Schlock Works

Independent Comic Books & Podcasts

PaHF

The Podcast

Duplicity - Complete

The neighborly old lady

Brock Beauchamp
February 28, 2012

This page has what might be my favorite panel in all of Variables. It’s a simple panel containing a close-up of a man’s face getting pinched. For some reason, it all worked out really well. The pencils were good, the inks were good, and the color finished it off. It’s always nice when something works out instead of fighting and re-doing something over and over again until I manage just get it to the point of mediocrity. At the end of this page, you’ll notice that we delve into another flashback, this time in 1994. Karter is now wheelchair-bound and... View Article

Notes on inking

Brock Beauchamp
February 24, 2012

Early in the week, I started drafting up an article on various inking techniques I use to draw and why I use them. It started out as a modest piece before ballooning to 2 1/2 pages, with at least one more page to go til completion. It explains how I use quills, brushes, Rapidograph pens, and disposable pens to complete each page. I never really noticed just how many tools I use to ink a page until I had to write them all down. It seems as though there is a different tool for every task. Expect to see that... View Article

Don’t try this at home

Brock Beauchamp
February 21, 2012

I’m not sure how well this page works but I gave it a shot. It’s a magazine article (written by Hank Foster, of course) that talks about another story I just wouldn’t have time to deal with properly in the Variables universe. It’s about two Sui Generis teenagers who decide to fight crime and help people in South Korea. They pose, they have their pictures taken, they chat on the internet, but little crime is actually fought and even fewer people are actually saved. Then their big opportunity arrives (you can read the entire article here). I wanted to write... View Article

Drawing superheroes

Brock Beauchamp
February 16, 2012

Oddly enough, Variables is about superhumans but after drawing roughly 50 pages of the comic, I haven’t been given the chance to draw many “superheroes”. Karter is halfway there with his hybrid SWAT/amateur paintballer costume but it’s still not really “costume-y”. A few weeks ago, I realized that convention season isn’t that far away and I haven’t drawn many superhero-types in the past year or more. When it comes to indy publishing in comics, a lot of a creator’s money isn’t made by actually selling copies of his or her books but instead comes through commissioned artwork. Unless your comic... View Article

A little background

Brock Beauchamp
February 14, 2012

This page exists almost solely to give character and world background. You get to see the interior of Karter’s apartment and while he’s flipping through channels, you get to hear some news about the Variables world circa 2002. At this point of the story, things are starting to turn south for the Sui Generis. Groups are protesting their movement and some governments are considering restrictions regarding citizenship, movement, etc. Basically, people are scared and that always opens the door to demagoguery. This is the most complicated page I’ve ever drawn of Variables and I’m pleased with how it turned out.... View Article

Couch Potato

Brock Beauchamp
February 9, 2012

One of the most exciting things about creating Variables is the myriad of stories from every corner of the globe. I’ve written so many summaries that I often lose track of when, where, and how things occur and how they fit into other events happening on the other side of the world. As I get further into the series, there are dozens of subjects that I won’t have the time to touch on in detail but are also too complicated to tell in a short story. For some of these tales, I will try to drop hints or tell snippets... View Article