Tag: Writer Notes

Here is another batch of writer notes on Sorcery 101. If you want to read ahead on these got ahead on these head over to my patreon.

Chapter 12

Title page

The cover I mostly wanted to try something different with color. I wanted to use the two colors to isolate Pat since that’s an on going theme with him.

page 592 – 596

Pat is bad at friends. And small talk. And really people in general. He immediately jumps to thinking of a plan rather than just the simplest solution which is asking someone for help.

page 597 – 602

Where as Danny was smart enough to ask Brad and his super strength to carry the heavy books. Danny is also smart enough to have a protective barrier around their house. Basically, when I came up for my vampire rules I wanted each of the more classic things to have a grain of truth. So a protection spell to keep out uninvited creatures of darkness would be the source for the vampires need to be invited in.

And once again you get a reminder that Pat has no job and squats in an abandoned motel. Money isn’t a thing he has. Danny is never getting those dollars back. Pat as being a huge dick to Brad here is to make sure he can feel worse in the next seen. Also, the tiny bit with Rebecca is kinda like how sometimes a joke or reference that a parent thinks is inappropriate for a kid goes over their head and they only pick up on it being something bad cause of how their parent acts.

page 603 – 609

Danny’s suggestion that Pat just dress in drag is cause a friend at the type made a joke that Pat and I had the same hair cut for a few months. Brad obviously helps Pat right away when he finds out it is for a cure since Brad can really relate to wanting a cure. I wanted to focus on Pat’s expression during Brad’s phone call with Ally cause how he feels about Brad helping him is more important than the diolog. And to twist the knife a bit Brad is also gonna give him a ride home.

page 610 – 612

It is safe to assume that whole car ride was silent. Brad being a good person infuriates Pat. Basically I wanted Pat’s angst about being a vampire more complicated than “oh no I have to kill people and live forever.” Pat learned his whole life that vampires and werewolves and demons were just monsters. So first he is turned and isn’t immediately a monster like he thought he would be. So he deals with not only becoming something he hates but also dealing with learning what he thought all his life was wrong. Every time Brad or any werewolf is nice it is salt in that wound.

Also Pat is so melodramatic going around and punching walls.

page 613 – 616

Danny and gets a nice good-bye with Natalie. Meanwhile, Pat remains mostly separate from the rest of the cast.

Here is another batch of writer notes on Sorcery 101. If you want to read ahead on these got ahead on these head over to my patreon.

Chapter 11

Title page

The title page I think does a good job showing off the main conflict. The title comes from a Barenaked Ladies song Alcohol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kAJOSCyTB0

560 – 564

And we continue what’s a minor conflict in most of Sorcery 101 but is what kicks off this chapter. Brad is kinda constantly misreading Mr. Tamura’s favoritism toward Ally. The conversation about what Mr. Tamura is got cut down. Basically, none of the cast know. Ally’s exchange about how she looks with him is something they’ve had before. So I made sure she’s smiling he answers.

And this is the kinda job Alpha Phoenix does pro bono a lot to keep supernatural stuff on the down low.

565 – 568

Brad and Danny’s time at the bar. Chelsey got their drinks mixed up like she did in the first chapter she was in. And like he does this whole chapter, Danny tries and fails to stop the bad decisions before they happen.

569 – 571

In the big part, Gort gets another cameo. As does Jill and Komiyan who are also from Darken. Skip and Reagan from Templar Arizona are also at the party. Also, Frost, Loki, and Suryu are there too. Mr. Tamura makes sure to slink away once Ally is introduced to the sleezy demon guy. He trusts her to get shit done on her own.

572 – 576

I had fun with tilt panels for Brad’s drunkenness. Danny seems rather unphased by Seth appearing to rob and murder a random guy. Seth just likes to rail people up and Danny’s attempts to stop the bad decisions parade is futile. I like those last 3 panels. I just me some silent beat panels.

577 – 588

Back to Ally and demon guy. This gives a small glimpse in the world of demons. It doesn’t come up much cause demons are less integrated with humans. Which is why this demon guys doesn’t realize humans don’t actually think Damien is a werewolf.

But Seth is causing more problems. I’m proud of Seth hand gesture when he blames Brad for the exploding door. The mention of Frost is a enough to get Seth to back down. So some small hints about whats to come with Frost.

Demon is vomited on, stabbed, and then decapitated. After the gang leaves, we meet Frost for the first time. He is the shortest male character in the comic. Him and Mr. Tamura talking about Damien is obviously something that is a big deal later.

589 – 591

Small wrap scene. I like Brad’s reflection in the coffee was fun to draw. At this point in the comic I was trying to pick more interesting shots. That one turned out nice. Ally getting a mug is a little less so.

Here is another batch of writer notes on Sorcery 101. If you want to read ahead on these got ahead on these head over to my patreon.

Chapter 10

Title page
Here we get Danny’s cousin who is the werewolf that bit Brad for the first time. He’s only been mentioned before but now he gets to appear for real.

527 – 532

We get some mother/daughter time. We get to see that Sarah is getting a fairly nice place from Alpha Phoenix. And scenes like this are why I make sure to put shit in people’s rooms. This wouldn’t work as well if her empty place didn’t contrast previous rooms.

And these files do come back. Demon bodyguard is a cameo of Kate Ashwin’s Gort. I wanted to let people know Maureen here is gonna see a werewolf without flat out saying it. She maybe should have hung on to that silver though. She is a bit cocky which is why didn’t see this coming.

533 – 541

Danny is still very excited he can cast a spell. Brad notices Nadia first because he’s got the super senses. Nadia gives some exposition. Danny is super down for helping hot ladies with cleavage. Nadia and Danny discussing Seth, it should be noted Seth didn’t threaten her, Asagi did. She is someone who got the better of Seth. It’s mentioned in the last chapter he has a fledgling that was a sorceress who cast a love spell on him. Seth didn’t escape that on his own. That was Nadia. So by “date” she means she magically made him obsessed with her. Danny should find out more about the hot ladies he helps out.

542 – 548

I’m very proud of the fact that I came up with a name that can have SHIT HOLE as it’s only functioning lights. And reinforcing what the Dwyn are believed to be for. So Pat’s plan should be obvious to anyone who recognizes his books. Nadia never tried to cure herself. There are other useful things in those books. Much like the fun tips Nadia gives Danny on sorcery in the next scene. Also I like Pat’s shirt. I like that he has so many nonthreatening clothes.

549 – 559

Exposition time. And while Danny doesn’t find out stuff about the people he helps, Nadia does her homework. I really like Danny and Pat’s “You’re being paranoid.” “Am I?” “YES, you ARE.” Both of them don’t have a very good argument.

They have a small fight with Gort that ends with bribs. Pat’s spell is in French. Each character does their part.

And here we have Damien being all ominous. Not many people commented on Damien when he shows up. So I never know if anyone actually thought he was a threat. He’s kinda a hold over from that original comic I made about Brad becoming a werewolf and meeting Ally. He might be the weakest part of that story that was never finished. He is probably weak through out Sorcery 101 too.

Here is another batch of writer notes on Sorcery 101. If you want to read ahead on these got ahead on these head over to my patreon.

Chapter 9

Title page

So this chapter is the one where we get the best look at Danny and his daughter. This cover is kinda calm. But there isn’t a whole lot of action in it.

Page 493 – 496

So Danny practicing. It doesn’t happen a whole lot but I wanted to show is actually improving. Danny isn’t slow at learning sorcery. It just takes a very very long time to be able to do anything. It takes that long because since anyone can learn sorcery I wanted a possible reason for why everyone doesn’t learn. And the answer is it takes like 10-15 years to do anything interesting.

And of coarse Danny immediately uses it to impress a girl. Cause what else would he do? And here Danny and Mel are interrupted once again.

497 – 501

I always like to put stuff in rooms. Natalie hasn’t been staying in this room long (like a month) but it’s already covered in books.

Also this scene and the next is very much about Natalie making it clear she wants Danny to herself. Also, it’s important to note that Natalie doesn’t think she has to be nice to people in general. She doesn’t dislike Mel, but only thinks she has to be nice if she is important. There are already hints of her thinking she’s better than other people. Natalie and Danny at the aquarium has some coloring I’m proud of. I’m not usually super proud of my coloring. I think I can get this done okay but never do something really well. But this like blue green light of the aquarium I think turned out well. Also, I really like to do that several panels that are the same shot and one with no dialog to give it a beat.

502 – 507

The fast food joint seen we have random person noticing the supernatural. I always have fun with that. Danny and Natalie in the hospital I did a lot of down shows to make them both look sad and vulnerable. Danny is veeeeery out of the loop.

508 – 512

And here we get Jackie’s vacation. Jackie is completely calm while Danny yells at her. I thought was important to show that she isn’t phased by a fight with Danny. Nearly all their fights go this way. Danny yells and Jackie coldly shuts him down while feeling in the right.

513 – 517

Rebecca has never been to a doctor. Cause why would she? Rebecca is however full of good ideas.

We get to see more of Pat’s shit apartment and his bathroom with no door on it. In case anyone wondered how Pat spends his free time. It’s killing roaches. Pat did fix his door, otherwise Danny would have just barged in. Pat doesn’t need much prompting to help. He is warming up to Danny a little.

518 – 526

Also Pat immediately knows what’s wrong so he has to tell Danny about his cousins Mary and Sue. So Natalie has purple eyes. She is more magical than she should be. That is super rare. She’s super smart. She’s good at everything. Oh and also she is a princess. I am a big fan of jokes in books and shows where the characters/world is unaware of said joke. This scene, on top of being the easiest scene to draw in Sorcery 101, was a very long dry joke about Mary Sues. Only one person noticed. That was Jay Edidin. Despite most people not getting the joke, the joke didn’t interrupt the story for people who didn’t realize their was a joke. So it’s a partial success.

For the record, Pat is correct in his assessment of Seth. He did have purple eyes before become a vampire. Funny thing there, Danny’s kid who was born after Danny was blood bond to Seth has the same eye color as Seth. Real funny thing.

Here is another batch of writer notes on Sorcery 101. If you want to read ahead on these got ahead on these head over to my patreon.

Chapter 8

Title page

This is when the redos stop. Mary’s coloring stops. This is the oldest art still up on the website.

page 453 – 458

Big park. I had so much fun drawing it. I don’t usually have time to do big over heads like that.

Natalie is already quite the little misanthrope. Also, every scene with Rebecca and Natalie just reminds me of how in like early elementary school there was like expected that you would be friends with the kids of your parents friends. I liked drawing Rebecca’s little fight in the background.

Baymick is very clean because the rules are very strict. If you don’t follow them, you aren’t allowed back in Baymick. Which doesn’t sound harsh but most of the residents live their because they need protection and because it’s free to live there.

page 459 – 463

This whole scene is pretty straight forward because Mr. Tamura is. It does give you some hints that Mr. Tamura sees Ally as more than just an employee. He could have given someone else this job or simply not helped them with the money for the kitchen. Also, we get start with Brad’s general dislike/discomfort with Mr. Tamura.

464 – 465

This is what Loki and Aaron do when the sun is up and they are awake. Loki understands Spanish, Aaron doesn’t. Seth explains later that vampires can get the thoughts of those they feed off of. So most vampires do know more than one language if they have done any traveling. Originally, I had that demons called Mr. Tamura, Darkfire since he controls black and purple fire and his human alias changes. Later, in the series I dropped that idea to avoid confusion and because it’s dumb.

466 – 470
Brad and Danny are not really cut out for these types of missions. They don’t know how to not attract attention or how to make sure their story is straight.

471 – 476

We get more backstory on Ally here. Her dad died when she was 6. It was Aaron’s idea to charge Ally’s mom with assault, because he used to be friends with both her and Ally’s dad. I thought maybe I’d make it a comic one day, but it never not completely formed. But I wanted it to always be clear that Aaron isn’t very happy with how things went down, hense him telling Loki to be quiet.

And to make sure people didn’t forget Seth’s in trouble there is a small hint about it. We now have Mr. Tamura putting a block in their investigation. He is direct about both that and when dealing with Brad hanging back. Mr. Tamura being left handed was an accident. But after realizing I accidentally drew him writing with his left hand, I also realized I hadn’t drawn him writing before this. So the rest of the book he’s left handed. This scene might make people think Mr. Tamura doesn’t like Brad, but he’s actually indifferent to him.

477 – 478

This is a close call for Danny. Seth really should have clued him in sooner. Mr. Tamura sure does help the gang a lot for someone who in theory is neutral.

479 – 482

Lots of exposition. Loki and Aaron are sleeping together. I thought it was obvious after this scene. Because they live together and Loki getting all cuddly while they talk about the rock and the hard place they are between. There are still some folks I’ve seen try to argue Loki is just touchy cause he hugged Seth. In hind sight Aaron and him should have entwined fingers while during this seen. And I tried to make that last panel vaguely ominous to hint at what happens when our heroes return.

483 – 485

Ally clearly takes after her mom. When confronted with mysterious disembodied voices and bars bent by an invisible force she gets ready for a fight. I like the 4 panel bit of the bars getting sorta straightened and then re-bent.

486 – 490

And everything now goes to hell. The 6 tiny panels on page 489 was something I was proud of at the time. I wanted the whole thing to be tense during the stand off.

491 – 492

Mr. Tamura is once again straight to the point. Ally’s mom kinda became obsessed with revenge and missed out on a lot. I like that sort of angle on a revenge story, which is why I expanded on it in As We Were.