I returned to producing comics three years ago, after a fifteen year hiatus. Across those three short years I feel hugely fortunate to have met some of my heroes, and progressed much farther with the development of my art than I imagined possible.
I’m still improving, project by project, and this last one has proved a ‘bridge’ in more ways than one.
‘The Bridge’ came into being some ten years ago.
Originally, the tale was produced as a ‘voices for radio’ script, complete with music and sound effect cues and placements.
Inspired by the works of Harold Pinter, Samuel Beckett and the Theatre of the Absurd, the intent was to pitch to radio, as a complete change of direction from illustration which, I had decided, held no more interest for me…(!).
Ultimately the project was shelved, fully complete, and filed away with a number of other projects, for posterity.
Therefore, when asked to produce another story for Aces Weekly, I blew the dust from the bundle, and pulled out a number of tales, complete and ready to go.
Welkin, Ratcliffe and The Bridge were all options which leapt out initially, but The Bridge seemed to be the strongest in its construction and intent, and I began thumbnailing the radio script into the semblance of a 21 page, self contained strip.
As I began to visualise the characters and setting, as opposed to simply writing the dialogue, the night time scenario sprang to the fore, and I decided to make a feature of the blue moonlight throughout the telling of the tale.
The physical bridge itself mutated from a simple, stone structure, into the skeletal wooden span that it finally became and, as I grew more and more comfortable with the iPad as a drawing tool, I realised that I was finally falling into a style of art that I could truly say was all my own. Additionally, a sequence which originally contained much internalised, angst ridden monologue – when presented visually – begged to be told almost silently – a point in the story, coincidentally, when my artwork finally reached a level of competency that I became wholly satisfied with.
As ever, now that it is complete, the final product falls short of all that I wished it to be. But that is the way of things, and the catalyst that moves us on from our last project to our next.
Our dissatisfaction in our work is a bridge, that moves us on, to span the chasm of our creativity.
I only wonder if there is, actually, another side of the chasm to strive toward – an end to our own personal artistic bridge?
I think The Bridge is one of the best things that I have yet produced, it debuts in Volume 19 of David Lloyd’s Aces Weekly on November 9th and is complete in seven weekly parts.
In the ‘Extras’ pages, that attend each instalment, I’ll be running a breakdown of how I create a page from script to final page – detailing the Apps, Stylus and methodology used. I hope you enjoy it.
For a full list of creators, and details of how to subscribe and read The Bridge:
Mal Earl 
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