Eldritch: Lessons 006

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Previous: [link]

The cover to Lessons: [link]

Chapter two, Layline: [link]

Chapter one, Changes: [link]

Once again, thank you so much to the folks who donated to the tipjar since last update! You guys seriously make my week!

So, as I do this comic, I try to do my best to inform you guys about my influences, be they folkloric references like the beast of Gevaudan, or be they the works of one or two people, such as ElfQuest mentioned last week. Today I’m going to discuss something a little different. You see, there’s one guy you all have likely never heard of, who, if it weren’t for him, you may not be reading this comic right now.

When I was little, I was acquainted with a family friend, named Steven Bates. A family man first and a comic book enthusiast second, he ran the local comic shop, and my first “Job” was sorting out packs of Power Rangers Trading Cards into full sets for the shop, with the promise of a set for myself as payment. He saw me grow up, and you know, somehow he never changed. When I was in high school, he approached my dad about possibly doing some comics, and wondered if my sister or I would be interested in doing the art for them. The ideas he pitched ranged from space adventures, to stories of young Davey Crocket, to the story of a kid who could turn into a dragon.

I bet you all know what I jumped on.

Pretty soon I was cranking out doodles and sketches, and bouncing emails back and forth. Steve and I worked out a lot together… he spent his time hashing out plot and developing the characters, while I spent a lot of time working out particulars for the dragons and making rules for the world Steve set up. All the dragons were shapeshifters, and the main character’s mom was an Asiatic dragon, meanwhile, his dad, while not a dragon, was a human with European dragon lineage (In fact, some of the rules for the world that I worked out with my oh-so-swell high school understanding of genetics are the base for some of the rules in Eldritch today) Thus, the main character could shapeshift into a dragon whenever he snapped his fingers. [link]§ion=&global=1&q=snap+dragon#/d393ha Snap. Dragon. Get it? In fact, SnapDragon was what the comic was called. But boy, did that man write stories. I only had outlines and general ideas of where he was going… but man, it was gonna be great.

Eventually, in 2003, Steve gave me a script for an eight-page comic. I’d never seen a script for a comic before, so it was a new kind of experience for me. Then he gave me my first Scott McCloud book, Understanding Comics. And we got rolling. I drew the pages, inked them, and cell-shaded (black and white) them in Adobe Business Class. I was so new at the program that I had NO idea that layers even existed, let alone what they were used for. Needless to say, the overall work was fair, but not bad, and I was flattered all to pieces when he told me to list myself as co-creator for the comic in the opening page credits. It was our book, but I couldn’t have done it without him. [link] That year at Free Comic Book Day, I sat next to another comicer, (who is still far better than I) named Justin Wasson, and we gave out staples printout copies of our amateur books to those arriving for the event. It was my first serious attempt at a comic, and the basic techniques I learned illustrating that book and from reading and working with a script is the foundation for how I do comics still today.

*Chuckles* You know, in the comic, while the main character, as a dragon he was called Snap, but his human name was Dylan Drake. Guess where Dylan got his name from in Eldritch? Yep. It’s a Tip-of-The-Hat to Steve, the guy who showed me I could make a comic book.

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Shortly after the completion of that comic, I graduated hichschool and started gearing up for college. As I was studying Fine Art, Steve got a job with Diamond and moved away. Life kept us both very busy, and Snap fell to the wayside. Eventually, we pretty much lost touch with one another, popping an email or two back and forth around Christmas and that was about it. What I never knew though, was that Steve was sick. He never let on that he had cancer… and, recently, it killed him. He was only forty-eight.

I’d always figured I’d post the pre-buzzkill part of this story later on in this book, because Snap is going to be a cameo in the background of the Layline, and that was how I was going to introduce Eldritch to Steve, to show him I was still comicing, and could keep it going, rather than just telling him I was working on it in an email. And… I missed my chance. It’s been almost two months, and I still feel so blindsided.

I’m not saying this because I want condolences. That kind of thing always makes me feel awkward. I’m saying this because he was an amazing guy, and I want people know about and remember him, and what he did for me, and my comics.

Here’s to you, Steve. Thanks for everything, man.

Eldritch updates on Wednesdays!

Disclaimer: READ THIS BEFORE COMMENTING

Eldritch is for Mature audiences, will contain violence and mild nudity, as well as adult situations, themes, and language. Some pages will be marked as such on sites such as Deviantart and may be unavailable to minors.

Eldritch, in part or in whole is not to be distributed without The author’s (Nashoba Hostina) express permission. The only places where this comic will be found in its entirety will be its blog: [link] or here on my deviantart page.

The author has everything planned out, and if something does not immediately make sense, it will later. If there are questions about what will happen, answers will not be given until the issues come up in the natural course of the plot. Plot advancement will be slow at times, and peppered with Psudoscience that does not advance the story much. These are not “Filler.” These are part of how life goes in this comic.

This is the Author’s story. If something is “Wrong” it is because the author intended it to be so, and thus, it is in fact, “Correct.” The author has done a lot of work and research and has a lot scripted and planned (Please give her the benefit of the doubt here, she does know what she’s doing). This means that ‘requested storylines’ and suggestions have no place in this comic. This also means, please do not share related ideas with her, or send her previews to your own works.

In short, do NOT send requests, share ideas with, or make suggestions to, the author.

However, should you IGNORE what is written above and insist on making requests, suggestions or sharing ideas in ANY WAY WHATSOEVER regarding this comic BE AWARE that in doing so you are GIVING the artist this idea, and should she already have a similar aspect to the comic already planned, or should she take the suggestion, you will NOT be compensated. (Sorry to have to add this since the last book guys, but some people seriously do not listen, and I don’t want someone to get mad at me later on).

While the specifics of Eldritch are © Nashoba Hostina, Regarding fanart, fanfiction and such: The author is always flattered when folks take the time to draw a picture of one of her characters for her. However, if you choose to do fanart, please, make it clear that the characters, world, etcetera are Nashoba Hostina’s creation, and kindly link back here, or to the comic’s blog. Then, whenever you post Fanart of Eldritch, please, please let the artist know! Under no circumstances should fanart of Eldritch be used for financial or material gain. No fanmade work is ever to be considered canon.

As a courtesy to your fellow readers, also, please do not make predictions about what will happen in the comments section of these pages. Saying you think you know what may happen is fine, but actually stating what you think will happen is not. Because if you happen to be right, that means you’re spoiling the other readers, and no one likes That Spoiler Guy. In a similar vein… be nice to one another, okay guys? Please?

The author sadly must have a day job, and since it takes supplies and LOTS of time to make this, cannot afford to do art all the time. Thus, Eldritch is done on the author’s free time, which means page quality may vary. Also, updates may be missed if the author has a busy week. She apologizes for the inconvenience.

This disclaimer and all prior forms of it are subject to retroactive change.

And, finally… if you don’t like it, don’t read it! No one’s forcing you to look at this :3 Go outside and play or something!


Thank you for reading!

Are you not quite Human? That's okay, that means you're a lot like the rest of us. So, if you're one of the Eldritch Folk, here's a stamp for you: [link]