Grizzly & The Bear Patrol 9

[kybearfuzz]

I was debating on holding on to this issue until Monday. I was worried that LJ becomes quite the ghost town on weekends, but I hate to leave this sitting over the weekend. This is probably the quickest turn-around for a comic issue I've ever done -- two months. This idea has been brewing in my head for a while. The Grizzly origin is tacked on to the end for those who have not seen it. There are 27 color pages behind the spoiler cut below, all work safe. I put a few issue notes at the end.

Enjoy! :)















































I've included the Grizzly Origin pages as a bonus "reprint" for those who are new to the comic.












Issue Notes:

• Again, this is my quickest turn around on an issue. I was surprised how quickly this one came together. I think I may take a break before doing the next one.
  
  
• I included the Grizzly Origin because this story has Grizzly's parents, Thom and Jay, visiting. Since they are his biological parents, I didn't want to have to keep re-explaining how.
  
  
• Stormy LaQueef went through several changes in the story writing. Originally, she was going to put on defective make up and become a giant drag queen called Dragzilla. Imagine my surprise when I did an internet search and found a movie short where this has been done already. Next, she was going to become a snake monster called "Serpentine," but I dislike snakes, so I wanted something more fun. One day at work, I was doodling during a conference call and wrote down the words "weather wig" and it was a "Eureka" moment for the character here.
  
  
• I've always wanted to do an origin story for Colour Cub. I was going to make it where Jerry gained his Colour Cub powers after meeting Grizzly. It went against the origin story I originally wrote up for his character profile, so I decided to make it the origin of how Griz and Colour Cub met.
  
  
• I tried to put a bit of humor and some character development in the story, as requested by gotmoof. I wanted to show how Griz interacts with his dads and how they react to hearing about some of his escapades.
  
  
• This story has me trying a few different "camera angles" and some different inking. I need a bit more practice.
  
  
• After chatting with a handsome California bear who works in a movie theater, I decided the cover should be a romantic movie poster, of a sort.

Any questions, comments, or criticisms? I welcome them all.

Comments

[maxauburn.livejournal.com]

That was fantastic!!

I love it!!

Action, drama,(literally!)humor, and romance!

And I love seeing hot Bear type guys flying and glowing!!

Thank you for posting it on a weekend!

I was bored outta my head and came here hoping to find something interesting-and I did!!

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I could give you something entertaining on a boring Friday night! I'm happy you enjoyed it. :)

[designerotter.livejournal.com]

What a treat ...completely delightful ! Love your imagination and the way you tell the story. Also appreciated the backstory at the end (I got a kick out of BARMAID plastered across Gabe's jersey as he's dispatching some hooligans).
Your drawing and excellent use of color really puts the story across ...and best of all, you convey an aura of romance - along with sex, of course ;0)

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Thanks Joe! "BARMAID" is one of the phrases I love to put on Gabe's shirts. Because he spends so much time at his bar, I find it funny. It's not like anyone is going to make fun of him for it and I think his patrons enjoy the irony.

I'm glad you enjoyed the issue! :)

[changeling72.livejournal.com]

Wow. That's amazing.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Thanks Mark :)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Whoosh! What an adventure on a Saturday morning! Thanks, so much. It's so well done, Mark!

HUGS!

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Thanks Neil! I struggled with the idea of posting this on Friday night, but I know a lot of folks can't read something so lengthy at work on Monday.

Hugs! :)

[texwriterbear.livejournal.com]

What a great issue Mark. Awesome job as usual!!!!!

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Thanks furry bear! I'm glad you liked it!

[epinoid.livejournal.com]

Thank you - great to start the weekend grinning.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Thanks Karl! I'm happy you liked it.

[martini-tim.livejournal.com]

Great issue, Mark. I love the origin story of Grizzly too. So mysterious.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Thanks Tim (it's great to see you!)

I wondered how many people had not seen the origin story. I wanted to refresh as future issues will rely on it.

Big hugs, handsome! :)

Awesome!

[(Anonymous)]

wow, so much fun to see us in the comics...maybe we'll all be famous some day...J, T & G...

Re: Awesome!

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

LOL.. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the comic, and seeing yourselves in it. :)

[bruinwi.livejournal.com]

Love the story, love the "how we met" aspect. My favorite moment is the pannel where Gabe is mortified over having his sex life exposed in front of his dads, while Gerry literally throws himself back onto the couch...sorry, the Chesterfield. A nice, casual moment.

However, I think I've found a plot hole. With the exception of Red Beard, none of our heroes do anything to change their appearances, between their civilian/hero identities. Granted, Grizzly has his telepathic powers to alter onlookers' perceptions, but when the guys work solo, their faces are completely exposed (and I don't count Polar Bear's hood as much of a mask or disguise). So, how do our guys maintain "secret" identities?

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

While I love the action scenes, I admit that moments like the mortified face scene are fun to draw. I like that everyone knows that Gabe and Jerry have sex, but I also like that Gabe doesn't like to spread the news around so freely.

You are correct about the masks and the identity issues. I have struggled a bit with the whole "secret identity" thing with the guys. I like the guys showing their faces, but in the real world it would obviously cause problems. Grizzly telepathically blinds people to his identity, Colour Cub supposedly can radiate enough light to hide his face (and fog photographs/video), but the others are luck. Echo has worn green goggles in the past (issue #3) and I have counted Polar Bear's hood providing enough shadow to hide his.

The only one who is in real jeopardy of being discovered is Center, seeing how he wears no mask and is the regular bartender at the "On the Growl" bar. Face it, he's cute and I'm sure guys remember him. It might be a plot point to exploit in the future.

[rootbeer1.livejournal.com]

Another wonderful episode! You're getting better and better, at both action sequences and the humor of your facial expressions.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Thanks Steve! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

[putzmeisterbear.livejournal.com]

Really a good episode. "Stormy LaQueef"! ROTFL And I really liked the interactions with the dads. And thanks for the reprint.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Heh! Thanks!

I wrestled with called her "Stormy LaQueef" or "Windy LaQueef," but figured "Stormy" was more descriptive.

And the reprint was requested :)

[mort-83.livejournal.com]

That was great!

Stormy LaQueef! Love that!

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

She will reappear as a villain someday! I admit that I laughed out loud when I came up with her name!! I'm glad you liked it. :)

[dr-tectonic.livejournal.com]

I just got done reading through all the back issues. These are so much fun!

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

LOL... thanks handsome! I'm glad you enjoyed them! They're fun to create, but a lot of work too.