This is very good stuff. Check out Nan Teller at the Edge of the Universe, by Scott Roberts. Boasts consistent, clear writing that will make you chuckle and some great-looking inks. Also, I’ve never seen a ragmop with personality before, but the what-are-you,-stupid “look” on that little guy’s “face” at one point cracked me up … and that’s some good comics work.
14 responses to “Nan Teller at the Edge of the Stars”
Wow. Makes me feel like I better get back to this story…
When I started, I swore I would finish, then life happened and it broke down.
Scott, I can’t tell you how excited I am that you found my link to your work. I frequently find myself looking at “Nan Teller” in my RSS reader, almost deleting it for lack of posts, then thinking, “Naaaah … someday he might keep working on it, and I want to be there when he does.”
I love this comic — especially the dialogue, which manages to be always off-kilter, but never annoying. The uncomplicated panel arrangement, the confident linework … it’s been a favorite of mine for a long time.
I’m curious: what have you been up to lately, and how do you find time to work on personal creative pieces like this one outside of your day job?
Also, I notice that I originally called it “Nan Teller at the Edge of the Universe.” Wow, I’m obviously a very devoted fan. :)
Well … I *am* devoted, but not particularly observant.
Would you believe that I have trouble keeping the title straight myself?
These days I’m doing the lettering and coloring for PRINCE VALIANT (which I was already doing anyway,) and I have two online comic strips with John Zakour. We do WORKING DAZE and MARIA’S DAY, at gocomics.com. Officially John’s the writer and I’m the artist, but I also ghost a lot the gags. And why not? John ghosts for other strips. We first worked together on the RUGRATS strip- till it ceased production nine years ago. I write stories for the SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS comic book. Of course, I used to do my own book, PATTY-CAKE, but that was a victim of the ailing comics industry. Just never sold well enough.
Outside comics, I published my first all-ages fantasy novel THE TROUBLING STONE. All words- no pictures. That’s a whole other discipline, but I enjoy it!
Meanwhile, I got interested in getting back to Nan Teller, and have been cleaning up the existing pages. Mostly adjusting the lettering in the balloons, so it’s easier to read (I hope.) Minor art touch-ups here and there. Hopefully I can get back to the story. I know how it ends- I just don’t know how many pages it’ll take to get there. I realize i stopped about the time I got a relationship going. I found a girl from my church on Facebook, friended her, and now here I am!
It’s amazing that you’re working on Prince Valiant — that strip always blew me away as a kid! I immediately recognized your style on Working Daze (and the Photoshop gag on the latest strip was a keeper). The reduction on Maria’s Day reminds me of James, by Mark Tonra, of whom I’m a big fan.
The Troubling Stone looks really engaging! I’ve been trying my hand at writing some fiction lately — did you find it difficult to make the switch to prose? What did you enjoy about the process most?
When and if Nan Teller returns, I’ll be in the front row with a big bucket of buttered popcorn. Friending a girl will invariably change your work schedule, but it’s guaranteed to be worth it (just got back from a trip to Florida with the girl from my church I friended — five years of marriage later, we’re still having a ball).
The Prince Valiant gig came by invitation. I went to high school with Jay Kennedy, the late editor of King Features. He was always looking for some kind of work I could do, and offered it to me. I figured it was a new challenge, and some extra income- how could I say no to working on a classic?
I have two book collections of JAMES. Shame that strip wasn’t more successful. It did have some influence on Maria- so did MUTTS, I think. Yet most people still guess CALVIN & HOBBES. I guess because it features kids.
Writing prose is… about the same for me. You get to do things you can’t do in comics- use words to set up pictures in the readers’ minds. It’s easier to do internal dialogue, as you don’t have to worry about pages of static art while imparting that kind of info. Comics and prose are such different disciplines. I find it fascinating to see how each tells a story in its own way. And in prose I don’t have to worry about drawing complicated backgrounds!
Since Nan has been on my mind lately, I’ve actually started it up anew. I’ve written 8 new pages so far, and inked four. I also re-edited Nan’s stay on the alternate earth, to include some info I forgot the first time! So that sequence is two pages longer. I’m trying to determine just how active webcomicsnation is these days. Then I have to see if I remember how to post there!
I have the James books, too! They’re in my beloved “comics that more people should know about,” collection, right next to Citizen Dog. What would be on your top list of comics more people should know about? (Besides your own, obviously.)
Where I struggle with prose is the same struggle I have with comics … the effort of polishing. In general, I have an idea I want to sketch out, but once the fringes of it are down on paper, I rapidly lose all interest. Have you ever faced that? What keeps you going once the glow of a fresh idea fades and you’re left with a project?
So exciting about Nan Teller. I can’t wait to see more!
As far as strips that might not be well enough known, I enjoy Pooch Cafe. I used to be into Geech in its early years, but it got kind of redundant, and of course, it’s been in repeats since its creator died.
Matt Feazell’s Cynical Man has never appeared in regular papers, but it’s some clever stuff. I have lots of paperbacks of nearly forgotten strips: The Great John L, The Circus PT Bimbo. Miss Peach was always a favorite but Momma overshadowed it.
I guess I just keep my interest up long enough for the rewrites and the edits and all that stuff. Nothing is ever perfect, or just the way it’s envisioned, but the artist tries to get it closer.
I haven’t done much with my current prose novel since April (right before we went to Disney World…) I went throughout he early chapters for some polish and fix-ups. Yet it’s so close to the end. That’s one of the biggest intimidators- ending a story. I know how it ends, but the trick is getting it there in a satisfying way.
Of course, I know how Nan ends as well. Oddly, her story is a patchwork made up from different concepts. Several things come from my unpublished 70’s sic fi prose novel. Nan herself was conceived for a very different story that takes place here on earth. Maybe that comes after this one. “The” and Zinny are characters my brother and I created when we were kids. Most of what happens in that part of the story is verbatim save for the visit from Nan and company.
Well, lunch now and back to work. Have to draw a Sunday Maria to get ahead.
I tried putting four new pages of Nan up, but the site got them in reverse order. Until I figure out how to fix it, just read from bottom to top.
OH! That makes more sense. I tried to read them when my RSS reader announced the update (so that’s working, which is nice) … but I couldn’t follow any of it. I’ll check them out the other way around. Thanks!
I’m discouraged with the site, though. I click on the ‘New Today’ link, and it doesn’t list anything. I’m starting to consider finding another way to get Nan out there. Ideally, as a book, if I can find a publisher to take it on.
Yeah … my very short-lived attempts to use WCN haven’t been met with a lot of success either. I take it you’re not interested in going the self-published/Kickstarter route? It takes a lot of time and energy, but I know that there’s a community of comics creators who have found Kickstarter in particular to be a great means of getting their book into enthusiastic hands.
I self published PATTY-CAke, and that worked out for me in that, within a yea,r an established publisher took it up. It ran for ten years- I alone could not have done that. But then I self published my fantasy novel and did not achieve the same results. It seems that comics can get away with self publishing- it’s almost a badge of honor- but with prose it’s still looked upon as vanity press. You published it yourself for one reason only: nobody else would.
Right now I can’t afford to self publish- it takes a lot of up-front money I had then but don’t have now.
And I’m no businessman. I need to create and let someone else worry about the business. I just have to hope there’s a publisher who can see the worth in Nan.
Well, Nan’s value is pretty self-evident, in my opinion — I’m confident you’ll be able to find a publisher!