Actual story work on Issue 3 has been completed and all that’s left to work on is the cover. Here’s a little something to give you an idea of how I’m going to approach it. Really looking forward to seeing how the final product will turn out 👀
Once the cover has been updated, the placeholder image for it in the bookshelf will be replaced accordingly.
Also, with regards to posting times for the comic going forward, we’re considering having the comic show up later in the day as opposed to early morning. Maybe around 5:00 EST/GMT-5?
That’s the date. Issue 3 will launch on October 4, 2023.
I’m currently touching up the last page of the issue. I’ve got a few other bits of things to prep for the new pages, plus some other obligations to handle, so it’ll still be a while. It took a year and quite a few revisions, but I’m proud of what I’ve been able to put out.
Hopefully it won’t be much longer now, but I’m wrapping up work on Issue 3. As continued proof that the comic is, in fact, NOT dead, here’s a panel of a confident Jiro from page 22. What’s he got cooking? You’ll find out soon enough.
Since the last update, a lot has happened and it’s really taken a toll on my ability to work on the comic. I’m currently between jobs, so I’m trying to make sure I can keep things in order so I can get back to doing what I enjoy. I’m not going to ask for money (I’m not in dire straits), but if you’ve read and enjoyed what you’ve seen so far of Electric Fencer, could you maybe consider telling people about it? The comic having gone dark for upward of a year now hasn’t really helped its reach, and admittedly that’s on me for overestimating my time management skills, but I assure you that it’s being worked on. Life has just been a little difficult and FAST as of late and I’ve been trying to keep up.
So I think it’s only fair that I announce that upon talking with my team and beta readers, there’s been a change of plans.
Issue 3 of Electric Fencer will no longer be a 36-page issue. I thought that I could make it to 36 in a relatively short period of time given what’s changed in my life recently.
I got to what would have been the halfway point of the issue and my brain just said NOPE.
So looking at where I am now and discussing plans moving forward with my team, I’ve decided to cut Issue 3 back to a 24-page issue. There’s a huge tonal shift in the original draft of the issue that could essentially make for an entire issue by itself, so what was once the back half of Issue 3 has now been relegated to Issue 4. We also had Issue 4 originally planned out, so that’s been moved to Issue 5. Basically, we pushed our current slate of issues back by one to make this work and to keep me from losing my mind at what feels like an insurmountably high wall of content for me to produce.
That means that the new Issue 4 will also be 24 pages long. This ends up being better because I can better compartmentalize the plot structure for each issue, and you get a whole issue more than we originally planned. I think that’s a pretty sweet deal. Additionally, as the original script for the current slate of issues were written back in 2019, this gave me an opportunity to reevaluate the writing and thumbnails done so far to better fit them into a 24-page plot structure. The new Issues 4 and 5 will be a little more exposition heavy so there won’t be nearly as much action (there hasn’t been much in the two issues present and that’s something I plan on addressing going forward), but there’s some good character development and exposition going into the first big outing our heroes will have and I’m really excited to bring all of that to life.
As proof of progress, here’s the full version of the page the panel from the last update was taken from. I’ve removed the dialogue to avoid narrative spoilers, but looking at it, you probably get the gist of what’s happening here. If you follow me on social media, you’ve probably already seen the full dialogue for this page anyway.
With the new page count, hopefully the finished version of this issue won’t be too far along. Once Issue 3 goes up, I’m also considering queueing up each individual page to go live so there’s a steady flow of content. Until I find myself in a better headspace, I can’t promise that there will be multi-page update weeks, but I will make a better effort to stay on top of this series. I really love what I’ve been able to do with it, and appreciate those who’ve stuck around, even during this prolonged hiatus.
Never a dull day for perpetually exhausted parental figures.
Pretty much what it says on the tin. I added the About section.
Issue 3 is still coming along. It’s about half of the way done and I’d venture to say it’s looking great so far. I’m working out a good time to start posting again but I feel like we’re closer to that time than not. The post image is from the current page I’m working on!
A lot’s been happening with the comic in the background (and that’s the part that’s relevant!) as of late and for those of you still reading, I’ve figured that instead of simply telling you about it, I should probably show you:
There are still a lot of warm colors and outlines, but now I’ve also opted for punchier colors and hatch shading, giving the visuals some volume while also cutting down on how long it takes to illustrate each page. Ironically, with the time saved, I’ve started going in on more diverse and flashier visual effects, so it’s still taking me some time to get Issue 3 done. Currently, the plan is still for this to be a 36-page issue, but I’m considering posting again once I’m about halfway through the issue and posting one page a week, giving me time to finish the remaining pages, while also scheduling them to go up as they are completed.
It’s been nearly a year since Issue 2 finished, but I feel that the time taken to go back and reevaluate the direction I was going with Issue 3 was definitely the best call, as this really gave me the opportunity flesh out the pacing a lot more and give everyone a chance to really shine.
I’ll be back with another update soon…ish, but until then, please enjoy the new screens!
Issue 3 is still currently in progress. Here’s a panel. It’s a meeple of Magnus being flung into a rock.
The end of the year was a super busy time, but production will be back in full swing. I’m moving to a new house and recently changed accounts at work so I still have a good bit of work ahead of me, but to give you all an idea where we are, as of this posting, Issue 3 of Electric Fencer is about 28% of the way complete and it looks absolutely gorgeous. You’ll have lots of bright colors and full page illustrations to look forward to, hence how much longer it’s taking to produce this issue. I’ll try to have another update before too long. Just know that we’ve got plans for Electric Fencer that’ll top last year.
I finally got around to doing something I’ve been wanting to do and made an update to the Characters page. The page in its previous format kind of…sucked? So I made a bunch of new key art for the main characters and some banners to go with them. I think they look rather nice myself.
Hop on over to the new and improved Characters page and check out everyone’s updated bios!
Just a quick sneak peek at what I’ve got cooking for Issue 3. I’m really fond of this new pen I made in Clip Studio! It’ll take some practice to get the line widths consistent, but I’m really digging the visuals.
I’ve been hammering away at commissions, so I haven’t had nearly the time I thought I’d have. Either way, I’ve made time here and there to get back to work on the comic. Sure, it sounds like empty promises, but there have definitely been Electric Fencer-related things going on behind the curtain.
I’ve been working on that new-ish style for coloring, and it’s been showing a lot of promise with how quickly I can get illustrations completed (the image of Elliott and Andrew as children above was worked on and completed in only a couple of hours).
Work (the 9–5) has gotten to be a little hectic and draining to the point where it’s actively getting in the way of producing the comic, but for the month of October, I’m going to focus on getting back on track despite the situation. Electric Fencer Issue 3 will be up a bit later than I initially intended but it’ll definitely be worth the wait.
Speaking of which, updates on Issue 3: I wasn’t especially happy with the direction it was going and I figured rather than going forward and simply hoping the comic levels out, I decided to start from the beginning, but this time with better knowledge and more tools in my belt. The new coloring style practice has been a result of that effort. Additionally, Issue 3 will be our first BIG issue with it being a whopping 36 pages as opposed to our usual 24. I wanted to really give the characters a chance to show what they can do as well as touching on some other bits of character development before we go full swing into the adventure.
Tags have been added to each of the pages make your favorites easier to find. I’m new to this SEO business (I imagine some SEO guru out there is saying, “Ooh! He said the thing!!), but here’s hoping this little update will help each new page or post gain some traction and more people can find them.
The layout of the front page has been changed as well and now there’s a background to make the site not feel like you’re looking at a wall. There’ll more of these types of cosmetic changes in the future as well.
While you’re waiting for Issue 3, why not reread the series so far from Issue 1? I hear that’s a great way to build hype for a new season of TV, so maybe it’ll work here? We’ve also got our three articles in the Extras section—Sestius? Wait, What?, What is Klein?, and It’s a Fairly Large World, After All—covering some element of the worldbuilding for Electric Fencer. I promise you won’t be quizzed on it, but they’ll all play some role down the line in the narrative.
