The F.E.D.s retrospective

I just posted the last page of my 3-volume F.E.D.s comic online. I got to thinking about the F.E.D.s and thought I'd write some reflections on the creative process over the years.

I started looking at and buying a lot of "small press" comics in the mid-1990s, around the time I finished my undergraduate degree in Art. I decided I might as well create my own comic, since it would be a good way to exercise my creative side even if I never made any profit off the book. I thought about many genre I could use, but in the end I picked a super-hero book because I had some ideas swirling around in my head concerning characters I had been playing with over the years.

I did the first issue in 1999. It was ten pages and intended to be a kind of teaser, introducing the world and concepts I had and leading into a longer comic series. I started with a high-contrast art style I had developed in college inspired by comics such as Hellboy and Sin City. But then I started reading the "Essential" reprint black-and-white comics, and quickly I modified into an "old school" art style. I didn't really think of it as "old school". Just me trying to make comics like the ones that inspired me.

The story itself turned out rather complex, but I hope I didn't make any continuity errors. Ideas changed in my head as I went along, but I didn't deviate from my intended ending all the time. The first volume is the longest as it sets out to introduce a lot of characters and situations. My main goal was to show how difficult the journey is for our protagonist, John Chisolm, as he gets thrust into the life of an Extra-Normal. 

I included a lot of things that are there in the story, but I didn't specifically state, such as certain characters who appear in their costumed identity and their civilian identity without stating it outright, and the characters who are a romantic couple, but I never "revealed" it. Speaking of romance, I didn't want John and Ari to end up together, because her betrayal would be too much. The time-travels in vol. 3 was a last minute idea that I used to cement this idea. But I also wanted to show that he respected her and that was the main reason he didn't express his feelings-- he thinks their relationship should be professional. And I added the lines at the end about him dating someone to show that he is interested in romance, when the situation is right.

I also decided to use "real time" when I did the story, because there would be a lot of references to what happened in the past, and I thought would be easier than constantly referring to "5 years ago" or "ten years ago".

Finally, I've received many comments from readers over the years. I thank everyone for giving my little comic a shot. This F.E.D.s story is over, but I just finished drawing an 8-page First Lady story for the next OH, Comics anthology and I'm several pages into my next regular tale, a sci-fi comic story.