tracyscops
patreon
About the making of a parody...
🕑 Added 2021-10-24 14:20:33 +0000 UTCI usually talk about comics I've done only after it's completed.
This time though, I'll share a bit of my current creation process. It doesn't always work like that, but sometimes, for a few stories, it's how things get fleshed out.
Every time a particularly significant MCU content comes out, there's an increase of readers interested in my comics, because... y'know. That's what I work for. I usually try and surf that wave of interest by releasing something that month that's correlated to that MCU novelty.
Then...
No Way Home is due for release Dec 17th.
So, my plan is to have something related to that, ready to be sent on Dec 15th.
But, how can I write a story based on a film I haven't watched? Even if I watched it day one in theaters, It'd take me weeks (or months) to do writing/art/lettering of such a parody.
Even if I did a miracle of comic production, that'd leave me with a comic done by Jan 15th. Way off the interest surfing zone.
Turns out, I'm left with these options:
- Go for a completely different story with the same character (like I did with the latest Black Widow comic. Something about her current comic arc, but not really MCU-related, which was released in the month of her Movie);
- Rush something quickly and hope for the best (What Iffy #2 was released a month later, with stories about Loki Series and the Black Widow MCU Movie stories that were released a month earlier, and also within the What If? Series theme, which came out that month). That, however, didn't quite work well, causing a comics delay of almost a month.
- Make a story about an early episode and time its release to a series finale (like I did with Wandavision);
- Find a middle ground and do something tied-in-ish to the previous events of the current MCU release (like I did with Far From Berlin, that tells a story about the DVD extras of Homecoming, the prequel to Far From Home, which was released that month in theaters);
- Prepare something for the Digital Release date, instead of theatrical release (Like I did with Edgegame, which was released when Endgame came out in Blu-Ray)
- Do the best I can while using the promotional material as a rough basis for a story and release it with the new thing coming out in theaters (which is what I'm currently doing for No Way Home, writing the script for Auntcumming #3).
You see... There's always a lot of editorial planning going on behind the scenes here. Logistics and forethought scheduling are probably the main reason why I've been able to steadily put out two comics a month (barring a few delays here and there).
Anyways...
If all goes well and I accomplish this task successfully, you'll see something almost, but not quite, entirely unlike No Way Home. I can't promise anything yet, but that's what I'm working towards.
Wish me luck.
Kindly.
-T.
PS: That screenshot is a glimpse of a work-in-process outline of what that comic should eventually be. Changes are a natural part of the process. So don't be surprised if the stuff you see there ends up a bit differently in the finished product.
Comments
Tuf 1982
Thanks for sharing those insights into your creative process! Out of alll those, Edgegame was my favorite, but I guess the full (female) cast helps a lot in that regard. Still, all good strategies!
VitAnyaNaked
Well, actually it all sounds great. All the same, I'm sure everything will go well and you will be successful in this. Best Luck!
Spooney Bard
Well I'm of several minds about all these, so I must go bullet by bullet. Now I don't have a pulse on this kind of publishing, so you must take my ignorance of business here as a fact. Ties That Bind was a bit hamstrung in that Black Widow had already been featured in many stories and the actual movie provided more juicy interest so much so that What Iffy 2's conclusion could be seen as a greater comic in its own right. Ties sorta stretched for pages, whereas the WI2 ending had to jam too much in. Rushing didn't affect the quality of What Iffy 2, but it was a horribly stressful situation and that sort of thing will lead to burnout. Expectation just makes the arrival sweeter. If anything you blew too much material, leading to massive excess pages because there is too much content. Wandavision the show had so much that could have worked as a story, so it felt a little disappointing to have the comic focused so narrowly. This is the third suggestion that I don't think is the best. A middle ground is the first idea that could work. FFH had such a pivotal series of ending and post-credit scenes, a parody of the interval seems eminently doable. Disney had big success with the midquel sequels. This is the inevitable conclusion, it works best in conjunction with the original and gives you the space to craft and the artist to draw. Anyone wanting to read the book in the future will always be satisfied with the Infinity War and Endgame parodies, otherwise the books might get something of a shelf life and thats not the way. For number six by combing it with four I'd say this would be the best solution overall. We see Peter frustrated with his identity being revealed in the trailer. Going back to the midquel element Strange could probe and get a vision of Pete's foibles. It seems achingly like time for MJ, Betty (and maybe Liz) to be featured.
Quwykxz
Interesting "behind-the-scenes" look into your creative process. Thank you for sharing it with us. 😀
