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After a brief hiatus, the hardhats story continues: only a few more corrections to go and the WHOLE first part is finally ready to send off. If you’re new to the site, have a look around! Comics are accessible via the drop down menus above (hover over the different categories to choose a subject).
The more observant among you will have noticed that the comic above has not changed in a while. The reason? I left Archbeast I, my brand spanking macbook pro, in the world’s busiest airport (London Heathrow) after spending most of the night before working on a new website launch (about which, more another time). Thankfully it has since been tracked down and will be back safe and sound on the west coast tomorrow, together with my lovely wife. In the meantime, scroll down for news and updates of a more textual variety – alas my scanner and old macbook don’t get on, and Archbeast has all of my new material on. Time for an external hard drive backup methinks.
Harry and Kwame debate the motivational discrepancies that student filmmakers face when making art with a message – a sample from my graphic novel in progress, Hardhats. More to follow. More info on the true story behind the project here for those new to the site.
Now that spring break is here, I’m hunkering down (yes, old worlders, I’ve been in the US too long) to get the first part of my graphic novel, Hardhats, done once and for all. Problem is, the more me and Nikil revise it and check for edits/inconsistencies, the longer it seems to become. So now I’m on the last page – just wrapped up the penultimate page this afternoon (I’ll scan in a few pages for your viewing pleasure now), but I still have a redraw to do before I tackle minor edits. One of the stranger things about embarking on a project of this length is the fact that I have to rein in my drawing style to how it was when I originally started this, way back in 2009. I’ve come a long way since then, preferring my 0.3 micron to my once favourite Pentel brush pen, so I find myself straddling the older style so as not to disconcert the reader.
NB the meticulously clean work area
To mix things up, I’ve also finally got around to working on my mashup of Goya’s The Shooting of May 3 1808, which you can see to the right of the pic (experimenting with how well bristol board takes watercolour washes. Results thus far: not so well). My take, if you can make it out, swaps out the spanish and napaloenic troops for iraqis and private contractors – a precursor to my nisour square interactive piece (also in the works), which I’ve mentioned in previous posts.
Another day, another tier from my graphic novel, Hardhats. This here is a direct quote from H Rap Brown, drawn in stylistic homage to Emory Douglas, the Black Panther artist in residence. Click here to read the previous tier.
Above is a continued sequence from Hardhats, my graphic novel in progress, set in May 1970 at the height of anti-Vietnam sentiment. Hit “previous” to read from the start of this little interlude. It being Martin Luther King day here in the US, celebrate it wherever you are in the world by listening to one of his speeches on Vietnam here: “the press generally won’t tell you these things, but God told me to tell you this morning…” RIP MLK.
I’m now only a page or two from finishing the first third of my graphic novel, Hardhats – which you can read more about here. The above panels are part of a flashback sequence as two of the main characters talk on their way to an anti Vietnam protest at the Federall Hall in downtown Manhattan. I’ll post some follow-up panels over the next few days. Please leave your comments! You can also checkout my latest sketchbook doodles and watercolours here.
Remember to scroll down – news and updates are just a scroll away, under the fold.
Yet another busy week, though I’ve managed to claw some hours back to sit down at my drawing board and hammer out some more hardhats pages. What is Hardhats, you ask? It’s my graphic novel about the May 1970 NYC riots led by construction workers who were protesting against the rising anti-war student movement/New Left. Check out the Hardhats page for more info. Why is that the longer pause between pages, the more hatching and detail you put down on the said pages? Above is a sneak preview of a sample panel from Hardhats, which I’m 3 pages away from completing the first part of, including a brand new prologue.
Friday, May 8th 1970 marked the 40th anniversary of the Hardhat Riots, the subject of my upcoming graphic novel. Read all about it on the Hardhats page, together with some new photo evidence from the day that recently surfaced. Also, I’ve created an official press release for the Honduran Coup comic on the Honduras page – the link is so please RT it and share it around!
For more information about this story, or to read from the beginning, visit the Hardhats page. New visitors to the site, become an Archcomix fan here, or order your hard copy of the Honduran coup comic using the button the sidebar. News below.
As mentioned below in today’s news, now that the Honduran comic project is completed, I’m focusing on my upcoming graphic novel, Hardhats. If you’re a new archcomix visitor, then head to the Hardhats page to start at the beginning of the story.
