SPLORT!
The climax is here, Daredevilers, which means it is time to blow the proverbial doors off this sucker! We scoffed at the time tested adage, “Go BIG or go HOME” and decided that the only way to payoff over a year’s worth of conflict with fiction’s GREATEST monster/villain was to go HUGE!
With that in mind, what you are looking at this week is the FIRST half of the FIRST ever Deep Dive Daredevils DOUBLE-PAGE SPLASH! Ya see, a while back I was thinking about the eventual future of DDD in print (did I just say that out loud?) and I realized that because of the site’s layout we had never thought of or even attempted a double-page splash. Well, I could not let that stand, obviously, so I set out to create a double-page layout that would work as two individual pages in webcomic form and as a double-page spread in print.
Well, after much thinking and consternation, I had a plan. I then pitched it to Dan and Evin, and while they gave it the go ahead, I could tell by the looks on their faces that they had their doubts. I am convinced that the only reason they gave it the green light was because they knew as well as I did that we had an ace in the hole to help pull this crazy idea off – Danilo Guida! I guarantee you that most artists when faced with such a task would probably respond with some manner of colorful metaphor, but, if I remember correctly, Danilo’s response was, “No problem, sounds like fun.” And, the rest is history!
Be here NEXT WEEK to see the second half of the spread and decide for yourself whether we pulled it off or not! Also, just how in the heck did Abigail get herself un-skewered, and what is the final fate of Dracula? All of that and more SHOCKING twists are waiting for you just 7 days in the future! The question is can you possibly maintain your sanity until then? In the meantime, make sure to RSS, Like, of Follow to tide yourself over with supplementary content.
Speaking of supplementary content, there is no new Sunday Bonus Lunch this week. Boo. Hiss. Apparently, Evin’s got too much homework or something…cry me a river, dude. Try getting literally ANYTHING done with a newborn that eats every 2 hours and a three year-old running around. Somehow I manage. Time to man up, hoss.
Anyway, till next week!
-Matt-
I’m going to guess that page 2 of the splash will not show a very happy look on the bid D’s face, but “SPLORT” just sounds better in my head than “CHOCK”!
I guess that is what you get for watching too much reality TV…
Yeah, I think Drac not being a happy guy is a pretty safe bet.
So, I´m an ace in the hole?
That doesn´t sound very decent…
HAHAHA! Trust me, my friend, it may translate badly but it is most certainly a compliment.
Maybe I should have said, “Ace up our sleeve?”
Yeah! That sounds more accurate. The other sounds as a Deveraux-McGinty kind of joke… Ha!
“Splort” most certainly not the last thing I’d ever want to hear before dieing. Hmmm the doc hatched a plan…why do I get the feeling the saxon tart might have gotten lose in part due to the doc.
“SPLORT” really seems to have struck a nerve. It just seemed the most appropriate sound effect considering the copious amount of blood erupting from Drac’s chest. It has a “wet” feeling to it, which is I guess what makes it kind of a gross sound.
“I’m a leader, I’m a winner/And I’m cleaner, ’cause I’m awesome!
I don’t need you, ’cause I’m neato/And I beat you, ’cause I’m awesome!”
–Because I’m Awesome, by The Dollyrots
That is now officially Abigail’s theme song.
I love it how you draw Abigail’s face, with so much ugly, unbecoming rage. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like that before, in a heroine.
She’s no Emma Peel, that’s for sure; John Steed would be shocked.
What we can infer is that agent Bumpass did a good job teaching her skills and training her endurance, but failed miserably at educating her propriety. (We knew that already … and Bumpass admitted it, too, if with reluctance. You delivered on that promise; surprising yet inevitable.)
And if Abigail threw out all conventions about being a lady, or even a badass female hero, so did you with those of storytelling.
You slash the tropes like you slash the villains.
PS: Please provide a means to view the double-page splash as a whole, once the other half is posted.
Yeah, I love the way Danilo drew Abigail on this page too. Between the look on her face and the fire rising up around her, you could almost say that she was the demon!
Revenge is an ugly thing, regardless of whether it is justified or not.
And, definitely, there will be link to view the spread all together in the blog next week.