Why Page 7 Cost Me Thousands of Dollars

I took a few days off this last week to stare at the ocean and consider the future, both mine and SiP’s. I have drafted the ending several times but it continues to be a living breathing entity that cannot be nailed down. I think and plot and write and do all the things you’re supposed to do, but the truth is when I am on the right track the pages get done, when I’m on the wrong track the work comes to a complete stop. Case in point: the last page I completed before my trip was page 6. Page 7 was penciled, lettered, a bit of scratchy inkwork, then all progress on it stopped. I was confounded, something wasn’t right but I couldn’t figure out what. You may picture my brain sorting through the details in an orderly fashion like Sherlock Holmes contemplating clues. Nope. When the page is not right my thoughts about it are a gray screen. I’ve got nothin’, as if I’ve lost the signal from my muse. Days can pass before anything happens again. I’ve learned this is common with creative workers. Director Mike Nichols said to not freak out when these periods happen, the down time is just as important as the “on” time. So, I left the studio, I stared at the beach, watched the people, ate my fish dinners, stared at the movie playing silently on the back of the seat in front of me in the dark airplane crossing the Pacific at night. Nothing happening in my head. When I try to think about the story all I can muster is the occasional lightweight inventory, “Yep… Strangers in Paradise… SiP… lot of books… well, let’s see, there’s Katchoo… and Francine… and some other people… look at the belly on that man over there – can’t be comfortable. Ooh, drink cart time.”

You see what I’m talking about? Then I get home, sit at the table, read what I had before I left, see it clearly as if for the first time, throw out page 7 altogether, even though there was a nice panel of Casey saying something good, and rewrite the page from scratch in a totally different direction. By the end of the day (despite jetlag) I have a finished page 7 and a very good moment captured with Katchoo that explains a lot and sets the tone for the rest of the issue and more. Weird. I just have to trust the process. It would be interesting to write a superhero whose powers operated the same way… on, off, lives at stake, figure it out-is it a zen thing? sunspots? mystical? physical? lives at stake, must learn answer, lives…

So, anyway, here is what I stared at for 7 days between pages 6 and 7 of issue 87… without a thought in my head. I guess you could simply say I was empty and tanking up, but that’s so less theatrical than the dramatic angst I just whined about for 500 words.

There’s a nice podcast review of SiP 86 at iFanBoy. They’re a very entertaining group. They really know their comics and between the three guys they cover the spectrum. Interesting to see how they balance each other out from 3 angles. http://www.ifanboy.com/podcast.html

Saw a preview of the new Stephen King comic (coming soon) drawn by Jae Lee. Looks great.
I will be checking that one out.

Got a prototype of the Katchoo statue from Clayburn Moore. Looks very nice. I asked for a little tweak in color if possible. They are trying to ship her before the Chinese New Year.

I also saw the clay rough-up of the Katchoo figue coming soon from Shocker Toys. They captured a good attitude for her. A little tweaking to be done but she should turn out nice. You know, it’s not easy for these sculptors to render an ordinary girl with no distinctive costume or anything. A lot easier to sculpt Wonder Woman than Francine. Wonder Woman looks different depending on who draws her, but you always know it’s WW by the costume and black hair. With Katchoo or Francine, you have to get their face just right otherwise they could be anybody. My next series will just feature hand tools in capes. Everybody will recognize a hammer in a cape.
Okay, off to do page 8 and praying it doesn’t require a trip to Europe to figure it out. Wish me luck.