Kosher Salt 2: Sketches

Not being classically trained in comics (is there such a thing?), I’ve been learning as I go. Every time I make a new comic, I learn like a gazillion things that I try to apply the next time I make a comic. So I think my stuff kind of gets exponentially better over time, or I hope it does anyway.

On the other hand, learning-by-doing also means (and I have absolutely mentioned this before) that I seriously hate some of my work that I made not even that long ago.

My second Kosher Salt strip, which you can see in its published version here, is a great example of a comic that taught me a great deal at the time, but that I also hate. Quite a lot.

Luckily, I actually prefer the sketches I did for KS #2 over the final product, so writing this blogpost won’t totally suck. (In case you’re wondering, my main issues with the final comic have to do with poorly implemented color, inaccurate portraiture, and clunky lettering. Moving on.)

When I first came up with my idea for KS #2, I kind of had the phrase “super Jews” floating around in my head, and I thought maybe it would be funny if I gave them, you know, the superhero treatment.

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But this is a good example of a visual concept that I didn’t end up using AT ALLβ€”not any element of it.

The problem is that the “super Jews” that this comic covers actually irritate me a great deal. And imbuing them with even metaphorical superpowers seemed like I was elevating their proselytizing brand ofΒ Jewishness over my own more unassuming brand. Which goes against the whole point of the comic. So I brought them back down to Earth.

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The drawing above is basically what I ended up using, though I threw it into a larger scene, as you can see me start to build on the right.

Below I figured out, on my third try, how I would actually format the comic. (Oh, and note how I approximate the title card in my process sketches. Super precise as you can see.)

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I actually didn’t have the “I’m so scared” thought bubble in the final text that I submitted to my editor, but I thought it would be funny, so I added it on the fly.

It’s too bad I have so many issues with the art of this strip, because I like the narrative arc. In fact, when I collect these into some kind of bound something-or-other, I may refresh the art for KS #1-3 to be more up to the standard I established once I’d figured my shit out, more or less. (KS #4-8)

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I kept the ending almost exactly the same, except I got rid of the closeup of my face after you see me hunched over in my coat. I think that when I drew the final one, I felt like another shot of my face wasn’t necessary. Either that or I just was having too much trouble getting the eyes right. The world may never know.

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