Editor’s letter

to the comic crunch

The world of comics may be rich with fantastical stories and mind-blowing imagery, but it also has a serious side. The huge number of comics that are released on a weekly basis means there has to be a welloiled production process behind the scenes, making sure deadlines are met, and readers get their fix of awesome.

This month I asked Ken Lashley to create a workshop on one of his favourite characters, Black Panther. After requesting to see his digital workflow and receiving it, I – perhaps a little demandingly – then asked to see a more ‘ finished’ piece (I know. I’m a git). But being the pro that he is, Ken chose not to swear at me like a sailor, and instead asked for a few days to produce an image, “of cover quality”. The image that came back was so good it simply had to be this month’s cover!

Ken had gone into his comic-cover-crunch-mode, working up the pencils and inks, then handing the image to colourist Juan Fernandez – a process that hints at the real production speed of monthly and weekly comics. I hope you like Ken’s line art, and also get a lot from Juan’s explanation into how he achieved the image’s full potential in Photoshop, over on page 64.

There’s more comic content about, but if you’re looking to get fired up about art for, oh I don’t know, the rest of your life, may I suggest reading the piece on Iain McCaig (page 38). If you don’t finish it with a big smile on your face, check your pulse. You may be dead. Beren Neale, Acting Editor beren.neale@futurenet.com