And didn’t someone just say I owned everyone for continuing the comic in color? Never tell me the odds…
I saw a great little single panel comic that was done in Film Noir style and have wanted to do a similar bit for 1977. But the subject? Hmmm? Well, the comic is based on Sex, Drugs & Rock and Roll, so why not sex? I started out just writing down any brain droppings in the style of old pulp fiction books and pretty soon I had an outline of the comic. A good friend of mine, who we shall simply call The Editor, was kind enough to help me with a few suggestions, corrections and a lesson in stoner language. And proper thanks to The Editor!
Shading this damn thing took longer then doing it in color, so no, I am not going to do too man comics in B&W. More condom jokes tomorrow! Oh boy!
🙂
This comic was like a warm breath of perfume in the middle of winter in a slaughterhouse. A nice change of pace, if you take my meaning. There was a richness to the tones that was like sundown on the beach with drinks, a little fruity maybe, but it goes down smooth.
Lovely.
Man, you got that one off nicely! Each panel was the epitome of cool. Nice job on the car, btw. I know you said this strip wasn’t that easy, but you did a remarkable job with it. Now do it again. 🙂
This is brilliant! I love the noir theme… and that CAR!
Wow!
Totally “Noir”!!
Everything that a ’50’s B&W Gangster/Private Eye flick had and more, Gals, Cars, Smokin’, the “Over commentary”.
I love it!
It may be a bit much but you will have to do this again sometime!
LOL
Maybe all the 1957 stuff?
Now there’s a thought!!
Bob
Got to love noir, it’s a nice change of pace to the usual- but you really got the language and style down perfectly.
Nice car too, and the final panel was expected the instant he left for the drug store but still a fun punchline lol.
RE: T III – Yep, as anyone in that situation knows, once the moment is lost, eh, forget about it.
🙂
In general, I wanted to be a writer, but I lack the patience that a really good fiction writer requires to sit and perfect each thought, sentence, paragraph & chapter. I’m like that kid in the backseat of a long trip “Are we there yet?” and want to move on to something else.
But, I’m pretty decent at mimicking something (that should be read as stealing…) so getting the pulp fiction dialog down was not too hard. Also, one of my favorite comedy pieces is by the Firesign Theatre called “The Further Adventures of Nick Danger” which is a 28 minute audio masterpiece of not only detective stories and film noir style writing, but also one of the best spoofs of old time radio shows you’ll ever hear. The depth of parody in that piece make MST3000 seem like a kids game. If you have 30 minutes, and want to really hear a great parody, check that out on iTunes. Worth the price! Advertisement over…
🙂
RE: Kevin – And your comments do the same for me; I enjoy each and everyone. I think “How can he be so freakin’ clever?” then it hits me… you’re from Florida!
😀
RE: Bob Long – It was SOO much fun drawing Jeff in the hat/shirt/pants of the 50s Film Noir style. Drawing the damn hat was a killer, which is why I didn’t really change the angle of his head too much.
Yes, I am going to return to this style at some point in the future because I really want to pull off a Lauren Bacall look for one of the women characters. There are some high keylight portraits of her that are drop-dead gorgeous and I gotta get Lorraine or someone in those poses & lighting. Killer… Man, she was hot for her time!
The 50s storyline would be a great way to return to this style… maybe pull a “Wizard of Oz” bit where it starts in B&W then converts to color or something…
Hmmm… 🙂
Byron – it isn’t stealing to do something in another well known style, it even has a word for it, “pastiche” or for that matter “homage”.
Brilliant job. Love the car and the hat, the time you spent on extra shading was worth it!
Guy Noir!
RE: Mufti – I am one of my hardest critics, and I know I need to ease up on myself. I’ve come a long way with my art since January of 2008, and my pacing and scripting have improved. And yes, paying homage to a subject or style is actually a great honor, and I am very proud of today’s comic. It’s accurate both visually and verbally.
So let me go on record… I’m great! 🙂
🙂
RE: hotclaws – I had forgotten about the great Guy Noir! For those who aren’t in the know: Guy Noir is a fictional private detective regularly featured on the public radio show A Prairie Home Companion.
Now the descriptions of the “hot babe” client of the week are to die for… like this one: “She was tall and dark and so beautiful you wanted to just give her all your money right way and skip the preliminaries.” Now that’s pulp fiction!
🙂
Excellent all the Star Wars references.
cool job on the car. Is that Sketch up or all you? In any case it is well placed and well drawn in the comic. Its nuisances like this that make me a fan of and keep me coming back, not to mention the story is just too funny.