Whoops! Looks like ya lost yer grip there.
The above title was the line I had originally scripted for this page, and I had intended it to go in Panel One. Max Teh Artist kicked up a fuss about this, saying it was too much dialogue for a single action panel and you wouldn’t be able to hear it over the gunshot anyway.
He’s so literal.
Now of course, I myself have been known to gripe about Marvel’s own time-compressed dialogue, such as a heroic character explaining just where the villain slipped up and allowed said heroic character to track them down to their hidden lair and deliver a Righteous Punch of Justice; all of which dialogue takes place during the single aforementioned wallop. But I had come to accept it as part and parcel of Ye Comic Universe, so of course I waxed most indignant when my pencil-grunt began throwing editorial opinion around.
I get no respect.
As I recall, I sent him some alternative dialogue that was basically a long paragraph lifted directly from The Art of War, but he did not find this amusing.
He was apparently trying to justify his position to his brother John, who was in his office at the time, and in the midst of this unseemly rant his brother glanced at the rough sketch and suggested: “Hands off.” I like to think that he was saying the artist should stick to scribbles and leave prose to the professionals, but Max seized upon this and put it in Panel Two, and I am forced to confess I prefer it myself.
John does not often make suggestions, but when he does, they are generally worth heeding. It is his job, during pyro shoots, to keep an eye on me for signs of frenzy or manic intensity or a propensity to go BWUAHAHAHAHAHA!!! and quietly interject the pre-agreed-upon code phrase: “Are you sure we’re not about to do something stupid?”
At which point I take a deep breath and agree to scale something back, or at least make sure the fire extinguisher is nearby.
So anyway, this page is even more of a family collaboration than most. We attempted to get my wife’s input as well to round things out, but she just said it was disgusting.
— Bob out
Artist’s Notes:
I would have preferred no dialogue at all on this page, but I certainly do have an affinity for the great one-liners of the classic 80’s action flicks, so I’m glad compromise was able to be made.
I basically wrote the action for this page anyway- if I recall correctly, the original script had Roland shut the back door, and Fynch just drive the armored car away. But since I was actually drawing the damn thing, and consequently needed to work out all the mechanics and staging, it occurred to me that the door couldn’t be shut yet, because the it was blocked by the crashed sedan and crushed guard. So they had to drive away first, and then shut the door. But what about the crushed guard? And the suitcase he was handcuffed to? They would likely be dragged a few feet and then fall into the street as the car drove away… Roland wouldn’t just let that happen, that’s his loot after all. Maybe could slam the door shut on the guard’s hand and save the suitcase. But that would be inelegant, visually, and out of character.
So, what’s the quickest, evilest way to save the suitcase? Fucking blow the guard’s hand off in one shot. Quality of decision, and all. -Max
_____________________________________
Comments are enabled!
After some internal debate, I’ve decided to activate the comments section. I’d been leery of doing this; I’ve seen what happens on YouTube. But I do believe, given the emails received thus far, that our readers are far more literate and intelligent than the average YouTard. So comments have been switched on — we’ll see how it goes!
First! …. sorry it had to be done.
Great comic, love the artwork and a great story line so far. The one liners are always great and are a wonderful way to get other people interested in a comic. Whenever I laugh at a comic online and my girl asks me ‘what’s so funny?’ it’s a pain to have to explain the whole story line and a character’s entire back-story to understand a single joke. It’s nice to be able to just turn the screen.
And bad guys telling bad jokes makes their ultimate demise that much sweeter.
Keep up the great work!
Yay! So glad you like the artwork! No, you LOVE the artwork! Ahhh, your comments are like waves of pleasure washing over me. Keep ’em coming!
I’ll put in my two cents also. The artwork really is incredible. Max especially does wonders with expressions that say so much, like the guard’s face in the last panel here, and I’ll also point to Max Reaper’s face in the last panel back on page 11. Even through his mask and goggles, his face still shows how he doesn’t want to do this but is feeling maneuvered into it.
I am also greatly enjoying the story, in all of it’s brutal reality, and also Bob’s commentaries. Thank you to all of you!
Excellent story, loving the artwork and all the commentaries. I especially enjoyed Bob’s story about those gentlemen from the 75th Infantry Regiment ( Airborne). I destroyed my knee trying to be among them back in the eighties, and my Ranger Instructors made permanent impressions on my mind and character. One little niggle: what sort of Hollywood handgun is going to blow off an appendage with one shot? Heh, sorry had to bring it up.
Love it. Keep em coming. My only complaint is I get withdrawals from once a week.
Capt Endo,
Just possibly the bad guy is using a Taurus Judge. .410 caliber, .45 or 2.5 inch shotgun shells….that might take a hand off.
Well, as interesting as the Judge is, it’s very unlikely to do so. I’m chalking it up to being a cool scene in a comic:). I’ve seen .44 rounds leave a bloody shattered rag of a limb, but never seen one severed by a single handgun round. Maybe if it were loaded with a lead azide core explosive bullet? Speculative and probably too dangerous to shoot. Thanks anyway, Chip!
Ha ha! The actual firearm was based on a Taurus “Raging Bull” .44 Magnum replica we had lying around here in Airsoft form. Let us speculate for the purposes of comic-book verisimilitude that the impact of a hollowpoint .44 striking the massed carpal bones of the wrist (http://classes.kumc.edu/sah/resources/handkines/bone/wrist.html) at exactly the right angle caused them to shatter in all directions like a “break” in pool, thus shredding the wrist. Yes, Roland got a lucky shot here, but he had the sense to act casual about it afterward.
As part of the Detonation Films effects we once shot a shoulder of pork (barricaded with 50-lb sandbags) with a .357 hollowpoint, hoping to make a nice big exit wound we could decorate with stage blood. To our consternation the bullet struck one of the shoulder blade bones and the whole thing ripped apart (the bullet itself shattered, as it turned out) spraying the staging area with shreds of meat. We even had some sticking to the ceiling. We had to scrape up the remains and sort of smoosh them back together to make an exit wound which could then be digitally superimposed on an actor to simulate a gaping wound. (http://www.detfilmshd.com/Collections_PK_Porkshots.html) (Also used on “Fynch – Page Seven” BTW.)
(The portions of pork that had remained on the staging table were ultimately washed and made into carnitas for Nick and John, because waste not want not.)
So while the artwork is perhaps a stretch, given our experience with a hollowpoint striking bone and the particularly bony makeup of the wrist area, I postulate that Max’s depiction is not entirely impossible. 😉
OK, you’ve got a seriously cool gig! Hey, I’ll trade you, you can keep the bad guys locked up 70 hours a week, and I’ll go play with cameras and ordnance… try it for a week?
and quietly interject the pre-agreed-upon code phrase: “Are you sure we’re not about to do something stupid?”
You guys have the same code phrase and me and my friends!
Btw, comments are NOT enabled further back than the page before this one, so new readers are unable to comment on old pages, dunno if that is by design.
WordPress/Comic Easel have some sort of limit for how far back in the archives you can still make comments. I’ll look into it.
Enjoying the “reality” of the story, the great art, and especially Bob’s blogs, which inevitably wind up making me laugh, think, and/or share with a co-worker (SBLs, by the way, are now legendary).