Page 7

If I want this book to have a shelf life longer than a month I should minimize references to pop culture, all of which change at the speed of light. On the other hand if I don't make mention of any current affairs it'll be too esoteric. Will current readers know that Fiddler on the Roof is an iconic depiction of Jews grappling with providence? Will Tevye be remembered a hundred years from now? I actually think so...with the advent of the internet. Will current and future readers have any clue who are the heroes named in pages 4 and 6? I hope so. My last ten posts have been a catalog of all the things I see wrong with my graphic novel so far, including this page. What happened to Joker's left arm? Why is it asymmetric with his right arm? Why does the shading look like it was applied by a drunken graffiti artist? The Joker's tongue is white as are the lenses in his glasses. One nice thing about inking this thing digitally, I can go back and make corrections. I'm even tempted at some point to give a color PDF of each chapter to a proof reader to catch incongruities, gaffs, blunders, asymmetric body shapes, botched shading, typos, etc. My proof reader better have lots of time on their hands. I'll keep 'em busy!

Who's the guy in the blue hat? His ID has been purposefully kept secret as his role is pivotal in chapters to come. His visage, by the way, is based on the book photo of Daniel Gilbert (Stumbling on Happiness).