First off, a note about my goings on: I’m going to be at the Stumptown Comics Festival in Portland, Oregon this coming weekend, April 24-25. I honestly do not know if I’ll have a table, but I’ll definitely be wandering around there at least one day. I’ll update when/if I know more about my having a flat surface on which to hawk my wares.

Now then: I’m working on Furlough issue two – and reworking. I wrote the full four-issue script before I started thumbnailing issue one, but I knew there would be changes as I went along. You can’t look at a story for so long without having some new ideas.

Well, for this one, I opened my existing issue two script (which I hadn’t looked at since December) and went, “Oh, shit – nothing actually, um, happens.” It was all in-between scenes as it brought the story closer to its climax and conclusion. Necessary, but as a separate bound volume, it would not exactly have been scintillating stuff. So I’m working around that, moving some issue three things to issue two, and adding some new stuff too.

I love editing, although it’s a little harder with this because it’s my own. Behold:

Historically, I’ve had a little bit of cart-before-horse syndrome. I’ve made myself completely hold off on thumbnailing this issue until I get the script right. But back when I was writing the first draft of all four issues, there were panels and scenes whose layout and look were established even then. And now that I’m going over it again, pen in hand, I can’t resist putting a few things on paper.

So: progress. This script ran a little long (nine pages (!), compared to issue one’s five), but I think it’s what the story wants. As all artists are merely slaves to what the muse gives us, who am I to balk?