And wham! Something has popped out of the Conjurian. Ya, I know we're not heading directly into the Conjurian for a good while, but I wanted elements from that world to crossover into Savachia's story. Things are picking up some steam, and there's more complications to come for the poor street hustler. He's stepped into a dandy of a wasps' nest.Also, I have some ultra cool news coming about the webcomic's future. Should be able to announce it very soon.
And he's back! Remember? The creepy dude, sitting in the tree outside the magic shop? Eating doughnuts? Well, I hadn't forgotten him and goodness knows he was dieing to get back in the action.This is where the fun of writing happens. In my outline, I had a few notes for this page. Firstly, bring back the doughnut eating Watcher (and his crow). Second, I knew the scene was going to be creepy, him standing over Savachia's Mom and all. What I didn't know, till he started talking, was that he has a history with dear Mrs. Savachia. Well, that threw me. So, I still have my outline. I know where all this ends because of Savachia's role in the novel. However, some of the stuff coming will be as much a surprise to me as for you. Kinda cool.What I do know is that things are going to escalate faster and faster. There be some battlin' a comin'. Nothing is ever what it seems when dealing with magicians.
Now to find out what's in the secret room. Just not the way Savachia thought he was going to find out. Wait till the next episode. A little surprise, even for me!
Surprise performance. Nothing like planning a robbery and then having a surprise magic show sprung on ya. Especially when you've never performed magic before. What exactly is Ray up to?
A ticking clock. The pressure's ratcheting up on Savachia. He's going to have to move fast and bold. Might be a few unexpected happenings in his way.On a side note, I'll start posting other materials related to the Conjurian this week. A brief history of the secret world and also a new ongoing feature. I think you'll enjoy them.And as always, there are so many surprises coming! Leave a comment and let me know what you think so far.
A meeting in the back room. And what war? Oh it's coming. There will of course be some battles before the showdown. We got a ways to go before that happens. Savachia's life is about to get even more twisted.
So they know. But how much do they know? Do they know what Savachia is looking for? Next episode you may find out a bit more. And you might just see a hint at something much different going on.
Savachia has barely begun to weave his web and already, fraying a bit at the edges. But now, what are Ray and Eugene up to? And is Savachia going to come clean about why he's really there? Things are going to start twisting up faster and faster now.How do like the pacing so far? Too slow? Not enough info?
Who's this guy? He is based on a real magician and it is based, loosely, on a real experience. Same as this shop is inspired by my old magic shop back in Mass. One Saturday at the shop I had the wonderful happenstance to pick through spirit slates with thee Eugene Burger. My fellow magicians know who he is. Now if you haven't heard of him, pop his name into Youtube and I'm sure one of his mesmerizing performances will kick up.
Aaaaaaand I'm back. Yup, been quite awhile. Things on the novel side of "The Conjurers" are mired in some circle of development purgatory. However, I love this world and of course I love magic. So, I scraped the cobwebs off my legs and got off the publishing waiting room couch (which is oddly similar to the waiting room in Beetlejuice sans the shrinking head guy) and stormed back to the drawing table to tell this story.The comic will update once a week, for now. I've written up an actual production schedule. If that goes well, and I can keep up with my other projects, I'll increase updates to twice a week. We'll see. The main thing is that I got the train creaking along again. There are way to many stories swirling around The Conjurian to let fade away.
Bit of a gap between pages. Sorry about that. However the reason for the delay is, I think, a decent one. Talks are back on regarding the Conjurers novel. Hopefully they end with a deal. Either way the comics shall continue.
Page sixteen. Savachia's getting the ol' magician's test to see if he's serious about magic. It's actually a fairly common practice in the real world. Most people loose interest after learning the working bits of a trick. If someone does master a trick you teach them, then there's a chance they have the bug.And, again, the interiors of the shop are fairly close to the store I based it on, except of course for the secret door. In the real shop, there is a door in that location that opens into a mini parlor complete with a stage. Always loved that about the shop so I took some liberties with it in the strip. And I am certainly taking liberties with the things that room contains. You'll just have to wait a bit for that.
And now we see a bit of Tenyo's personality. She makes a cactus feel smooth.Oh and a note on the "Blaine Package". I personally don't prescribe to that way of thinking, which is that David did tricks anyone could pick up at a shop and perform. Just borrowed that sentiment for Tenyo.Won't bore you with a magic lecture. Suffice it to say that the methods don't matter. The reaction and effect it has on the spectator is what counts. Posting this now before I jog off into a rant.
Late again. But I had to appease the Dog eat Doug deadline before finishing this page. The interior of the magic shop is fairly close to the actual shop it's based on. I know, cool huh?There's two other intriguing aspects to the real life magic store and both will play a roll in the comic. So, as you can guess, I'm not going to tell you now.
A day late but not a comic short. This one took a bit for a couple reasons. I have the entire story plotted but when I hit this page I realized it could be combined with the next page. So I scrapped them both and wrote this hybrid page.And yes, this shop is based on a real magic store. I used to live right down the street. And it's a magician's magic store. By that I mean, unless you're a magician, you would never know it existed. Yet a parade of who's who in the magic world parade through the closet sized store whenever they're in town.A little side story for my magician pals: One Saturday at the shop I got to spend the afternoon browsing through and trying out a box of spirit slates and such with Eugene Burger. Now that's a real magic shop!
It's 12:51 in the morning, so technically I missed the Monday deadline. Hopefully this page is interesting enough to be a smidge late. And obviously it opens another plot line. This plot line also ties directly into the novel. And by that I mean the scarred, card manipulating dude is THEE bad guy.
Already on page eight. Just about at the end of act one, which simply means that in the coming pages the plot thickens. A lot. And, from an art perspective, I think the pages will lighten up a tad. Not sooo much heavy texture in the background.Speaking of the art, I'll take some pics of the process for the next page. Experimenting as I go, but I have a relatively simple process so far. It's a messy process which is as I intended. And I need to fill out more of the site. Some pieces on magic and my research for the novel.Any magicians reading? Bet you recognized one at least one of the names I've slipped in so far huh?
A day ate on this one. The holiday and my other strip slowed me down a bit. Yet here it is! Hope this page doesn't feel too crowded. In the original scripts, this bit of exposition took up two pages. I dislike heavy exposition. Especially flashbacks. However, in this case, I felt I had to dip a bit into the past to set the emotional drive for the old couple. Tugs on the heart strings a bit? I hope.
And ever so slowly another layer is peeled back. Hope you're still intrigued. Might run a little contest soon, before I start promoting the strip. Just a thank you for everyone who has come through the doors early and slumped down in a chair for a spell to see what this is all about. Think I'll pull out an original drawing to put up for grabs.Oh, and see those to gents escorting Mac in the last panel? Look familiar? Have a browse back through the archives. I've posted some images of them before. They come up a lot in the novel. It's a lot of fun building something that is interwoven from one end to the other. A bit like building a puzzle from the inside out. Won't really get to piece together the edges until the first novel comes out.
The plot thickens, which also slows down the art production. The next few pages will be interesting. A few glimpses of the shadowy side of magicians. Just a glimpse mind you.In the meantime, if you want a complete story to read (or to read to someone), my new picture book came out last week. It's dark too, so if you like this art I think you'll love "The Prince's New Pet":The Prince's New Pet
