And here's the original write up I did about this project.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
I love, love, love circular storytelling. I can't remember when I knew that I'd be mirroring the first page in the last page, but I'm certain I considered it as early as when I wrote and drew the first page.
Back to being subtle, notice Gideon's shirt. There's no star. That's the end of his story arc. Again, I like the parallelism here. They each had a crisis of faith. The subtle implication is that Gideon gave up his star when he left the keys behind, and his brother used the keys to let the Freak go. His miracle.
It may be too subtle, but for me, looking back at the story, it was the only ending I could have had. I like the way it wraps itself up. Maybe, someday, I'll come back to this story. Perhaps rewrite it to make it better and smoother. Perhaps get a real artist to work on it. But then, there's a big part of me that says . . . why? I've already done this story.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
With only two pages to finish the story . . . and wrap up all the character arcs, I may have rushed things. Perhaps these two pages are a bit too subtle. But the things left on the desk are the cause of the reverend's smile . . .
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
This page still smells of Sharpie.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
After realizing the father wasn't a bad guy . . . or at least, realizing the father had realized he was a bad guy, which put him on the road to being a good guy . . . I had to have this scene. I was pleased with the way this minor character's story arc played out.
Truth be told, I was pleased that all of the cast's story arcs played out nicely. Since this was a "by-the-seat-of-the-pants" type of thing, it could have turned out just awfully. As it stood, it was an experience of discovery, and I felt like I was discovering a worthy story.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
We saw the Freak show up in silhouette earlier. Now we see him in all his glory.
He sort of surprised me with his line at the end of this page.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
And my favorite line of the story:
"My brother is a fair man."
"Your brother just pistol whipped you in the face."
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
At this point in the story, I'd expected someone to come out as a clear cut bad guy. But, truth be told, by now all the characters (even the father) were really growing on me. I found myself relating to all of them. And understanding them all. That may be why I like this story so much.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
My favorite page.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
Something else, as a writer, I found myself trying to do is to tell the story with visuals rather than words. That's why there's very few captions explaining time passing and such. I really wanted this story to be told through the visuals, action, and (inevitably) dialogue (but not to the point of relying on dialogue as a crutch).
I love the parallelism on this page. I love the way the two men's actions reveal their character.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
I love Gideon's expressions on this page.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
More interpersonal conflict. Keeping things vague on this page was a mixture of necessity and intentionality.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
On this page, I really got into the roll of artist . . . and, just because, I used a lightbox. I'd never used one before, but I enjoyed doing it. By now, like I said, I was feeling like an artist and so I enjoyed using the tools of the artist.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
This page started with the layout. My hope was that it reminded people of stained glass windows. I was really trying to force myself to think like an artist.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
I really, really like the undertaker's character. When he showed up, it was another nice character moment. The "call to action" for our good little preacher, to put it in archetype language.
~ Ben
The Ballad of the Freak, “Ace” of Diamonds, Remix Comix, Whisperingloon Studios, and the other stuff I made up for this webcomic are TM and (C) Ben Avery, 2009. While the original Black Diamond Western is in public domain, “Ace” of Diamonds (the story and the artwork) and the contents of this page are NOT public domain.
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