A quick storyline note…
Right off the bat, let me clear up some confusion that new readers may have had with Tuesday’s strip. The two characters in the last panel are call-backs to an earlier story arc that became somewhat iconic with Evil Inc readers. They are representative of VIMA — the Villainous Idiom Management Agency.Now, about this story. I’m judging from some of the posts on the Shoutbox, forum, Facebook, MySpace, etc., that some of you are getting a little confused by my non-linear storyline. 🙂 And that’s OK. 😉
Telling a story in a daily comic-strip format is kind of a challenge. I’ve only got so much time each day to tell you a little bit of the plot — and try to make it interesting and/or funny enough to keep you coming back tomorrow.
And sometimes, like now, I’ve got a story that ultimately relies on my ability to ratchet up the suspense and then hit a momentous climax (which, incidentally, comes in Thursday’s comic). Part of the art of building suspense is knowing how much is enough — and how much is too much. There is a tipping point at which too much suspense tend to deflate the climax.
Some of you have gotten a little thrown by not knowing what happened to Commander Heroic, Oscar, Muskiday, and Haynus — and, I promise you, those questions will be answered. The non-linear plot was kind of a necessary evil (as if there’s any other kind in this strip). If I had put that stuff earlier in the storyline, it would have taken far too long to get to tomorrow’s revelation.
So, as I’ve been saying all along, stay ‘tooned! All of your questions will be answered in due time.
Thirdly, the memorial service was for the Evil Inc company itself, which has been destroyed. This is spelled out pretty plainly in the first panel of Tuesday’s comic. I’m seeing that a few of you spotted some other clues in the backgrounds of some of the other strips this week. Stay ‘tooned. 🙂
Finally, I need to apologize for the appalling lack of super-villain-related posts in the blog as of late. Between preparing for Comic Con, attending it and recovering from it, I’ve had my hands full merely updating the comic on time. And, for the last couple weeks, a lot of my spare time has gone to designing the third Evil Inc graphic novel — which is close to three-quarters of the way finished. Just wait ’til you see the mega-cheesecake cover on this one, fanboys and fangirls. Members of the Fan Club can see it now. ‘Nuff said. 😉
Suffice it to say, I’ll get back to covering the best in super-villain news and reviews in this space withing the next few weeks. Be sure to use the blog’s RSS feed to stay abreast of updates as they happen.
