Phase 7 #012: BARCODE!

Wed 9/19/2007

This week I have been working on Phase 7 #012, which will also be available at SPX. As I indicated in Phase 7 #011, this latest issue is a collection of older material, to tide people over while I am working (SLOWLY) on the next chapter of Basewood.

And so, for the first time ever, I am putting my very first comics story, BARCODE, into print. There are probably only a few people who will be really excited about this (Tom, I mostly mean you!) but for everyone else, it will at least finally answer the question about why I draw my stick figures with barcodes on their foreheads.

Make no mistake! This was my very first attempt at telling a story with comics. So it is definitely pretty rough around the edges. But somewhere inside it (DEEP inside it) you can see my style trying to find itself. And even though some parts are obviously pretty bad, there are a few ideas in this story that I still really love.

I drew it SIX YEARS AGO, before I knew ANYTHING about comics materials. So unfortunately it was inked with india ink... on regular copy paper. :( I have scanned in all the pages and now I'm painstakingly going through and touching up all the lettering in Photoshop, to make it legible. I swear: at the time, on that paper, I was unable to ink a discernible G, E, A, M, S, F, W, R, D, X, 9 or 6. Which spells trouble for touch-ups! Ah well, as I told my Dad on Sunday, this will be the "digitally remastered special edition." :)

I'm also adding new chapter title pages, plus this issue's got a huge four-page letters column with drawings and Basewood pinups from Arlene O'Leary, Chris Schweizer and Matthew Reidsma!

I suspect this will probably be the one and only printing of Barcode, so get your copy in October! It'll be 64 pages for $5.00 Until then, I have posted the first chapter over in the comics section if people want to check it out. BEEP!