“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” page 12

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” page 11

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” page 10

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” page 9

The Return of Hereville

Hereville — remember Hereville? — I draw a comic called Hereville — is back on. It’ll be a little while before I officially post any of the new pages — but barring absolute disaster, I can promise that when new pages start appearing, they will appear once a week, without ever missing a week, until the story is finished. (And due to the long lead time this gives me, I can probably promise that for the next Hereville story, too.)

That’s a lot of the reason I haven’t been posting as much on “Alas, a Blog” lately — too busy drawing.

I’ve begun reposting the old pages (with minor art and dialog fixes) on webcomicsnation. You can always find the most recently posted page here (it’s currently on page 4), and you can read it from the start by going to the Hereville table of contents. The webcomicsnation “Hereville” page will be updated with an additional page every Wednesday. And, once again, I promise: there will be no missed weeks from now until at least the end of “How Mirka Got a Sword.”

(“How Mirka Got a Sword” will be 59 pages long when finished. 43 of those pages are now complete, and 14 of the remaining 16 pages are already penciled, which is why I’m confident I won’t miss any weeks, despite my – cough! – poor past record in this regard.)

For those of you who are interested, here’s a peek at some of the new art — a double-page spread from later in the story than anything I’ve posted in public. Click on the thumbnail to see the big-sized version. (Minor spoiler warning, I guess.)

This is what I have to do before “How Mirka Got A Sword” is complete

My “to do” list (posted so I can have it written down somewhere I won’t lose). I’ll strike out things as I complete them.

This is what I have to do before “How Mirka Got A Sword” is complete:

1) Ink and color pages 44-57. (All the pages up to 43 are complete. Pages 44-57 are penciled. 57 is the last page.)

1a) Ink and color 44-45.
1b) Ink and color 46-47.
1c) Ink and color 48.
1d) Ink and color 49.
1e) Ink and color 50.
1f) Ink and color 51.
1g) Ink and color 52.
1h) Ink and color 53.
1i) Ink and color 54.
1j) Ink and color 55.
1k) Ink and color 56.
1l) Ink and color 57.

2) Replace page 12 with 2 new pages.
(I crossed this off after I decided to keep the current page 12.)

3) Redraw Mirka’s younger sister to be about a foot shorter in panel 2 of page 19. Her ridiculously long midsection has annoyed me for years, every time I look at page 19.

4) Replace page 20 with two new pages, expanding the storytelling so that even those few readers who aren’t observant Jews will be able to follow that the ceremony involves putting the candle out in the wine.
(I fixed this problem with a much easier solution — I put in a caption explaining that the candle is being put out in the wine.)

5) While I’m at it, redraw Mirka’s dad so he no longer looks like he’s her Zayde (grandfather), on pages 18, 20 (to be replaced anyhow, see “to do” #4) and 21.
(I found a much simpler solution: I’ve decided that the old gentleman pictured is Mirka’s Zayde.)

6) Reletter pages 1 – 25.

7) Draw the cover.

8 ) Figure out and draw the “Hereville” lettering for the cover.

9) Decide if I’m going to print this as two issues or to print it as one comic.

I know — printing as one comic is better. But saddle-stapled comics from print-on-demand places like Lulu and Kablam are a maximum of 52 pages; and stepping up to squarebound means stepping up the price significantly. I don’t think many people at cons or whatever would be willing to page $12 for a 59 page comic. Plus, I’ll be giving lots of copies away — probably more than I ever sell — and it’s more affordable to do that if I print it in two issues.

Anyhow, still considering…

10) If I draw it in two issues, draw the cover for issue two.

11) Figure out how many copies to print.

12) Get all of the above finished in time to get it to a printer a few weeks before the last weekend in April, when Stumptown takes place.

13) Set up a webcomicsnation page for Hereville.

After that, I can start drawing the next “Hereville” story, which focuses on one of Mirka’s older sisters, a girl who risks scandal by — gasp! — singing in front of a boy! I know, I know — I’m just trying to get easy sales by relying on t&a.

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” page 8

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” page 7

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” page 6

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” page 5