Grizzly & The Bear Patrol #16

[kybearfuzz]

I started plotting this issue right after the previous issue back in October, but I didn't actually start drawing it until after Christmas. That means I drew, inked, and colored this issue in a month, which is probably one of my quickest turn-arounds ever. It was actually a lot of fun to put together. It's probably one of my more action-packed issues.

As usual, the bulk of the pages are behind the cut to save space on your pages. There are issue notes at the bottom behind the spoiler cut.

Enjoy!

• The game in the story, "Smear the Queer," is a real game I played as a kid with my brother and cousins. According to Wikipedia, Smear the Queer is also called "Muckle" and some folks refer to it as a reverse tag game. We would play the game in our yard with a football. I spent many a summer afternoon being chased around the yard and tackled by guys my size or larger. In the game, "queer" was just the guy with the ball or the "odd man." There was never a gay slur attached to it. I wanted to make sure that was clear in the comic. I made it a "blue ball" as a joke though.



• I wanted to do an issue with more action, so I came up with this idea to keep the characters moving. It also allowed me to cut back on the backgrounds, leaving them vague.



• This issue gives a bit more background on what Jerry (Colour Cub) does for a living. He does a lot of marketing and promotion, but he also is a skilled photographer.



• I've been thinking about the villain in this comic for a long while. Snakes freak me out. Poisonous or non-poisonous makes no difference to me. Making her an Asian, bitchy model was just for fun.



• The shady pages was done with some different patterns in Photoshop. The end result looked very pencil-shaded. I kept it because it looked cool to me.



• Because of the cliffhanger, I'm hoping to start the next issue soon. I have a side project to work on first, but hopefully it won't take up too much time.

Any questions, comments, and criticisms?

Comments

[maxauburn.livejournal.com]

I love it!

The art, story, characterization, and action are fantastic!

I love the idea of a game to practice the use of their powers.

This reminds me of the baseball games between the X-Men and The New Mutants back in the early to mid 1980's, where it would start out as friendly competition and super powers were forbidden- until everyone started using their powers, LOL!

Splendid job!

[texwriterbear.livejournal.com]

Awesome job Mark. So what happens next? I wanna know!!! LOL
;-)

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Well, thanks! I always enjoyed those ball games.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

LOL! Thanks! It might be a month or two (or three) before I can reveal that.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I got to "to be continued" and was disappointed, so you've definitely created a cliffhanger of great interest. Serpentine! What a great villain name! I can't wait to hear what happens next! The issue is well done. I laughed out loud when I read the subtitle "What is the power of the blue ball?" I've wondered that for a long time! LOL!

[champdaddy.livejournal.com]

That was fun... At first I thought it was Janice Dickinson.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

LOL! Thanks! I think we ALL know the power of a blue ball, don't we???

And I've wanted to use "Serpentine" as a villainess' name for a long time. To me it is just the right mix of feminine and creepy.

Part of me wishes I had waited to post this issue until I was about halfway done with the next so there wouldn't be such a lag between issues. And it could be even longer as I have a side project I need to work on next. Hopefully, I'll be able to get it done and get back into writing mode soon.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

LOL! That would have been horrible too, wouldn't it??

... and thanks! :)

[texwriterbear.livejournal.com]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
;-)