Fred the Clown is back with all-new content on the Hotel Fred website. Strictly a temporary arrangement, a four-week posting while I get the new strip, Mugwhump the Great, ready to go on Act-i-Vate.com... but hopefully a welcome return for those who have been requesting the big doofus nonetheless. It feels good to be back in the saddle.
And what is this Mugwhump the Great of which you speak, I hear you cry? Well, it's sort of a continuation of a story I did about a decade ago, which recently saw print for the first time in the Comics Journal (and which you can read for free online here). There'll be a slow start with a few gag strips before we launch into a longer plotline about a mysterious new manager taking over the Palace of Varieties and introducing his own macabre artistes. What's it all about? And what does Billy Woodentop have to do with it? All will be revealed, once I've actually finished plotting the damn thing. It's coming together, but plotting is a process I'm not yet entirely at home with. It's like giving birth to a watermelon at the moment.
I can only hope Peruvian Brick Dancing becomes as popular as Riverdance. It's about time it hit the mainstream. Looking forward to more of Mugwhump The Great.
ReplyDeleteYes, I should keep those guys in. The plot for the new strip has "some act like the Peruvian Brick Dancers" appearing at one point. I should really stick with the basics.
ReplyDeleteIf it ain't broke...
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the plotting process but then, is there anything about producing comics that isn't difficult in one way or another? Aha! Ruling panel borders. Now that, I can handle.
Hope your watermelon isn't in the breech position.
Agreed - plotting is my least favourite bit. I'd much rather just sit back and let the characters do what they want...
ReplyDeleteThe frustrating part is that (for me at least) having a solid plot really pays off in the long run. Or, at least, having a properly thought-out destination to head towards. It's a part I need to get right or the whole mess falls apart in my experience. I can't begin to tell you how much I envy the Chris Wares and Robert Crumbs of this world in their ability to busk from page to page and have a coherent story at the end of it...
ReplyDelete