I’m back to work, writing the finale of Birdking Vol 3 this week. I’m also coloring a few short stories that will be collected later this year, all written by me and featuring a cavalcade of diverse artists from all over the world.
The one I’m working on now is from the brilliant Filya Bratukhin. It’s called: Lucidor’s Prize and it’s a dark fantasy piece about sentient crystal wizards.
Filya is a madman. I have never seen so much detail in a single panel, let alone page after page. Not even the master Geoff Darrow packs in this much detail. In black and white, the art can be hard to decipher but with a little color to break it up and define the shapes, it comes to searing life.
Before I start coloring something, I will flat it. Flatting is a comic term for doing color separations and prepping the page for coloring. A lot of the time this will be handled by an assistant. I tend to flat all my books, even the ones I don’t color, as a way to save money and help expedite the process. I also like touching the art and getting a different perspective on it by essentially tracing the line work, which lets me get to know each artist’s nuances, idiosyncrasies, and style on a deeper level. I flatted Kali and Birdking for Robert Sammelin and Crom while they then colored their own work.
Generally, it takes 1-2 hours to flat a page. But Filya’s pages are taking 3-5 days each to break up. I have never encountered anything like this before. I find myself going a little mad staring at these lines and it makes me wonder if Filya might not be a little mad himself.
I’ve been flatting these since before the holidays and I’m only halfway done. Then comes the actual fun part of doing the coloring. To be honest, I’m actually quite intimidated by these pages. Feels like a real challenge ahead but I can’t wait to get started.
I’m quite late to the Cormac McCarthy party and I’d be the billionth person to praise him but I just finished my first Cormac novel with Blood Meridian and I’ve been haunted by it ever since. I’m not going to review the book, I’m still trying to process it. But I did want to say, to those of you who have read it, that the ending with the Judge leaping from the closet naked in his 7ft tall behemothness (not a word) and wrapping the Kid in his arms, for us to only ponder at what he does to him, has not left my third eye since reading it on xmas morning. I just see the Judge’s mad white face grinning as he falls on me from above. Bone fucking chilling! Unbelievable novel. In a word: true American carnage.
I’ll be back next time with updates on Birdking Volume 3 and maybe some more short story bits.
Until then…
Daniel! This is all exciting! Where/in what form will you publish your short stories? Single issues, or a book collecting them?
Filya Bratukhin is amazing and has definitely jumped onto my list of artists I watch for. I've snagged a good few of his variant covers, and the Agent of W.O.R.L.D.E. miniseries. It's seriously awesome that you get to work with him!
Still waiting for a good night to re-read Birdking vol 1 and then read vol 2. Sigh. It's gonna be a very nice night when I get to sit down with those for a comfy, leisurely read, though. I promise feedback when I do (and I'm certain it'll be good)!
Meanwhile -- maybe see you at Pulp Fiction sometime soon! :)
I’m itching to get into Cormac again soon. I read The Road ages ago, always wanted to revisit it. I probably want to start with the Border Trilogy. Blood Meridian is supposedly a super difficult read -- how did you work through it?