Second page of Passchendaele horror anthology!

Guten abend, Steemit! I’m at @caffetto, reflecting on a inspirational day. @tarotbyfergus and I faced off in a BRAWL battle and the wind shifted my way. A huge block of my favorite Magic: The Gathering cards just rotated out of Standard. My Jodah deck has undergone big changes, but assumably […after today] still has what it takes. @vermillionfox and @guthrie hung out and I had a wildly exciting conversation with @lovejoy regarding @robrigo and @eosdetroit. I see someone say “…living my best life”, and these things make me feel I’m close to my own.

Speaking of living my best life, I’m crazy excited to share new artwork with all of you, following up my last post, “First page of Passchendaele horror anthology!”. I just finished dialog on page two! This is a bigger achievement than it may look. With everything I’m trying to juggle, I’m pleasantly surprised with my ability to keep the petal down on this horror anthology I’m doing with @ghostfish. As much as I love and admire @la-fumettista’s art, it’s her ability consistently turn out outstanding pages for Ithaqa that really inspires me.

@bryan-imhoff and I both struggle with the schedule and self discipline of staying consistent with our respective projects. That, in itself, is far more challenging that drawing a hand or foot properly. My longtime friend @swarddraws is another example of an artist that inspires me in his sheer output. I have a million obstacles in my way of having enough time to do this daily, but that day will come. When it does, I’m hopeful that I can look back at getting a few pages done in a week and ask myself how I did it.

This is the second page of the currently untitled Passchendaele World War I story. A german solider, trapped knee deep in a mud laden artillery shell hole, has impulsively shot Ira, a Australian infantry grunt, just as he poked his head over the hole. Ira’s body slides down the embankment, and Otto realizes he over-reacted. Suddenly, though, Ira, seemingly alive […which is clearly not possible by the amount of skull and brain missing] begins talking to his killer, asking to bum a cigarette.

The point of this story is to explore the guilt and psychological impacts of the conditions these men are facing in their final hours. Clearly, Otto is projecting his unwinding mental state conversing with a dead Aussie. It’s a theme that will be consistent in this anthology. A series of short stories that’ll focus on the extremes of the human experience and the psychological hauntings that remain after unspeakable horrors.

Much more of this to come. I love having change to share more comic stuff. As the Steemian responsible for Trial by Comics, I feel these pages and projects show that I’m more capable than just coming up with new themes for the contest each week. It might be a long shot, but I’m going tot try and have the pencils for page three posted over the weekend. Thanks for reading. For more comics, photography, art and the stories behind the work, follow me here @kommienezuspadt!