Yesterday, Tom uploaded all 32 pages (and the cover) for Antigone to the Silent Devil FTP server. It's done, and off to the printer. I talked with Christian Beranek, our editor, and this one-shot comic should be in stores by the first or second week of October.
If you haven't seen it yet, here's a preview of the first eight pages. CLICK HERE
Due to deadlines, a feisty scanner, and other uncontrollable circumstances, I didn't see any of pages 9-32 until it was all finished. I've never had the opportunity of seeing one of our comics, for the first time all at once, as if picked off the shelf. This was a great experience. I am a huge fan of Tom's art. He's such a versatile artist -- able to create these clear panel images while still including great details (aspects of the story and environment which were entirely his own creation, and so perfect). Tom's art has range, creating levels of human emotion for each scene -- touch of humor and sometimes unbearable sadness. He's able to slow down the pace of the reader, which for this condensed version is essential. And also, when the script asks for violent and gruesome, the art gets incredibly graphic. For any who thought Karma Incorporated #3 was too violent, Antigone far surpasses that mark. Yeah, this is not an all-ages book. After all, we're talking Greek tragedy. While I love Karma Incorporated, Antigone showcases Tom's best work so far. People are going to take notice.
For my part, I wrote the script so long ago. Once we started working out the specifics with Silent Devil, I went back and made some changes here and there -- added a few pages and spread out a few scenes. I was pleased to see some of my ideas worked better than I had planned, once again courtesy of Tom. No doubt, I'll have some people who will wish we did a longer version, spreading it out to 48 pages or more. But honestly, if you've read the original play, as I have... many, many, many times (35 times in seven years), it's all there. The story is fairly straightforward. And I'm of the opinion that if you can tell a good story in 32 pages, you shouldn't make it any longer. I'm thankful Silent Devil was so excited about publishing Antigone and really championed what we were doing. I like the idea that a person can pay $2.95 and get the complete story.
Plans are underway for a few store signings and some conventions. Most likely, Dallas Comic Con in October. Tom and I will be at Wizard World Texas in November. I need to confirm some details with Richard at Zeus Comics, but Silent Devil has kindly offered 200 copies of the book that I want to sell and donate the proceeds to charity. What charity? I'm still working on that.
