Saved by the Bell #8 ANNOTATED

It's time to finally annotate the last of 4 episodes of Saved by the Bell that I drew in 2014, all with covers by the amazing Chynna Clugston. These stories were published for digital sale on Amazon in 2014, and the trade paperback was published summer 2015. Buy it! 


On to "Ski Trip!"

PAGE 1 One of Kelly's text books is titled "Hi" as I greet you, the reader. Once again Zack sports a polo with a sperm whale logo applique on it.

PAGE 3 Panel 4 Indie gay boy Jeff is in the background.

PAGE 4 I love the way this page turned out...the perspective, Zack looks good in all panels, and of course, I got to draw one of the coveted jokes—the giant cell phone. 

PAGE 6 Mr. Moody was fun to draw, though I doubted the realism of a mall shop owner staffing the floor. Anything's possible in Bayside, I guess. In the mall walks the yet-named large gal that often appears as an extra in my pages. Panel 6 I use my "classic" explosion effect again.

PAGE 7 Slater sports a the Tim Fish magnet T-shirt. Why don't you own one yet???

PAGE 8 Was so much fun to draw. Minimal backgrounds, and very action-y. Fun, fun.

PAGE 9 Awesome ski-on cameo from ARCHE-LADY as Mr. Moody's daughter.  

PAGE 10 Disappointing color rendering of Mr. Belding's ski suit. The photo reference shared with me was from a '90s ski catalog, and the suit was really garish. White, yellow, bubble gum pink and powder puff blue. But the published colors are gray and yellow. 

PAGE 12 Was really challenging to draw. Due to the web publish format, there is a hard break at the half page mark. So, no art can cross that zone. Generally, I've made it a fun exercise to make the page work with symmetry. But wow, this was tough. In the first half, I had to show so many characters, including the ski patrol guys to make the joke work later. And save space for lots of dialog and (in theory) movement. In the second half, I had to execute a complex slapstick moment. This really could have been a page and a half (and pages 9-10 could have only been a page and a half, but it would have been a shame to break up the lodge scene). Panel 7 is definitely a Chynna Clugston pastiche moment.

Thus volume 1 draws to a close. It was a really fun experience, and I thank Greg for pointing me to the folks at Lionforge/Roar. Adam was a great editor to work with, generally pushing me to a better place; Joelle's scripts were spot on in tone; and it's such a thrill to be side by side with Chynna in a TPB.

Looking forward to volume 2!