PIPE DOPE #141

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Happy Halloween, friends! When I was first planning Pipe Dope, I was hoping to consistently tie the images to the date they were posted, which I'm sure would have made today's a picture of my dad taking me trick-or-treating. As the story evolved, though, I realized there were only three dates I had to specifically hit, and beyond that, the stories shown might fall roughly according to season--although even that hasn't been a hard-and-fast rule. One of the specific dates came way back during Pipe Dope's first week of going online. The last two have yet to arrive...

PIPE DOPE #140

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I realized today that there are only 65 more installments of Pipe Dope remaining. Suddenly, it feels like the end is approaching...

This week marked the first time I approached the thumbnails one day at a time, roughing out the idea in the minutes before I set to work on the actual panel (which would then go online the next morning). This method cuts things a bit closer than I'm usually comfortable with, but hey, it's Pipe Dope, and experiments are always welcome. Here's a look at those thumbnails:

I hope you come back on Monday for #141. Have a swell weekend in the meantime!

PIPE DOPE #139

 

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My grandparents only rented the lower level of this place, but it was pretty rad all the same. At least from what I remember--I haven't been inside for about 25 years. Also worthy of note: With this panel, I finally got to draw that old comics staple--a talking building!

PIPE DOPE #138

 

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I could really, really go for a slice of Mack & Manco pizza right about now...

PIPE DOPE #137

 

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After being a bit disappointed with the last couple of panels, I'm pretty pleased with how this one turned out. Anyhow, as I'm posting it at 12:30 a.m., I think it looks okay.

Comics!

PIPE DOPE #136

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Welcome back to another fresh week o' content! I decided to be bold with today's and leave a lot of white in the panel, whereas my usual response would have been to fill in a lot of that space with black. I might not always be happy with the results, but I am happy I keep trying things I might not normally do. (And in today's case, I think just maybe I made the right choice.)

PIPE DOPE #135

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Thanks for sticking with me through another week! Pipe Dope will continue on Monday with #136. Until then, how about a look at this week's thumbnails?

PIPE DOPE #134

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PIPE DOPE #133

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I don't like drawing buildings, but I'm glad I keep trying, and of the ones I've made myself draw so far for Pipe Dope, this one might be the most passable. Not good, mind you, but passable. Relatively speaking, anyway.

PIPE DOPE #132

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PIPE DOPE #131

 

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Around the same time I read Elektra Assassin, I also read Brandon Graham's King City, which anyone and everyone with any interest in comics whatsoever should read. And then read again. And yet again, ad infinitum. Every single page of Graham's 12-issue opus exploded my brains with an all-consuming love for the medium and consistent proof that comics can--and should--do so much more than they usually do. Crazy-inspiring stuff. One small detail that's really stuck with me (and, come to think of it, an interesting complement to Elektra Assassin's caption boxes) is Graham's playful use of word balloons. They can convey a whole lot more than just words, and that's something I'm trying to take to heart.

PIPE DOPE #130

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Man, for a while there, I didn't think I was ever gonna get past the 120s. No more weeks off (until late December). The adventure continues with #131 on Monday. Have a swell weekend in the meantime!

Oh yeah, and of course it wouldn't be Friday without a look at this week's thumbnails:

PIPE DOPE #129

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A couple of months back, I picked up all eight issues of Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz's Elektra Assassin. Reading them was like having a fever dream on the astral plane--there are a hell of a lot of ideas at play in that miniseries, and I doubt I'll ever wrap my head around all of them. However, I have been thinking a lot about the lettering (by Jim Novak in issues 1-7 and Gaspar Saladino in issue 8), and today's panel struck me as a fitting opportunity to play around with breaking up the text in a similar fashion. (A Google Image search should provide a rough idea of what I'm talking about for anyone who hasn't read the miniseries.)

Pipe Dope's all about trying out new (for me, at least) things.

PIPE DOPE #128

 

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...And I'm officially back at it! The wedding and honeymoon both went swimmingly, and I'm now back home and once again burning the midnight oil over the ol' drawing board--only now it's as a married man. How 'bout a "Huzzah!" for my understanding wife?

PIPE DOPE #127

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Once again, I'm scheduling this post before the wedding and honeymoon. Tomorrow's post (#128) will be the first I've put together since returning, so maybe then I'll have a good story to tell. I hope you stop back to find out!

PIPE DOPE #126

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And we're back! I'm actually writing this before the wedding and honeymoon, so I can't say yet how things shook out, but I'm sure it all went swimmingly. More Pipe Dope tomorrow!