That was then, this is now...

Lately, I've been toying with the idea of putting some of my old strips on Myebook for anyone who wants to read them. The one strip that's stood out amongst the others is Mindfields by me and Bryan Coyle - not because it's particularly good (I always said Bryan's art lifted a pretty average script), but because it's stunning to look back at that and see how much we've both progressed.

At the risk of sounding sycophantic, it's been a pleasure to watch Bryan's art change and evolve and just get better and better, not only with the strips we've done, but with the work he's producing with others, too (seriously, go and check out his latest piece in FutureQuake #15 with Dan Hill - it looks amazing). Looking back at Mindfields and then seeing the pages he's producing for Babble... Wow, is all I can say, really.

But from my side of it, I can see how...safe I was playing it back then. I used a cliched story and plot device to try and make it more palatable, and I don't think it worked. Now, though, I've got some ludicrous and twisted horror tales lined up for Accent UK's Zombies 2 and Victoriana that I couldn't have imagined doing back when I wrote Mindfields. The next collaboration between myself and Bryan - Accent UK's Predators - is, in my opinion, something of a quantum leap in terms of story and art, and leaves Mindfields in the dust
. I took what I felt at the time was a big chance with the storytelling, but now, though, I don't think I would see taking that kind of direction as a chance, but more of a challenge to both me and the reader (yeah, I know I'm being vague about the story, but I want you to go and buy the book!).

I'm not dismissing Mindfields. Without that (and the guys at FutureQuake), I wouldn't have been able to work with Bryan so extensively. I guess I'm just saying that we've both come a long way since then, but the best is still yet to come...
That was then, this is now... That was then, this is now... Reviewed by Unknown on 3:32 pm Rating: 5
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