SR 1 PAGE EIGHTY-SEVEN

Hey, my SECOND-least favorite page in the book!

As we discussed earlier, page twelve bothers me because it’s too mean-spirited. This page bugs me because this just flat-out isn’t Sera. No WAY our social-phobic recluse would be so cool and confident with these guys. 

How do I know that? Easy: I wouldn’t be this cool and confident, and I’m her. 

No, in this situation I’d seethe and glare at Dakota and Mr. Snick until they laughed their way out of the store. (Then I’d transform their car.) If I tried to throw clever insults at them I’d just sputter out some flubbery tongue-tied nonsense that made them laugh even harder. Sera’s dialogue is too calmly confrontational here. Almost like she’s fantasizing about what she should’ve said to these guys three hours after the fact.

Also, I’m not sure Sera could transform that truck into a piggie with one “POP!” and still have it be functionally drivable. I was still working out the limitations of her witchy abilities at this point, but instantly warping metal into a cute lil’ piggie seems a little too powerful… 

Yeah, you know what? The more I think about it, the more this feels like a fantasy sequence. Like one of those bits in a movie where the protagonist suddenly stabs an obnoxious co-worker in the throat but POW FAKEOUT it was just a fun daydream. 

If I were to do another pass on this page (which I won’t), I’d keep it mostly as-is, but change the layout so the last four panels are in a thought balloon coming from Sera’s head. Tess has just interrupted Sera’s fantasy with her syringe excitement, while in the background we see Dakota and Mr. Snick laughing as they get in their truck. The “gummi worms” line can stay, but I’d show Sera sort of sighing and shaking her head about her failure to challenge the creeps. 

That seems right for Sera at this point in the story. She’s only just starting down the path to this kind of confidence. She can’t be there already!

SR 1 PAGE EIGHTY-EIGHT

What do mean, “lazy,” 2005 Aaron? There’s a TON of work on this page! You didn’t have to draw a whole stupid city. All those white swirls and textures and windows and wires look bad-ass, buddy! More memorable than whatever generic big city background you were gonna cook up for this page, anyway.

It’s odd reading this page in 2024, because for the first time, I feel slightly disconnected to Sera. Her thoughts and feelings were always my own, but I can’t recall ever being uncomfortable in big cities. I’ve always been a city person. I spent my first 20 years in Chicago and all the others in Los Angeles (except that one year in Portland – DANG how I miss Powell’s). Was there really a time cities felt like nightmare beasts to me?

In a lot of ways, big cities seem more suited to introverts like me and Sera than small towns. That might seem slightly counterintuitive, but think of it this way: If I had to choose between a street packed with a hundred total strangers who barely look at me and a street with eight vague acquaintances I feel obligated to stop and chat with, I’ll pick the first one every time. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s sort of the difference between packing myself into a crowded concert venue to see a show or sitting down for an intimate dinner party with five people I don’t know. The first doesn’t bother me at all, but the second would have me shrieking internally all the way through dessert. 

(Regular readers of this newsletter, please note the large band-aid on the rear right of Tess’ VW.)

BACK TO THE PRESENT!

Just ONE MONTH until the release of my new book! And I have a gorgeous new website to go with it: https://shockcity.co/ SCHMANCY, even.

Should have some news about signings very soon, too! And I’m starting to line up some interviews/podcasts/etc, so if you’re tuned into that world, let me know. We can talk about anything you want*, as long as Shock City gets mentioned in there.

(*Anything but salad, I mean. Never salad. NO I WILL NOT ELABORATE.)

NEXT WEEK: ENTER THE STUDZ MAGNODROME.