“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” Page 28

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” Page 27

I may have overdone panel 3, but gosh it was fun to draw. 🙂 That panel — and really this entire sequence — was very influenced by Dave Sim’s comic book “Cerebus,” and in particular “Church and State.”

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” Page 26

I love layouts like this, with a big figure superimposed over the panels. But I don’t often find places in my own comics where they feel “right” to me as storytelling devices.

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” Page 25

I really like the fourth panel on this page; I like the way you can tell what’s happening even though you only see a little sliver of Mirka’s boot. I should do more panels like that one.

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” Page 24

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” Page 23

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” Page 22

Fruma has all sorts of odd knowledge.

I’m very happy with the colors in the first panel of this page. When I originally drew the panel, I did a ton of cross-hatching on Fruma’s right hand, and then I took 90% of it out when I colored.

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” page 21

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” page 20

The gentleman on this page isn’t Mirka’s father, by the way; he’s her grandfather.

Mirka’s pop is traveling this week and so doing Shabbot with relatives. But he will be a character in the next “Hereville” story after this one.

I have a really hard time drawing manmade objects. The wine glass here, which I’m not terribly happy with, took me ages to draw. The candle was fun to draw, though.

“How Mirka Got Her Sword,” page 19