Book Three, Page 4
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Book Three, Page 3
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Book Three, Page 2
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Book Three, Page 1
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Book Two, Page 30 (End of O Cap’n, My Cap’n)
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Book Two, Page 29
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Book Two, Page 28
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Book Two, Page 27
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Book Two, Page 26
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Book Two, Page 25
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Book Two, Page 24
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Book Two, Page 23
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Book Two, Page 22
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Book Two, Page 21
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Book Two, Page 20
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Book Two, Page 19
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Book Two, Page 18
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Book Two, Page 17
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Book Two, Page 16
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Book Two, Page 15
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Book Two, Page 14
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Book Two, Page 13
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Book Two, Page 12
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Book Two, Page 11
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Book Two, Page 10
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Book Two, Pages 8 & 9
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Book Two, Page 7
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Book Two, Page 6
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Book Two, Page 5
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Book Two, Page 4
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Book Two, Page 3
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Book Two, Page 2
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Book Two, Page 1
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Book One, Page 30 (end of The Last Good Morning)
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Book One, Page 29
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NOTES:
Ahh, we finally visit the big city – the city of Ralston (no brand-name prejudice there, it just sounded right, like “Lake Kellogg” or “Nabisco Flats” sounded right). Marvel at its many wonders! Gasp at the artist’s clubfooted grasp of elementary perspective!
Yeah, not too proud of how that shot came out, but I like the easter eggs. You’ve got Cracko (Post Corn Crackos), the waker-upper bird, perched on a railing with his droppings spattered underneath. A hotel called “The Honeycomb.” Granny Goodwitch (Post Super Sugar Crisp) with her walker. Ice Cream Jones’s (General Mills’ Ice Cream Cones) bike locked to a parking meter. And a strip club called Cheeri-Ohs with Cheeri O’Leary (General Mills’ Cheerioats – the original name for Cheerios) herself waving folks in from the doorway.
I like the last panel, though. Nice tease.
Book One, Page 28
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NOTES:
Yeah, I like this page a lot. For one, I just think I enjoyed drawing another character-based conversation scene between my two lead protagonists and, silly as it sounds given premise and backdrop, I liked presenting a glimpse into their psyches. Death, fear, insecurity, hope and determination – heavy stuff, man.
And a bit of foreshadowing.
Book One, Page 27
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NOTES:
I liked having the Freakies Tree represent a sort of Boot Hill for Cerealia and now regret that I never returned to it at the end to show how many more graves it would have.
In the top panel, one of my earliest George Perez-lite “spot the character” panels, you get your first glimpse of Tony’s wife (only referred to as “Mrs. Tony” in the commercials, I came up with “Antonia”). And, yes, that’s Dig’Em spilling some milk for his fallen homie.
I’m proud of the wordless exchange at the bottom of the page, thought it worked well. Oh, and another example of me unintentionally breaking my own rules: the fluffy yellow guy on the right is Crispy of Post’s Crispy Critters. I’d seen drawings of him but forgot that, in the commercials, he was a physical puppet. Technically, he was not an animated character (I know, I know, who cares). Still I committed fully and he shows up a few more times before — SPOILER ALERT — falling in battle in Book Three.
Book One, Page 26
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NOTES:
The whole layout of this page was an intentional callback to page 5 (go take a look!) from the vision of Crunch in the flame like Buzz Bee in the scrying cereal bowl to the frame around the central characters (lucky charms instead of Celtic spoons and bowls).
And here we finally see Lucky the Leprechaun (General Mills’ Lucky Charms cereal), a classic character many readers had been waiting for. However, the revelation of what side he was on caused some controversy. And it did when Greg, Jason and I first talked of these warring characters back in 1988. My point then (and now) was: take a look at his commercials. Lucky is always trying to keep kids from getting his cereal. He’s obsessive, paranoid and completely selfish. When, at the end of every ad, he finally is trapped into sharing his Lucky Charms, he puts on a smile for the camera – but I always suspected it was forced. Lucky, all told, is a bastard. And I’m glad, because the bad guys needed mystical might on their side and, frankly, evil Lucky was fun to write.
Book One, Page 25
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NOTES:
I like this page. Anytime I can take a beat and let the emotional impact of some dramatic plot point sink in, I’m all for it. And this is my favorite drawing of the Cap’n I did for the whole series. Even with what looks like the aftermath of a Gallagher performance behind him, he looks noble.
But here’s the negative: I suck at drawing ships (okay, at most everything that’s not a person)! As much as I love the idea of the SS Guppy, actually drawing it was always a nightmare.
Book One, Page 24
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NOTES:
Chocula the master manipulator! Not much to note on this page other than Brunnhilde proving, yet again, to be tougher than her fellow crewman Alfie. Oh, and I’m fond of the mirrored forms in the last two panels: Ayummayumma’s hand and the cup, the king’s slumping body and Crunch’s posture.
