I am going sleepless and you're out of lullabies

[reflectedeve]

Thank fucking goodness it’s a three-day weekend. I may, at times, have wondered if I was blowing this time of year out of proportion a bit, but really, not so much. Once again, I’m grateful that the windows on my floor don’t open – defenestration of particularly uncooperative faculty members does get a bit tempting now and then. (Seven more months ... and only three more weeks of Admissions season. I'll just keep daydreaming about dyeing my hair outrageous colors the second I can do that again, and maybe other things too.)

It’s just as well that bandom has eaten my brain again, really; it’s a pretty great distraction. A few days ago, I randomly dreamed that Greta Salpeter asked me out on a date and we cuddled in the middle of a big, sunny field (there was some sort of festival setting up nearby). My subconscious isn’t usually so fluffy, but it was nice. Of course, it’s probably only a matter of time before all the Grant Morrison-related ephemera I’ve been consuming catches up to me. (I watched the Disinfo speech a few days ago. I don’t even know, nor am I sure I want to. I do want to finally get back to reading The Invisibles, though.)

Seriously, how did this even happen? Fandom in comics and comics in fandom … I’ve watched the Talking With Gods documentary twice in the last week, so I suppose fanart is only a matter of time, really. Particularly since I seem to have made illustrating jjtaylor my fannish occupation of late.

Speaking of which! It was her birthday yesterday, a fact which helped me decide which scene from “The Detective’s Secret” I’d play with next. (I have a longish list.) Hope you like it, bb; happy belated! ♥



On the topic of comics and fandom, I may have to dabble in doing more than just illustration, because even this was incredibly fun. I hope I’ve done Dewees a little bit of justice; he’s challenging in a number of ways, and I honestly don’t have a particularly fleshed-out image of him BEYOND JJ’s zombie character (who persistently speaks in pandarus’s voice, in my head).

It occurred to me recently that I miss using this space for conversation, rather than just as a slightly talky gallery. I’ve seriously gotten out of the habit of commenting and communicating on DW/LJ, and I’m finding getting back into it something of a challenge. Definitely want to do better on that.

In a slightly more interactive vein (and to prove that I do in fact have other fandoms still): there’s an interest-gauging poll going on for trekreversebang right now! That’s the reverse Star Trek bigbang where ficcers sign up to write stories based on fanart; an awesome idea that I’d love to see spread around a bit more. You guys should check it out.

Before I go work on my actual minicomic for awhile, one more thing I have to share: the spectacle of Pete Wentz interviewing himself. I still love his stupid face.

Comments

[were_duck]

Ugh, I am so sorry to hear you have to go through beginning-of-semester heaps of admin stress, too. I so hear you on faculty defenestration.

DEWEES! I love the scenes you picked here, and can I just say I am always so impressed with your background details?? Like, the wood grain and wallpaper and different textures of coats and the rug and everything, it's really beautiful and sets the characters off. I think you did a great job on Dewees, too :)

BTW have you seen this Dewees primer?? JJ linked it to me once and I was SOLD at Dewees in a bathtub of skittles. Even if you have seen it it is always worth revisiting, imo. DEWEES.

[turlough]

Nice fandom dreams is always a Good Thing!

That's such a great Dewees montage! I think I like the wardrobe picture the best. That scene made a strong impression on me when I read it and you've really captured the strangeness of it. I also really like the way you've indicated the different fabrics. It's very cool.

I've always thought that a reverse big bang sounds like such a fabulous idea. It would be so cool if bandom could have one. I remember theopteryx talking about it last year, or maybe it was even longer ago. Nothing came of it though.

[omens]

O_O I want to do trekreversebang - I think I might have flunked out of that last year, actually... *ponders* A bandom one would be amazing.

Fandom dreams = ftw. I rarely have them, but I almost made out with Bert McCracken one time which was STRANGE, as I (very) rarely kiss dudes in my dreams. Strange on top of strange! ...but awesome.

Aaaaanyway, I love your hatching, dude, and how you make the stuff that needs to stand out, stand out. If that makes sense. The fountain one is my favourite (<3) and his :( faaace in the last.

[jjtaylor]

This is incredible. Seriously, I love the scenes you've chosen, oh my god, Dewees, and how they're all with Frank even when Frank's just out of the scene and how that matters so much. Ugh. Dewees under the table, and how he's just like, "I do" and his sleeve holders and the fucking pattern of the carpet holy christ and how Frank is just out of the scene, and then hiding in the coat rack, god, it's so funny, just his hand with the gloves and those lovely coats and Frank's surprised face, and Dewees walking along the pool and how that scene just kills me, and his REFLECTION and the gas lamp and the fence and Frank's total "what the fuck, man" body language. And then GRETA (hair!!!) and the detail of the wallpaper and fire around him his sad, sad face ughhhhh. I love the way you draw Dewees, he's wonderful and these scenes just make my heart break for him in this story. <33333333

[reflectedeve]

Yeah, it's really not my favorite thing ... but at least it should be the last time! Next year I'll be in graduate school making comics. :) That makes it quite a bit more bearable.

Aw, thank you so much! I have a lot of fun filling in tiny little bits like that; one of my favorite things about illustrating other peoples' stories is that I find it inspires me to find better set pieces to fill in the scenarios I imagine from the text. That's harder with original work, somehow.

I went through that for reference images (JJ linked me, naturally), but I haven't actually read it yet. I should! Apart from the Detective Agency portrayal, my main frame or reference for Dewees remains the time I saw him at a Reggie/Leathermouth show a couple years back, screaming out at the crowd in a pair of tiny pink shorts. Still haven't quite adjusted to the dissonance. ;)

[reflectedeve]

I'm definitely not complaining! :)

Hee, thank you. yeah, it was actually the wardrobe scene that really made me have to draw this - it was so clear in my head when I read it. Such a delightfully absurd moment.

It can be hard to get that sort of thing off the ground ... I would be all over it, though. :) I love illustrating for writers, but the reversal would be a neat experience.

[reflectedeve]

I had a lot of trouble with my trekreversebang piece last year, actually ... I was never totally satisfied with it. It was more challenging than I expected, somehow, but I'm dying to try it again! And yeah, I would be all over a bandom one.

I don't have fandom dreams often either, but they are pretty entertaining! I actually made my roommate dream about MCR a few months back (the only song she really knows is Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na) because I'd been talking about them so much, which was hilarious.

Thank you! :D

[reflectedeve]

Aw, well, I am glad you like it. ♥ Dewees is an incredible mix of comedy and tragedy in the story, and I had to find some way to get that into the same image, I guess? Of course, this particular set doesn't cover everything, but it seemed right to frame it in terms of the first geis. Smaller moments.

I love the way this is working lately ... you write something, I have to draw it, and then you narrate it back to me from my artwork. :D