XIII Page 005

I'm sick. No, seriously. Typhoid Fever. It's not going away. It's making me think about things. It's making me horribly depressed. This isn't stopping me from drawing, though, because it really does take my mind off the depressing things that compose my typhoid-full life. I hope I am not sent to the hospital, which will happen if the meds don't work. I am totally scared.
Let's talk about healthier things, like how this comic came to be, and how much it sucks ass. First, I am a whole day late. This is no coincidence (See previous paragraph), but it was unplanned. Second, this comic was heavily influenced by the music I listen to. In particular, the pacing and mood was heavily influenced by the Silent Hill 4 soundtrack, though the story itself has its roots mostly in Tool's Aenima and Lateralus. Aenima and Lateralus influenced mostly the concept of controlled aggresiveness, a certain anger and fury that cannot be contained, and also the use of allegories and ambiguity to express a message. Silent Hill influenced the pacing and mood, somehow distant, yet melodic, and also kinda sad.
As I write this, I am watching the Yahoo MatchCast of the Portugal - Mexico game of the Fifa World Cup. I expect Mexico to lose. Current score is 2-1, Portugal winning, and I expect it to remain that way. Way to be optimistic (I blame the depression worsened by the typhoid fever, and the many things it makes me think).

Now, local comics talk!
Someday, I wish I could publish a comic. Even if it's done independently, here in Juarez. We can have an industry! We need to make a bigger effort! The Yume guys have done a great work, but they need to get their priorities straight and implement some kind of quality control, or else they're gonna be blown away when the big players get on with the program. 656 Comics has Infestacion already; I've read it, and let me tell you that it rocks too fucking hard; we're also working together on an animation project that may also rock the casbah to the moon. Changolion is hopefully releasing a sketchbook soon, but I do expect them to release a bigger, badder comics compilation soon (They've got the people, they got the technology, and hopefully, they got the material to make it move forward). Many independent comic-makers here are eagerly awaiting news of the publication of the collective work called "Comiquero", to which I contributed my first public, crappy, totally unprofessional and extremely amateur comic (And, if I finish XIII before the deadlines, I may even include it there!). There's also the guys at El Paso and Las Cruces, which 656 is contacting already. Big things are brewing in the local comics scene... I will report more on this at a later date. Meanwhile, I expect to post the next page by Friday, if I am not in the hospital and am alive.