Desert Hijinks

Desert Hijinks

Posted by Brian • June 14, 2016

Original Release Date: August 9, 2005

This page features one of those weird instances of isolated color. And one of those references to friends I mentioned on the previous page. Brett didn't approve of drinking, so naturally, it was decided he would "bring the kegs" to any event.

One of the challenges I ran into with Stu's design is that he was all black, so I had to be creative with my line art to make sure you could tell his appendages apart from the rest of his body. A lot of the time, Stu looked more like a big amorphous blob than he did a ninja. This page is a good example of some of the growing pains I went through trying to develop his appearance. It wouldn't be until much later, in Volume Three, when it finally dawned on me to lighten the color of Stu's ninja gear by a tick or two, that I finally found a reasonable and effective solution to the problem.

There's quite a bit of dialogue on this page, but it's pretty good stuff. What else are Mike and Stu supposed to do as they traverse a desert? At least the camera angle changes to give it some variety. Also, as evident by the last panel, the desert is not kind to Mike and Stu, especially when it concerns their hygiene. I feel bad for Stu. All that black.