I have been reading comics since I was in Junior High (1991). I used to write and draw them as well – occasionally selling them for a dollar. I must admit, until taking this class I had never delved too deeply into graphic novels. I particularly enjoyed how personal the medium could get, as I had never read a memoir in comic book form. I wanted to bring a little bit of this angle to the extra credit assignment.
I originally had the idea of writing a
series of “Bumbling Adventurer” guides to different National Parks I’ve hiked.
I never appreciated the outdoors until I was 29-30. I’ve done a lot of
traveling and hiking and I consort with a number of guide books. I find most to
either be for advanced outdoorsy types or complete beginners. I thought it would
be great to have a series of guide books for the Average Joes and Janes out
there that could be one part trail information and another part humor. I used
this extra credit assignment to explore this idea a little further.
Having drawn comics before, (although
not in the last 20 years) I already had an idea of panels, gutters, and such. Transitioning
my idea to a two page comic proved rather difficult and I’m not satisfied with the
end results. I find I was trying to do way too much with the 2 page project and
it’s very heavy in the exposition department. I knew I wanted a cartoony feel
as I believe this conveys the fun and enjoyment (at least I get) of the
outdoors. Also, I am far from a serious / hardcore backpacker and I thought
this was a great way to capture that as well.
*** Please forgive this posting for being a day late ... I could totally have done a 2 page comic on the hoops I had to jump through just to post this - 3 villainous, uncooperative, dysfunctional scanners, a wild goose chase around town to find a means to turn my physical drawings into jpeg form, and finally a super heroine and her bat-gadget (aka: iPad) that saved the day by taking a picture of the above images. Sheesh. ***
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