Thursday, August 20, 2009

Comics on the Road to Nowhere? Pt. 3 of 11: F'ugly Mermaid

The third of our comics experiment definitely started things going in a direction that I preferred, feeling more like the product of an underground comic than the previous two. This also shows signs of my getting more comfortable with the new game. The truth is that this was being drawn while the first two were still unfinished, so the fact that I consider it more successful derives more from the fact that the experiment simply worked better overall here than in the rougher pair with which we began (though I love how the first two came out).

I asked Mark a couple of days later if his opening panel characters on this page were meant to impart a mermaid and three eels underwater, which is how I interpreted his drawing. He shrugged and said he was just drawing figures and didn't attach anything to it. The "mermaid" could be seen as just a hideous girl in a bikini strolling through a garden while a trio of worms protrude from the top of a flower, and if it is so, I rather like that the drawing actually works both ways. You might note that definite water elements don't actually enter the comic until after I establish that she is a mermaid.

Here is comic #3, titled "F'ugly Mermaid," drawn by Mark "Otis" Johnson and Chris "The Eel" Johnson; dialogue by me.

3 comments:

Mark Otis said...

Sweet sweet sweetness! I spoke with Dad tonight, and mentioned he should check these out. Maybe Zak should get the link??

These were much fun. I must admit that not everyone that reads them, really understands them.

I love 'em!

Rik Tod Johnson said...

There is not a single person on earth that understands or "gets" everything that they see or read.

But, since not a single one of my friends has deigned to respond to these yet, I have zero evidence to back that statement up in our case.

Besides, brother, how many people have we met in our lives that have truly gotten or appreciated our form of humor?

Mark Otis said...

You are axagractly correct!

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