I've shared pages from HOW TO LOSE BIG and OH NO POGO. So I thought it's time to post something from ASTRONAUT DAD VOL. 2. Brent Schoonover finished penciling page 50, and he's almost done inking the remaining pages of that chapter. Which means? One more chapter left and ASTRONAUT DAD is completely finished, pending the lettering skills of Justin Stewart.
Brent and I reached a moment of collective peace with this project. The storytelling is solid. That might seem like egotism, but I was mostly thinking about Brent's ability to tell this story with his art. After three rewrites and some editorial assistance from Nunzio and Christina, after all the hours Brent put in, we can brag a bit. ASTRONAUT DAD, from beginning to end, will be a satisfying read.
It's amazing when you break from the tyranny of trying to make comics "action packed" that you can focus on creating a good narrative -- and not just a series of talking heads either, but a real story with meaningful subtext and dramatic consequences.
More than anything, I feel fortunate. For the past few years, I've been able to write comics and tell the stories I've wanted to tell with absolute freedom. Looking ahead, there's a lot of pressure to find more opportunities, to get more stuff on the shelf. I'll admit I'm completely intimidated by the process. That's why it felt so good to see these pages from Brent. (Thank you.) I took a deep breath: I can do this.
UPDATE: Brent posted the page along with his own thoughts. "It’s been an interesting journey with this book. So many people come up to me and tell me how surprised they are at how few actual segments there are involving space exploration and astronauts but still thought the book was better than they expected it to be, which to me, is a pretty nice compliment."
