Grizzly & The Bear Patrol #19

[kybearfuzz]

Here it is, late March, and I am finally getting my first issue of the year out. Holidays, work, and the like often get into the way of creating these. And putting these issues together do take time. I think if I won the lottery, I'd travel around for a bit, then settle in and do comic book stuff full-time. If I didn't need my day job, I probably could get out 8-10 issues a year.

Issue #19 is below. The bulk of the 25 pages are behind the cut to save space. Enjoy!































And as always, here are some comic notes behind the spoiler cut.

• This is the first issue of the comic where I inserted a double-paged spread. It messes up the centering in LJ, but it actually turned out well for the most part, comic-book-wise. Fortunately, I got the numbering right so it wasn't on front-to-back pages, as it wasn't something I'd considered until long after it was drawn, inked, and colored.



• I've reintroduced Monolith as a possible new member of the team. Usually comic book teams have added new members long before issue #19. I think I'm going to rotate him in slowly. Drawing a hero cast of six is rough enough, but I like Monolith and his powers.



• The Clone was a fun villain to create. I've always loved the 1970's clone look that gay men had -- the leather, the mustache, the sunglasses. It was definitely a look and an attractive one, I think.



• This is the first issue I've colored with Manga Studios 5. Ever since a tragic system update back in October, I can no longer use my old version of Photoshop to color the pages. MS5 was a cheaper alternative and geared more toward use in comic books than Photoshop. However, it has taken me a lot of time to build up my proficiency in using it. The average coloring time with Photoshop was an hour/page. Using Manga, it's taken me about 90 minutes/page. Hopefully, I'll get faster, but there is still a lot to learn about the software.

Any questions, comments, or criticism? I welcome any and all of them.

Comments

[barak.livejournal.com]

Vibratory drill got me giggling naughtily.

The Clone looks like Freddie Mercury... I can't believe you missed an opportunity for Queen/Under Pressure jokes! ;-)

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

LOL! There's always a bit of innuendo in the comic! The "Under Pressure" jokes would have been GREAT!

Oh well... missed opportunities...

[notmypresident.livejournal.com]

Glad to see that the new program is working out. It always takes time to become proficient in something new, and I'm sure your coloring time will decrease with each new issue.

I'm going to have to go back and research the doctor/Dynamo. Woof!

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

He's based on my buddy John. As John's beard has gotten bigger, I've let his comic book counterpart do the same.

Here is Dynamo's original design:



He was featured in Issue 8:

http://kybearfuzz.livejournal.com/646981.html