Drum roll please…
A bad run in with a trunk leads to a bad dream where Johnny remembers the reason he ended up in the bar that fateful night when he met Lila…
Written by John Dover
Artwork by Dan Schaefer
Colored by Jeremy Colwell
Monthly Archives: September 2017
The evolution of Johnny Scotch…
It has been four years since my hard hitting, hard drinking alter ego was conceived. What a wild ride it has been so far. Since my start I have written and published two comic books, a short story and my first novella in the Johnny Scotch universe. Next week we are launching our third comic book in the series and I am so excited to share this beautiful book with everyone. Dan Schaefer, as always, has truly delivered the noir flavored goods with his artwork.
This morning I would like to share the covers from our previous books to go through the evolution of Johnny Scotch a bit. Let’s start with Dan and my first experiment, Finding Ella.
This cover had everything. We get our first look at our hero and the world he runs around in. We also get glimpses of some of the future characters that will soon play a big part in Johnny’s world. This was an exciting time for me because it was my first experience having my words translated into a visual medium. Dan and I just clicked and he really understood the pulpy jazz-noir character I was trying to get out onto the page.
Next up is the first fully illustrated comic we did.
Talk about smooth. This cover, which highlights Lila, tells you right away that this is going to be a thrill ride filled with plenty of dangerous curves. It was during the production of Lila that we decided to expand Lila’s role and push forward with an expanded story arc for her.
That led to Comic number 2, “A Song to Remember Charlie”.
Things start to heat up for Johnny in this book and it went from being a tough guy story to a full on murder mystery with hints to Johnny’s recent past fumbles. The cover art also took a bit of a different turn with a real retro flavor with Dan’s water colors.
The interior art has always stayed consistent and beautiful. Dan’s blending of my words with his film noir aesthetic have helped make these books so fun to tear into. There is a visceral flow to each page that makes you want to keep turning them even when you have flipped the back cover closed.
Next up was the launch of my first Johnny Scotch novella, “Danger in Bass Clef”.
When Dan and I talked about what I wanted for this, we settled on the dime store pulp novel feel. We get a cross between a spaghetti western and a seventies movie poster. In other words, pitch perfect.
In my next post I will reveal the much anticipated cover for our upcoming comic book. Please check back soon to see where this has brought us to date.
What have I been up to?
What a crazy couple of weeks. The launch of “Danger in Bass Clef” has been going very well. Happy to say that we have pushed out our first 50 physical copies. Not monster numbers but for doing this all on my own I am very happy. Not to mention that we have had great reviews so far. Just waiting for more people to jump on board as the book gains momentum.
So where is Johnny Scotch the comic book? On its way!!! Dan Schaefer and I are gearing up to reveal the book in a couple weeks at Salt Lake Comic Con. I am so proud for how this one has come together. The marriage between my words and Dan’s artwork is amazing. I can’t wait to share this beautiful book with all of you.
Mostly what I have been up to besides clamoring to get the new comic done and printed is a lot of blog writing. Once it is official when my stuff will hit I will make an announcement as to where you can go to see me tackle some entertainment writing. Very fun stuff.
Looking forward to getting back to work on my new book though. I have to admit, as much as I have enjoyed throwing out a ton of content for this new blog I am eager to get some pages flying and back into the swing of things on the new project.
Whats next? Work will start on the fourth Johnny Scotch comic book soon after Salt Lake. I plan to have a new book ready for release in the next four months (knock on wood), and I will continue to promote “Danger in Bass Clef”, “Tales From the Braided Pony”, and the comics ad nausium.
“Danger in Bass Clef”…
It has been months since Johnny last saw Cass, but when she bursts into this bar one night with a tale of kidnapping, extortion, and an illegal downhill death race, Johnny jumps into action. Join Johnny and Cass on an adrenaline and scotch-laced adventure through the pulpy jazz-noir streets of Bridge City as they fight to rescue her love, disrupt a local gangster’s betting ring, and keep Cass from becoming roadkill.
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