Greetings from rainy, but pleasantly cool, Minnesota!
For the next few posts I’ve decided to follow the lead of fellow Dimestore Small Press Idol compeditor, Erik Hendrix and break down what went into the pages we submitted for round three.
Speaking of the Small Press Idol, why not throw a vote Erik’s way, right after you vote for us!
Ok, enough with the obligatory begging for votes and on with the commentary…
1
I’d like to begin by stating these posts will primarily focus on Michael’s pencils and some easter eggs while leaving comments about the story vague so as to avoid spoilers.
Ok, so let’s clear up the first spot of confusion; this is not the first page of Issue Zero, it is in fact page 5. Mike chose these three pages because he felt they would be the most compelling, both visually and from a story standpoint, without giving away too much about the rest of the issue. As I’ve stated on this blog before: I whole-heartedly agree with his choice and I cannot wait to see the issue completed!
Next, I’d like to share a little history of the real Fergus Falls State Hospotal/Asylum.
We based the asylum in our story on a real life hospital in Fergus Falls, MN. Fergus Falls is located on I-94 in western/central Minnesota. For some great photos of the de-commissioned hospital go here. Mike and I plan on making a road trip to the hospital next month, expect a full travel log to be posted here on our blog.
The hospital, thanks to Mike’s fantastic pencils, really succeeds in it’s role as a gateway as well as a classic haunted house “set”. The idea was to use their journey from the front door and through hospital’s cavernous halls and yawning shadows to indicate Dey and Cain are moving into another world, and yes, it is also just plain spooky.
As I had it written, as the panels progressed down the page they were to slowly draw into more of a close up pov in an attempt to artificially create tension. Mike, whether intentionally or sub-consciously, understood that longer “shots” would be more effective allowing the two to be dwarfed by the scale of the rooms, as if they were literally walking into the belly of the beast. This perspective is also more interesting visually allowing for more variety in the shot angles and panel composition.
While I’m on the subject of visuals, the first thing I noticed about this page was the (what I will refer to as) the scrawling effects. I’ve read people see them as “film scratches”, I saw them as a kind of indication of “background-noise”, or the psychic scarring in the ether of the place. Maybe Mike will comment himself on what he saw them as, but I loved it.
Michael and I talk often about making sure each of our projects has a visual style and tone all it’s own, and I feel it is safe to say The Associate has suceeded.
Up Next: Page 6
You are correct, sir! Those “scratching the negative” marks are the residual psychic trauma getting kicked up like dust by the presence of The Associate. It also simply looks cool and kinda creepy