| OK, so the thought process behind this one was basically that I wanted to do a Howard comic, and I also wanted to bring back Lion-Man. And basically this was the best way I could think of for the two of them to interact. Funny story about the making-of on this one. One of my readers was telling me a while ago that he has been kind of disappointed that there has been a steady increase in the human-resemblance of newly design characters since the comic launched. Starting off with the core cast, and then going to Spondulio, the Walsh Sisters, and Nad the tattoo artist, he was definitely right about the trend. So I decided to go with a more bizarre character design for Brian Rawturkey, human resources guy for Minnesota Siding. Anyway, the character design I settled on was basically the way he appears in that sixth panel. Nose and mustache as the only features. I wanted a kind of a blank slate character to be completely nonplussed by Howard's surrealness, you know? Anyway, I thought he came out with kind of a Dilbert vibe, what with his lack of eyes and a mouth, tall narrow head, and attire. Anyhow, as I was drawing the artwork for this, I thought it would be kind of funny if, instead of just being an abstracted character whose mouth and eyes simply aren't portrayed, he actually HAD his other features in places that were less visible and more horrifying. This is the result. The change in character design really colors the ending. I had intended for him to hire Howard/Lion-Man just completely out of left field without explanation, mostly as a result of the wierdness aura that Howard seems to project. The way it sits now, it feels almost like he's hiring Howard/Lion-Man because he thinks he's met a fellow freak of nature. Anyway, Eidam, I hope you like the return to weird character designs. |
