An Apple a Day... #45 and 46

Robot
Parts IX and X

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ As stated before in the story/concept writeup, Robot is a tale of woe, told in three acts: The Problem, The Solution, and The Consequences.  The three acts, while being a chapter structure to the story, also represent the blocks of time I spent working on Robot. For example, from May 21, 2011 (the supposed "Rapture Day") until August 24, 2011, I worked on Robot for (what seemed like) a good stretch of time. I was taking a contemporary art class at the time and my notes got mixed in with the actual planning and rough drafts of the pages for Robot (all the rough and pre-visual work for Robot was done in a sketchbook, versus the digital methods I used for Moustache). This was kind of cool because it was almost like Robot took on an alternate form: A story between the actual story where Apple, Edward, and other characters would comment on my notes and continually complain about the lack of actual progress I was making on Robot at the time. (I called these little interludes "commercial breaks" but, by the time I got to Part X, I was over their charm and, promptly, put an end to them.) The actual lapse between the completion of Act One and start of Act Two was only about  two days. Some notes about Act One, overall:

• The design of Robot changed between part one and part eight. This is because when I began roughing out Robot, I hadn't settled on a final design for the robot character. Therefore, when it came time to show his silhouette in the final panel of part one, I made it of a generic tin can robot. I continued to use this generic sort of robot design all the way through (Rough) Part XV. When it came time to actually reveal the robot in the cleaned up version of part 8, I used the initial tin can robot shape, but made it lankier. (Embarrassingly, Robot's design continues to fluctuate throughout the remainder of the comic. However, this can attributed to a slight stylistic change in Act Three.)
• The District runs Robot's installments as "Pages", while I run them as "Parts." Essentially, it's two different names for the same thing. However, I would argue that calling them pages implies that the story is meant to flow seamlessly throughout its run. This is not the case with Robot. In fact, if you were to read Robot straight through, page to page like you would a normal comic book, you would find it to be a hastily written story with enormous plot holes and missing character development. This is because Robot was conceived as a weekly comic, wherein I took into account the amount of time that progresses in the real world when writing each part. This little fact is especially important to keep in mind of Act One when it's read through, again, all at once. The inclusion of the weekly delay in Robot's posting is essential to the pacing of Act One overall, as well as its jokes. 
• One example is between Part IV and V. At the end of Part IV, Edward is about to be accosted again and, at the start of Part V, he bursts in on Apple using the toilet. This scenario is humorous, sure, but becomes funnier if you imagine Edward being held captive by the Robot for an entire week versus, what, like an hour? At the start of Act Two we begin observing the events in, basically, real time. 
• The comic is called Robot, yet the titular character doesn't show up until Part VIII. This was done intentionally, as I wanted the story to develop slower than in the previous two stories.
• I use the term "accosted" to pretty much serve as a euphemism for molestation. It becomes fairly obvious in Part VII when the farmer claims the robot "touched" him. (C'mon, what did you think that meant, really?) I did this to skirt around District's fairly strict language and content guidelines. 
• While molestation, itself, isn't very funny, the townies' use of the term really only denotes an unsolicited hug. This is important when setting up the robot as a character that is perceived as worse than he actually is.

An Apple a Day... #43 and 44

Robot
Parts VII and VIII

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Some notes on Parts VII and VIII:

• I had, at one point, seriously considered doing a short little side comic about Klaus' experiences with the robot. It would have been reminiscent of that scene in Frankenstein where the monster meets the little girl. It would've ended with Klaus and Robot holding hands and walking into the sunset.
• I don't like Will and Grace, which is something I've passed on to Apple and Edward. I'm still not entirely sure why I singled that show out in Part VII.
• Generally, I'm not pleased with the layout of Part VIII. I don't think it's very intuitive when it comes to actually reading it. However, I also don't feel like reworking it for the time being.

An Apple a Day... #41 and 42

Robot
Parts V and VI

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Some notes on Parts V and VI:

• I find that there is something, inherently, humorous about an apple using the toilet.
• It is implied that Apple continues to poop for a while after Edward bursts in on him.
• The news broadcast was a convenient way for me to quickly validate Edward's experiences for Apple.

Home Improvement.

Last fall (I know, I'm a year off here), I created an animation centered around the four seasons. In it, Apple goes through a full year of home repairs as outside forces continue to destroy his house. Does Apple deserve this sort of punishment? Yes. He was a pretty big jerk in the early comics and this is just karma. Recently, I've gotten used to the notion that this animation is a precursor to Robot in that it explains why Apple now lives in a tree stump and it gives a little insight into Apple's initial frustration with Edward at the beginning of of the story. This animation also really helps to bridge the gap between Moustache and Robot in a way that harkens back to An Apple a Day's initial concept - story snippets that don't serve as complete narratives by themselves and thus, sometimes, required some imaginative interpretation from the audience. So, in that sense, each season would serve as a different comic strip where Apple's house would end up damaged in some way.

Anyway, I think I'm done blabbing about the concept behind this animation. Let's watch Apple's house get destroyed.

Titled, Home Improvement.

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For fun, I switched the music track to something more porno sounding. Hence, we now have the sexy version of Home Improvement.

An Apple a Day... #39 and 40

Robot
Parts III and IV

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A little bit of commentary for these two parts:

• Apparently, Apple wears his polka dot thong on the weekends. He also seems incapable of tying his robe closed when he has company over.
• Yes, I did only color Edward's hair for that gag. No, I'm not ashamed to admit that.

An Apple a Day... #37 and 38

So, I've decided to go ahead and repost Robot here anyway. However, I think it'll be done in double posts. This serves two purposes: First, it allows me to quickly catch up with the District run of Robot and, Second, this layout will be more reminiscent of what Robot would look like if it were physically published. Below the comics, I've added a short write up about the story of Robot and and the general concept behind it that I wrote when I began retrofitting these comics to storyboards for an animatic. (Hey, if I'm going to redo past blog postings, I may as well add a little extra content.)

Robot: The Animation is dead in the water at this point, but the story and concept write up still apply to the comic. Well, enough of my blabbering. Onward, to the comic:

Robot
Parts I and II

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Story

The sudden arrival of a robot in the woods shakes a community to its roots. Told in three acts, the story follows the exploits of a Edward, a well-meaning, albeit annoying, yogurt tuft, as he tries to convince his friend, Apple, an apple, that he has been accosted by a robot. When the two hapless heroes go investigate Edward’s claims, the robot is nowhere to be seen, lending justification to Apple’s belief that Edward was simply messing around. The truth is revealed in a news broadcast vindicating Edward’s claims, forcing Apple to eat his words. Whilst Edward gloats, the Robot continues his reign of terror, with seemingly no end in sight. By the end of the first part, it is clear that something must be done about this menace and the universe has chosen Edward to be its savior. 

Okay, I’m finished kidding around.  Honestly, the above synopsis is way more serious than this story demands. In short, this is a stupid story about two friends, a robot, and the misunderstandings that come with being different in a town full of 1950’s McCarthy-era views on society and how different and exotic beings are probably evil and therefore, threaten the established norm.

Concept

This story arc is a direct continuation of a comic series I started roughly two years ago called, An Apple a Day…  As its name suggests, it follows the exploits of an Apple and his friends as they live their lives to the best of their ability. Originally conceived to be a daily comic strip, my laziness got the best of me and the comics have become more weekly based. Recently, I’ve crafted multi comic story arcs, beginning with a story called, The Bet. I won’t go into detail but, suffice it to say, I then crafted a sequel to the story called, Moustache, that, if one could believe it, was even dumber than the previous tale. Robot, is the third story in this arc (despite the fact that I have been working on a robot-themed story since the genesis of the comic two years ago).  

The three stories play together as a loose trilogy of events. The Bet is a tale of Love, Moustache is a tale of Envy, and Robot is a tale of Woe. The Woe part applies to the robot, who, despite his “menacing” appearance and societal perception, only wants to be accepted and loved. Unfortunately, society is not ready for him.