The New Age of Comics
By Tamara McHatton & Evan Scott

There's s place on the web where you can find comics...not the kind you grew up with but more the kind young adults find amusing. It's called Dark Citadel Entertainment, or DCE for short. The web site is www.dce-web.com and although I don't find the jokes or comics very humerous, the artwork and detail are amazing...at least to me. Regardless of the fact this artist is my son. I couldn't draw a stick figure if my life depended on it, but ever since he was a tiny tot, he's used every available piece of paper to practice on...and still does. Only now he's gone hi-tech and also uses the computer.

The whole idea for the comic we're showcasing on the next page started one evening when Evan was over my house. We were working on some articles of interest for SUITE when my then 16 year-old son waltzed into the room and asked if I had any blue hair dye or some really strong mousse. I told him I didn't use the stuff, which he darn well knew, and to go watch tv or something. He alwyas had this annoying habit of asking something really innane whenever I was the busiest (see...it never changes).

Well, that one sentence sparked off a bit of an idea in Evan's diabolical mind. He'd quietly sat around as he watched this son borrow girlfriends' fishnet hose (to wear on his arms), dye his hair a different color every week, use up all the Elmer's Glue to make his hair stand straight up on end, and steal my eyeliner. He knew one of my other sons, Galen, enjoyed drawing and coming up with comics...so he asked Galen about doing a comic...very simple, four frames maybe, and gave him the premise. Two women discussing a shopping list, with a variety of items we normally associate with females, only to learn that it's for one of the women's son.

When Galen finally got around to sitting down and making the comic, it took him probably two hours maximum, from the start of a sketch to the finished product. As you can see from the next page...the premise came out great.

He started out with a line sketch, blocking out each frame, and showed it to Evan. Once Evan approved the layout, Galen then scanned it to his computer, and then began colorizing and texturing it. Again, once he was satisfied with his work, he looked to Evan for approval. A few minor edits were done, and wa-la...finished product. Click more >> to see the complete comic.

~Tamara McHatton
SUITE Magazine