Reflecting on The Heavy Metal Showdown.

THE HEAVY METAL SHOWDOWN concluded yesterday, and I’m pleased with how it came out.  Sure, there are things I could have done better or differently, but I’m satisfied with the story when looking at the pages as a completed comic.  Even after all this time making webcomics, I’m still learning the craft and this experience taught me a lot.

I tried to challenge myself with every page and panel.  With my previous webcomic, Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire, the panel layout was the same most every update, with even the dialogue bubbles being in the same places every time.  It was a necessary design choice for a comic that had a varying 5-7 day per week update schedule over the course of its run.  With this, I wanted to challenge myself with panel layout.  I don’t feel like I broke new ground in the comics medium, nor did I do anything spectacular for anyone but me, but I felt challenged with each page and the experience helped me grow as a creator.

On the other hand, I also relied on some things I was comfortable with.  Making comics in black-and-white is a strength of mine, and drawing fantasy-esque characters like Karudak the Hammer is another.  Rocky landscapes are not only fun for me to draw, but it’s the only terrain I can stand to watch breaking in a superhero fight.  Seeing plant life destroyed gets me anxious, and city buildings getting wrecked even more so.  Maybe it’s because I was heavily influenced by Fist of the North Star’s wasteland battles in my youth.  Maybe I simply enjoy the visual of shattering rocks.  Maybe it’s a little of both.

Whether you liked it or hated it (but I hope you liked it!) I had fun making THE HEAVY METAL SHOWDOWN.  I don’t know if I’ll be drawing any more comics for Star Power in the future, but if the desire returns I’ll make sure to challenge myself even further.