Thank you ShanE, let me tell you that I've been enjoying your art in TFTA for a while now. My particular favorites being the picture series form the "Symphony of Hysterics" story by Dave2112 from the November issue. That was choice stuff, let me tell you.
A little bit about my ambitions with this project.
I enjoyed doing this project on many levels. Startng off, it IS my first e-comic, and I've spent FAR more time polishing it than I have with every other work I've done to date. I had indirectly drawn inspiration for the concept from the winter storm that hit the midwest (where I live) in early February that left me without power for eight days. Somewhere between the hotel rooms and staying with friends and family this idea materialized. I suppose the personal frustration of being trapped in your confines in an icy winter prison lends itself to the creative process of Snow-Bound for the most part.
I wanted to explore the "tickle thriller" genre that seems to be popular in a lot of tickling fiction, and take it VERY high-concept. I believe tickling can be used as a device of danger that everyone can enjoy without cringing at it too much, strictly because it doesn't cause physical harm to the subject. To many though, tickling would be avoided by many as if you were waving a gun at them, so the fear that tickling can induce shouldn't be taken lightly. For something that's dreaded by so many, the reactions to the actual act of tickling is comically delicious. The ticklee's discomfort is overshadowed by the massive, hysterical reactions that can be drawn from them, and therefore, that's where tickling's appeal stems from. So, even though a confrontation can leave one leery of tickling, at the end of the day, everyone goes home in tact.
Most times tickling in the real world is for fun, and usually stops after a time. Snow-Bound explores the slighty darker side, when saying "no" just isn't enough to make it stop. The story will never hit a point of depravity where it becomes too much, but, like most great tickle concepts, it has to push the edge. The tickling featured in the comic is aggressive and ruthless and used as a display of true power over others among the more devious types that are introduced in the story. I'd like to be able to explore this tickling hierarchy that'll establish itself in this book.
I, more than anyone else would love to see this project catch on with the tickling masses. Snow-Bound's mythos is open enough where the heroine isn't the only recipient of tickling throughout, but others that are caught up in it's massive, fiendish, plot are susceptable to become a victim as well. More installments will be able to portray this better. "Snow-Bound" is named so for a reason, even though the locates will differ, the underlying theme is snow, so snow as well as insane amounts of ticking be be depicted in some form throughout.
I know it's hard to please tickle fans on favorite areas to be tickled and have it be unanimous, overall though, I believe upper-body fans, and foot affiacianados (my favorite field) will be pleased with the balance in this project.
I hope you find the book is to you guys satisfaction, I created this book mainly for myself, because if you don't enjoy what you create, how can you expect anyone else to enjoy it? I hope these comic projects from MTJ Publishing can inspire more creators and artists to come out of the woodwork with projects of their own. The tickling community can never have enough talent behind it... you know?
Peace to all.
-Scamwich, founder and artist of, Scamwich's Delusions
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scamwichsdelusions
