Bradley James Weber

Startling Stories for All Ages

Writing

“Where’s the Beef?”

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JMS pal and Fine Arts Guild brother, Mystic Mark wants to know, “Brad where is the update?”

Good question. Here’s the long answer:

This past weekend was set aside for my monthly attempt at a 24-Hour comic. As this issue was going to be done virtually — totally rendered in the computer — one would have expected 24 staggering pages of storytelling genius posted today for your reading pleasure.

Whoops.

Don’t get me wrong: the September edition is indeed a great comic, or will be when it’s done.

Stay with me here.
[Read more…] about “Where’s the Beef?”

“five gesticulating ants”

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“On Friday noon, July the twentieth, 1714, the finest bridge in all Peru broke and precipitated five travellers into the gulf below.”

So starts THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY, one of the finest books in the English language. (Thornton Wilder’s “faintly contemptible vessel” earned him the 1928 Pulitzer Prize for literature. Wilder was 31 years old. THE BRIDGE was his second novel. The son of a bitch.)

Today — today exactly– marks the 293 anniversary of the fictitious rent, but how often can it be celebrated like this? On the precise day, date and hour?

The last time we could have done so was in 2001, an interesting year for Wilder’s story. Not only did the dates coincide for the bridge, the story was used to commemorate collapse — the September 11th felling of the Twin Towers.

On September 21, 2001, British Prime Minister Tony Blair quoted these last few lines:

“But soon we will die, and all memories of those five will have left earth, and we ourselves shall be loved for a while and forgotten. But the love will have been enough; all those impulses of love return to the love that made them. Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead, and the bridge is love. The only survival, the only meaning.”

Mr. Blair’s reading resulted in a well-deserved “rediscovery” of THE BRIDGE and Wilder’s other works.

THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY is not an easy book. Wilder never comes right out and tells, “Why these five?” There’s a lot to get from it and it is worth repeated readings, or listenings of Sam Waterston’s excellent performance.

Even if all you get from it is that last bit, about “the bridge is love,” then you’ve got a lot more than you had before.

The next “Friday noon, July the twentieth” to won’t be until 2012, 2018, then 2029.

Mark your calendars.

(click here for more on THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY)

Noble Failure #7 (Another 24-Hour Comic)

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NOBLE FAILURE #7 (July 2007) — Super Samurai Special!

 

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Revenge Of The One-Arm Samurai
(click here to download PDF) (1.8MB)

The ink on this comic makes all the difference. The story was good in pencils, but with the heavy blacks and strategic use of wash, it’s SO much better. I’m sure you’ll agree.

This month’s effort is a comeback after my breakdown on #6 is already one of my favorites, second only to The Pancake Tree.

Along with narrative improvements, you’ll notice the change in presentation: no more clicky-open-X-to-closey for viewing each page. Now the comic is all there in one easy-to-ready file.

Why the change, you ask? Blame it on my dead grandmother. The PDF format worked so well for that story it seemed smart to try it on a longer one.

Yeah, yeah, there are still a few technical issues to work out. Even so, this may become the standard presentation format for any future comics, including the five 24-Hour ones left for 2007. Let me know what you think via the comments section.

Enjoy!

Noble Failure #6 (Another 24-Hour Comic)

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Noble Failure #6 (June 2007)

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Apologies for not posting last Thursday night/Friday morning; I was deep in the throes of this month’s 24-Hour Comic. And it wasn’t going well.

This one feels less like a “Noble Failure” than a Miserable one, though I did learn more about my process and what it might take to make a successful one next time. Things such as:

  • Don’t make a day-start after 7AM or an evening-start before 9PM
  • Do a couple of pages of art first, then move to a script session
  • Don’t script for more than 90 minutes
  • Do draw and ink the longest story first
  • Don’t waste time calling ComEd about the power being out
  • Do a good job of lettering sound effects
  • Don’t rush the art; you’ll regret it
  • Do schedule more than two weeks between 24-Hour Comics

As you’re bound to notice, the Mr. Punch story isn’t finished. The four pages presented aren’t even inked. Fret not: the world will eventually see how it ends. I’ll be using it to help me learn the secret kung-fu of vector graphic illustration.

“There’s a difference between knowing the clipping path, and walking the clipping path.”

*cough*

So, yeah. Stay tuned for that.

Enjoy the comic.

 

Noble Failure #5 (Another 24-Hour Comic)

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NOBLE FAILURE #5 (May 2007)

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HUZZAH!!

At last, a full 24-page comic. It took 32 hours to complete. The extra time included a much needed nap and two — yes, TWO — trips to the orthodontist. Without the various interruptions, the book would have clocked-in at 26 hours, so it was going to be noble failure either way. Still, I’m fairly pleased with this effort.

Scanning/rescanning, sizing, and uploading all these pages has eaten-up all this week’s hours allocated for blogging. Rest assured, though: there will be more details soon on the overall process, this particular issue, and what was done differently to help me finally hit the standard page count.

Meanwhile, enjoy!

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend.