Nineties comic series shared on the web
Dean Stebbing is no digital native, but that hasn’t stopped him stamping a bit of the 90s on the digital era.
The Taupo resident has unearthed a comic strip series he drew in 1991 and he is now sharing the 12-part series on his Facebook page.
‘‘The series follows the adventures of ‘Burnt-Out Bob’ – a rockstar trying to make it big in the 90s,’’ Stebbing said.
‘‘Bob is loosely based on Keith Richards and Ronny Woods from the Rolling Stones.’’
Stebbing is known for his pop art. Burnt-Out Bob was the first of six comic series Stebbing completed in the 90s.
Stebbing said the visuals for Burnt-Out Bob came to mind like so much of his creative work.
‘‘I was sitting at my desk, drawing away, and all of a sudden I had him. I saw the idea.
‘‘It was just a happy accident. A lot of the time, it’s just a fluke and you go with it,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s almost like an actor, improvising. Or a guitar solo. You don’t know where it’s going to go.’’
Writing and drawing a twelve-part comic series was not easy, he said.
‘‘What I would do is a sketch of the whole picture in pencil, then I’d get some tracing paper, and go over the top with a fine felt pen. It takes time,’’ he said.
‘‘Sometimes I would stay up all night, drawing through until the birds start singing.’’
The comic might provide baby-boomers with a bit of nostalgia, he said.
‘‘My inspiration back then was the mighty Heavy Metal magazine. It came out monthly and had five or six different stories you followed. My favourite was RanXerox.
Stebbing said he remembers Taupo¯ in the 1990s.
‘‘It was like a little hick town, compared to today. But always plenty of excitement happening, for one reason or another. Mainly parties with friends – because back then everyone knew each other. You’d walk down the street, run into someone, then you’d end up at a party later on.’’
* Visit facebook.com/ BurntOutBob to see the first three comics. New BOB comics will be posted online on Monday and Wednesday each week for Facebook page subscribers.