COMMENTARY 
ON ISSUE #4

The great thing about producing an independent book is that you can work organically. CCity #4 was intended to be a stand-alone issue, but while plotting out the story, I decided that I wanted to experiment with pacing out the early parts of the plot with a series of two-page spreads. Contrary to what some wags may say, I did not do this simply to fill up a lot of space with a few simple images - I liked the idea of trying to "stretch" time with the spreads, and I liked the impact that the extreme close-ups have on the reader. Having done all this, however, it became obvious that the story was not going to wrap up in the allotted 24 pages, and so I broke the story at a natural cliffhanger. To my mind, the only really adverse affect this had on the story is that it tends to be all buildup and no payoff. Not to worry - the payoff is coming. Bulldog's conversation with the Shadowling shaman (pgs. 12-16) was one of the hardest things I've ever done, because it was a huge chunk of talk-talk, and one of the two characters never gets out of his chair! I was desperately trying every trick in the book to keep that section interesting (including following some long-ago advice from the legendary Wally Wood). I don't know how well I pulled it off, but I think it's functional at the very least. The brief introduction of Lurid in this issue is a precursor to a huge miniseries I hope to do with the Empress of the Undead one day in the not-too-distant future. The status of the vampire in Complex City is quite ... complex, and it's a story I'm dying to tell. Stay tuned.