Wednesday, June 13, 2007

CSI:Fables


I'm starting the entry off with James Jeans' provocative cover for this issue to take the sting out of what follows...which is nothing short of a gory exhumation and forensic reconstruction of the body of work that I submitted as Issue Ten. As I drew the issue, the Fables Forces had to initiated a tactical "re-arrangement" while on the march and Issue Ten became Issue Nine in order to protect the fast moving flanks of the Fables Juggernaut from enfilade. I love my crew, so it was no biggie.
I say "forensic" because the work and files sorta got lost in the wriggly-wrinkles of my brain, across the desktops and in the zippedy-zot wafers of two computers and suspended my email accounts data column going months back. I've spent over an hour reconstructing the corpse for this entry. Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty awesome corpse! I'm just trying to be clever. Which hurts...
Some of the DNA sequencing is spotty; Pages 9 and 10 are not loadable to this server, so you'll have to take your impression of these missing bits of evidence from the coroner's breaks. OK, you get my point...so don your latex gloves, protective goggles (or your "Sunglasses of Justice")and make sure David Caruso doesn't sidle up next to me during the autopsy(that guy creeps me large).

Begin breaks; you'll notice that until others on the crew noticed and yanked my leash, I was trying to sail Jack with a rougish Van Dyke. Time and degrees of grooming figure into every life. So Jack's chin-whiskers went the way of Anne Coulter's panties at a GOP fundraiser. No lie. But I just pretended that there was radio interference when they said to loose Gary's beard, too.

I don't care how many starts you seem to have, the first page is always anxiety-ridden and awkward. For me at least. It's like I don't know dick about the book from the last issue. Seriously, until Cinders reminded me that I had forgotten to post this issue, I had forgotten about drawing this issue!

Noelle is inspired by a woman I dated a couple of years back. I believe that some women, like C, reach a "critical mass" in scale and beauty and either go bonkers or become super-models. C was the former. We'd get together and by the end of the night I'd wonder why I didn't think bring a shovel and a sack of lime.

As Shelly says, "This is a "hair" book."

This breakdown of of pages 4,5 and 6 are the last of this degree of scratching we'll see. Somewhere between this page and the next, a matter of an hour or less, I picked up a Hunt 513 and started using it to bring something more indelible to this stage of work. And when I say "indelible" I mean "lovely-and-all-wise-editor proof" :~D
Well,damn! He's INKED it! It must be good!

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"


OK, so does panel 4 (below) read? I wanted Jack to appear to place dramatic emphasis on the dialog here by thrusting his junk into the air.

Here's them new breaks I was yammering about. Shiny, huhn?

Pages 7-8 contain some nice low-angle shots of Lady Lucks', um...demeanor. Advantageous this angle is in showing the contrails of airliners that may or may not be in the favor of her fortune.



Pages 9 and 10 I'll load at a later time. The files were Carusoed, I mean, corrupted .





You know, all those years storyboarding condescending talking waffles, obsequious boxes of tampons, feral dogs fugitive from the Outback selling car wax, spelling bunnies spared from predation and dancing dinnerware that disregard the Sabbath really pay off on this page!
Fuck! Look at those bastards jump!





Yes, that's the coveted iPhone.







Throughout the this arc I tried to present the casino as a real castle whenever and where ever possible.


Hey look! Bonus stuff! These are the attempts to beard-up our scoundrels for this arc.

Well, that's all I've got...keep reading Fables and Jack of Fables! But I don't have to tell you to do that, do I? Trust me, what's coming is so phuct up...It makes the Bush Administration look like Jessica Biel's butt: flawless.
h.e.

5 comments:

clmcshane said...

Everyone I've met is creeped out by the "Sunglasses of Justice", Tony.
I would confess just to get away from Caruso.

Oh - first off I love the hair, and I love the panel where Jack is running away with Noelle's head.

I think Page 6/Panel 4 reads very well. In fact, I use JoF as an example of comic art with cheesecake appeal for both men and women.

When you draw characters in the classic cheesecake positions, (Gold in the splash at the end of JoF#1, Jack whenever he is showing off for the ladies), they all have an attitude about them that confident and self-aware. And you never draw bodies in unnatural positions unless you are drawing Jack breaking himself.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't think I've thanked you (Or Bucky) for giving me the knowledge that I can pick up JoF and know in advance that the ladies won't be missing vital internal organs or that I won't be thrown out of the story by going "But she wouldn't be threatening to kill Jack while arching her back and doing a hip thrust!"

I really do appreciate it above and beyond my enjoyment of your very pretty pictures. Oh yeah, Naked Jack is great too, almost as much fun as "broken into bits" Jack, and smug-as-a-bug Jack.

Also, thanks again for showing and commenting on the breakdowns and the pencils. But what is the tale surrounding "spelling bunnies spared from predation"?

Tony Akins said...

Hey Cinders!
any bunny that can read a tagline or a sign for a Blockbusters video store must be able to spell, too!
Happily, neither Bucky or I will ever be accused of being a "Clone". I'll always try to chose naturalism over stylized manner every time (except when Jack's eyes bug out in peril, that's priceless mugging).
My heroes will always break zippers and slip bra straps. Count on it!
Where do you use JoF as example? You work in an ASYLUM?

clmcshane said...

The bunny and guinea pig in the petstore window commercials for Blockbuster? THAT bunny?

Do I work in an ASYLUM? Well, I work in IT for a high-tech company - the sort where the Nerf weaponry is regularly broken out for intercube warfare. You decide.

clmcshane said...

P.S. Jack's eyes should always bug out in peril, especially right after he's had one of the "smug-as-a-bug- I am such a hot bastard -I rule" looks on his face.

Your facial expressions rock.

Tony Akins said...

Yeah, THAT bunny. The studio where I was working at the time storyboarded that campaign. Franklin Campbell was the artist. Google Envisionaire and you'll find the studio, Carol, Franklin, Lenin...they're all still there. I was given a reprieve :~)