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| The first go at the first page, from 2017-2018 |
To get the story of Dragon Garage to work as a TV show or a movie would require me to simplify everything, front load the fantasy elements, and relegate the set up to flashbacks.
I can understand why: modern entertainment has to hook people fast. But I didn't want to do that. Not with this.
I like a nice linear build up, and thankfully, the graphic novel format offers a more forgiving arena in which to play, where I don't have to worry (as much) about 'channel' hopping. I still kept the story trim, but I didn't want to lose all the niche stuff I found interesting (Ultimately I still cut most of it... kill your darlings).
The collision of fantasy and reality, of the medieval with modernity, fascinated me and I wanted to explore that aspect in depth. I didn't do as much as I would have liked in the first volume, as I admit it's not all prime time material, outside PBS. Hopefully it can be organically incorporated into future books.
When I had a window of bonus time (thank you Covid), I set about redoing Dragon Garage as a graphic novel. The change in format brought changes in tone: I put more humour in my comics than in my scripts. Not sure why. Jokes and gags just occur as I draw. Perhaps it's because I'm meditating longer on the scenes.
I'd also been watching a lot of anti-hero TV, and that had seeped into the initial pitch and script. I excised a lot of that. Not all, but a lot, making the book far less dark and tragic, which suits the material better. And I added a back half (the pilot script would have been 45 minutes, but it really needed about 2 hours), without concern for page count / time limitations. It took as long as it needed.
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| A more New Yorker-esque version of the characters |
Dragon Garage became a comedy-adventure, while still leaning more towards the adventure side. All of the threats to the characters are treated seriously. They are in frequent mortal peril, and yet they can see the humour in their outlandish situations. The comedy is driven by character and observation, and by what real dramas just gloss over and ignore, like gaffes.
They say drama is real life with the boring bits removed. It also strips out the missteps, pratfalls, and screw ups. Look at the outtakes from any movie. In the finished film, Guff McDraw will spin his pistol and shoot the villain down in one smooth motion. In the outtakes, we see the actor dropping the gun repeatedly, or hitting himself in the head with the pistol butt. Not dramatic, but more human. Even the expert gunslinger will mess up sometimes, with tragic consequences.
Dragon Garage gleefully incorporates the gaffes.
It took multiple attempts at nailing a style over three or four (?) years before settling, and even that evolved as I went. I had to either pick a look, or be locked in holding pattern for all eternity, pumping out endless variations.
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| Character designs from 2020 or so... |
Once I got up steam, the book pages whizzed by. I added an appendix (every good fantasy book, as JRR Tolkien knows, needs an appendix!) in the form of Zach's Journal, covering material I cut from the book proper, and to tease tales to come. I then added an outtake page from the fictional Heroic Journey's Bestiary, covering goblins, just for fun.
And that's the convoluted path DG took to completion.
I hope you enjoy it!
Take a gander over on Amazon.
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| Character designs from the 2018 attempt |
