Wheels comic for December 26, 1999
Monday, May 17th, 2010
Wheels comic for December 25, 1999
Sunday, May 16th, 2010
We meet Max’s mom (Henrietta) and his sister.
If you look close, you’ll see that Henrietta is wearing earrings. Gotta love the sort of folks who always dress up for Christmas dinner.
In case anyone isn’t familiar with trucking terminology, a “reefer” is a refrigerated trailer.
Wheels comic for December 24, 1999
Saturday, May 15th, 2010
The cop is smirking because he knows exactly how good Max has been this year…
I used extra-fine-point Sharpies on this strip too, e.g. for the details on the characters’ faces, and the strands of Christmas lights. I think this one turned out a little better.
Wheels comic for December 23, 1999
Friday, May 14th, 2010
These characters were developed by the artist before me. The one at the desk is the dispatcher, and Mr. “Don’t You Just Love Me” is Bubba.
Wheels comic for December 22, 1999
Thursday, May 13th, 2010
The guy on the left is Phil — not a major character, but he crops up now and then.
I’m still not entirely clear on which truck is whose.
Wheels comic for December 21, 1999
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
Lenny’s date must have gone well.
The guy with the y’all and the Lone Star belt buckle is Tex. He’s from the South, where “y’all” is singular. (The plural is “all y’all”.)
Wheels comic for December 20, 1999
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
Introduction of Lenny’s girlfriend. I don’t think she ever had a name.
My artist’s tools consisted of copier paper and Sharpies. (Pretty fancy, eh?) Each single-panel strip filled most of an 8.5×11″ sheet of paper. I did most of my drawing with the “fine-point” Sharpies, which are actually pretty thick; once the strip is scanned and reduced, the line thickness ends up looking pretty good.
For this strip, I did most of the girlfriend’s face with “extra-fine-point” Sharpies, which actually are fine-point. It’s a pretty striking difference in thickness, and I’m not especially pleased with the final effect.
I’m more pleased with Lenny’s face. I intended his expression to be neutral, but the way the slight diagonal got pixelized makes it look like he’s grinning. I call it his “I’m gonna get lucky” grin.
