut My Hair.

* Marc Ellerby has posted another image from our story on his website.

* Check out these disturbing, yet gorgeous looking webcomics by Dan Kim. Kanami in particular has some marvelous art. (Thanks, KS.)

Currently Reading: An advance copy of Greg Rucka's Private Wars, the second Queen & Country novel, due out on October 25. Another expertly plotted espionage thriller. Read it!

Current Soundtrack: Kate Bush, Hounds of Love; Low, Tonight the Monkeys Die EP (available on iTunes)

Current Mood: goya!