Issue Three, Page Twelve

Posted on February 4, 2024 by Matthew Schofield

3rd Jul 2023, 3:17 PM

 

This may be one of my shortest Creator Commentaries yet! This page is pretty simple, so there’s not a lot to say about its creation. I knew that I had to relay the story point that Steamroller Man was stuck, and M.A.R.S.H.M.A.L.L.O.W.’s marshmallow-y flesh had neutralized Steamroller Man’s power. The challenge was how to make it funny and interesting, despite the fact that our main character is immobilized and has no one to talk to. It felt like the perfect time to give my hero an existential crisis! I thought it would be fun to really lean into the melodrama of the moment, the way they used to in vintage 1960s and ‘70s superhero comics. Jack Kirby always seemed to be drawing characters staring out at the reader in emotional distress, and it’s amazing to me how well it communicates the drama of the moment! To a modern reader, I would suppose it may come across as a bit goofy in its earnestness, but I feel that therein lies its charm. I definitely wanted to draw a panel of only Steamroller Man’s eyes staring out at the reader, looking worried! Match that with a thought balloon think-screaming “WHAT AM I?!!” and hopefully I’ve achieved the right balance of silliness and drama.

In other news, I have been working on assembling my Kickstarter campaign video, which has been fun. I’m launching the campaign to print copies of the first issue of Steamroller Man, so if you’d like to be notified when it launches, please sign up for my mailing list using this link!

I will also be doing a sale at my Spreadshop site on the 4th of July! If you want to get a Steamroller Man shirt, it’s a good time to do it! If I’ve set it up correctly, everything should be 23% off for American Independence Day, July 4th only.
You can use the “MERCH” link at the top of the page to go to my shop.

As always, thanks for reading, commenting and subscribing!