Happy Friday to you all! Today we present our final post of Long Gone Don month. We've been celebrating the release of our latest graphic novel adventure with a host of posts looking at the art and story and work behind Book 1: The Monstrous Underworld.
And it's to the Underworld itself we now return. Last week, in THIS feature we looked at our early processes for designing our latest cartoon Universe. Today, in our final behind-the-scenes post, we take a further delve into the environments and settings of our epic ongoing adventure, and discover why contrast is so important in comics.
Let's start by taking a look at Corpse City's prison and a large courtyard area. Oh, and a nice big fight ... because ... well ... why not?
You'll notice the use of stone, slate, blue hues and grey; colours that are, in fact, reflected in the uniforms of the City's army, as seen in that great big fight (I knew there was a reason we included it!). These colours are solid, regal, dependable. The buildings are rooted, they are impervious to change. Corpse City needed to feel like it was built to withstand an invasion, but it also needed to feel a little self-important. The buildings are always tall, imposing structures. The designs utilise Renaissance architectural details to make everything that little bit more beautiful and clean than the city's counterpart, the slums.
Speaking of which, let's visit those slums, and specifically take a peek at an exterior and interior shot of The Demon Drink, our heroes headquarters.
We wanted warmth to exude from every corner of this tavern and the library beneath. Lorenzo used wood, straw and soft materials in abundance to make the building feel as inviting as possible. This is a safe home for Don. A place he can catch his breath. In contrast to the cool solidity of Spode's City, the Demon Drink is a reprieve from the madness of the underworld. But that doesn't stop the odd brawl from breaking out when no one's looking.
Nice. We do love a good dust-up.
We hope you've enjoyed our month of exclusives. There are more releases on the horizon, and live events and exciting news, so stay tuned for all the fun.
And in the meantime, if you haven't already done so, rush out and buy a copy of LONG GONE DON, the adventure that Forbidden Planet reviewed as:
"The Etherington Brothers when they’re really on form. There’s so much to enjoy in Don, a manic energy ... loads of quick-fire dialogue ... great action, great art..."