Herald_QC.Quarters

Last change: Ben decides to lay low at the mall but bumps into a rude cloaked figure.
Now change 3!

Eleven panels penciled by 1 am. Yosh!

Feedback: You can now rate each week's Quarters Crisis in the upper sidebar.

Easter Eggs: DF stuff, Change 3 and "Yale" in bushes, plus plant monster returns.

Fun Facts: Sadly, I learned the cut off hand/coin technique from Tintin. The Darling Find stuff wasn't originally in. The currency's called Apples (not Berries).

SLS: I've learned my YDN debut's postponed, but I'm still excited.

And we close with jack kelly's "lol" for the lose.


The poor dope doesn't even know how email addresses work.

Reuxben

Herald_Scrunch.df

Last find: Kelly tries to talk to Joe but discovers he’s taken.
Now Find 12!

Well, it's the last Herald of the semester. But is it the end of the series? . . . Yes.

I have some great ideas for the next semester that I want to explore. Besides, it'd be a hassle losing an entire week to recapping.

So the next story prospects are:
1) BLR, likely my independent summer comic
2) An action-adventure featuring joyriding con artists
3) A Sci-Fi thriller about humans and their human-like robots
4) An urban Gothic tale about modern vampires
5) An adventure of classic characters with a twist

Easter Eggs: [Edgar Allen] Poe, infinite sophomore slump?, plant monster, Find 12 in frames, burrito.

Fun Facts: This was supposed to be a cliffhanger ending for next semester to pick up, but I came up with this more final ending that is still vague enough for imaginary futures. After inking, it accidentally ended with someone winking, an even better ending.

Thanks To: Eiichiro Oda, Toshihiro Ono, Rufftoon, Laura, Leena, HSAR462: Shops and Shopping, You've Got Mail, isolation, rock.

And thanks to you for checking out the comic, it's meant a lot to me. This year has been quite miserable so it was nice to have an escape device.

And of course, thanks for visiting,

Reuxben

Herald_glumglum.df

Last find: Kelly successfully delivered the Guffinium but only earned enough for a milkshake after Gilda's trumped up fees and fines.
Now find 11!

I apologize. In an ironic twist, my endeavor to bring more professional comics to Yale fell victim to my actually bringing professional comics to Yale. I'm the hired cartoonist for the Rudd Center and I lost about three hours of Heralding time to researching my next Rudd cartoon. This explains the crude inking, blank backgrounds, and oversights in what is inked. This one could have been great but I ran out of time. I'll revisit this comic as soon as possible to at least salvage it online.

Easter Eggs: One Piece, BLR, Find 11 in the bushes.

Fun Facts: This had to be the comic that comes out for Bulldog Days...*facepalm* Maybe they won't realize it's incomplete, maybe it's some kind of sophisticated stylistic choice. At least the general joke comes around.

So next week is the semester finale. Will it be the series finale? I don't know. I've got the second and final "spree," or season, generally planned out, but I don't know if I want to stick with Darling Find, debut BLR, try something completely new, or what.

I wish I knew what to do. This summer might help me figure it out. Also:

Doo yoo right wel?

If so, I'm looking for someone to write, co-write, or adapt an original short story into a comic book over the summer. Trust me, it'll look better than this week's comic. I want to create a "graphic novel" with quality as high as possible for undergrads, but I need a killer story first. If you or anyone you know wants to team up, please email my Yale address.

Thanks for tuning in online and in print,

Reuxben

Herald_Snkkt.df

Last find: Kelly finally navigated her way to Dupin's to deliver the Guffinium to its rich, powerful shopkeep.
Now find 10!

Ten and still introducing characters. I'm so inexperienced.

Details on some personal, GREAT NEWS! during next week's posts (cuz who else am I going to tell?).

News:
1. Ivygate (kinda) mentions me and the team via article comments!
2. I'm finally going to JAPAN!
3. The Purple Crayon uses my Benji sketch in their latest show ad!

Easter Eggs: Tri-force, Maltese Falcon, GS Ball, Mexico, Deadboy.

Fun Facts: This comic cured my desire to quit the series after last week's funk. For fun, I tweaked Kelly's design a bit; more on redesigns later.

note to self: Back on Fridays, jack kelly offers "ydn" and "anorexia." Yeah.

This one was dedicated to the H>YDNers who supported/validated us all at IvyGate. I back this one for the most part--my goal is to make the Herald Yale's bastion for quality comics and the envy of the Ivy League, even the nation. It is also a challenge to the YDN to, in jack's words, "freaking step it up." Oddly enough, today the YDN wrote on Garry Trudeau's ugly yet funny undergrad comics!

This one was not published and I didn't fight for it, either. I know it's controversial, but the Herald has permitted commentary on other disfunctions (depression, violation, racism) why not anorexia? I understand they want to be especially sensitive because the relevant story is being published this week, and I myself am a little disturbed by the comic's darkness, but this satire is worth making because the issue is that important and fixable.

"You can take [readers] to dark places so long as you make it bearable."
--Garry Trudeau

Thanks again for the support,

Reuxben

Herald_Bling.df

Last find: After the Ruemore escaped Kelly's headlock, the Ruemore got a strange call and an even stranger delivery.
Now find 9!

This comic's goal is showing that map and explaining the Elite system pithily. And cleverly pulling last week's comic into the actual story.

Easter Eggs: Find 9 on the California-y map, post-rejection Brock helping out, last week's onomatopoeia, and a plant creature in the final panel.

Fun Facts: The VP combines the two Herald Editors-in-Chief I've worked for because they share the same first name. This is my most edited comic, but I'm still not entirely happy with it.

So much for getting ahead of schedule...

Reuxben

Herald_daDooom.df

Last find: Kelly, after foiling the Ruemore and meeting Joe, finally lands an official post as Darling Find Clerk.
Now find 8!

This special comic is for the first annual(?) Yale Herald Comics' April Fools Day Stunt; half of a collaboration with Dan.

How to read: Our two comics form one big comic--his character asks, "Want to buy a fish tank?" then my top frame, then back to his comic, "An arm and a leg," and then finish with mine. They link through the gutter-crossing phone wires, enabled by Chittenden's tinkering.

Easter Eggs: There's a canceled event involving smiling, a graffiti "screw D," a store called Noooo, the Kool-Aid Man's wall-smashing catchphrase, Find 8 on the Jam Tank, and fishy debris.

Fun Facts: I'd prepared a comic with one panel reserved for Fooling, but they convinced me to make a whole new comic, which fits in the story, too.

Many thanks to the entire comics staff for taking part--last time I proposed a stunt, it failed miserably!

Reuxben

Herald_Eeeee.df

Last find: Kelly nervously meets Joe, the Orangutan Books clerk before remembering she's got to return that Guffinium to Mr. James.
Now find 7!

This is a record--I completely finished at 3am! 3am! Caveat: I split up the work over three days since I had a midterm on the Herald's earlier pre-break due date and couldn't afford to binge draw. But I think it was worth it because I got to try some new angles.

Easter Eggs: Find 7 is on Mr. James' radio. The couple in frame one reference Depressed plus something else. Dupin's name is based on the same thing as Orangutan Books.

Fun Facts: The Darling Find indeed faces a corner, but I imagine as an "Elite" shop, its customers actively seek it out.

Happy spring break, Yale. It'll be a slow/quick two weeks.

Reuxben

Herald_Krzzt.df

Last find: Kelly and the Ruemore trade blows, but the Ruemore gets the last word in just before fleeing.
Now find 6!

I have no idea if this sort of thing even happens to girls. To boys, yes. Yes, it does.

Easter Eggs: Joe's so hip, he's already a
BLR fan. Plus he's carrying Oda and Ono. Also, there are a bunch of references to old Finds to hunt for and speculate about.

Fun Facts: "Joe Thomas" comes from You've Got Mail's Joe Fox, played by Thomas Hanks. When writing Mr. James, I think of Stork from Storm Hawks mixed with Jameson from Spider-Man.

Reuxben

Herald_Bamf.df

Last find: Kelly, after a brief distraction, initiates the final showdown with the Ruemore.
Now find 5!

My dream is escaping gag-a-weeks for adventure. And now we've got big action with some humor, just like One Piece.

Easter Eggs: Professors Blight and Gilmore joined forces to create an unstoppable legal firm captivating juries with their inhumanly beautiful sonority. And "Bamf" references Nightcrawler.

Fun Facts: After a paper-writing and class-going morning, this comic ate up the rest of my birthday, which has become the most memorably forgettable one.

Although this series started as an improvised placeholder until I have time to fully craft my real series, I am finding this project a really fun diversion.

Reuxben

Herald_UHTSS.df

Last find: Kelly, hot on the Ruemore's heels, inches ever closer to the mysterious relic, and a showdown seems inevitable.
Now find 4!

This was really fun to do because it sounded so ridiculous in my head. I loved referencing my favorite cartoons and setting up a joke that will pay off much, much later.

Easter Eggs: D. Kat NY's decor stems from Dan's Squaremen. An actual Squareman's on a frame 3 shirt along with the "4th find." The modeling sequence represents three chronologically-ordered, important cartoons: Pokemon, Avatar, and Ben10, with Kelly modeling the signature female leads' costumes (Misty, Katara, Gwen). The shopkeeper is the YDN "comic" guy.

Fun Facts: This comic references many of my drives: the three influential shows, but also what I wish to combat, in the shopkeeper. The UHTSS! sound effect comes from Cheeks.

Reuxben

Herald_Neener.df

Last find: Kelly agrees to chase down the thief and retrieve the mysterious relic for Mr. James. Now find 3!

I am quite sleepy. On the bright side, I got some schadenfreude action today, which I always get when a certain someone blows his money on really stupid, unnecessary things.

Anyway, this has been the most deceptively difficult comic to draw yet, even beating out last week. Even after all the planning, it still takes a while to execute the idea, since on top of the lay out, there's all the backgroundy stuff. While it's sad to hear about ghostwriters flooding Animorphs, or assistants working on One Piece and other manga, it's all making sense to me now. Having help isn't as heartbreaking as it once was. But Schulz did everything himself, so I prefer to follow his model. Granted Peanuts isn't One Piece.

Easter Eggs: Not only do we have stores named after my suitemates from last year, but my signature is apparently a store at the Milpas Mall. Also, the Ruemore's ID pose references Magic: the Gathering's Voidmage Husher.

Fun Facts: Finish time: ~7am. Sometimes it doesn't matter how early you start, it just takes a while.

Quothe the Robert,

But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,

Reuxben

Herald_Snatch.df

Last find: Kelly pounces on the first shop that's hiring and quite gruffly asks for a job.
Now find 2!

Even though I knew what I wanted to do in this episode, actually drawing it got pretty perplexing. And to insult my injury, I forgot to color in a couple parts. I really should do these comics over multiple sessions.

Easter Eggs: "Yale" is written in the cracks of the ground under the mysterious thief.

Fun Facts: I consulted One Piece here again because everyone screams in One Piece. Consequently, we have another screaming-guy drawing. Neat! Finish time = ~5am.

And jack kelly--apparently deprived of his usual inks--seems to have switched over to a sharpie for "rock sign."


It's funny because I found a pencil of my favorite brand laying on the street the same week he loses his usual pen brand.

Reuxben

Herald_ChaChing.df

Welcome to the new new series, Darling Find (DF), and this time it's for real. Forget
last week.

On last week's fiasco: Page 15, where my comics appear, reprinted last semester's last comics, so the premiere didn't happen. Last week's comic was to run this week, but I decided to rework it.

The biggest change: backgrounds! Smaller change: now we know how and why she gets an interview.

Easter Eggs: My signature is an ad on that mysterious shop. A poster says Lang, referring to the great Mrs. Lang, renewing last semester's dedication.

Fun Facts: I came up with this tweak on production night, but fortunately finished at 5am, a three hour improvement over last week. I studied One Piece's first chapter a lesson on good intros.

And of course, jack kelly makes a triumphant return with "luxiam."


He apparently came by my suite's whiteboard earlier and scribbled out a preview, but I'll catch him some day.

Reuxben

Herald_DarlingFind_Preview

It's been an eventful week for me art-wise, particularly the past two days or so.

But first, if this is my Herald story, how could this guy possibly fit in? Well, he doesn't; this is a different series. That original story isn't quite locked down, and I feel it's worth more development.

So this series is called "Darling Find," and it isn't meant to run too long, but buy me time before "BLR" can launch.

Anyway, details on why this week was important for me on Monday and Wednesday.

Easter Eggs: while some of my family members like to claim stuff I draw is based on them, this is the only time they'd be right--the Kelly's hair is a riff on my sister's latest 'do.

"Kelly Ryan" comes from Meg Ryan's Kathleen Kelly, in You've Got Mail. "Robert James" bridges Spider-Man's Joseph "Robbie" Robertson and J. Jonah Jameson. The mall's name and design comes from my hometown's "Great Mall."

Fun Facts: It was 8am and I decided to abandon backgrounds and just turn it in. Ironically it didn't see print due to a Herald office mishap.

A bit more, I worked about 10 hours straight on "Woosh," skipped sleep, harvested breakfast energy, but then crashed in the middle of lecture after about 25 straight hours of non-sleep! Post-lecture, a classmate woke me up after my black out, and I was completely bewildered: I didn't remember passing out, but my neck was quite cramped. I sit three rows from the professor with no one sitting in front of me, so he probably saw me dozing right in front of him!

Reuxben