Fair warning: We’re going to short-change you on Friday, because we’re running an extra frame. A single, extra frame. It’s funny. But it’s only one frame.
Thankfully, I got Glyph an early birthday present: a Huion Kamvas Pro 13 drawing tablet screen thingy. It acts like an extra monitor that she can draw directly upon. Makes drawing easier. Once we got it installed, which involved three trips to the confessional, the whole thing was a breeze.
At Christmas we ran a couple of her comics. They were good. These are better. She doodled out the following. By “doodled”, I mean screwing around in her spare time by a couple of hours each. I’d give credit to the technology but I don’t believe in technology, so I’m giving the credit to bitcoin. That’s as close to “money alchemy” as you’ll see in the present year. Whichever year you discover this post.
This is entitled “Modern Day Bureaucrat”.
This drawing is simple, but in the cartoon world it’s amazing. That’s because it invokes a feeling, something incredibly difficult to do. I can think of half-a-dozen stories it’d fit into. What about you?
Lastly, we have this little beauty which is topical if imperfect. I didn’t even realize she’d drawn it until I saw the first two. Its flaws are minor: make the IRS TSA scanner a bit bigger, open the angle slightly, make the post-dollar face-sag a bit more exaggerated, and place one of those arrows at a knee. The basic idea is fantastic. Everything I’ve suggested is in “brain-fart” territory.
The flies are a nice touch. I’d never have thought of those.
Congratulations Glyph. You’re making both your mother and me proud!
Tempest in a Teardrop: The Churchians 
Those a really good! She draws and she writes! She’s brilliant! 😉
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Even better: she has good work habits. I am so proud of her.
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Very nice work. All three can be used in one story or another.
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The “Bureaucrat” and “IRS Scanner” were both for school projects. The “Lonely Signpost” – not sure. I suspect we might be seeing more Glyph comics here, though.
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Fragment:
The traveler strode steadily on the worn track, his eyes scanning for trouble nearby and farther away. Occasionally he stopped to check is trail, and to listen for any sounds more sinister than the wind whispering over the grass. His journey was neither short nor long, but would continue to a final act. The last six days, a side journey to the wiseman of Chestnut Hill, gave him a maddening set of clues. The old wiseman was perhaps older than wise, now, but still …
He stopped near a small pool fed by a spring, after checking for predators nearby. He enjoyed the chance for some fresh water to refill his skins, as well as a shady respite from the late morning sun. Chewing a strip of dried meat, he thought again about part of the old man’s rambling talk. “‘Find the missing message, left behind.’ Did I waste those days for his raving, or should I have stayed near the ruined Schola?” he muttered.
The traveler set off, refreshed, after reloading and balancing his pack. The next line of hills lay ahead, and he wanted to reach their base, or at least a defensible heap of rocks, before dark. The track undulated up and down over a set of low rises and small valleys. If he couldn’t reach the hills, there was always a good bank to dig into, he shrugged. There were few vestiges left of habitation, or even signs of herdsmen. This area felt forgotten, with no more than a few fragments of stone from old shelters. About two hours past noon, he saw what looked like a dead tree stump ahead. This might be a convenient place to stop and check, he thought. He picked up his pace, but then slowed down in wariness; that was not a stump or dead tree, but looked worked by man.
He found something unusual for this area: a wooden pole stood near the track. He stopped, looked around carefully, and then paid attention to the post. Nothing else was in sight, and this was odd. After a quick drink, he looked at the post and the broken shaft, which had looked like a broken branch. Something was odd about it. Usually such a post held a sign, or pointed to a nearby inn or other village. There was nothing nearby, just a couple low rises in the middle distance. This was a vanished sign, but for what? What had he missed?
— End
Evocative image, all right. The fragment just formed after thing about an old, abandoned signpost.
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Nicely written! Thanks for sharing with us.
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