"Spectacles of Doom" (excerpt from a failed graphic novel - */F)

[Low_Roads]

About 15 years ago I tried my hand at creating a really long comic-art epic. Work took several years and I finished hundreds upon hundreds of illustrations, but the project never came together to my satisfaction. While most of the plot was fairly straightforward space fantasy, I did sneak in one tickling scene. I didn't often inject fetish themes into material I planned to share with friends; I was most leery about its acceptance. This opportunity was too good to pass up, though.

Here's the sequence, slightly edited and rearranged for clarity's sake. The setup is as follows: brutal interplanetary buccaneers have invaded a military space station, which they plan to use for galactic conquest. Things aren't going quite as smoothly as they would like, though:

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

The flow of the scenes are well done, well scripted and blended together. Everything that was necessary was done and its clear you put quite ammount of thought into this. Good work.

 

[Budweiserbob!]

*applauds!*

Woo! Xd

 

[scavenger]

That's awesome! The pictures are really clear, mostly through the exellent black/white balance. I also like the characters, they have a lot of personality. I too made several attemps in the past to draw comic strips (but usually gave up after a few pages).
Very good work, thank you for sharing. 🙂

 

[Reed_7891]

Wow, this really is something special, i'd love to see more
Your a great artist

 

[Spud_Mobile]

Wow... really fantastic stuff... your work (particularly the female character) has the look of early R. Crumb comics. I would definitely like to see more! 🙂

 

[Darth Godflesh]

Excellent work, I agree on Spud mobile comments regarding your "particular" artwork, personally it reminds me of MAD's all-time great Basil Wolverton, but with a less freaky character features.
I undertand it's hard to introduce "fetish" subjects into mainstream/everyday story telling but yours is nice.

 

[Low_Roads]

Woops! Let this one get away from me! Better get down to work...

You're so kind to say so, Vlad! :happy: Thank you! A lot of pre-scripting and revision did go into individual scenes. If I'd applied the same rigor to overall concept the finished results would have been more rewarding, but I can't complain too much. All that practice was good for me!

On behalf of my characters, grateful thanks for the applause, BBob! (all take a deep bow).

Thank you for saying so, scavenger! :happy: That's very kind! I'd love see what you could do with a comic strip, you're so fast with fine images. You're right, though: stories aren't easy to maintain. That's why I haven't done anything new in awhile. You need just the right idea.

Thank you, Reed! I appreciate that! I really would like to do more comic book stories. With the heat being so miserable, it's hard to produce any new art of value, but I am using the time to explore story possiblities.

I'm a big fan of Crumb's, Spud_Mobile! Getting my name anywhere near his is high praise and greatly appreciated! I definitely plan more comic stories. They're great fun to do!

Same goes for Basil Wolverton, Darth! Thank you so much! I've always admired his "grotesques", and I'd be surprised if they hadn't influenced my own approach. Glad you think the tickling scene was well integrated. I agonized over it, believe me!

 

[coloman]

Hope I am not too late to get on the bandwagon Littlebighead, your work is excellent. You could have your own cartoon strip in any daily newspaper in the nation. I hope to see more of your work soon.

 

[Low_Roads]

You sneaked in while I was proof-reading my first answer, John! 😉 Thank you so much for your kind words! I do indeed plan to start a new story eventually. This miserable summer heat really lays me out, but once it lets up I'll be far more productive.

 

[nessonite1]

I can't even begin to imagine taking on a project as involved as a full comic. Excellenmt work, LBH!

 

[His Divine Shadow]

Thumbs up and accolades I send unto you. Most impressive. :happy:

 

[Yet_One_More_Idiot]

Marvellous! Were there any further panels of ticklish torture? 🙂

 

[Low_Roads]

Thanks so much, ness! :happy: Actually, I think you could handle such a challenge easily. So could Vlad... you're both good with words and natural storytellers. Single illustrations, which must convey their whole story in a single gestalt instance, are much more challenging than comic work. In a comic strip, the burden is spread: if one panel doesn't work so well, subsequent ones can make up for it. Finding a sustaining story is the real trick... once it's started, momentum builds quickly.

Accolades gratefully received, HDS! I'm glad this story went over well. Next time, I promise to tailor one we can enjoy in its entirety!

Thank you, koopacooper! I'm afraid I've presented every relevant thing that I produced (I was concerned about drawing the scene out too long, and tipping my hand that I had an "obsession"). The imagery stops abruptly, I know... story focus shifts to different characters, and the poor cat girl's fate is left hanging for awhile. Next time we see her, it's much later and she's undergoing a different (non-tickling) trial. For what it's worth, neither she or any of the space station personel crack. Training will out!

 

[nessonite1]

Im very happy you have so much confidence in me, LBH. I wish I did! 😛 My biggest problem is a very short attention span. Drawing the same characters over and over ad infinitum would be hard especially since it requires a good deal of consistency. 😛

 

[Cbarton]

Those are excellent frames, LittleBigHead! Very well done! Looks as professional as anything in the newspapers...

 

[Low_Roads]

I need you and John as my agents, hawkeye! :laughing: Seriously, it's so gratifying to recieve such nice comments! Makes the effort more than worthwhile. Thanks a bunch!

That's heady praise coming from someone who knows 'tooning as well as you do, Soletk! Much thanks! Glad you like the dialogue. The script for this series was great fun to write. Of course, it's hard go wrong when all of your characters talk like 1930s gangsters! :laughing:

 

[coloman]

Terrific is a good way to sum up in one word your extreme talent and genuine appreciation for all of our thanks you's Littlebighead. I am a Barbershopper and can relate to how good it makes you feel that your artwork brings pleasure to others. I would imagine you feel the same way now that I do when the chorus I sing with pours our hearts out in song and are rewarded with a standing ovation from the audience.

 

[Low_Roads]

I would imagine you feel the same way now that I do when the chorus I sing with pours our hearts out in song and are rewarded with a standing ovation from the audience.

Very well said, John. None of us would expend our efforts in a vacuum, and I'm blessed to receive far more from this forum than I could ever hope to offer. I only hope I provide as much satisfaction when it's my turn to reward the talent and hard work of others.

 

[Darth Vegeta]

(applauds) very good.

 

[Low_Roads]

Thanks very much, Darth (my second Darth of the thread!) Much appreciated!

 

[rajee]

Great work on cutting and pasting the parts to make it run smoothly. A great scene illustrated. To think, you have been hiding your artistic skills from us. 😛
Now you have a platform to show some total tickling fetish material. I hope you do create some more for us. 😀

 

[Low_Roads]

Thank you, rajee! The prospect of creating a tickling oriented comic is quite energizing, and I have every intention of doing one. I've already explored many story options and am very close to a workable idea. Just need to smooth out the details a bit and make sure it's manageable. Again, thanks so much for your interest and encouragement!

 

[Hungarian21]

"Applauds too, though feels a little slow" Do we get autographs? 😛

 

[Low_Roads]

Thanks Hungarian2! Kind of you to ask! I'd love to provide an autograph, but my online penmanship is not the best. I'll keep practicing! :laughing: