Rice Boy Rerun Blog

Hadn’t realized the truth about Infin was revealed so early! And also so unceremoniously-- I’m frustrated by how much clunky explaining there is in a few moments of this book; from here many years later it looks like the worst way to convey this sort of thing.

I wonder to what extent I had this in mind about the Bleach Beast early on! I like Gerund’s acting here; I like his excited performative dancing contrasted with Parod’s slow self-serious gesticulation. And WAIT a minute, why is one of Parod’s hands backwards in that last panel?? Inexcusable

Parod’s home-- I guess we don’t see it at great length, but I was really into this little setting in particular feeling believable and immersive to me. It is silly to say that, given how simple it looks here!! But there’s a few moments of this book in which I remember being really hung up on making it feel really real for myself, in the way that fantasy books or Myst felt when I was a kid. Anyway here’s our friends reunited finally!!

Here’s the guy!!!! I don’t know what his design is about exactly. He’s also a pretty significant character not to be included in the “portraits” series I made in 2011, so I guess I haven’t drawn him since 2007!! He was going to have a weird space suit at some point in development, I think. concept drawings shortly

HERE, finally, Parod’s home. I did an unusual amount of thinking and preliminary drawing to build this place in my head, and it’s one of my favorite places in the book-- one of a bunch of them that I wish more time could be spent in.

Not a lot to talk about here... Two legless scooting characters...

Parod was a name I had in mind early early in thinking about this story, but didn’t really crystallize until late in the process. I at first wanted him to be an isolated figure with some access to Mysteries, someone who would introduce a radically new realm within the world of the story, or break the setting’s consistency in some way. Still deeply interested in the archetype of the hermetic old man with secret wisdom; it’s ridiculous how many characters in this comic orbit around that same idea.

Cute little reversal of the dialogue from earlier!! What a clever boy this rice boy.

I love the vibe in this place so much but my fingers are like itching to color it better. Also an ongoing struggle for me in comics, which I’m sure I’ve talked about here, is how to convey travel and distance visually with any real gravity! Anyway here’s that guy from Backtown.

OH forgot the Prince mentioned this little monster; again I am misremembering how much I actually did plan out this comic and try to do little foreshadowings. I like Rice Boy’s awkward talking-to-himself moments; little wandering internal-monologue boy.

have trouble keeping track of which development drawings i’ve posted! So this one’s way late, pertaining to T-O-E’s time in Memoar a little while ago...

I like this little guy I want to draw him again! I had forgotten that it took so long for his little secret to be revealed...

Finally Gerund & Rice Boy are both ending up the same place again! Small world. Trill language on the cup-- That’s the symbol they use for “good bye” in the scene in Gecrimaug’s hat... “Hello” is inverted, with the fill circle behind the empty one. Uhhh I am not sure why the cup says that, but Rice Boy will soon be departing some places and going to some strange other places.

OH it’s that monster he’s looking for! I guess this is the first time it’s actually appeared in the current narrative, outside of the two flashbacks? Really into the idea of mysterious powerful figures on the edge of stories; interested in exploring that in greater depth and building up to this sort of reveal seeming more consequential than it seems to me right now. I should try to be less negative about this comic tho