Author notes

#34 - SuperMilo Case File

CartoonistWill

on Sept. 14, 2011

Hey, everybody!
Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've been UBER busy. I worked 55 hours of work last week and this week I'm working 32, so I've found a little time to do some artwork. I'm still working hard on the 2nd Andy the Pug children's book - this one is Halloween themed whereas the last was Christmas - but I thought I'd take some time to do a SuperMilo right quick. I originally wasn't going to color this and was going to scrap it, but I decided it wasn't all that bad. I kind of like this one and will color the Stripes case file and make more for the other main characters. I originally introduced the Stripes' Poetry chapter here (or whatever we should call it) to introduce the characters using these case files. I later realized the flaw of introducing characters this way when it is so much better to introduce them slowly to the readers through the story itself, but, well, it's not exactly like SuperMilo is a masterpiece of mine. It's kind of like my Sand Box or, as one friend put it, the "Kitty Litter Box" of my practicing around with different artistic techniques and story telling elements. Anyway, coloring the case files also helps me keep the comic going because I haven't drawn more new strips yet past these two case files. But I will when I can get around to it.
 
A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES OF SUPERMILO:
Right now I've looked back over my scripts for the first 100+ strips of SuperMilo and I have to admit that, although there are gems of stories  I can't wait to tell within those first 100 strips, most of them are bad and hold no importance to the overall story line. So I plan on going through and tightening the story arcs and gags and tossing out anything unneeded. I guess I wrote it that way because in the beginning I had no intended direction for the story to go and that SuperMilo was naturally a gag-a-day strip. But now I've set a continuing story arc up and I plan on following through with that and connecting it all more tightly. I have to admit, I think I need to go back and finally do the main series' origin story as well. Set up everything that happens in the origin before something in the strip - which takes place after the origin story, respectively - contradicts and conflicts with the origin story. I've written a LOT of back story and future stories with the hope that this can be very tight, but I've written far too much for the future and haven't been thinking a lot about the SuperMilo series since I've been working on commission work and have been working my new job. Speaking of some of which I have written, I'm hoping to have some special stories that will only appear in print to entice people to buy the books since you can read the comic strip here for free. Among them is SuperMilo's full origin story along with some origins and other backstory tales of the other characters.
 
UPDATE ON THE CHILDREN'S BOOK:
Speaking of the children's book earlier, my client Kelly Morrison has decided to no longer look for a publisher at this time. There was one very interested in New York but which requires Kelly to hire an agent, which is something that complicates things. Ah, well, it was exciting while it lasted, eh?
 
CONVENTION SCHEDULE CHANGE:
I and the rest of MiloTeam will no longer be appearing at InfiniCon, Winston-Salem's only comic book convention that I know of, this October 2011 as originally scheduled. Due to financial problems of my own I have decided that it is best to wait until next year, InfiniCon 2012, to return. We may however set up table at WTH Con in Greensboro in February 2012, but it depends upon finances at that time. This is a very sad decision that I had to make as I was hoping to be at InfiniCon to support it every year from the first InfiniCon onward, but it is for the best. I also cannot appear as a normal con-goer, sadly, as I am scheduled to work that day and do not know if I could take a day off and cannot afford to if I could.