Nuclear High School

Catsuit

2011-04-17T22:13:00.003-05:00

After an unintentionally long hiatus, I’ve begun posting Chapter 4 of Nuclear High School at Webcomics Nation.

Here’s an early “promotional” image of Thistle McCobb in the outfit she wears to the nightclub Derrida’s. She can be seen purchasing this catsuit in the previous chapter.

Thistle's Parents

2009-09-11T11:14:00.006-05:00

Here’s an early color sketch of Thistle’s parents, when I was trying to finalize their look for Chapter 1. Her father ended up being rather shorter and a bit thicker, and her mother’s hairstyle a bit less severe. Despite being totally obnoxious and a bit creepy, I grew to kind of like them over the course of the story.

As another side-project, I did quite a bit of genealogical work for both sides of Thistle’s family. It was a great way to generate ideas and to really get inside Thistle’s head, to know who she is and where she comes from, and how her parents got to be such weirdos.

Thistle's Red Dress

2009-09-09T12:12:00.000-05:00

A costume-design color sketch from Chapter 1.

The Real Nuclear High School

2009-07-11T11:27:00.002-05:00

I built this reference model so I could draw the school consistently from a variety of angles. It came in very handy, and was a fun side-project.

Deadheads

2009-07-05T16:00:00.002-05:00

Early character sketches of Thistle McCobb’s friends, affectionately nicknamed “the deadheads.” After some abortive previous attempts, the final look for Pandora Parr was established with this drawing. The others just sort of emerged fully-formed from my head.

Evolution

2009-06-24T10:34:00.002-05:00

In this early sketch, the distinctive style of Nuclear High School begins to crystalize. Leonard and Dan approach their final forms, and even the tenor of their relationship starts to emerge.

The story was “written” as much through sketching and drawing as by typing up notes or script pages. Copious amounts of preliminary material piled up before I ever ruled my first panel borders.

Early Days Yet

2009-06-19T06:23:00.002-05:00

Some more early concept art, as I tried to develop a workable style for the project. The figure on the left evolved into Pandora Parr. It took time and experimentation to decide what level of stylization I wanted to work at. I knew I needed something comfortable for the long haul.

Thistle McCobb

2009-06-14T21:28:00.004-05:00

Nuclear High School was a long time coming. I started working on the concept of the story in late 1991, and it gradually took shape over the next two years. It really began to coalesce with the creation of Thistle McCobb in this sketch from January 2, 1992. Though I would refine the design over time, I always tried to remain close to the original inspiration. While the character clearly has ties to the “goth girl” archetype, I felt that, as the story is set in some vague future time, she should be considered “post-goth.”

Like all the characters in the story, Thistle is an amalgam of aspects of people I’ve known over the years and elements of my own personality. As the story developed, she took on an increasingly central role and evolved into one of my favorite creations.

Nuclear High School

2009-06-09T22:13:00.001-05:00

Some early concept art of the complex of buildings that make up Nuclear High School. This sketch evolved into the first panel of page one.

Solid.

2009-06-04T00:13:00.001-05:00

'Nuclear High School' is now online at Webcomics Nation.