The last comic in the new comics section that I’d like show off is the latest comic I did for 24 Hour Comics Day. This time we decided to do a 12 Hour Comic since committing literally a whole day was becoming more problematic. Like in 2010, I decided to do a story idea I’ve had for a while. I woke up suddenly one night with this idea to do a comic involving two characters from The Epic of Karie, Sir Peregrine and Erika. In that comic I stated that they knew each other in the past so I had an idea about turning that point into a story. I wrote a script for four pages but did not ever finish it, though I had ideas in my head for the story.
On 24 Hour Comics Day, I worked off of the four pages and jotted down an outline for the remaining eight as I went along. To do something new, I used some gray markers for shading, which I’ve never done for a comic (I usually shade comics digitally). I used Josh‘s markers before, found that I liked them, and he was kind enough to buy me a set for graduation.
At the end of twelve hours that day, I had put in a valiant effort but had just seven pages. A few months later I found the time while I was in San Diego visiting family to do the remaining pages and the cover. I touched up the already-finished pages but you may see a distinct upgrade in quality in the last half because I spent way more than an hour on each of those pages.
I like this comic because I’ve always wanted to do a more personal story set in a medieval fantasy world. It can’t be all end-of-the-world and rampaging monsters, right? I also enjoyed drawing the two main characters since it’s been a few years and in the previous story it was all done very roughly. Also, like Stuck in an Elevator, this comic has a bit of romance, which is nice.
I could go on and on about Sparring Partner. Give Epic of Karie a read to see how it (doesn’t quite) work out for these characters. Also, put the two stories together and find the hidden subtext that is never stated but it’s right there. No new comics day post next week since I’m all out, but hopefully I can get another five pages of Keeley issue 4 done sooner or later.
