ICYMI: My Life Today: Bomb Cyclone (1-5-18)

I didn't draw very many pages in this series, but it's interesting how many of them revolve around snow. I guess the snow got me in a contemplative mood. Or life slowed down enough to sit and draw something while recuperating from the aches and pains. Or perhaps, snow and shoveling and going outside were things that were visual and active, and more interesting to make a comic about. My life in general consists of sitting in a  room behind a drawing board or computer keyboard. I don't really go anywhere, or do much of anything. Once the 90's were over and we bought our house our lives slowed down considerably. And then after our child was born, things contracted even further. So, this was something of a departure from the average day. Or whatever.

Most autobiographical comics are mediocre at best because most cartoonists lead somewhat mediocre lives. We sit in rooms writing and drawing and if we go out, it's often for mundane reasons like shopping for groceries or going to the bar or the movies or a concert with friends, or a convention or something work-related. Obviously many cartoonists break from this tradition/stereotype -- and bless them for their more interesting lives -- but anecdotally a lot more trees have died for the bar-hopping and sad dating comics than for the heavier or more transcendent stuff. 

A decent, everyday autobio comic has an interesting story, or an interesting way of telling a less-than-interesting story. A good-to-great autobio comic has an interesting story told in an interesting way. Certified great goes beyond interesting and into compelling, "holy shit" territory. Most of us don't have a compelling holy shit story -- and perhaps this is a good thing, because all too often the holy shit stories are depressing and sometimes brutal. 

Style-wise, most of us don't have genius-level storytelling/art chops. Or elevated insight into life as it is lived, or a sense of poetry in our writing. That's why I keep these things short and try to punch them up a bit in the approach when there's very little going on. Which is usually the case. Vary the drawing style, embrace important details, evoke a sense of being there, follow up on a tangent and loop back in, hit on a panel layout and/or the right words that set up a rhythm for leading the reader along. Keep atmosphere in mind. Work towards the desired effect, a joke, a melancholy beat, a lesson learned, a confession, a regret, an observation. Avoid a simple, dull reportage, "this happened", "and then this happened". It can work for a few stylists, but most of us have to try harder. And we need to develop an internal editor that knows the difference between an anecdote and a story, an actual story and a bunch of things you did last night that you haven't made intriguing or enjoyable in any real way, shape or form. 

Sometimes you get lucky and knock out something decent that connects with other people. That's all I go for. .

File under: Blathering I wasn't planning to type. Hopefully there's a kernel of truth in there somewhere. Anyway, I didn't make a comic out of it, so be thankful for that.