Page 1 – (6 Panels)
1.1: Exterior, sunset, a row of boxcars
crawling through a field of tall grass.
Our protagonist, Hobo Blues Guy, is jumping out of a moving boxcar, a
slightly obscured package right in front of where he is about to land. One of his hands is on the derby-style hat
perched on his head.
Hobo Blues Guy
(caption): It doesn’t take a lot to
write a good song. The best are the
simplest.
Hobo Blues Guy
(caption): Some E, a little A, add
some D and slide down to B for the chorus.
Maybe throw a seventh in before verse two.
1.2: Hobo Blues Guy bending over to pick-up the
package, which is a beat-to-hell guitar case.
This is the only thing he carries and that he owns.
Hobo Blues Guy
(caption): I like to stay low,
really pound out some open chords as loud as I can.
1.3: Hobo Blues Guy crossing an old-timey “Bridges
of Madison County” looking wooden bridge.
In the foreground is a sign “Greensboro 11 Miles”.
Hobo Blues Guy
(caption): Until I get to the bridge.
Hobo Blues Guy
(caption): And realize how minor I
can become.
1.4: Hobo Blues Guy, now on a busy Main Street, placing
his hat on the ground, ready to collect spare change and small bills.
Hobo Blues Guy
(caption): But then the song comes back -
- keeps coming back, always and forever - - to the verse.
1.5: Hobo Blues Guy sitting on a step, playing his
guitar as a small crowd of smiling onlookers stands around.
Hobo Blues Guy
(caption): Whether it’s a sad blues
jam or a happy pop tune, all I want as the guy behind the guitar is for the
audience to feel.
1.6: Hobo Blues Guy, alone in the panel, eyes
closed, head pointed to Heaven, strumming his guitar and singing his lungs out,
smiling.
Hobo Blues Guy
(caption): And know that I feel too.
Lovely stuff, Derek. I like the music wordplay towards the start, but am even more into the heartfelt moment towards the end. A nice metaphor for all creative expression methinks.
ReplyDeleteHey Derek -- I wrote a comment on this a few days ago, but I guess I'm an idiot when it comes to the internet, cause it ain't here anymore. I'll try to capture again what I wrote.
ReplyDeleteI really dig this comic. I love the way the caption-voiceover moves against the images: at times they draw together to emphasize something, and at other moments give us a bit of distance to consider the contrasting elements contained in the words and images. I admire how you pull off the bridge/bridge thing -- that could have fallen flat, but it really works as you play it here. Two thoughts if you felt like returning to it. One, I think you might be able to give yourself an extra panel between 1.1. and 1.2. I think that the second caption might benefit from having it's own imagery/narrative-moment to work against. That would let all of those elements you fit into 1.1. breathe a little bit. Second, and this is super nit-picky, but I might keep the thing focused on blues -- and cut that "pop tune" ref in 1.5. The imagery throughout builds upon pretty classic southern blues tropes, and I think that keeping that sad-but-joyful-and-alive-through-music vibe going as we near the end might be more impactful than swinging in with the pop music. As I said, a super-specific comment that you should totally ignore if it seems off-base. But I thought it worth noting since you got this question of blues (and what the blues are...) going in my mind. Thanks for sharing this cool piece! C