The End

This has been an interesting journey to say the least. I’ve gone from joy, sadness, pride, frustration and everything in between. Part of me feels a great sense of accomplishment, and another part of me feels spent physically, mentally, and emotionally. One undeniable thing about this project is all the things that I’ve learned. It’s going to take me some time to take it all in, but it was definitely worth it. This, of course, is just one case for the team; it wasn’t the first, nor will it be the last. Much like a Franco-Belgian comic book, it is designed to be open ended stories dealing with different cases. However, it’s going to be a while before I tackle another.

Priorities aside, I have other projects to focus on at this point. Yet, the one thing you can be sure about Metasearch is that you can’t keep it down. After all, this is just another permutation in Metasearch’s eleven-year existence. It might look different, but it has to have the same mood. My next offering might not even be Metasearch at all, but some other fancy of my psyche.

This blog was kept exclusively as a sort of journal/insider’s look of the novel. Maybe I’ll do the same for the next one starting from the very beginning, who knows? As a journal, it has been of great use to me and hopefully the insider’s look somewhat enriched your experience as a reader.

Last but not least, and I can’t say this enough; thanks\ you all for your patience and your readership. I don’t think I would have been able to finish the project without your support. For those of you who went out of your way to drop me a line, you have no idea what that means when you’re doing something for the sake of passion.

I truly hope you’ve enjoyed the story. If I managed to entertain you for a moment of your day, then I have accomplished a lot. This is not a goodbye, but an “until later.” As always, I’ll see you on the page.

Oddman Out.

The Thrill Is Gone

And so ends the terror of the psychic vampire. When I started the novel, I doubted I could pull off the first five pages. Fourteen months and eighty four pages later, it has been quite a journey. By now I’m sure you were not expecting a big apocalypse finale with walls bleeding and a huge explosion. If you were, you wouldn’t be reading this story to begin with.

I have to say, a lot of things happen in a year: economic downturn, family stuff, work priorities, vacations; “life,” simply put. Sadly, this incarnation of Metasearch wasn’t picked up by any publishers… yet. As disheartening as that can be, it was the people who have kept checking back to see where this paranormal tale will end, that gave me strength to keep on going when writing the whole thing off and moving on to something else would have been easier. There is something to be said about the interest in a story just for the story’s sake, since there’s no other hook to keep bringing readers back.

We have one more page to go before this case is wrapped. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out.

Black Magic Woman

It’s time for Acantha to step up to the plate and show you what she’s got. Although in the esoteric world it is said anyone can develop psychic abilities, there is always talk about natural psychics or natural witches. Needless to say, Acantha is one of these gifted people; the kind whose phone number you want handy when things go the way of “Poltergeist.”

Researching for the book, I found out that even though there are spells per se to accomplish certain things, Wicca, as it’s understood today, is a very personal experience. For example, you can choose a different pantheon to work with i.e. Norse, Egyptian, Celtic, Greek, etc. It all depends on which one resonates with you. Casting spells is no different; every witch has their own way of doing it. Certain laws and principles are observed, but again it’s up to the caster to shape the spell in a way that suits them. I thought a direct, prop-thin casting was more in lieu with Acantha’s personality. She’s so talented and experienced that she doesn’t require too many psychological crutches or catalysts to work her magic. It’s more a sentimental thing for her, a nostalgic comfort if you will, than a necessity. Plus it looks better when you illustrate it.

I hope you’re enjoying the story so far. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out.

Inside My Head

The image of the first panel was one of those that I kept imagining during the writing stages of the book. As time grew closer to the actual artwork I was curious myself of the outcome. The final incarnation of the psychic vampire had to more solid, brighter, and refined to reflect its new otherworldly existence. I was satisfied with it and I hope you are too.

The last showdown is on. More to come soon. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out

Waiting for the Miracle

No page 81 last week due to the long weekend, but here it is nonetheless. The stage is set for the last tussle between Metasearch and the psychic vampire. I’m curious about the impressions of the coming last pages. As recurrent readers know by now, this graphic novel is all about experimentation and that includes the story itself. Whether it works or not remains to be seen. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out

Dark Night

The final showdown between Metasearch and the psychic vampire is afoot. I had a cool time doing the artwork for this page dealing with all the gang together one more time. I’m going to miss them when this is over, but it’s about time to bring this story to a close and move on.

It’s going to be a while before I commit myself to another graphic novel. Time is always an issue, and I feel the need to let the things I’ve learned from this experience settle in my head. I would like to take my art to another level, and I have a few ideas I want to experiment with in the future. Hopefully they’ll work out.

Be on the look out for page 81 later this week. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out.

Sympathy for the Devil

And so ends the great action scene. As for all gothic antagonists, we’re drawn to feel some pity for them. After all, these stories are about good-intentioned, flawed individuals, who made bad choices. Like all bullies, once their thin armor is compromised, you find out how really scared they are; the proverbial house of cards.

We’re nearing the end now, and I can’t help to look back and remember when I was struggling to make the first five pages. Why five? That’s usually the number of pages comic book studios want in order to see if an artist can deal with sequential storytelling. Now with every new page, we’re one step closer to the end of this journey. I hope you have enjoyed the ride so far. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out

Hard on Me

For whatever reason, there’s always a page that is harder than the others. It might not look like it, but this one is a prime example. I like to joke about this being the story’s “action sequence.” As I’ve said before, Metasearch is character and story driven, so action is quite thin throughout the book.

Obvious in this page is my on-going exploration into the realm of lettering. By now, I feel more confident about it, but it’s still quite conservative as modern lettering goes. My main concern is to convey feelings more than just being creative.

So here’s page 78; I hope you enjoy it. There will be a page 79 at some point, but I have to leave town for a while, so whether or not I will be able to deliver it next week remains to be seen. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out

Enter the Sandman

I can’t help but imagine hearing audience applause when Gabriel shows up on the last panel. To me, it seems so long since I see my guys I can’t help but be exited to work with them again. In a way, every member of the team has their little solo moment. Claire had her scene with Anya at the coffee shop; Acantha’s is soon to come; but now it’s Gabriel’s turn.

Art-wise, I’m happy to go back to the non-flashback sequences of the book, the “realistic” scenes. Not that it wasn’t fun doing the more surreal pages, but the challenge of keeping the frames interesting is something I missed. I hope you enjoy these much-delayed pages as much as I have making them. More to come. See you in the page.

Oddman Out.

Surprise, Surprise

Well, what do you know? Another page within days instead of months. As much as I enjoyed doing the flashback sequence, I’m happy to go back to the good old style of the book.

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the International Manga Museum in Kyoto. What really caught my attention was a temporary exhibit highlighting French comic books, or Bande Dessinée as they’re known in France. Belgium and France not only constitute one of the biggest comic book markets in the world, but they also have a different approach to publishing. In Japan, for example, manga are done cheaply and quickly usually by one or two creators in compilations. If the story generates any interest, then it gets its own book. In the U.S. serialized books are output monthly at a neck-breaking pace by a team of artists. In the Franco-Belgian market, books are published maybe once a year by a team of two artists (usually). Sure, they are longer than 22 pages, but it’s not so much a serialized market like in Japan or the U.S.

It was very interesting seeing the differences between the three biggest markets of comic books; how they develop independently from each other, and how sometimes they influence each other. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out.

A Whiter Shade of Pale

April marks the anniversary of Metasearch on-line, so I thought it would be proper to produce a new page. Between work, traveling, and other engagements, I haven’t got the time to keep the project going on a regular basis. But I’m still here, and sooner or later I’ll finish it as promised. Once again, I can’t thank enough those of you who still have the patience and dedication for the story to keep checking for updates.

Anyway, wrapping up the flashback sequence after so long really gave me a sense of accomplishment. Every time I go back to the project I have the feeling I have forgotten how to do it. One thing I enjoyed was playing with different textures or composition of the psychic vampire. When we first meet him, he’s just a little pink cloud. But as he keeps on feeding, Sam becomes stronger, so the shape is bigger and redder. For the second encounter, I wanted a “blood in water” look to his misty form; something more solid and fluid than just a vapor. For this next evolution, although symbolic since it’s a flashback, I wanted something more like fire to reflect Sam’s rage.

I hope you enjoy the new page; more to come in the future. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out

Lust For Life

Long time no see. It has gotten harder to keep up, but that’s no excuse not to finish what was started. I understand the complications this irregular pace brings to the continuity of the story. If I had my way, I would have been done by the end of last November, but sadly that wasn’t the case. This project has been through and through a personal challenge. It was so in its inception, and looks to be so to the end. Updates will come, slowly but surely. Thank you for your patience. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out

Flying in a Blue Dream

Sam goes crazy and starts pushing not only the limits of his newfound ability, but of his own taboos; from going through a wall, to semi-naked on a crowded street during the day. I was tempted to have him flying over the city, but I decided to use more quirky images to show different levels of freedom. I can’t just wrap my head around an image of a fat guy in his underwear flying over London. Quirky? Sure, but the flying part somehow didn’t sit well with me. It’s like in “the Matrix,” I understand what the filmmakers are trying to say by having Neo zooming through the sky, but to this day I still feel it went too far… and I love the Matrix. So I’ll settle for our would-be-vampire sitting on one of Big Ben’s hands overlooking the city. Originally it was set to be Tower Bridge, but the idea of the white background silhouetting our boy in the distance was too compelling to miss.

This is the last page of the year. I’m off for a few weeks, but fear not, we’re far from done with this little tale of supernatural intrigue. So wherever you are, whatever you celebrate (and even if you don’t), have a great holiday and a wonderful new year. I know I will. I can’t ever thank you enough for your readership, your patience, and kind emails. Peace to all. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out

Climbing Up the Walls

It can be said that focus defines our reality. The only difference between page 71 and 72 is the fact that, in page 71 our friend is lost, but in page 72 he has a purpose. It’s still his living room and he’s still a recluse, but the situation has changed due to his newfound motivation.

I’m always amazed at the things that come out of our subconscious when we express ourselves through art. In page 71 Sam’s life is in chaos and the payout of the page reflects that. By page 72 he finds a horizon and the layout reflects that as well. I wish I could claim that it was all planned, but the truth is that it’s the product of another “happy accident.” This makes me wonder if somehow we get tuned in to some sort of collective consciousness in which these ideas flow from the ether into our world, who knows? It’s a nice idea anyway.

I want to get one more page up before I’m gone for the holidays. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out

Pagan Poetry

With this page, I really pushed the level of abstraction in order to convey the passage of time. The interesting thing is that in the main panel (the big one) I had done all this detail about Sam’s apartment, but after I was done with the “overexposure” treatment, a lot of it was lost. I had to remind myself the Metasearch maxim, “it’s all about the mood.” After all, that’s why I chose to do this book in such an unorthodox way. In a way, conveying a feeling to a reader is more important to me than the hope that someone notices the magazines Sam reads, or a trail of cigarettes that leads to a pile on his table.

I’ve always admired the ability some artists have to convey something that is actually not obvious. We all remember a movie for being to bloody, or too terrifying, or too graphic when in fact, if we see them again, all of it was suggested rather than shown. So I rather the reader feel Sam’s depression and despair and create their own image of the details of his life, than go through the process of spoon-feeding them. The details might be lost on some, but the mood of the scene is harder to dismiss.
Suggestion always beats presentation, at least in my book. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out

Cancer

I can’t help but to smile every time I hit a tenth page. You can call it the “decimal joy,” but since Metasearch is delivered in pages, every tenth one is a little landmark to me. Back from abroad, at least for a little while, I made a commitment to produce as many pages as I can before I’m off again until next year.

When I wrote “Reverie” I decided to so in an unorthodox manner. For example, even though the project’s name is “Metasearch,” it doesn’t really focus on the team of psychics. We barely get to know them, as there is no “origin story.” It is implied that this is not their first case, and their development is more professional than character driven. This bothers some readers because they want to know more. This, of course, was done by design and not some relapse in plot development. Another interesting choice is that the story is told by a secondary character, and a victim as discussed before on this blog. Lastly, since I don’t want to dissect the whole plot, it is intended that we don’t get to know anything about the antagonist until later in the book. I thought it would be interesting to go back to the genesis of the case at a later stage of the story. Enjoy the new page. More to come.

I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out

Snowblind

For the flashback on this sequence, I wanted a different approach from the one in pages 51, 52. The reason is because I wanted the latter to be more of a memory, something more subjective (see blog post “The Memory Remains” for more). I wanted the new scene to be a pure flashback. I wanted to take the readers back to this moment, experience it, and draw their own conclusions from it rather than me guiding them. I knew I needed some consistency in style to avoid confusion, i.e. black and white as the main visual representation, but I was looking for a way to give it its own feel. While working on panel 1, page 65 I noticed a mistake on one of my layers. It was a black and white overexposed image that I didn’t know I created. After quickly realizing what had happened, I decided to use the style for this part of the story. I love “happy mistakes.”

I also decided to play it clean, no textures. This gave the panels a very serious tone that the sequence requires. The flashback panels are done in a very different way than the rest of the book. I have to admit that after 68 pages it was refreshing to go into a different artistic approach. As an added challenge, I went and tried to use motion as a graphic element, which is a losing proposition in a static medium, but I couldn’t resist the idea of the foot shaking as a plot “accent.” This is another one of those out-on-a-limb experiments of mine that I hope actually works for the readers.

On the lettering front, I keep getting complaints about readability, and I keep trying to solve them without compromising the look of the book. I made the letters thicker on this page to see if it helps with the problem. I guess time (and the readers) will tell.

I’m glad I got to make another page in November. I have some traveling in my immediate future, but I’ll try to do as many pages as I can. I have to thank alejkhan for the nice Metasearch review at “By Nigh.” You can check it out at: http://www.bynightcomics.com/home/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=43&func=view&catid=4&id=967#967 I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out

Return of the Phantom Stranger

OK, so page 68… I know it has been a while. I started to work on this page at some time during late October, but never got around to finishing it until now. I even fantasized about finishing it for Halloween, but no dice.

As Sam takes us deeper into his world, we continue the deconstruction of the dreadful vampire’s image. I wanted to achieve a number of things on this page. The first one was to have our antagonist interact with the world around him to keep us informed of his psyche. On the art front I wanted to create a transition with the lighting that I haven’t tried before: To mix two different light concepts into one scene. I really like this green hue. Granted I had used green the first time we go to Acantha’s loft. She’s a witch, we are in her home, green doesn’t seem too farfetched. This time around I was looking for that wonderfully sickening neon light green, which casts this hopeless, ill feeling; “Joe vs. the Volcano” anyone? I also wanted to compose the panels with Sam being off center. This is a concept I liked about the movie “Subway,” where director Luc Besson framed his characters off center. I wanted to use this technique in this page to help accentuate Sam’s insignificance. The little scene with the girls looking at our vampire--and he in turn looking back at them smiling and thinking they are checking him out, only to discover they just thought he was some funny looking guy--came from a real life anecdote from a guy I used to know a long time ago. By his late teens he started to think of himself as a self-styled “ladies man” – one look at him and you would understand how far off the mark this poor guy was; a similar event occurred to him while waiting for a subway. I guess the story was filed away somewhere in my brain.

On an interesting note, during Halloween week I spent a lot of time watching all sorts of paranormal shows and horror flicks in lieu of the festivities. One particular show caught my attention. The show was called “Celebrity Ghost Stories.” Gina Gershon’s was creepy, Sammy Hagar’s was shocking, but the one that really caught my attention was ex-Go-Go’s singer Belinda Carlisle. In short, she describes a classic psychic vampire attack that occurred to her while staying at a seedy motel. There it was, in all its cheesy CGI glory: A dark human-like shadow feeding off her. I feel the need to point out that the choice of making Reverie’s vampire red was purely aesthetic. It’s symbolic more than factual… or as factual any of these things can be.

Lots to talk about since I’ve been quiet all this time. The holidays are coming and traveling looms in the horizon. That means more hibernation for Metasearch, but as things are calming down in the work front, I will try to produce as many pages as I can before the mid-December hiatus. For those of you who honor me with your patience for new pages, thank you so much from the very core of my heart. You haven’t forgotten my three little psychics, and I have certainly not forgotten you. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out

Invisible Kid

In the movie “Fight Club,” they play out the concept of service workers flexing their muscle against the white collar establishment. “We serve your food, we park your cars…” or so goes a line from the film. We all hear about millionaires screwing the little guy; just checkout the news. But if you look at it, cleaning people, valets, waitresses, nannies, etc. can be rather sinister. They bring us food and drink, they roam our house and work spaces, they get inside our cars, spend time alone with your children. These are people who dwell in our personal lives even for a brief moment. So the idea of one of these people using their access for ill is quite frightening. After all, one of the classic rackets of the mob was to cancel trash collection. We might not think about it, but try not getting your trash collected for a week, and you’ll start seeing the problem very quickly. Plus, there are no easy answers to it, are you going to load you car with load after load of trash and drive to a landfill? I think you get the picture.

As a society we have been taught, almost by osmosis, to look down on these types of jobs. Yet, it only takes one viewing of TV shows like “The Worst Jobs in History,” or “Dirty Jobs,” to gain a very different perspective. That’s why I wanted to make Sam a janitor. It plays not only to our socio-economic idiosyncrasies, but because it shows the potential to do evil from an unassuming position. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out

Loser

The purpose of panel 6 on page 65 was to lead the reader to an anticlimax, and page 66 just drives the disappointment home. This is what is called “the reveal” in film, and it means the moment when you unveil a main character. So all these pages, all this build up takes us to this very “huh?” moment in the story. No handsome Goth guy, no suave Eastern European, or brilliant psychopath; just an everyday bloke that you wouldn’t give a second glance.

One of the elements I like about gothic literature is that the antagonist is a tragic figure. Something happens to these characters and the dark inner-most nature of humanity comes out… or is it just humanity’s nature? Anyway, this whole sequence is sad, but it informs the reader about the psychic vampire, and what his life is about, or at least part of the time. Alas, I don’t want to give away too much, so I’ll keep talking about Sam in future blogs. I’ll see you in the page.

Oddman Out