Finally finished it. Here's the first 25%.
Guess it's a little deceptive to call this a sixty-four page story when there are so few panels per page.
Marty, I'm sorry but I decided not to hand-letter my word balloons. I considered your suggestion very seriously, and tried an experiment or two. I love the word balloons in your comics. They have such personality and are just right for the work you are doing, but in the end I couldn't tap into my own inner Artie Simek. Maybe next time.
So "Raymond and the Giant Robot Attack" represents the most I could do in six months of spare time, mornings and weekends. The thing I'm happiest about is that I could follow through, finish the project, and have a good time doing it. It's another step in the development of my own peculiar aesthetic. Having fully accepted that I will never be Frazetta or Kirby frees me to do as I please.
13 comments:
I'd say you passed your test with flying colors, Tom! Beautiful, beautiful work!
Thanks Ronnie. You're up and in the TAG room nice and early!
Awesome stuff Tom.
Fantastic. So much to love. Mainly your humor and writing. Must be pretty good with such appealing art. Like all the little gags and the deepness of the story. Tom, we want to know more. And that means success.
I like the styles of zil and kingsly, and their names.
I love the rhino eaten by the hydra.
A veritable Santa Anna of appealing story.
Kaiju!
I think I'm coming down with something.
Page 5, the title page . I got all that. NC Wyeth, Moebius, Harryhausen, the Constitution, Howard Pyle, Seventh Grade, Frazetta.
Brilliant! Curious, enigmatic, funny, thoughtful, beautful... everything I've come to expect from a Moon production! Well done!
So, what's next... does this go into a collection of your comics! You probably have enough for a graphic novel by now!
Thanks guys. What's next is "more of everything!" I try to take it to the next level with a longer, deeper story, more universally appealing and more individualistic all at the same time. Hopefully it will be the length of a standard graphic novel and I can try to sell it.
That's funny that you read all the little writing in the background of page 5 Ellis. I knew there would be at least one person who did.
I like the thinking you've put into the idea of, it's time to just do what it is you do.
You've told me to do it because you've been thinking about it yourself.
You are absolutely right Ellis, and we are twins after all!
TOM MOOOOON!!
To say I'm blown away would be an understatement. I am not just selfishly excited for myself because I get to read a GREAT book, and I'm not just semi-selfishly happy that MY FRIEND is making something so amazing--no, I am happy FOR MANKIND, because now the whole world will be getting a brand new work of ART (which is what your book will be).
It is a good day for humanity.
This succeeds on so many more levels than I imagined. I expected something more along the non sequitur, poetic line. You give us that, and so much more. I didn't expect this overlay of self-awareness, both from the "author" (the teasing in the intro pages, mainly)(which, BTW, love yr rendering of "The Author"--and the page with Raymond starting at the repeated writing); and self-awareness of the characters --and I like that you are not "ironic" about it--there is a sincerity in the jokiness, and it all works wonderfully well with the visuals.
And them viz-yals! The sunset cocktail hour on sunset island is not only a funny set up, but you sustain it visually the whole way thru--great variety of monsters, and great humor in their interactions--without ever feeling forced, or like you're either overplaying an idea, or out of ideas. Great pacing to the whole thing, too. I was so glad to get time to enjoy monster island. Love what you do with background in all these shots--many could be "same" long shot, but you're always adding new touches to the background, new points of interest. It's mesmerizing.
And the lettering looks great, too. Don't worry about my fussiness!
Best of all, I just came from Stuart Ng's bookstore and lemme tell you, this tome will look most at home upon his shelves. It will happen--your public is demanding it.
A seriously fantastic piece of work. Cancel the vacations and spend 'em on the drawing board!! We want to see the finished product!
Thanks Marty. I'm going to post the next 16 this weekend, and the next and the next. I'm making up for so many weeks of non-posting after all. Also, I've realized that I have to write and draw at least one follow-up to this story (maybe more). I've already got it in progress.
Yuh-AAAYYY!
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