A New Cover for Issue Three!

You're seeing it FIRST here on Substack!

Hello there! I’ve been busy with a few things since my last update! I’ve been working on some animation for the next Kickstarter campaign video in a software called Moho, and it’s had all the triumphs and trials that comes with learning any new discipline. It’s getting there, but it’s slow going when I only have an hour or so each day to work on it.

Also, for the first time, I’m actually writing out a full plot outline for the next issue of the comic before I start drawing anything! Just like a real comic writer! I’ve decided it’s time to develop that skill, and since there’s going to be a lot of characters to keep track of in this issue, as we approach the story’s climax, I thought it would probably behoove me to tie down The Who-Does-What-When ahead of time, so I don’t find myself painted, or written, into a corner. The work is coming along nicely.

I finally finished my new cover for the third issue of Steamroller Man! This will be posted to the usual outlets online in a couple of days, but as a Substack subscriber, you’re seeing it first!

Why did I feel the need to draw a new cover for this issue?

It comes down to the seat-of-the-pants way I make the comic. Since I publish online, one page at a time, I always do the cover before I’ve drawn any of the pages from a story. I’ve never worked from a full script, only from a rough outline for each issue, and with all three issues I’ve done so far, the story has ended up taking some turns that I didn’t plan when I came up with the outline!

The character you see on the cover above, M.A.R.S.H.M.A.L.L.O.W, was not originally part of the story, and so he didn’t appear on my original cover, which you can see below.

In my original story concept, Steamroller Man and Night Knight were going to be confronted by the Gingerbread Golem in the depths of the factory, while Sugar Daddy would explain his plan to Paige Wan and Sleep Tyke on an upper level.

As the story unfolded, I decided to throw in a new character for the sake of variety, and the conflict between our heroes and M.A.R.S.H.M.A.L.L.O.W. took twenty pages or so to resolve, without ever shifting the scene to check in with Paige and Sleep Tyke. It occurred to me that these 20-odd pages would work just fine as a complete, if comparatively shorter issue of the story, which would mean I could print it sooner and have another comic to offer for sale. A new cover would be necessary, though, since most of the characters appearing on my original cover wouldn’t actually be in this shorter third issue.

For paid subscribers I’ve got a lot of bonus content this week! Timelapse videos of the creation of both old and new covers, with my audio commentary on the video for the new cover! Also work-in-progress pics from various stages of development on both covers!

Keep Rolling!

Matt