Rejected for December, 1995. Posted Online: March 30, 2006. Sorta.
This was our last submission before we were told we’d have only one more episode. That one, the last to appear in Dragon, will post on Monday.
But we decided to draw this one, now. Chris was unable to start this one until after I-Con, but he’ll be at it all this weekend till it’s done. Plus, he is afflicted by “the gout”, which is only mildly inconveniencing, since he does not draw with his feet. However, let this serve as an example of why Yamara will be going to weekly when the new strips start in May. Remember, they were monthly, once, and that’s a speed Chris better understands.
Plus, lemonade: This will be the last time a Yamara will be drawn entirely in the traditional style and size, and scanning it in as it evolves will provide everyone with a look into the process. Below are, in reverse order, some iterations on the roughs, and that’s where the previous scans will go as this episode updates.
We started with an idea to have Denise Olthlay show up for the wedding, and claim Persephone’s promise; for some reason that seemed unwieldy, though it had some dialogue:
YAMARA.
Y-you’re Queen of the– Queen of the…DENISE.
Wait! Yamara, isn’t it? We met at GodCon DCCLXXVII while you were still a goddess!
Remember that wild night outside Elysium with the two stud alu-daemons?YAMARA.
Uh, no.DENISE.
Girl, you were drunk!
Then we focussed on tying up loose ends, with the hopes of just moving forward. So we decided to remove the Staff of Public Domain from the storyline, and reveal what Stress was hinting about with the “price” of resurrection. This gave us the dialogue and layout for the page, above.
The next step is to tackle the final. We scratch out general sizes for the panels, and general areas for the figures, then painstakingly fit all that dialogue aboard the strip. Chris has long used a mechanical ruler of Barbara’s, measuring out the text lines at one-eighth of an inch, with one-sixteenth in between. It’s always seemed to work. (Project for April: A Yamara font. Had plenty of practice on Fontographer, so we’re looking forward to that. But the lettering in this ep is all by hand.)
A final note: This was not the last strip to be rejected by Dragon. More on that next Thursday.
"Lost Episode", in process for posting March 2006. Click to enlarge
"Lost Episode", rejected for December, 1995. Click to enlarge
"Lost Episode", early draft. Click to enlarge
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