Is that a) a cliffhanger ending, b) an artistically ambiguous resolution, c) or a cop-out?  Either way, I’m really proud of the feet in this one?

- JEP

I really enjoy the storytelling on this page.  The sparse dialogue and wide, open panels help convey the impression of the protracted silences found in the best spaghetti Westerns and samurai films.  Also, I liked how the protagonists are mirroring each other in the top and bottom panels.  However, my favorite part is how the panels come together to play with the sense of time.  With the middle panel, we get the feeling that the two are circling one another, but this action could occur between their dialogue or simultaneously with it.

- JEP

First, let me thank you all for your support and the kind words, thoughts, and prayers you extended for my family.  My Dad really appreciated it and it definitely buoyed his spirits for you to know he has so many folks rooting for him.  I’ll do better about responding to the comments, because things are starting to slow down and coalesce toward a new normalcy.

Here’s part two of WESTERN SUN RISING.  It’s a huge double-page spread that I really like.  The only problem I have with it is that I wasn’t quite sure about all the exact configuration of a samurai’s robes, so I wish I had incorporated more accurate details.  Nonetheless, I was extremely proud of the general flow and bunching of the folds.  Also, on these pages, the lettering is incorporated into the artwork via paste-up, however Kenzo’s dialogue shrunk considerably in the final scan, so for the sake of legibility, I re-did it in Adobe Illustrator.

- JEP

Tomorrow on WORLDOFHURTONLINE.COM is the beginning of the month-long series, WESTERN SUN RISING, which will serve as an “intermission” between The Thrill-Seekers and the next WORLD OF HURT story arc, The Black Fist.  Be prepared, when East meets West in a violent contest of cold steel and hot lead!

- JEP