New story, Mirror, Mirror, Mirror now online!
Mirror, Mirror, Mirror is a one off short added to the story archive. It has no real arc, just a simple friendly one strip wonder to abate that occasionally annoying vibe that comes with episodic stuff!
So a little fun really before another episodic story which will most likely be a lot longer because strips per episode will be shorter. Might break it into acts for that reason. Either way got some fun ideas, hope you stay with it!
Final Episode of Wine and Die now online!
FINALE of Wine and Die is now up – Latest episode!
FINALE of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read the full story!
And so this is the end of “Wine and Die!”
So what’s next? Well I have a one off story I’ll put up on Monday called “Mirror, Mirror and Mirror”. After that there will be a wee break and I’ll move onto the next story which will probably be in 3 panel strips – so its easier for me to regulate. That will probably run 5 episodes a week. We’ll see. Any feedback is appreciated, but for now, hope you enjoyed this little narrative outing!
Part 18 of Wine and Die now online!
Part 18 of Wine and Die is now up – Latest episode!
Part 18 of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read the full story!
Part 18 is here. The penultimate strip of this story.
So what’s next?
A couple of “one offs” are the plan. I have several long stories scripted, one I began pencilling, but I feel the need for a couple of simple strips just to colour the world and get away from too much serialisation. Maybe a couple of behind the scenes blogs – showing the roots of this tale.
If you’ve stuck with this daily so far, thank you – I hope there has been a reward for your diligence!
Part 17 of Wine and Die now online!
Part 17 of Wine and Die is now up – Latest episode!
Part 17 of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read the full story!
Splash page for today – the first. Now much more to say than that.. other than 2 episodes left! Finishes Saturday!
Part 16 of Wine and Die now online!
Part 16 of Wine and Die is now up – Latest episode!
Part 16 of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read the full story!
Not much to say today, not been too good, so I’m just glad I got this up before the day ended. All I can say is I like this episode. Simple art sequence, non-intrusive background exposition and a little character data. Around this point I think the strip starts to find its footing. 16 episodes in!
Part 15 of Wine and Die now online!
Part 15 of Wine and Die is now up – Latest episode!
Part 15 of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read the full story!
A small comment on this strip and the previous. In the original script, they were the other way round. Initially this played better dramatically. So episode 15 was episode 14 and episode 14 was episode 15 – we saw the building explode, then Fox find herself in the “blur” state. Which seemed more unusual and perhaps slightly curious as to the direction the strip was going.
However the reason it was swapped was all due to episode 16 – tomorrow’s episode. I personally felt the story flowed better if this episode and episode 16 flowed into each other and wasn’t split apart by the episode you saw yesterday.
See what you think tomorrow. It was an instance where I felt flow was better than narrative mysteries. This strip has already been jam packed with exposition, narrative twists and flashbacks. I felt that moving this episode around helped give the final episodes a little more simplicity to their flow!
Hope that made sense!
Part 14 of Wine and Die now online!
Part 14 of Wine and Die is now up – Latest episode!
Part 14 of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read the full story!
Only a few more left to go, then a break.
This tale has brought up some personal questions about character sympathy – what intentions I had and whether those intentions were wrong. Not just wrong, but fallen for a trap I oh so loathe in pilots – the Forced Introduction, where you take your protagonist and insert them firmly in the audiences face after the story has began moving.
The Forced Introduction has pros and cons. To some extent it does help give the reader a small sea of uncertainty as to where this story is going; rather than just plonking the queen chess piece right in front of them and saying “here be the queen”, you force the reader to examine some of the less vital story pieces and perhaps consider their roles before bringing in the big guns. It also allows for perhaps some surprise and a way to up-a-gear in the story telling.
It is however, commonly used when dealing with “larger than life” characters, which retrospectively, I wonder whether it would have been more fun to introduce Fox in a more downbeat subtle fashion before really drawing the reader to the fact she is indeed, currently, the “queen” of the piece.
I say “currently” quite particularly. I wanted to create a city that had potential for all sorts of characters – while the colloquial name of the city is named after this character, there is no need for this character to be the be all and end all of the project. And like a TV show, if I feel she’s done all she can do, or it becomes clear that other’s feel she’s not something they enjoy, she can be retired as quickly as Commander Sinclair in Babylon 5.
Fiction, above all, has to be fluid, does it not?
Part 13 of Wine and Die now online!
Part 13 of Wine and Die is now up – Latest episode!
Part 13 of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read the full story!
Feedback
Been taking feedback, thanks for that – once this story is done, I think I’ll do an introduction to Foxhell page, that explains what’s explained in this story with a little more clarity.
It is quite a complex little strip, hopefully less so as the concept is established. But a basic Foxhell FAQ (or FFAQ) will be next on the cards!
Thanks to those who have given me some idea of the pros and cons of this project!
Part 12 of Wine and Die now online!
Part 12 of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read!
I like this episode.
It’s a turning point, a turning point in perhaps the narrative as there is definitive attempt from the protagonist to be proactive for a change, but more importantly, the perceptions of the characters. At this point perhaps how you see Fox and perhaps how you see Sintyne may change. It may not, but certainly the characters have reached that story crossroads – which is always a fun point to get to.
And where they go from here, well only tomorrow knows!
Part 11 of Wine and Die now online!
Part Eleven of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read!
No big blombles today, you’ll be glad to read, or in this case, not read.
We’re over half way through this current tale. Have to say, this is the first time I’ve seen the art in a true, easy to read sequence, it’s quite fascinating to see it roll out given it was all done earlier this year – that stretch of time is always useful when trying to be objective about one’s work. You see the pros and cons with far greater clarity.
So for me, this will be an interesting piece of appraisal once complete. Always odd when the author becomes the reader – but a fascinating position to be in. I suggest if you’ve not been there – worth trying the path for yourselves!
Part 10 of Wine and Die now online plus The Art of Fail
Part Ten of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read!
This particular strip is, hands on the table, cards, heart and soul exposed, my least favourite.
It’s perhaps the antithesis of last strip. This is simply action, which at best doesn’t really flow in a strip, not for me anyway. In the years of reading Dan Dare, James Bond, Flash Gordon and Judge Dredd in strip form, I’ve never found action carries well – but worst still, this doesn’t quite work in itself. If you manage to get through the strip and be ready – and willing – for the next part, I’m happy. Perhaps a little too Miller-esque, which unless you’re Frank Miller, perhaps not a good thing! I do remember this was a very, very, very stressful week – and this strip suffered for it! I quite liked it at the time, now, not so sure – I do quite like some of the flow to the sequences. Always hard to decide when you’re close to a project whether you are muddled by self doubt, or seeing things clearer than you’d ideally prefer!
But there you go – no point blogging if you can’t be honest!
One minor last minute experiment in this strip – green narrative boxes. The idea? Well, the story is told in past tense through the narrative. I wondered about trying a green box in present tense to give you an idea of what she’s thinking. On reflection, I don’t think this approach will appear again – so enjoy it while you can!
While this is very much an action strip, it does have some relevant pieces in there – a couple of throw away lines to the nature of Fox – that she isn’t super perfect and much of what she is is what she has had to become. I think they are relevant at this point given we’ve not really explained much about her – in fact, she is more ambiguous than the Legion that co-exist in the strip with her. And I like that. I like the idea that that the one character you should be able to relate to, you don’t know enough about to really relate to her – aside from perhaps understanding her situation. On top of that, her situation, while understandable, isn’t that sympathetic – the position she’s in is largely her own doing. Flawed characters have always interested me. Give me a Kerr Avon over a Captain Picard, a Batman to a Superman – a Donald to a Mickey… and Fox is flawed in a lot of ways that will – hopefully transpire.
So is it fail? Perhaps on reflection, after reading this blog through and looking at the work, not as bad as I suspect. That being said, could have been better. But sometimes the decision is either to get something out or let yourself procrastinate on what’s wrong with the work. Sometimes letting yourself succumb to your own personal standards IS the fail, and occasionally its best to rise above that, adhere to your personal deadline and let the work ride as it is. In that sense, no, not a fail at all – just an acknowledgement this particularly strip, personally, was one I’d like to have spent longer improving.
Part 9 of Wine and Die now online plus Detail Vs Action!
Part nine of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read!
Always difficult – which is best? Action vs Detail?
Some might put that as Marvel Vs DC, which is a very rough and general summerisation, but I have to confess in my US comic buying period of the 1990s, it did always feel as if many Marvel titles were plot laced around a large splash of action while DC were action laced around a large amount of plot. Nothing wrong in either – I used to love delving into Batman and Spider-Man, two title characters who seemed to mirror this perception. Both had plot and dialogue, but I’d say Spider-Man seemed more focused on the big brawl per issue, while Batman was more focused on the details. Perhaps that’s changed now – if it ever was – point is, some stories are action focused, some like being more about the prose or the story. Both parts are often required, just depends where you want the focus.
With Foxhell, the focus is on the story/dialogue – so you’ll occasionally get big chunks of text like in this and the previous episode. Lots to tell and not much space to tell it in. Could drag the strip out to do so more evenly, but then does the story begin to meander? I recall a commentary on the UK British Sci-Fi show of the 70s, Blake’s 7, which was always rich in dialogue. It was pointed out the reason was because the format and budget didn’t lend itself to action and lots of different sets/scenes, so more dialogue filled up the space in specific sets/locations. They didn’t have the budget for anything more.
Same with Foxhell. There are constraints on how long a story can be (releative to the tale) and also how much space there is to really place action. Action in small strips can never really be that epic. Big epic shots take big epic frames. In a news-strip, I think it can drag. I think with large narrative pieces like this particular strip, the excess in detail works better in the strip than an excess of action. You come to a news-strip expecting little, so in some respects if you can cram in a lot – without it looking too confusing (and I think this strip is borderline on that front, I admit), it makes it for a meaty feast. If done sporadically. Done too much and strips become too much of a headache to approach on a regular basis.
Rest assured tomorrow’s isn’t quite as… meaty!
Part 8 of Wine and Die now online plus the issue with narrative in news-strips!
Part eight of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read!
This latest strip is one of those most horrendous and sometimes clunky of devices – exposition.
One of the toughest issues with strip is the fact there is little room for natural exposition. Unless the strip draws out, finding place to have characters implement plot/background information into their dialogue is at best, difficult. Strips are short and choppy by nature – so getting detail, particularly background information which is neither relevant to the current character’s conversation but vital for readers is a painful affair. If you can’t make it natural, can you make it interesting?
The approach I took for Foxhell is an age old but simple technique – the old first person narrator. Not only does it give you a way of delivering information that doesn’t have to be directly relevant to the character’s in situation, it gives you a nice way to layer information with events. In this particular strip (and I will be candid, artwise, not my proudest moment – must have been a busy week), we have exposition as to Fox’s background layered over the action of a brawl. This allows the dialogue to be a little more dry whilst the action keeps the strip hopefully fluid.
The other intent of this strip is what one could call “the mid-season approach” – a reprise of the basic world premise for new readers and old readers, who are still fairly new to the concept. So exposition, reprise and a little relevant action in one strip.
Nothing particularly insightful in this blomble, but perhaps for some might give reading this story an added layer of examination!
Part 7 of Wine and Die now online!
Part seven of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read!
Site design is always a problem.
Whether or not this site design works is hard to tell. Invariably there is a trap with episodic material that if you relay on promoting just the latest strip, for the ease of your regulars, you might reveal something to newcomers who would wish – and you’d prefer – to start at the beginning. If you promote the entire strip, you irritate regulars who have to keep scrolling to the bottom – which on notebooks/touch sensitive pads/smart phones – can be a pest.
Best I could do was cater to both. If you’re a new reader, all links really take you to the story “archive”, and thus give the chance to read from the beginning – and of course, if you’ve skimmed or forgot something as a regular, you can see the strips so far in context.
If that doesn’t interest you, quick click McGraw you maybe, there is the latest episode page, where you can see the sole episode of the day. Both are on the top menu bar, but for the ease and convenience of McGraws (and I am a McGraw myself in my net experience), here are the links!
Foxhell: Wine and Die – Latest Episode
Foxhell: Wine and Die – Archive
I recommend bookmarking one or the other!
Part 6 of Wine and Die now online!
Part 6 of Wine and Die is now up – CLICK here to read!
Happy New Year!
Started working on the next strip this week. Looking to explore the idea and change the tone and perspective. Need to press on with that. Though need to press on with some book work, video game work, writing for a book and got some upcoming magazine work to look at this week, before taking a really belated look at my tax return and – hopefully – my usual regular cartoons for another magazine. So wedging more Foxhell inbetween will be a challenge.
That’s the burden of freelance sadly – it sounds cool on the face of things, but if its not a scabble to find work, it’s a scrabble to fit in work – and the worst of it all is when you have a little time off, where you could perhaps catch up on some personal projects, you deflate and do nothing, enjoying the do nothing moments… which if were sacrificed, would make the do something moments a hell of a lot easier.
Plus I need a new pen. How sad is that. Illustrator without a good pen – or a cheap one. Might as well call in Luke Skywalker without his lightsaber, or He-Man without his Sword of Power. They’d be mocking me if they could see me now (as much for hermit-esque life and bleached hair, but I give as good as I get, and retorts involving dubiously close relationships with their sisters would be equally appropriate to both hecklers).
Well I leave you to overcome your hangovers and adjust to a new year. Let’s hope it’s a good one.
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