Comics Artopsy #10

Plus, a Miyazaki Sketchbook by Niko Henrichon!

Hello everyone,

For this month’s Artopsy, I thought I’d show you some preliminary sketches for Spectators. And for our generous paid subscribers in The Tower, there will also be a collected PDF sketchbook of the Miyazaki-inspired drawings that I did a few months ago for our Founders.

But first, let’s discuss the beginnings of Spectators. Please take into consideration that the below sketches were done based on a very small, cryptic-yet-intriguing story summary by Brian after our initial conversations, so some of the now-established rules of the story and our ghosts are “violated” in a few of these images.

For instance, we had not yet decided if the world would be black and white while our spectral characters would be in color. Or would it be the opposite? A ghost character doesn’t cast a shadow or have a reflection on a window and a character can’t take off his hat, etc. Also, I don’t remember if we already had set a specific date in the future for our story.

One thing I can remember is being super intrigued by the tone and uniqueness of this special tale. I didn’t remember ever reading something similar to it. For a now twenty-year comics veteran like me, it’s highly valuable. 

All right, enough talking, here are some of the very first images I ever drew for Spectators…

Brian here, jumping in to say how much I love Niko’s early iterations of Val and Sam. On Monday, we’ll be back with our 100th page (!) of Spectators, plus a brand-new cover for our story’s latest digital “collection.” But first, you Tower members are in for a treat, as Niko has compiled almost all of the breathtakingly beautiful Miyazaki-inspired color sketches he drew for our lucky Founders, available for your viewing and downloading pleasure right after this paywall. Hope you enjoy, and have a kick-ass weekend!