Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business The Queen of Diamonds #5 - featuring Looks That Kill Lad

I'm cross posting this to Bits and Dr Gymll's just to gain maximum hype here. If the mods think it should just go in one feel free to delete one thread.

The Queen of Diamonds #5 has just gone live (along with the first four issues) over at http://www.gayleague.com/online/qod/qodintro.php

This issue there are more fights, more nudity, pub lunches, shopping and jaffa cakes.

There are also some starting points for big story threads coming up (including a love interest for Q).

More importantly for this site though, #5 was also my chance to pay tribute to Paul MacNeil aka Looks That Kill Lad who I know a lot of people miss still, and those that didn't get to meet have probably heard of. Anyway, Paul was one of the first people I met on the internet, certainly one of the first that I actually came to consider a friend, and along with Lash is probably responsible for me loving the Legion and being in the LMBP at all. I still miss him lots now and have almost sent e-mails to him on a number of occasions to chat before remembering. I know Paul in QoD doesn't actually look much like the real Paul but I hope he'd have liked it anyway. It *was* supposed to look like him, but I don't think he wanted it to. For all that he was one of the best people I knew and never one to back away from an arguement if he felt strongly he wasn't a pushy or vain person either so maybe being made into a fully fledged superhero would embaress him and so he wouldn't let me draw him as one (hey, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. )

So, like I say, this is partially just my way of making sure people remember him.

That's a very special tribute Bevis. My hats off to you.

I just read QOD, it was really very good, I very interested as to what will become of the test tube people.

That was wonderful Beavis. I love your take on LTKL's costume and the cape is great. Will Paul be a recurring character? I rather liked him.

Your writer made me laugh out loud a few times reading through it, very nice work from both of you. Now I have to read the rest of the issues.

YK, I'm the writer too. All my own work, from the conception thorough to the lettering and art.

I'm not sure if Paul will turn up again. I'm kinda wary of using a character that he created without knowing exactly what he'd have want doing with him, if you see what I mean. I think he'll probably turn up for a cameo every now and again but I don't think he'll me a major recurring character.

Viv, the people in the tubes will be turning up fairly soon. If the stories go in the order that I'm planning them the bad guys will turn up in reverse order to that in which they appear in #5 (so the vamps are first, then Nina, then the test tube peeps and finally the gang at the start.

Then I like your dialogue. It flows naturally between the characters. Paul comes off as s bit more mature and the more experienced hero. As it should be.

...and was the line about a guy with whips about our very own Lashie? "He gave me his number" gave me a good laugh.
Well done in any case.

QUESTION: Is Lili's name pronounced like "Lily the flower" or like Lee Lee?

Like Lily. It's actually taken from the song 'Lili Marlene', made famous by Marlene Dietrich but used by both sides as a popular song during the second world war. The link being that Lili is based visually on Ute Lemper, who has a bit of a thing for Marlene.

This is great Bevis! Once it's printed you'll have to let us know so we can order a few copies

Will do. The annual Bristol con is next month so I'll be doing a print run then.

I am also planning on getting #6 done for then as well. I finished writing it on Saturday, laid out all the panel borders for the whole thing and pencilled six pages on Sunday. If I can keep on a roll like that (and I have every panel planned out so there isn't any reason I shouldn't) it may well be done within the next four weeks. I'm not going to commit myself to that, but you never know I could get a full issue done in a month, which would be cool.

Read your entire "run" and thought it was great. I particularly love the interplay between the three heroes. Funny stuff!

Good job Bevis!

Bevis, I've said it before and I stand by it: I love the way you write and I love your art! You have such a style that's completely your own!

And it makes me smile so much to see you incorporate Looks that Kill Lad. I miss Paul too, and I know he'd be blushing right now .

Thank you guys for all the praise. It makes me all smiley.

I finally got a chance to print it out and read it last night. Very cool, Bevis! I was impressed with both the art AND the story. And the best part was your consistency: Q looked the same in all the pics, even so far as shape of the nose and stuff. I could draw 5 pics of Crujectra and, although they would be similar, they would never look exactly the same. Kudos!

Ah, that consistency just comes from drawing the same character day in day out. The lack of consistency was something that was picked up on when I first started doing comics properly, but I don't think it's an uncommon thing. You look at artists who have only just started working with a particular character and it takes a good while before they really get the look down. A good example of that is Leonard Kirk's Supergirl stuff. You can see how he develops over his first fifteen issues or so and how much more consistent his characters faces look. The same thing has been developing with me and Q and Clarissa and Jani in Oddcases). Also with Q he's pretty much based on me so I have an easy model to draw from.

And as for you drawing Crujectra, I think you're underselling yourself a bit. It's very, very hard to get a completely consistent look (Q's face shape changes a *lot* as does his height. The other characters are even more prone to that) but you learn the basic strokes that make the character look like themselves, if you see what I mean, and I think you've got that with Crujectra. You can tell who she is pretty much each time you draw her and tell her apart from other characters you do. Drawing a full length comic I've got to know what Q looks like from every single angle so if you think about it I've drawn him hundreds and hundreds of times now, and that's not even including the sketches and such that I do of him. As with a lot of things in life the more you do it, the better you get.

Well thanks, Bevis dear

I definitely need to try branching out a little more, though. Most everyone I draw falls into the same sort of category: youthful, white people of a certain build. I need to try more body types (which I tried to do with Scott, Caroline and Cramer over at Project Runway), and more age and racial diversity.