Hello All, 

Time once again for a little insight as to the comic that I do. So lets go over it a bit, first off I really did enjoy Avatar, and doing some research into how James Cameron made the movie made me love it all the more. I mean real time motion capture, and re-inventing 3D cameras? MY GOD! the film geek in me experienced a joygasim and a half! That said the reason for the title of the comic “Ferngully + Smurfs + Aliens = Magic” is because thats how I felt walking away from the theater. “Haven’t I seen that basic plot before?” and Yes it felt like someone meshed the afore mentioned movies together but on retrospect, I have tasted cheese before but that does not mean that same cheese mixed with a sauce and noodles wont make a lasagna that is all the better for its combination! So to that I say “WELL DONE Mr. Cameron!”  for so many reasons! and I am glad he won awards for his work! they are well deserving! it is a visually stunning piece that I enjoyed from start to finish! 

So on to the comic itself. Since its no small secret that Doug the Dog is based on me…. if this is news I refer you to our similar names; And when I was a kid, like most kids when I saw a movie or TV show I liked I tried to BE that movie, dressing up, playing pretend and all that fun! Well, as I took on the character of Doug the Dog I basically decided he had to embody some of those youthful and playful parts of my childhood in his semi adult years. To that end, playing Avatar seemed like a fun option. Also coloring him as a Ni’Ve was such fun! and after inking this piece there was no way I was going to let it remain in black and white! At first I planned to have him holding the arrow ready to shoot but found that covered his face too much. So I opted for the “just shot the arrows” look, this also turned out to be more fun to have a few lodged in Backslash’s backpack! I also only drew one panel for this strip, intending the entire amount of dialog to fit in the empty space around the characters. Once I got to the layout stage I really liked the idea of having the scream break up the action more, so I added the second face frame then. For time sake I decided not to go with my first option to fix this which was to redraw a second panel with an angry looking Backslash and a missing Doug, though comical (and that is the intent of this strip after all) Deadlines loomed so I went with the close up on the face instead. 

I really am glad to getting back to full color strips and hope to do a lot more. I have been working out a few story lines that I am really stoked to get under way. New characters, new adventures, and more about the world our Dog House friends live in.

till then all hope you have a great day! and check back Wednesday for the next update! 

Comic #55