Control

in which our hero wishes he were more like Sleeping Beauty… or maybe Janet Jackson

Dear Readers,

Way back in January, when I was working on the script for issue 2 of The Blood of Seven Queens, I mentioned here in the newsletter that I was focusing on making my version of Sleeping Beauty a more active participant in her own story. I wasn’t interested in telling another damsel in distress story. If my character was going to fall asleep for 100 years, I wanted it to be by choice. And so, that’s what I wrote. And this week I’m proud to share a sneak peek at what that moment looks like when visualized.

The image of Aesling O’Briar (my Sleeping Beauty) holding her finger above the spinning wheel is one of my favorite moments in the comic so far. I just love how much power she has in the situation she finds herself in. I just love how much control she has, how much control she’s taken over what could be a out-of-control situation.

Honestly, this week I find myself jealous of her. I don’t feel like I have any control over anything lately.

But I digress. Here’s another sneak peek.

Something else I’ve had a lot of fun with over the past few weeks is looking up different comic book sound effects from years gone by, trying to find just the right one for a given scene. The Comic Book Sound Effect Database has been an invaluable resource for this. I can’t even believe that such a thing exists, but I adore that it does.

Otherwise, I might’ve forgotten that THOOM was an option. And I might never have realized that I could add FZZZZAKK to my repertoire.

What you’re seeing now are the fruits of many hard days and weeks of labor at the computer. Some of these scenes, which end up taking up only 1/9th of a page, are taking me days and days and days to compose—as much time, or sometimes more than I spend on creating a pinup or a cover. I need to get better at this. I’m working to get better at it. But for now, I’m just going to be happy that I get to a good place with each piece eventually—even if eventually sometimes feels like it’s slipping further and further away.

Alrighty. Well, that’s that for this week. Paid subscribers, keep on scrolling for your look at pages 5-8 of issue 2. Everyone else, I’ll see you back here next Wednesday.

Yours,
Chris