A Word From One of the Creators
From the desk of Eric Ratcliffe
I really need to stop writing these at 3 in the morning. Mostly because Brant gets to edit what I’m saying so it actually makes sense.
The basic idea for this strip existed when I pitched the original 3 months of year 3. It was a simple, “Eric wants to be trained by Hawkeye who, just like in real life, is very much my favorite Avenger!” He always has been and will always be.
For those that don’t know, one of my first comics was Avengers West Coast #100 where Mockingbird is seemingly killed by Mephisto, and the team, Hawkeye the most, is hit pretty hard by this. It’s Avengers story telling at its best and it’s resonated with me all these years later. In fact, a lot of my favorite Avengers moments come from the violet clad archer. Like Avengers Forever, which is easily on of my favorite comics of all time.
The other thing I wanted to bring to people’s attention here: it’s hard writing Captain America. Like really, really hard. Heck, if it comes to any character that’s guest starred in New Comic Day so far that I’ve had trouble writing? It’s Steve. I’ve grown to love the character thanks to Ed Brubaker’s run (though I finally got to read the amazing Mark Waid run and I’m trying to hunt down some Gruenwald material; Bill gave me a few of his issues a while back). I was nervous to just flat out get his voice right. If people dig it, I would love to have him appear again somewhere in year 4.
Anyways, on to the bad news…with year 3 coming to an end in July, so is our good friend Chad Strohl’s time with New Comic Day. Chad will be stepping away with the end of year 3. What that means, of course, is that we are looking for a new artist (which Chad will be helping us with, almost American Idol style). You, of course, will get plenty of exposure with a steady audience, but sadly it’s not a paying gig. If you’re interested, email me and I can send you some test strips and we can go from there.
It’s a bummer that Chad’s leaving because New Comic Day will not be the same without him. He’s been here since the start and I wish him nothing but the best in the future when he does head out. He’s a good friend and he’s always been an incredible sounding board to bounce ideas off of as well as improving material that was weaker before he touched it.
Next week…Brant meets with Tony Stark, but why? Find out in 7, folks!
Eric, that is by far the goofiest costume ever, and its right you should have trouble writing Cap. He’s an icon. Chad, amigo, I honestly can’t conceive of a NCBD without you….but again, I also know how change often is needed in our lives to keep things moving forward. Here’s hoping the next artist brings a whole new sense of fun to my favorite webstrip.