alexwoolfson
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Double Cross Scene Compilation - CH1 Pgs 1-7
🕑 Added 2024-01-04 02:11:34 +0000 UTCHowdy, everyone!
I hope you had some happy holidays, and are off to a great start of the New Year!
Your support has made a huge difference over the last year, so I'm always on the lookout for new benefits I can provide y'all as my Patrons. And just before Christmas, one of your fellow readers, camelotcrusade, reached out to me, and suggested something that another creator does that you might like: scene compilations!
Apparently, whenever the creator of 'Demon of the Underground' completes a scene of their webcomic, they compile all the pages into a single post for their Patrons.. This allows their readers to enjoy the scene as one continuous stream without needing to click anything.
I could see why readers might like that, so I've decided to give it a try. I figure I could post up a some of the previously completed scenes along with a few of my thoughts on what I was thinking when I created the scene. And then you could let me know if it's something you like or not.
I think it makes the most sense to start with our current arc, Double Cross, but if this turns out to be something you really enjoy, then once we are caught up with DC, I could certainly swing back, and do the same thing for Engaging the Enemy and Spooky Jones: Past Sins. Maybe even the 18+ arc Legendary!
So! Let's get started at the very beginning!
Below is the first scene of Chapter 1 of Double Cross, which starts with security guard, Kanya, under the watchful eyes of two mobsters:
And that's the first scene of Double Cross!
Looking back, here are some of the things that I was thinking about when I first conceived this scene:
I always like to start with action
It's an old writing rule for commercial fiction, but it's a classic for a reason: start with some conflict!
Readers nowadays have a million different things they could read. So, it's always a good plan to start with something exciting to earn their trust, something to let them know that this story is worthy of their interest, and here, I tried to do that both with direct action (our heroes kicking mobster butt) and also "microtension" (Spooky making it clear to Kanya that she has left the frying pan for the fire.) Even the tension between the mobsters on the first page about the window being open counts towards that, in my opinion.
Doing this right from page 1 was especially important because I knew that eventually I would need to catch readers up on the hundreds of comics pages that preceded Double Cross, but I chose to save all that exposition for Scene 2. (Delaying it until after a little action—coupled with the mystery of this magical shard—has [hopefully!] already piqued a new reader's curiosity.)
I wanted to bring Kanya back
Kanya Jey, the security guard from the "Flyboy Bonus Comic," was originally meant to be a one-off character. I knew we'd see Cory again—introducing him was part of the reason I came up with that story in the first place—but Kanya just kind of showed up when I was coming up with the outline as someone for Flyboy to talk to (and someone else for him to rescue.)
But the moment I started to write her dialogue, I knew this wasn't the last time we'd see Kanya. There are some characters you write who are so much fun that you look for reasons to bring them back. And so from my earliest thoughts of what I wanted the next full TYP story arc to be—which was something like a "superhero noir" story—I knew she'd be part of it.
I wanted to clearly establish the dynamic between Adult Spooky and Flyboy
Because I knew that Flyboy was going to meet Spooky's younger self, I wanted to show what the status quo was before shaking it up. Here Adult Spooky is very much in a mentor role and, as the youngest member of The Young Protectors, Flyboy very much looks up to him. Obviously, their relationship changes quite a bit when Flyboy meets a Spooky even younger than he is!
I wanted to show a darker side of Adult Spooky
In the TYP world, present-day Spooky Jones has two jobs. The one he enjoys the most is being on his friend Amanda's superhero team. And part of the reason he likes it so much is that it allows him to relax into his fun-loving side. Because of government restrictions, The Young Protectors team is a supervised, junior search-and-rescue operation, and the adventures they are allowed to go on have stakes, but don't get too heavy. (At least not until The Platinum Priestess and The Annihilator decide to get Kyle involved into one of their schemes!)
For Spooky, being with The Young Protectors team feels like getting to hang out with family he loves. It's a vacation from his day job of saving children from magical threats. From saving the world from magical threats. From facing the worst that humanity and hell have to offer. Day after day after day. All on his own.
And that day job can get pretty dark. So, Spooky in this role can also get pretty dark. We get a hint of that here in the way he talks to and threatens Kanya, which is different than how we usually hear Spooky talk. My goal was here to set up the contrast between this present-day Spooky in his "supernatural investigator" role and 15-year-old Spooky in that same role. To show how the years and losses have changed him.
Does that mean that Teen Spooky is right that Adult Spooky has crossed some moral event horizon? Maybe, maybe not. But it's not who he wanted to be when he first put on the trench coat, and it's not something he wants for Flyboy, either.
So what do you think?
Phew! Obviously, I got deep into the weeds with my explanation—and it took me a little while to get that all down—but y'all are the true fans of The Young Protectors, so if anyone is going to be interested, I think it'll be you. :)
But I don't know! Do you like this scene compilation idea? How about me sharing what I was thinking when I came up with these pages?
Should I keep doing this?
Let me know in the comments. If there is enough interest, I'll do the next scene. :)
Thank you again for your support and enthusiasm for my work. I wish you all much happiness, love, and success in 2024!
Want to read the next one? Click here!
Comments
Alex Woolfson
Happy New Year, Theadora! I did the PDF thing when I first started making comics, and it actually was not ideal for a bunch of reasons, but I can certainly see the appeal for readers. And I always appreciate hear what other creators are doing that Patrons like. And I'm very glad you'd like to see more of this. It definitely sounds like I should continue!
Alex Woolfson
I'm really glad to hear you like this, and I very much appreciate you letting me know that you especially like the commentary. That's good for me to know, Adam.
Alex Woolfson
Glad to hear it, camelolcrusade! And thank you very much for the suggestion! (And it's possible that I, too, found that an amusing way to start a big story arc. There are indeed a lot of ways to "start with action." ;) )
Theadora
Happy New Year! I very much enjoyed both the nice long scroll-through and the commentary. I would like to see more of both! (I've also seen some artists do chapter compilations stitched together as PDFs, kind of their own mini-comic within a comic. This is not a suggestion for change just an observation for contemplation.)
Adam Irving
Love this concept! I'll admit I wouldn't have thought of pinning the pages together like this in a scene but it does make for a fun reading experience to scroll along right through such a scene. What I love more, though, are your thoughts and explanations behind the scene in question. Pretty pictures are pretty pictures, but the story and characters are what drive this comic along and I *always* love to hear writers talk about their craft.
camelotcrusade
I love this! Thank you for trying it out, Alex. 🙏 The commentary adds a lot, and I appreciated the link to the bonus comic too (I'm re-reading it now). Also, can we appreciate this story begins with a flush?! 🚽
Alex Woolfson
Glad to hear it! You're welcome, Klaus!
Alex Woolfson
You're very welcome, Bill! Glad you had a good holiday. I did as well. (And yes, Fernando is my husband. :) )
Alex Woolfson
Thank you, Mistral! And you're very welcome! It's good to know that this might help with re-reads.
Alex Woolfson
I'm glad you liked the commentary, Relwarc! Thank you!
Alex Woolfson
Thank you, Nadin!
Alex Woolfson
Thank you, Gerald! Just the reaction I was hoping for!
Alex Woolfson
Very cool, Bradford. I definitely had that "DVD commentary" vibe in mind when I created this.
Alex Woolfson
I'm very glad to hear it, Eric! Thank you for letting me know!
camelotcrusade
If you're reading on Chrome, you can zoom in the webpage and the high res images look great.
Klaus
Most interesting. Thank you.
william clapie
Thank you for the extra work you do for us. Your time is valuable as you write for a living. I understand writers can be different people that need extra time in a 24 hour day to work. Well, no such thing as "extra" time. Love the sharing you do with us. I hope you and your husband (?) or significant other (?) (not sure what to say in a him and him wedding). I will leave it at, I hope you two had a great holiday. I got to spend a bit of time with my kids and grandkids. Worked out well for me. Later all. Alex has to get back to work!
Harry Bleckby
this is great; I do wish it was easier to click-to-enlarge the comics for reading/appreciating. I have to right-click and Open in New Tab to get them larger.
Mistral
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing. This will make re-reading easier.
RelwarcTheMighty
Seems like an interesting idea, love the commentary! Let's keep this going as see where it goes!
Nadin Brokop
this is great, pls continue!
Gerald Otte
Fantastic! First impression is: "I'm still smiling"
Bradford Garcia
I love this behind-the-scenes insight! It makes me nostalgic for the days of DVD bonus features.
Eric Spyke
Yes please finish!! I can’t wait !!
