Grizzly & The Bear Patrol #14

[kybearfuzz]

Hi all! It's actually been over SIX MONTHS since I've posted an issue. I've been drawing a side project and been really busy with work, both of which left me little time to do more than write this issue. And the next one, ironically enough.

So, I rushed to get this issue out (see the notes below for more on that). This issue has LJ folks xianjessen, 0bark0, and former LJ'er Ron guest-starring. So, behind the spoiler below is 24 full-color, work-safe pages, so it may take time to load.

Enjoy!

• I did a few things different this issue than I had done to past ones. The main change was the paper size. Normally, issues are done on 8 1/2 x 11 Letter size pages. Comic book are actually done on a different size, which is less wide in scale. So, to be more like regular comics, I switched to a comic book size page this round. It caused a bit of a problem, as I don't have as much space to speech bubbles, so the end result looks a bit more crowded than usual. I'm not sure if I'll continue this or not, but I thought it was an interesting thing to try.



• The story this round is much more simple than I would have liked. Originally, I had an additional prologue and epilogue prepared, but decided to save those for the next issue instead, as they fit my upcoming story better. It fouled up the writing and pacing of this story as a result. I write these stories out longhand in an actual journal. When I removed the prologue and epilogue, I had to re-write the pages, which also fouled up the order. The end result was rushed and a bit more of a headache to figure out which page was which. This also fouled up the spacing as I was drawing panels, causing instances where there wasn't much room for the speech bubbles. I may need to switch to an electronic writing method in the future, but I just like being able to jot things down on the go. What do you think of the story? Be honest.



• The characters of The Beartender and Doctor Bark were created sometime last year. I have been planning to include them in a story at some point, but the three-story arc on the origin of Grizzly caused a delay. I like the characters and I hope the guys do too.



• I reintroduced Ron (aka Cloak from Issue #8). He's a good friend of Christian and Steve's and I wanted to make sure he was included. I really like the characters from issue #8, the super-powered bears created by the Bear Collector, so I've been wanting to slowly bring them back. Not sure when the others will reappear or in what capacity.



• I completed the cover last night. I am not 100% sold on the cover design, but I wanted to include a "Pride" color theme. It is Pride Month, after all.



• The next issue has already been plotted out in general, but I still need to storyboard it. I'm hoping to have the issue done in time for Halloween.

Questions, comments, and criticisms... I welcome them all.

Comments

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Well done! Your my first exposure to comic books, so take my comments as you will. I liked the characters and thought the new characters were easy to follow. I also really like the names Beartender and Dr.Bark. Beartender can be taken so many ways and I like that clever touch. If the next issue is at Halloween, goodness knows where I'll be reading it:)

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're enjoying it. I think "Beartender" was a sort-of joke name given to the real-life Christian by the real life Ron. He'd joked about it when I was drawing the a superhero version of Christian and it stuck, even being included in the design of the outfit.

I'm sure you'll be somewhere with WIFI when you read the next issue. I have faith :)

[texwriterbear.livejournal.com]

Awesome job once again Mark. Love the new characters, especially since I know who they are :-)

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That does always sweeten things a bit, when you know the characters for real. :)

[barak.livejournal.com]

SQUEEE!

This was entirely too much fun. zOMG, the CLIFFHANGERS! Halloweeny is too far away.

But...I noted one typo: "axe weilding". ;-)

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

LOL! There's always at least ONE typo in the comic. I found one and corrected it last night before posting, but another always sneaks past me. I need an editor apparently (or a really good proof-reader).

[barak.livejournal.com]

I volunteer!

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

LOL! I'll remember that!

Oh, and proof-reading should be done in the nude.

"What do you think of the story? Be honest.

[champdaddy.livejournal.com]

I liked the story and the artwork a lot. We got to see all the guys in action, the bots were interesting, and although it was a little rushed the ending was satisfying. I like the new format as well. Every issue you put out shows growth.

In the spirit of purely constructive criticism, I would challenge you to make the facial features more individual. I like the distinctive look of Center… and the "Batter up!" guy's face shape and nose is especially good.

Re: "What do you think of the story? Be honest.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Thanks handsome! I like to try something new with each issue. In my rush to get this one done, I felt I sacrificed some quality in the final product.

And I've been trying to working on those individual facial features (the ump's face was particularly fun to do honestly). Again, I think the rush messed up my efforts. It also doesn't help that the real life Jerry (Colour Cub) and Miguel (Echo) tend to look a lot a alike. My plan is to draft some "facial maps" for each character and try to stick to it.

Re: "What do you think of the story? Be honest.

[champdaddy.livejournal.com]

If I may be allowed one more suggestion, varying the size of the panels to half or full page might have been a good way to place more emphasis on the story's climax. But all in all, a really great job!

Re: "What do you think of the story? Be honest.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

It's a good suggestion. I usually try to put full panels at "major" moments, like introductions (title page, dramatic entrance of a villain, etc.), but you're correct in that I missed a major moment there. The moment the x's touched would have been GREAT as a full page struggle between the two characters (with more detail than the "flash of light" I used), and would have given me a bit more room before and after to flesh out the ending situation. And it only would have added one more page to the volume, which would have been easy.

Re: "What do you think of the story? Be honest.

[maxauburn.livejournal.com]

I love this issue! It's great!

I like Beartender a lot!

And the rest!

ChampDaddy's idea has merit: Perhaps you might try varying the size of the panels.

Re: "What do you think of the story? Be honest.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you like it. I'll plan on using Champ's ideas when I plot the pages for the next issue.

Re: "What do you think of the story? Be honest.

[mort-83.livejournal.com]

I vote that we get to see the Ump in future episodes!

I was reading about cartooning awhile ago and the cartoonist in question was taking over a strip and the he said that the hardest thing was getting the facial feature right.

This was a cool one, Mark. I particularly liked the cocktail shaker in the Bartender's hand!

And Grizzly. That fur!

Re: "What do you think of the story? Be honest.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm... you like that umpire, huh? I'll see what I can do there.

And the Beartender's shaker was part of the original cartoon. It took a bit of doing to get that into the comic book.

And Grizzly has GRRREAT fur :)