Runaways

Continuing to discuss the stories in Volume 4...

So, I was pretty pleased with the way "Funny Story" came out. Everyone on "Team Amelia" (Michael, Karen and Harold) seemed to think it was the best issue so far, and I was excited to get to work on the follow up.

We were coming up on the fifth anniversary of the publication of issue one, so I thought it would be neat to do a special issue featuring five separate short stories. This was really me taking my New Adventures in Hi Fi plan one step further. Short, short stories without any forethought given to how they might relate thematically. But then something weird happened...

As I started working on the stories (and I worked on them all concurrently. I tend to skip around a lot while writing and drawing. I used to worry about that until I read Jaime Hernandez does too.) I noticed that despite my best intentions, they all seemed to be related by the theme of running away. Amelia literally, Tanner from her past, Reggie from school, Rhonda from her nerdy reputation. Plus there was the scene when Amelia literally called Kyle out on running away when she needed him in Superheroes. At this point I thought, well maybe I should take this synchronicity as a sign and tie the different stories together into one big 48 page tale that moved back and forth in time, jumped to different locations, but somehow still all tied together under the general theme of running away.

It took a lot longer than I had hoped, and I once again took heat for a late issue. But you know what? I don't care. This issue came out great, and I was pretty sure that at this point I was on a roll. All the mail and reviews were extremely positive too. The things I like best are the polar bear call back gag, Tanner walking out of the store in a daze, "Why are you here?," the "old paper" effect I used on flashbacks, and Amelia's story about running away to find Snoopy. That part, believe it or not, is autobiographical.

Okay, now next up should be "The Things I Cannot Change," but y'know what? I have a feeling we may be discussing something else on Monday.

I really, really, do...