Below is a six-page spread for The Night Watchman introducing Kellan the Vampire, a character I posted on back in April. Leyla, an S &T student studying nighttime ecology at the Spring, is another character in The Night Watchman featured in this sequence- though scripted out months ago, her proper introduction has yet to be drawn.
Kellan’s confusion upon seeing Leyla seems like a case of mistaken identity, though a peripheral awareness of one another is alluded to. On the fifth page you can see the abandoned school building where Kellan hides out in the daytime and a connection is established between Philip and the young vampire.
Below, a color sample of the second page. I could see myself treating color on this story a few different ways- possibly more than just one treatment in the same volume, perhaps even a Jump-style/Manga presentation on some pages, printed on solid colored paper. While I’m still exploring color treatments, I’m mainly concentrating on drawing the pages that connect the story points I’ve written.
Full disclosure: I most certainly am tipping my hat to movies like Abott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)- the kind of Sunday afternoon horror matinee I’d watch on TV with Dad that would thrill me with an all-star Universal Monsters cast, including Dracula and the Wolfman. Other favorites would have been any of the Hammer horror films with Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee as Dracula! Later movies I enjoyed, like The Lost Boys, Fright Night, Interview with a Vampire, and Blade, updated the classic vampire with more contemporary interpretations. Below are more sketches of Kellan I did in preparation for the last panel:
You can still pick up my Spring/Summer 2023 Night Watchman Sketchbook at Apotheosis Comics & Lounge on S. Grand and Wizard’s Wagon on Delmar here in St. Louis- thanks for your support!
#scificomics #horrorcomics #smallpresscomics #supportindiecomics #indiecomics #stlcomicbooks #TheNightWatchman #apotheosiscomics #localcomicshop
Thanks for reading- SHARE THIS WITH A FRIEND OR ON SOCIAL MEDIA! It makes a HUGE difference in my visibility!