Cellmates and The DFC

So The DFC's gone. The news that Random House had been forced to pull the plug was deflating, but not entirely unexpected given the state of, well, just about everything. I'm keeping my optimism goggles strapped on in the assumption it's just hibernating 'til sunnier economic times kick in...

Cue Super Comics Adventure Squad. It's great to see the comic's contributors banding together to keep its spirit alive on the blogosphere. Being a nosy swine as well as a former aspiring 'next generation' DFC creator, I've been especially lapping up the details of pitches in progress and strips that never were...

Which have duly inspired me to witter on for a paragraph or two about my own: 'Cellmates', a tale of one boy and the billions of oddballs who inhabit him (I say "my" own - it was my beloved's idea. She continues to brainstorm, co-write, and stop me from trying to mangle her original notions too badly).

It details the daily routine of ten year old Jake - school, holidays, friends, family, enemies, etc - who is as blissfully unaware of the psychedelic cartoon universe buzzing away inside him as its inhabitants are of him. Now, we may not be the first to take wanton artistic license with biological comings and goings at a microscopic level, but hopefully no-one's doing it in quite the way that we are. I keep trying to imagine the environment we're building (ie: The Bodyverse) as Springfield crossed with Mega City One, which may be aiming stupidly, stupidly high, but still.

Before Will at The DFC sent the magic email inviting us to pitch a strip, 'Cellmates' was little more than a few thinly sketched characters and plotlines, and would likely have stayed that way, on account of... well... who'd publish it? A year and a half later, thanks to the twin wind-in-the-sails factors of a potential home and sage feedback, it's evolved into a considerably more confident, fleshed out entity.

Ach, it's not quite there yet. It's undergoing (at least) one more overhaul to nail a few loitering weak links, but the point is that without the DFC's existence - not to mention the encouragement and enthusiasm from it's editorial team - it wouldn't even be here.

Thanks, chaps.

Meanwhile the finished sample pages to date are doubling as portfolio fodder/concept artwork - you can see a few of them here.