Ya’ll may have noticed that this week’s post is a little short.  There’s a reason.  I’m slow . . . or my expectations are too high. Which amounts to the same thing at this point.

I like the style that I’m going for with the comic. I’ve always enjoyed graphic novels that had a painterly style and that’s the effect I’m trying to attain.  Only problem is, it takes a lot longer to do it that way.  At least for me.

So, I had to do me some thinking (as they say around here.) In the end I realized if I want that style for the comic I’m going to have to find some compromise.  This is it.

I’m going to be doing the comic in this format for each chapter from now on.  The panels are pulled from a layout for a full page. My plan is to keep on posting portions of pages two or maybe even three times a week till I reach the end of a chapter, then glue everything together.  It’s not perfect, but it will help me keep this thing moving along.

One side note.  I noticed that I finished what I posted today more quickly than it has been taking me to finish a similar portion of a full page.  Don’t know why but, it did.

Anyway, hope you like what I was able to post and hope you’ll be around later in the week for another.

Mike

It’s a little known fact that Mr. Eynk has always wanted to break into show business.

These pages are going so sloooowly. I’ve got a system down now so it’s going to get better, I hope.

Meantime, thanks for your patience!

Mike

I wanted to throw a quick “thank you” out there to those of you who’ve been voting for Far From Home over at the Topwebcomics site.

I really appreciate it.  Especially since I took down the TWC vote button here on the site months ago!  Even so, the comic’s getting just as many, if not more votes than before.

Thanks again guys!

Mike

So our boys have finally met the mysterious Captain of their Space Pirate captors. Looks like he has a problem with “Pirate Speak” as well.

Folks, I really am trying to get into a more regular schedule with this.  The house remodel is at a point where I can take things a little at a time.  Should free up more time for FFH.

Thanks for sticking around.

Oh, by the way, keep your eye on Pg. 22.  In the last panel, Waters is about to lose his head. Literally.  I hate his expression there. Sooo out of character for him.  That’s why I love Photoshop.

Catch you all later,

Mike

I know, late again.

I’m always wanting to try new techniques and it never fails to get me into trouble.

Speaking of trouble, looks like Waters and Eynk are up to their necks in it again.

By the way, how do you all like the corny pirate speak?  Heh . . .

I thought I would try something a little different.  I’ve put together a few wallpapers that you loyal readers might like.

It’s more of an experiment than anything as I’ve made them by pulling scenes from the comic itself.  I’ve only set up one image size for now (1360×768), mainly ‘cuz that’s the resolution of my monitor.  If there’s enough interest I’ll put together some other resolutions.

To get the wallpapers, just click “Wallpapers” on the Menu Bar at the top of the comic and then follow the instructions.

In the  future, I’d like to put together a few “stand alone” wallpapers for you all.

In the meantime, hope you all enjoy!

Mike

Just a quick heads up to let you all know that the site will be looking a little wonky for a while.

Doing a little format change but don’t have time to do it all at once.  Please bear with the mess,

Thanks!

Mike

If you’re a new reader to this little Sci-Fi webcomic, welcome aboard!  (Also, you can ignore most of what’s coming up in this particular blog if you want.)

As for those that have been following for awhile you’re probably thinking “WHAT?!?!?”

Yes, I’ve gone and done it again.  They say distance gives you a better perspective on things.  I’ve been away from Far From Home for about a month whilst whipping a new residence into some kind of shape.  When I wasn’t hitting my thumb with a hammer I was thinking a bit about the comic.  And then it hit me. (Not the hammer, a realization.)

First, the original plan with Jake’s story was to take him through the current arc and then have him continue with other adventures.  Waters and Eynk were just a way to get us to Jake and his story.  Then I realized that I’d thrown away the perfect vehicle for multiple story arcs in Waters and Eynk.  They’re already members of an organization that patrols multiple universes.  (Mention was made of this here.) Can’t have a more open field for stories than that.  I could also finish the “Space Pirates” arc and then smoothly move on into Jake’s story.  With Waters and Eynk involved.  Besides, to be honest, I really missed those two.

So, there you have it. Sorry for giving you all whiplash.  I think I’ve finally hit on the right formula and will be sticking to it from now on.

Let the hate mail begin . . . heh . . .

Quite a while back I did a piece for Denver Brubaker’s “Tales of a Checkered Man” webcomic.

It’s a humorous story that revolves around a wannabe superhero that soon begins to figure out he’s in over his head.  At least that’s my brief synopsis.  Denver may have something else in mind.

I love the artwork.  It’s done in a kind of “Dark Noir” B/W that runs a bit counter to the humor found in the story.  It works well.

Anyway, enough of the art critique.  Especially as I’m not a critic.  I may not know art but, I know what I like.  Heh

Here’s a small part of the piece.  If you want to see what this guy has to do with The Checkered Man, click the image to head on over to Denver’s webcomic.

I prefer working with the Sci-Fi genre but, this was a nice break from the routine. 

Hope you all enjoy.

Mike

Awhile back I was looking at some files I’d kept of this webcomic from when I first started publishing it. Not this version. I’m talking about Far From Home as it was in the beginning. Before the re-boot.

Comparing what it was then to what it is now I can’t believe the improvement. Color, layout, story. All so much better than before.

Now, before ya’ll start thinking I’m getting a big head (Though I actually do physically. Really hard to find hats that fit) please keep in mind the title of this post. I’m not taking the credit for the improvement.  Well, I guess maybe a little of it. I am the one holding the pencil, I guess.

That being said, the purpose of this post is to say, “Thanks!”  Why?  Because to my mind, the biggest factor leading to that improvement was a few folks that were willing to take a little time to help out a “noob.”

Let me start the list with Mike Maihack, creator of the sci-fi webcomic “Cleopatra in Spaaaaace!” because he’s the first person I worked up the courage to email and ask for an honest opinion of my work.

Well, he gave it. Not a “Great Work! Keep it up!” brush off. He pointed out its flaws, mainly in relation to colors. He took a little time to explain to me how to improve my work in that area. He was also kind enough to mention what he thought was good about my work. This was some time ago. He may not even remember me. But I sure do appreciate his willingness to help out  a noob.

The next person I asked to take a look at my work was Tom Dell’Aringa, creator of the sci-fi, humor webcomic, “Marooned.”

I asked him for the same thing I asked from Mike Maihack, “What do you think?”  It must have been either a really slow day for Tom or he really wanted to be helpful (I like to think the latter was the case).

I got an email back from him.  An email that would probably have filled up four pages if printed out. Tom went into exhaustive detail concerning both what he thought were the strengths and weaknesses of my work and suggested ways I could fix them.   It was good advice.

Up to this day, he’s made me feel free to shoot him an email with any questions I might have. And, as always, he’s very clear as to what he thinks.  It’s much appreciated.

Last, but certainly not least, is Steve Ogden, creator of the webcomic, “Moon Town.”

Steve’s case is a little different.  My first real contact with him ( besides blowing a big secret about  his storyline with a wild guess in the comments section) had to do with a piece of fan art.  It was kind of crude.  #2 pencil on sketch paper.

He posted it, which in itself is not that unusual.  He linked back to my site.  Also not unusual.  What stuck out in my mind were his comments.  They weren’t the “Hey, here’s a piece of fan art from so and so.  He does this . . . NEXT!” that you so often see on many webcomic sites.

He commented on my comic.  Didn’t just tell folks to check it out but why to check it out.  Explained the backstory that led to my doing the piece in the first place. Even made some nice comments about me, personally.

Since then Steve’s been kind enough to let me run ideas by him, has given advice, even let me give Cassie’s ship a cameo in my comic.

What really touched me was the morning I found a comment from him waiting for moderation.  It had to do with how much he thought the webcomic had improved. Now, I’m not going all screaming Justin Bieber fan or anything of the sort.  It just that from what I’d pieced together reading his webcomic blog this guy is juggling more cats than Steve Martin in the form of work and other projects, let alone family.  Even so, he was taking the time to check back on the noob.  Might not have seemed like a big deal to Steve but, I appreciated it. A lot.

One of the things leading to the re-boot was dealing with a serious illness. Far From Home went on a loooong hiatus.  As I hadn’t gotten too far into the storyline I decided to go ahead and re-boot the project.  Try to synthesize all this good advice and help I’d received into something better than the original.  “Far From Home” as you see it now is the result. Like the commercials say, “It’s New and Improved!”

Now I know that in the BIG picture there are things that are much more important than webcomics.  However, there’s also a  saying, “If you’re going to do something, do it well.”  I’d like to see Far From Home continue to improve.  Not only for me, but for all you folks who’ve decided that Far From Home is worthy of your attention.

So, I’ll keep on working at it.  It’s just nice to know that you’ve got someone to turn to for help when you need it.

Thanks, Guys!