This is something I’ve been contemplating for awhile but I think it’s time to pull the trigger on the idea.
Variables is going to go dark for a period of time. Initially, I planned to do this at the end of the second issue but after struggling through page 15 (partially pencilled as of this writing), I’ve noticed that I need to stop production and study up on a few things for a month or two. Over the past year, my art has improved tenfold. But after switching back to the detectives storyline with page 15, I realize that I haven’t drawn women much in the past year. As a result, my ability to draw women realistically has not improved with the rest of my art. I find that unacceptable.
About a year ago, I phoned in a page or two of Variables in the first issue of the 1992 arc. I was so disgusted with the results that I swore I’d never do that again. If I can’t provide the best writing and art possible with every single page, I’m letting down the readership and shouldn’t be creating this comic book in the first place. So, to compensate, I’m literally heading “back to the drawing board”. I’m going to spend a few weeks studying anatomy, sketching pieces, doing pin-up images, that sort of thing. When I’m comfortable with how I draw the ladies again, I’ll return to working on the book. Recently, I’ve also been experimenting with another method of coloring pages and during this time, I’m going to try it out more and see if the results are good enough for the book.
The upside? Well, there is absolutely an upside to this… When I return, I’m going to have a significant page buffer drawn. I’m going to post 2-3 pages a week to compensate for the down time. How long will the site be dark? Well, I haven’t decided that yet. I may post the remainder of issue #2 relatively soon and then work ahead on issue #3 for quite some time before posting it. Essentially, Variables is going to move to a “seasonal” format. Between issues, I’m going to take a month or two off while I work ahead on the issues. When I return with pages, they’ll post fast and furiously (2-3 times a week) until the end of the issue.
While I’m not sure exactly when I’ll be back, I’ll be back by September 1st with some content. It could be sooner than that. Don’t worry, I’m not quitting on Variables. I love this comic. I have way too many stories to tell in this universe and I’ve barely scratched the surface.
In the meantime, I’m going to be posting all my work on Rocketpig.net, my personal blog/work site. Be sure to follow that site and you’ll see me posting there multiple times a week while I work through some of these issues. The Jean Grey / Phoenix drawing you see on the right is one of the first pin-ups I’ve done to explore (and hopefully fix) some problems I’ve been having with my drawings.
Want to follow my progress? Check me out on social media! I’m always posting at one of the following…
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