VIDHERO WEB STRIPS

INsights: this may be the first in a series. at last! 

I’ve been wanting to do a short storyline for a while, simply because a lot of web strips that I read throw down that bone. And I think readers gravitate towards it. like carrots on sticks. But all my ideas were these ebic abstract dissertations on the nature of perception and reality. bohooooring.

This series will be know as the “Carrot Op” because a lot of what i find funny is the large prop involved (ala carrot top). giant goofy head syringes. Filled with Acid.

Originally i wrote down that they were strapping giant polar bears to their faces. but i just didn’t want to vector up a polar bear. And I feel like some other (funnier) friends had already cornered the market on bear humor. So i shall tackle the comedy angles of giant needles.

Word wise, i assume it all makes sense. Whether it’s some sort of flesh burning acid or just LSD is purposefully ambiguous. because i can’t let go of my ambiguity crutch. I like the idea of keeping it simple. I like the idea of randomly deciding to rob banks after a couple seconds of discussion. In a way the whole story arc i’ve written up is a small homage to Killing Zoe. in a  way. in the kind of way that you probably wouldn’t know it unless i mentioned it. Because i don’t think it would be remotely funny to waste space saying “tomorrow is bastille day” or “tonight we live life”. just smarky geek insider joke crap. hmm. The original vision was that they’d be running around outside a bank unable to see the door, due to the giant polar bears on their faces, and they’d decide to shoot up some heroin. because of the killing zoe reference, and my desire to see some bank robbers run into a bank with large guns and heroin needles still hanging from their arms. meh.

So in another way it’s a tribute to all the bank robbery movies i’ve ever watched. Really I’m just thinking of the bank robbery i’d like to see. you’ll see. Hopefully (unless the end of the week rolls around and i decide it sucks, or I just don’t have time to handle the art needs).

Art wise, i fooled around with a more apprehensive face for the ever-jubilant Viddy (first panel). not sure i got there. I keep wanting to insert more subtle hints that his head is a big video cassette tape. but I keep giving up in favor of just focusing on his expression.

I made the (slightly wonky) syringes first, then resized them to fit the other panels. hoping they’d seem like simple background fluff before they were properly revealed in the third panel. I was tempted to put in big black plungers, and numbers, and liquid dripping from the tips. but decided it would distract from the characters. maybe that was a mistake. hmm. So i just went in and put subtle bubbles everywhere. for some reason this seems a must for any sort of liquid in a syringe (or maybe i’m thinking test tubes… hmm.)

Anywho. I’ve written 9 other strips to complete this story arc. with a note to do a 10th strip as an epilogue, even though i currently have no idea what should happen in this proposed epilogue. so that strip may not happen. hmm. weeee! referencing Carrot top, even subtley (in the title), feels like a giant mistake. time will tell.