The Skull of Many Faces
Today's Mood: Toby
It’s summer. Life is at an all time roar. I’m finally off on my weekends for just shy of a month before I hit the road again. It’s time to squeeze out some Bonesick!
This is all I got so far:
But it’s something.
When it comes to a character who happens to be a skeleton — who must also be a relatable and sympathetic antihero — you can rightfully assume that it’d be tough to portray the subtlety and nuance of mood. I mean just look at this “skeleton comic” Google Image search. Tall order.
Which makes this exercise all the more terrifically fun.
The crux of the matter is that Toby has to be more human than a your average anthropomorphic skeleton. And this makes sense because Toby isn’t dead. He’s just decided to go Skin Free*. And as I hinted at last episode, he’s got some emotional baggage to attend to, which equates to all the feels.
So the basic drawing rules for the many moods of our friend Toby (who isn’t always melancholy) are as follows:
Just because he’s got skull-like sockets, doesn’t mean he can’t have an eye glimmer, right? It’s like staring into the light at the end of tunnel.
And just because he’s gone Skin Free, doesn’t mean he can’t have a dusting of eyebrows and a floppy mohawk, right? My personal fave is the tufty bedhead while he dons his sleep mask, because — while he can definitely squint skeptically — he cannot close his eyes.
And just because he doesn’t bear a set of lips, doesn’t mean he can’t smirk, scowl, or sulk, right? I think he can also chuckle.
I honestly don’t know a thing about creating comic characters, but I’ve poured over enough Calvin & Hobbes over the decades to absolutely treasure Bill Watterson’s true artistry and the many faces of the greatest duo in the history of the craft. So while I’m a total noob when it comes to this genre, I’ve got a north star. WWBWD?
You also may or may not notice I’ve created myself a Bonesick logo type situation.
And yep, [sic] is on purpose. First, by definition:
sic /sik/ adverb
used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd or erroneous to show that the word is quoted exactly as it stands in the original
A light-hearted nod to my attempt as an author to accurately transcribe Toby’s story with recognition of the odd or erroneous as I go.
Second, an old internet friend of mine created a zine called [sic] like twenty years ago, which is precisely the kind of DIY, photocopied-and-stapled, analog rag in which Bonesick would appear.
So yes, Bill Watterson meets early aughts zine. That’s the vibe I’m after.
In our next episode, you can check to see if I’m on the mark or totally off.
*The Skin Free story will be a whole thing. Definitely science fiction in theory, but based on a reality I presume many of us feel in a plethora of ways. I want to get it right, though, so everyone will have to hold tight on that whole backstory.