The first page for WTB Chicken. Crom and I set out to "test" the concept in-between other larger screenplays we've been working on.
Crom sent me the first page based off of a simple concept I threw at him, and this was the result.
-Axe
Right away I knew that something interesting was happening. I mean that in the sense that I was at home, bored, and he told me he was doing something. Imagine my surprise to discover it was the comic page. The first action sequence was funny to me, especially how Axe captured Orock freaking out and chopping the table in half. As this wasn't yet a proof of concept, it just struck me as funny and weird.
The next few pages changed everything.
-Crom
The second page, although a bit spartan, came with a little more confidence. I started to like this dwarf from the first page, and the chicken added a comedic charm.
Crom and I knew pretty early that we had something here, and that the pilot would probably be pushed into production.
-Axe
Axe knew something was up, but I sure as hell didn't. The sequence he'd drawn, the two original pages, were funny to me, but not entirely convincing. My job at the time was pretty simple: keep writing script for him, no matter how stupid it was. And believe you me, when I'm at the helm... it's stupid.
-Crom
I started getting a little more ambitious, which is dangerous considering our other writing obligations. But I couldn't help myself... I could feel more in this simple premise of a war-weary dwarf trying to set a chicken free of her cage than some of our written work-for-hire.
-Axe
Axe asked me for an arc of some sort -- really anything at all that was more than a simple page. I thought up an idea that encapsulated the nature of Orock's obsession: that he wanted to get Josephine out of the cage. The beginning of many journeys are with an Oracle. Or a gas station -- but in this case I went with an oracle.
This was also the first time that we really focused on the fact that Josephine is locked in the cage, and more importantly, that Orock didn't have the means of getting her OUT of the cage. Now we had an adventure, even if it was a weird ass one.
-Crom
I loved drawing this page. The action was there, and the scale of the final panel. I'm particularly happy with the panel shapes/flow and composition on this one.
-Axe
Because I'm slower in the brain than Axe, I didn't get how cool this comic could be right away. He knew after a few pages -- I didn't know until this page. This was the one that changed everything for me. I wrote it on a lark, and simply threw the bear in for the hell of it. Then I saw what Axe had done with the page. It was kinetic, emotional, and badass all together. It actually stopped me in my tracks.
After seeing how crazy this single moment could be -- a moment backed by nothing narratively -- I was onboard the WTB train. We had to find out why this character was so obsessed with freeing a chicken. Why he would lay his life down for her, and what that meant about his relationship with the world. This was the moment I realized there was a STORY in the comic, and it wasn't just an exercise anymore.
-Crom
Seeing these guys together, with danger around every corner, intrigues me. I also enjoy how Orock (the dwarf), and Josephine (the chicken), have two different narratives going on.
-Axe
I wanted to wrap up this little vignette we'd started, but I wanted to do it in a fun, adventurous way. I was channeling Indiana Jones when I thought about it, but Orock's scorn is such a hilarious note. Where Indy was humbled to a certain degree, to Orock the fact that someone got spiked to death, means they're a complete tit.
Also, when she pecks the trap, I laughed to myself. I wish this was a cartoon, because we'd all see it coming, but we'd all know it had to happen. That damn chicken.
-Crom
I quite like the tenderness of Orock's expression in the second last panel. It's getting very close to conveying his compassion for Josephine. Of course, we can never know for sure if Jose returns that affection.
This final page did it for me. I told Crom that I felt strongly about WTB Chicken's value, and that I was prepared to dedicate years of my life to developing these characters.
-Axe
At this point, Axe screamed in my face. I actually had 2 more pages after this one that would complete the story. Essentially Orock finds the tomb of Tink Cogminder, and discovers that the world's greatest mechanical lockpick is just a schematic for a giant hammer. Not exactly high comedy, but still.
We never even approached the pages, because we stepped back and began working on the overall arc of the series. We shifted into narrative mode and the rest is coming up soon. The story expands quickly, and the action leaps up several notches. No more schematics of hammers. It's the high road now, Kemosabe.
-Crom
