Father Who [Catholic Comic]

As promised, here are a few pages of the first issue ... [yes, it is intentionally black and white]. I'll try to scan it in a higher resolution next time. Don't worry! It gets better! 

Many countries set their comics up differently depending on their direction of writing ... As a native English speaker, I have set the pages up in the standard American comic method. In case you're used to Manga or are just unfamiliar with comics ... it is almost like reading a book - you read the frames from left to right (beginning at the top and progressing downward) speech & thought bubbles are read in order from highest to lowest in a frame - also generally left to right (important to know when there are multiple responses). I hope this helps!

Cover Page!

Eventually I will find a webcomic host and use that to post (perhaps in addition to posting here?) ... I'm posting these here without any real editing to the images. I didn't notice until afterwards that there was a long hair on the scanner (thus the line across the top of the pages). The first issue is already done - I was experimenting with a few different styles of comic art and I sometimes switch back and forth between them.

I prefer the darker pages with less white but my brother likes comics to be bright and colorful so I tried to find a middle ground by leaving thick white gutters. The next issue will hopefully be a tad more consistent in character representation. If you're having a hard time telling the characters apart ... the priest(s) have glasses, Al does not (he also has a square jaw). As the pages continue, my art improves - stick around to see the rest. 

Please feel free to share this with others! 

A quick explanation (just in case) ... Aloysius (our young companion) is a bit of a punk. He's featured most frequently in a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up (to hide himself from the world) ... he's hiding himself from the light too :( 

He stands in line waiting... while the monks use the time to reflect, examine conscience, and pray, he just waits.  Enter flashback ... Yep ... Al's parents are dead. 

What do you think so far? I would REALLY appreciate some feedback! 

- God Bless & have an awesome day!

Catholic Comic books and other new things: a general update and more personal notes than ever previously shared

Yep! Catholic Comics! I'm sick of anti-clerical and anti-Catholic comics (especially supernatural and historical fantasy ones) so I'll likely begin to create and share my own.
Its been quite awhile since I have updated this- I've been quite busy with school and have recently taken up running - when I'm not in class, the library, church, or watching the news/napping on the couch, this is typically what I'm up to- putting lots and lots of miles on my new running shoes. Wonderful for my health but of course not so great for my blog. But here I am- making time in the wee hours of the early morning. Oh! Happy St. Patrick's day!

Some general updates ...
I'm still discerning a possible call to the sisterhood but every time I think I have made a choice (between Benedictine or Discalced Carmelites) something happens in my life which makes me think again. I'm almost done with school- in a few months I'll be a college graduate (wow - that makes me sound so old!). One of my little brothers is now in the FSSP seminary and one of my sisters is married and pregnant. (yay! She's being blessed with motherhood!)  

I've been working on my art skills lately. Though I have no training whatsoever, I have had an active interest in doodling since the second grade (though I was thoroughly convinced it was legitimate sketching). I might even enter a local (fairly small town) art show at our fave comic book store at the end of the month. I'm not sure if things will line up yet - we'll see. (I'm also a full time student of Religious Studies/History & Anthropology .. finding time for art can be hard too!)

Our young companion before meeting "The Father" 

Another potentially noteworthy thing is that I began a comic book (for my other little brother) and after much contemplation I think I will be posting it online for the enjoyment of others as well. It is a Catholic parody of Dr. Who which features "The Father" who travels throughout time to visit saints and church fathers with his skeptical young companion who learns about the Faith along the way... oh! Their tardis is a confessional and the Daleks feature prominently as Fundies (don't worry, they're still no match for The Father!). The first issue was filled with inside jokes especially about campy comic book conventions (sassy villains, people getting slapped, etc.). I'm not actually sure how much would be understood by others online though many of the jokes admittedly rely on somewhat extensive knowledge of Catholic history and Theology in order to be completely understood (for example: The Father says something along the lines of - "its not just any Bible ... its a Dhouay Rheims!") If you understand the reference - congratulations! The target audience for such a comic is very slim and you may very well fall within these parameters.  I don't want the whole thing to rely on outside knowledge though as I do plan on using some of the later issues to teach a bit as well. Since the first issue was geared 100% towards a single person (my brother) I felt I could push limits and throw in exactly what I wanted without worrying about alienating an audience. Any issues I post online would take others into consideration though. Perhaps I could include some sort of "author's notes" for some of the more obscure references. Above is one of the pages I found on my hard drive which I didn't know was there. I went ahead and left it unedited to give you a better idea of my natural style- I haven't decided whether or not I want to color it. I've always been a fan of Black and Whites & Noir style ... What do you think?

Whether you like comics or you have children that do, I've been thinking a lot about this lately and I'd really like to put forward some more family-friendly (definitely Catholic-friendly) comics. (Martyrs will likely appear and if I can figure out how to draw a dragon- St George will too. Still more child-friendly than most comics though!) I will also try to go out of my way to ensure all characters are dressed modestly and use clean language- I feel like this is really important and often overlooked as well. Oh! I almost forgot- The Father wears a cassock! Rather than "bow ties are cool" his phrase will be "Cassocks are classic".

Its finals week for me right now and I left the first issue at home so I haven't been able to work on it in quite awhile. Once I'm able to scan all of it I might do some light editing and will likely be posting it. I'm definitely not a pro but I would like to believe that I am not completely horrendous either. If you're not already, please subscribe! I should be posting fairly soon with another update and perhaps a few pages of the first issue.