I often used to wonder why on earth I still read and make comics at my age. Just before Christmas I finally came up with a theory that seems to make sense. So, starting soon, I thought I could pick out some of the comics that I still have a soft spot for after the better part of fifty years and try to remember what it is I loved about them at the time.

First up – Planet of the Apes (The UK Weekly) from October 1974.

Dealing with my iPad crash and having to come up with a different way to make my comic hasn’t been as dramatic as the title might suggest, to be honest. I just thought it might be a bit of an attention-grabber. In fact, trying out some new analogue tools that I’ve somehow managed to acquire over the last few years has been quite a bit of fun. And I’m not trying to make myself sound braver than I am.

There’s worse things in life than being forced to upgrade a rusty old skillset that you thought you’d never use again.

Mind you, I do miss getting this done in a comfy chair in front of the telly.

Work on Page 2 has begun! Young Joe? What’s going on there, then? Too early to say exactly, but it may (and I’m not saying that it does) have something to do with Joe’s surprise on Page One. You never know.

The [very rough] Aria 3/4 view is just me trying to get a fix on Aria’s look.

More tomorrow – *glee*

I know this is going slowly. This is because I’m happy taking my time figuring out who these characters are and what they’re up to.

I get that this may very well be frustrating for those of you wanting to read an actual comic. I have to admit to finding it more than a little frustrating myself. I can only hope it’ll be worth the wait. I sympathise. I really do. Because at least I’m having the fun of figuring this stuff out. I promise I’m going as fast as my limited (but growing) skills and time will let me.

Outlining not so tricky today and it was a bit thrilling when the way ahead got a bit clearer. Also, I started to figure out Joe from the front. Between outlining and drawing, guess which one was most fun.

Writing today has been like Lucha Libre – it’s definitely had me on the ropes. So I’ve gone back to the characters to see if rounding them out a bit more will help.

Fixed Aria’s look during a break.

Well, the thumbnails in any case.

I daresay I should probably have been further ahead in the comic making process before putting anything online. It would have looked far more professional, I’m sure. This is one way of keeping a record of my progress, though. There’s no need to go into the other good reasons for posting this as I go along, is there?

[Thumbnail Page Template courtesy of Scott Serkland from serkworks.com]

She’s not really Joe’s Auntie. But you probably know how it is. She’s Russ’s Auntie Connie and she lives next door to Joe and his gran. Joe has always called her Auntie Connie.

Far be it from me to say any different.

Have you ever listened to the theme to ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ on the way to work on Friday and ended up, because you had work on Saturday, spending all day Sunday trying to make it work as a cartoon?

Me neither.