Sonja Turbot: Existential Investigator, Page 43
And so we come to the end of Sonja Turbot, Existential Investigator. Next week I plan to run a couple of short subjects, and then we’ll be getting back into Mischa’s Story.
If I were still a plucky university student, I’d have thought this was a great ending. Since I am, instead, a middle aged guy with an English degree, I kind of feel like I ought to have known better. I guess now is as good a time as any to spill the beans on the secret origin of Sonja Turbot…
This story began in my mind as a parody of Steve Ditko’s “Mr.A” (as if that’s never been done before). Instead of an objectivist, though, I wondered what would happen if Mr.A were a hard-assed, uncompromising philosopher of some other bent… say, an Existentialist. The question, of course, is how to make a hard-assed and uncompromising character based on a philosophy of self-determination and the rejection of absolutes.
I feel that this story deserves to be executed better than it was. Kids, this is why you should never go with your first draft of a script. Also, it’s why you should paginate that sucker before you start writing dialog. This story should not have been 43 pages long. Unfortunately, because I was writing, editing, and drawing all at once I’d often find myself with an action started which I would then have to finish.
From this point onwards I’m going to concentrate more on the writing and less on the art. I’m also going to try and do shorter pieces. Let’s see how long I can keep those promises.
June 5th, 2009 at 4:39 am
Since I found this website, it seems you have run every kind of story except for the one that attracted me to this website to begin with. Not that I have the right to complain, but it would be adding to your web-presence and gaining more viewers (and potential purchasers of books) by sticking to the main story of Mischa and her roboto-dog.
June 5th, 2009 at 9:14 am
My feelings in this regard are ambivalent. On the one hand, I’m a GearHead fan and was especially attracted by GearHead-related comics and material. On the other hand, I’ve very much enjoyed the other comics, even the ones the author complains about. I’d very much like to see more GearHead comics, yet I’m fairly certain this was not intended to be a GearHead-specific venue and did not arrive with that expectation.
I suppose it’s quite minor compared to other conflicts in my life at present.