Issue #0: Unearthed!

Well the mailman brought me my personal copies of The Underground #0: Unearthed today! Let me tell you, I am one excited guy! I've seen all the pages obviously before this, I've even read through all of the material (repeatedly), but there's something to be said about holding the finished, printed copy in your hands. Before I get too far into what I thought of it, I want to explain a few things. Issue #0 takes place after Issue #1, weird eh? For the Small Press Idol, all entrants produced a 'zero issue'. What that meant to me was writing this issue so it worked well as a stand alone introduction to The Underground, but also it had to work as a continuation from Issue #1. With that said, I encourage anyone who is receiving there Issue #0 in the mail to read through Issue #1 again if you have it. I feel it really adds to the story, and it serves to better pull you...Underground.

But Paul, what did you think? Well I'm glad you asked! Immediately when I opened my envelope of books I was impressed with the quality of stock used in the cover. The paper holds the colours very well, and it feels great! This doesn't just look like a comic book, it looks and feels like a SPECIAL comic book! oooOOOooooo. After going back and reading Issue #1, I read this new installment and was really, really pleased with how it all came together. Despite the time in between the issues, and the plot revisions, and all the other work involved, the story held together very well, and picked up where it was left off. The art is a definite improvement from Issue #1, and contrary to my previous feelings about grayscale, I really liked the feel it conveyed here. All in all I thought it looked, and read really well. Really professional if I do say so myself.

Then there's all the extra content as well! There's a veritable walk through of the contest in this book, and it was a great reminder of all the hard work put into this. Half my year was spent working on this project! Six months of drawing, editing, rolling with the punches of public comments, and judge's criticisms. While this has all served to better me and The Underground, it was a stressful six months. But I can look back now with this book in my hands...see all the hard work...see the progress...and one thing becomes clear. I wouldn't change it for anything. I am again thankful to Ian Shires, and Dimestore Productions for this remarkable experience. Most importantly, to all the supporters of the Underground. To my amazing wife and son. To all of my family for the unbelievable levels of support throughout this experience. I couldn't have done it without you.

Thanks again to everyone, I hope you enjoy. When you've had the chance to read yours, check out the Facebook group and share your thoughts with other supporters, voters, and promoters.

Building the Bombardier Beetle Cannon

As promised, here's the next step of the designs for this Bombardier Canon....gotta come up with a cool name for it! What I did here was lay a sheet of tracing paper over the original drawing of the Bombardier Beetle, so I could block out his body. When I had a light outline of the beetle itself I started sketching the mandatory components of this artillery piece. I would like the end result to be something which has been decorated by it's users and well used. In doing so it's easy to lose track of how something works. And that needs to be a priority, the construction needs to appear as though it could work. So this canon is operated by a rider who pulls a lever (A), which through the workings of some gears and pulleys pulls a hook (B) which is pierced into the clavicle area of the beetle. The chief 'herder' will position himself at the head of the beast (which is shrouded to ensure the beast's confusion, and response to the hook), and push a long pole with a fork at the end under the head of the beetle. By pushing the beetle's head up, the tug of the hook is more uncomfortable. When the beast feels threatened it will release a volatile fluid from its abdomen (D). The ant rider 'steers' the abdomen in order to aim the burning blast. In hopes of better focusing the spray the ants will often fasten a cone to the bombardier's abdomen.
And that's that. It sounds like it could work...kinda...it's a comic of bugs, work with me here! The cool thing is that Bombardiers really do spray a one hundred degree fluid from their abdomen as a defense mechanism. The typically make a loud 'pop' noise when it happens as well. In any case, the next step is some more tracing paper, and moving on to the extra stuff, the bells and whistles, and then I'll throw some ink into it, and we should have a pretty rocking artillery piece!

Growing with The Underground

So I've been working on designing this 'bug artillery piece'. And it's really interesting how a simple idea can not only progress into a much more complex concept, but also open your eyes to the long road behind you! While doing some plans for 'The Underground #2: Bad Seeds', Chris and I came up with the idea to develop a large cannon type weapon, which utilizes the explosive capabilities of the Bombardier Beetle. I want this design to appear as though it works (I'm not a weapon designer, or an engineer, bear with me I draw bugs!), and also represent the ramshackle nature of construction that I feel the insects would use. In order to make this invention as consistent and believable as possible, I knew I'd have to build it in layers. With that said, I'll be posting each of the steps here in the bugs blog so you can see how the idea comes together.

But before gettting to the first image, I'd like to explain what I found as I was designing this contraption. In the earlier days of the Underground, as much research as I was doing, the world was not 'insect' enough. I was still thinking in very humanoid terms and forms. The biggest tell-tale sign was in the anatomy of the creatures, particularly any beasts of burden. The Bombardier Beetle is one such beast, and the old problem was once again glaring me in the face. I put alot of time into breaking down the design of this insect, before even beginning on the cannon apparatus itself. When the Bombardier Beetle was drawn, I sat back, and could immediately see the difference. I'm not sure if the vast majority of readers will notice, but I do. And moving forward, as we add more and more new creatures into the story, I am more confident than ever that we are definitely getting better at what we do. And THAT should really mean something. Whether you notice how insect-like the creatures look, or how accurate the scaling has become, or not; one thing's for certain, you're sure to be drawn deeper into this world of mine. The question now becomes....can you find your way out again?