I wanted had to try something a little different.
One of the big concerns with a weekly strip is pacing. You only have so much space to give the required information, advance the story and offer a nice hook to bring readers back. Usually, that space allotment is three panels. However, no matter how I sliced it, I couldn’t get Pastor back to Pointe Blanc in a single strip in less than four panels without having an abrupt transition that left out a vital piece of storytelling. At first, my options were to a) make the panels really small so they would fit on a single tier, or b) turn Pastor’s return to the city into two strips. I don’t like compressing the visual information in the panels any more than I liked the idea of padding out the strips, so I came up with a third option of using four panels, but altering the layout.
I’m really not a fan of trying to pretend that a comic is a movie (e.g. “Director’s Cuts” of comic books), but playing the panels out as a title sequence seemed like the best storytelling solution in this instance. Also, as Mr. Chuck Patton noted in the comments, it’s a bit of an homage to Blaxploitation icon, Jim Kelly (Black Belt Jones) who had not one, but two, great airplane arrival scenes. The first one was in Enter The Dragon, which is a reverse of this scene, with him leaving California and landing in Hong Kong. The other scene was in Three The Hard Way, where his character, Mr. Keyes, arrives in Washington, DC to assemble his kung fu strike team. What sticks with me from that scene is how Gordon Parks, Jr. filmed from over Jim Kelly’s shoulder as he walked through the airport, so all you saw was his glorious Afro and the shoulders of his mustard-yellow leather suit. Instead of seeming goofy, it gave him an air of mystery and authority as the other passengers parted, flowed and moved to make way for Kelly.
- JEP
Reminds me of the opening to the classic, Enter the Dragon.
(cue theme music)
Welcome home, Mr Hurt.
btw–it is quite an awesome theme too, Jay
Now you must play the theme music when you read this intro.
Wow. A comic strip with a titles-sequence. I’m impressed.
Sweet! I had to play the music as I read as well. This has a great period/genre feel, and I love the way you adapted to get all four of those panels in there. Way to knock one out, Jay!
Really, really cool!! Goddamn, if only stewardesses wore shorts like that these days I might fly more often…looks like Pastor has taken a liking to the drinks trolley visits. He’ll be bustin’ by the time they land!
The change of layout is great, Jay. Masterfully delivered too!
Righteous, Jay. Please tell me you’ll sell printed copies of this someday.
Beautiful. Very cinematic. “Are You Man Enough” by the Four Tops would go good with this segment.
theycallmemisterbibbs-
That title sequence was my favorite part of Shaft In Africa. Also, truth be known, I prefer that Shaft theme to Isaac Hayes’ theme. Blasphemy, I know, but true.
mike-
This episode or a collection of the entire series? Either way, the answer is “Absolutely!”
- JEP
I’ve been loving your work, but this one was so unexpected it totally blew me away. Everything was flat out perfect.
I know exactly what you mean about the three-panel format. I dealt with that when I wrote my own strip with this same format (also inspired by Modesty Blaise, as I’ve told you before). But I really enjoyed this aspect of that format! It was a really fun challenge to move the story along just the way you described. I have no idea if I did it well, but you certainly do.
If only someone besides me could’ve drawn my strip, it might have gotten finished! I think you might’ve liked it.
Dr. Ennui-
Thanks! If I can get that response from someone whose very name means “the feeling of being bored by something,” then I KNOW I’ve done my job right!
- JEP
MAS-
Somebody should do a “Mad Men” style show focusing on stewardesses of that era, if only for the uniforms.
- JEP
Dave Flora-
Thank you, sir. Necessity truly is the mother of invention.
- JEP
Mr. Patton-
I just took a cue from C.E. Garcia. And truth be known, before Chris came up with the WORLD OF HURT theme, I woulld often have Dennis Coffey’s theme to Enter The Dragon in my head.
- JEP
Mistah Pete-
Also, with the layout on individual tiers, it will still work in a collected edition. *taps temple* Always thinking ahead…
- JEP
I prefer “Are You Man Enough” to “Theme from Shaft” too, Jay. You’re not the only blasphemer on that one. I even prefer “Son of Shaft” by the Bar-Kays. No disrespect to Isaac though.
Playing catch up and enjoying the fact that I could absorb 2 months of strips in one shot.
I want whoever is responsible for that theme music, in my office in the next 5 minutes…GARCIA!
I gotta admit–as much as I absolutely love the original Shaft movie and its theme (yeah, its been played and overplayed, but its OUR James Bond theme)—when I first saw Shaft in Africa, and Levi Stubbs and the Tops started belting out, “Are you man enough?”–all thoughts of Ike Hayes’ theme went out the window.
I’ve a belief that we all have our own personal theme songs, in fact several, that define who we are, where we’re at, and where we’re going in life.
The top three that’s always in rotation on my internal turn table are:
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly by Morricone
The World is a Ghetto by War
and of course, Are you Man enough? by the Four Tops
…….cause every man needs a theme song.