[ Deep Dive ] Intro: PriorTITy and Milk Farm

I want to occasionally post a "Deep Dive" into my work, these posts will be about either my process, interesting facts about either the story or imagery of an issue, small Easter eggs that you may have missed, inspirations for certain images or characters, etc.

This first post is open to all paid members, but I will make these for the highest tiers as the top supporters are probably more interested in these posts.

I will be putting these Deep Dives into a Collection as well, for easier access.

PriorTITYy Delivery

The comic I am now working on making into an animated movie, "PriorTITy Delivery," was released about Jun-July 2008. I wanted to make a quick, Free cOmic to show off my work. At the time, only grOw/cOmic 1, "Milk Farm," and grOw/cOmic 2, "H2grOw," existed in terms of comics (grOw/stOries 1-9 also were out).

Deep dive: The scientist characters were inspired by the following:

• Bill: older guy. Based on the Muppet character Professor Benson Honeydew. The name was derived from, at the time, the FedEx VP at the time.
• Other scientist: based on the Muppet character Beaker.
• Fred (guy behind the counter who talks with Lyssa): Name based on the CEO/Inventor of FedEx, Fred Smith, and the looks were based on myself, when I worked at a counter for FedEx as a Customer service rep. We had a counter similar in shape to this, with bas relief logo behind us.

The Making of "Milk Farm"

The first grOw release was grOw/cOmic 1, "Milk Farm" released July 29, 2005. But work had started way back in 2000. Yes, it took me 5 years to complete the first grOw. This was partially due to the fact that I was working 3 other jobs already (PT at an ad agency in NYC, freelance graphic design, and an adjunct college professor teaching graphic design a few nights a week).

Deep Dive: I would draw each frame in pencil at home, followed by inking the lines with a very fine Sharpie. I would then scan them in and load them onto my 17" laptop. While commuting to NYC on a train, I would take the seat furthest to the back that had a wall behind me. This way, I could work on coloring the pages — with a MOUSE on a MOVING train — and no one could see what I was doing. Even a conductor coming in through the door would not see my screen as I would close it when I heard the door open.