Thanks to everyone who came out to the California Academy of Sciences' "Farallon Night" last month. (We hope that second vodka tonic wasn't the reason for the early lights-out at our exhibit, but sometimes it's better not to ask!)
Since that night, we've been in a post-party huddle with: an antique firearms expert; comics fans; and the much-loved local author and Farallones expert Peter White. While I received a great response on this first draft, I knew that the project needed to reflect even more accurately the gritty reality and dynamic action of our "eggmen". Not only was the current project too reminiscent of a polite, 19th-century-ladies' watercolor sketchbook, but I had misrepresented the period firearms - an inexcusable error for a comic book about a war, no matter how minor.
So, after consulting with the aforementioned experts and the NRA Gun Collector's Guide, I dug deep into the Harvey Kurtzman archives (that's Kurtzman, not Pekar!) knowing that the man behind the most politically challenging war comics would provide inspiration and further direction. Emerging from the stupor induced by reading Kurtzman comics for several days (not to mention Jacques Tardi's trench warfare graphic novel and Joe Sacco's Sarajevo comics), I've started re-mapping.
After all, it's their history and their battle - I'm just lucky enough to have found it.
