A little late for the holidays...

I have placed an order for some buttons. Once they arrive, I will disperse them via S.A.S.E. from interested recipients. More information to follow soon.

Liz's background.

The following is one of two significant segments removed from the original Dual script. Mostly due to pacing.

Montage depicting moments in Elizabeth’s life.

CAPTIONS:

- Liz will tell you her favorite film is Somewhere in Time, but I know it is really The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. She loves smelling the pages of new books before she begins to read. Use of the word “irregardless” makes her skin crawl. Strawberry is her shake-flavor of choice and she can’t stand the concept of dried fruit, especially prunes.

- Christened Elizabeth Emma Van der Heim, she was the second daughter and fifth child born to missionaries, Hubert and Florian Van der Heim, on March 15, 1887 on the island of Upolu in the Kingdom of Samoa.

- She cherishes a nearly-forgotten memory of her parents burying her younger brother, Christopher.

- At age six, a pack of lycanthropes attacked her village, killing thirty-three victims including Liz’s father and siblings.

- Liz and her mother were taken to Atlanta, Georgia.

- Her mother and grandparents raised her to believe Liz’s survival of the attack and recovery from fatal wounds was nothing short of a miracle.

- At age ten, she shared her first kiss with Bobby Nichols while playing Marco Polo at her favorite swimming hole.

- She claimed her first human victim at fourteen.

- In 1911, in Macon, Georgia, Liz was tried, convicted, and executed for the murder of three mill workers.

- Liz attended the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City.

- Liz experienced her first airplane flight in 1941, from Dallas, Texas, to New Orleans, Louisiana.

- On her seventy-first birthday, in Paris France, she met the first lycanthrope she had encountered since being attacked as a child.

- In 1960 a jealous lover pushed her under a train outside of Milan, Italy.

- Tripped out on LSD, she had sex with Jim Morrison on a park bench near Venice Beach, California, one night in 1965.

- Liz attended Bobby Kennedy’s speech at the Ambassador Hotel on the night he was assassinated.

- Liz purchased a Beta-Ma video camera in 1982 and was able to watch her own transformation for the first time in her life.

In 1996, she tried to eat my imaginary friend and met me.

creeper peepers.

Two panels from an upcoming screen (36) that ended up being cropped on the finished page. I wanted to share the full panels in all their glory.

Liz Wallpaper.

1280x1024

1440x900
1600x1200

I know... she sorta looks like Two-Face.

Screen 9, Panel 2 process

A little glimpse into the process for creating Screen 9, Panel 2.

Revised first screen w/ new logo.

I have a large vision for Dual. Dual was originally plotted as a grand graphic novel. I broke the story down into 3 acts.
For all intents and purposes, the first 60 screens debuting on Zuda consist of a prologue and 1/3 of the first act of the story.
In other words, the first 60 screens constitute about 1/9 of the entire story arc.

Detail From Screen 29.

I am currently finishing the artwork for screens 29-32.

The Night Owls.

Mindy, Ernest, & Roscoe fan-art in honor of Night-Owls’ Month at Zuda.com

Dual Wallpaper: "X"

800 x 600

1024 x 768

1440 x 900

1280 x 1024

1600 x 1200

Synopsis

At age ten, Bill Jensen and his “imaginary” friend, Yasu, inadvertently unleash a devastating power that kills three schoolmates.
A decade later, Bill wrestles with making his way in the world while dealing with the inner turmoil of determining whether Yasu is devil or delusion. Still haunted by the confusing events of their childhood, Bill and Yasu struggle to recognize their extraordinary power and purpose.
Bill’s secret power mysteriously begins to attract the interest of bizarre creatures, including a bulimic "werewolf" and a man claiming to be an ancient soul-eating dragon. The power’s pull might also be contributing to Bill’s turbulent romance with an unstable witch, named Corina, and luring the attention of a psychotic serial killer.
New aspects of the power begin to manifest just in time to help Bill and Yasu deal with escalating threats, which send the companions spiraling toward an uncertain destiny-- heroic salvation or evil oblivion?

up and coming.

I have submitted the next 16 finished screens of Dual. There was some debate concerning the pacing of the story. My original vision devoted some time to character development over action. I opted for a more deliberate pace. I hope I made the right decision for the good of the story.

better title logo.

I was never satisfied with the logo. I hope to move in another direction and redesign the thing before Dual continues.

11 years later.

Possible designs for adult versions of the lead characters.

How I campaigned for Zuda.

At the beginning of the month, I employed the most obvious campaign techniques.

I posted a pleading letter on Deviant Art and on Myspace.

Emails were sent to everyone I know. Family and friends called, texted, emailed, blogged, and posted info about the competition on Facebook and Myspace, etc.

Fliers were printed and distributed at all my local comic-shops.

For the first week, Dual seemed to be well received, but Cursed Planet had received thousands of more views than Zuda’s other June titles.

On June 6, Ron made a post on the Zuda blog, drawing my attention to the fact that Wizard Universe had posted an interview with Caanan Grall. In the interview Caanan explained how he had used Project Wonderful to place advertisements on existing web-comics and comic-related sites. I did not notice this post or read the article until June 8.

I began to place ads using Project Wonderful, and I was amazed by how quickly Dual’s views increased.

Dual’s various ad designs are posted on this blog. Most of the ads were placed using:
https://www.projectwonderful.com/welcome.php
on these sites at varying times of the month.
http://www.sorethumbsonline.com/
http://talcomic.com/
http://www.secretworldchronicle.com/
http://www.abandoncomic.com/
http://www.thezombiehunters.com/
http://www.pvponline.com/
http://www.honeysyn.net/
http://www.thebastardswordsman.com/
http://www.flipsidecomics.com/
http://www.exiern.com/
http://www.uesutan.com/
http://yafgc.shipsinker.com/
http://www.starslip.com/
http://clanofthecats.com/
http://www.menagea3.net/
http://www.fanboys-online.com/
http://www.questionablecontent.net/
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/StanYan/revvvelations/series.php
http://www.heroicpub.com/default.php
http://zapinspace.com/
http://nn4b.com/
http://road-to-eden.com/
http://sodiumeyes.com/
http://www.secretsocietywars.com/
http://www.blanklabelcomics.com/
http://www.blastwavecomic.com/
http://drmcninja.com/
http://sorcery101.net/
http://www.postnukecomic.com/
http://www.gunbaby.com/
http://www.thebookofbiff.com/
http://truckbearingkibble.com/
http://www.jump-leads.com/
http://www.graphicsmash.com/comics/brathalla.php
http://www.domainoftheinfinite.com/
http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/
http://flakypastry.runningwithpencils.com/
http://www.dungeond.com/
http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/
http://www.legacycomic.com/
http://www.robandelliot.cycomics.com/
http://www.crossworlds.ws/
http://www.afblues.com/
http://www.drunkduck.com/Star_Crossed_Destiny/
http://www.seedsoftime.net/
http://www.sluggy.com/
http://www.comicspace.com/network/
http://www.yoshsaga.com/
http://rampagenetwork.com/
http://www.evil-comic.com/
http://www.hikousenenterprises.com/
http://joshreads.com/
http://www.multiplexcomic.com/
http://www.skyfallmanga.com/
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/optimumwound/
http://www.thenoobcomic.com
http://www.sinfest.net/
http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php
http://nfccomic.com/blog.html
http://www.sage-comics.com/
http://www.drunkduck.com/Starship_Moonhawk/index.php
http://www.octavirate.com/
http://www.gunnerkrigg.com
http://aliendice.com/
http://www.blueskycomic.com/
http://www.fabricari.com/
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/dirktiede/ps/series.php
http://www.od.spiteshow.com/
http://www.pinkyta.com/
http://www.fallingdownproductions.com/

I also placed an ad here:
http://www.thewebcomiclist.com/

On June 21, a friend approached me with the idea of campaigning at local libraries, bookstores, coffee shops, internet cafes, and any places that might house internet users. So, friends and family began campaigning at these sorts of locations, armed with fliers. I was told this face-to-face method was very effective.

My brother, the infamous Jason, owns businesses across the United States. I approached him to ask for help with campaigning for Dual. He used his business contacts to organize a network of volunteers to spread the word about Dual and Zuda. As a result, the comic fans came out of the woodwork. I have been flooded with a plethora of emails and phone calls from his associates, asking me about where the story is headed, what comics I read, what I thought of Iron Man, and if I will be attending Comic-Con.

I do not have time to relate every story, but many people have contacted me, excited to tell me that they read Bayou or High Moon or some other Zuda title and that they loved it. I am sure many of the folks who participated in the competition will forget about Zuda in the days to come. But I also know our collective campaigning has exposed many fans to this exciting new media.

Hero Shot

This incredible illustration was done by:
http://zero-optix.deviantart.com/

I suggest you check out the rest of his work. I think we'll be seeing his webcomic on Zuda soon.

Sketch for page 2

Page 6 Process.

Page 7 Sketch.

Page 8 Sketch.

Corina.

This was a possible design for Corina, the witch, as referenced in the synopsis on the Zuda site. I wanted to avoid the witch clichés of a hippy or a goth look. Rather than having roots in a sort of Wicken faith, her magic training stems from Macumba, Vodun, Voodoo, and traces back to ancient Egyptian and Greek magic practices.
She appeared in the an earlier draft of the first 8 page script.

Title.

Obviously, I am not a graphic designer. This is my design of the Dual logo. I think it will have three stages of evolution.

Page 4 for Comparison.

I posted this as a comparison to the previous post regarding frame 1. This demonstrates how I work on the entire page simultaneously & sometimes work on the foreground and background separately.

for the finished page head over to: http://zudacomics.com/node/504

Frame one Process.

I have been working on vreating a streamlined process for quick turn-around time. First, my pencils are scanned into Photoshop. (Currently I am still using PS7, but It is on my to-do-list to order a newer version.) Once in Photoshop, I use my Wacom tablet to set the values then I begin to select areas to assign hues. Next, I do touch ups, details and add textures. I create the word balloons and do the lettering in Flash.

For the final version of this page go to:
http://zudacomics.com/node/504

Yasu Doodles.

I am not ready to reveal too much about the nature of Yasu. These doodles are collected from various scraps that were scribbled while Dual was on my mind, but prior to sitting down with the intent to design Yasu’s look.

The Beginning.

This sketch and a dream/ nightmare were the genesis for Dual. This drawing was originally created as a side for another totally unrelated project.

Zuda's Banner Design