The Naming of the Gobs

You of course realized already that their names are an awful pun of Crosby, Stills & Nash, but that was just because I had to come up with something that was based on 3. The 3 Stooges, Huey Dewey & Louie, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, the 3 Musketeers were all inspirations for the 'power of three'.

Meet the Knux brothers

Issue 2 page 2

Issue 2 will explore a bit of the backstory of the 3 gobs; some questions will be answered, some new ones will pop up.

Issue 2 begins now!

The splash page for issue #2. I'm going to post the pages for issue 2 in black & white, just to save time on coloring. I'll get to the color eventually but right now I just want to tell the story!

Issue #1 in color

Here's the link to the color version of the comic; it's more money but the color work is really great, IMHO. Luke colored about 2/3 of it.

Brothers PeaKnuckle in color

Buy this comic!

Here's a link to the Indy Planet store for the 1st issue of Brothers Pea-Knuckle:

Issue #1 for sale at Indy Planet

Page 24

Last page from issue #1. I'm working on issue two but I have to admit it takes me longer to finish new pages than I'd like. Now that I've uploaded this page perhaps that will provide the motivation i need to get crackin' on the next book. Stay tuned for the next installment.

Page 23

The two "Witch guard' goblins, Mudd & Tubbs, are trying to find out the identity of the gobs that were riding on a broom. Broom riding is evidence of witchcraft and so those practicing it must be witches, or at least be on familiar terms with them. Thus the sense of urgency regarding the interrogation of these two citizens. The relationship between witches and goblins will be further explored in future postings and pages...stay tuned!

Page 22

I have to admit, I look at these goblins I've created and realize that they don't look like what the stereotypical Brian Froud-ish-designed goblin is commonly perceived as looking like, if you get my meaning. I mean, goblins are typically shown as less colorful and are usually hornless.

Page 21

Speaking of Dr. Suess, the hat in panel 4 probably looks familiar. There is probably not another cartoon character's hat that could be so immediately familiar than that of the Cat in the Hat. Maybe Dick Tracy's yellow fedora, or Charlie Brown's baseball cap?

Page 20

I have attempted, not always successfully, to create a style of architecture for Goblintown that might be called Suessian. I always liked the way he (Ted Geisel aka Dr.Suess) would draw structures that appeared to be on the verge of just falling over. He never bothered to draw a straight line in his life, as far as I've been able to tell.

Page 19

Page 18

The full-color vesion of the 1st issue is available for purchase at Indy Planet:

http://indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=7052

Page 17

Just hanging out in Goblintown...Grubsy, Stilt & Gnash to the rescue!

Page 16

Cover sketch

Another look at one of my cover concept sketches.

More sketches

Here's a quick character sketch by Luke (bottom) that he did as an example of how he thought the 3 Gobs should look in proportion to each other. The top sketch is a closer look at a cover idea I had that may get used someday. 

Page 15

Page 15: I drew it, Luke inked it, then I colored it. In the middle panel, the pointy-nosed hag uses the word "Flubbo" to refer to  Grubsy's physique, which I guess is fairly accurate.

Page 14

Inks & coloring by Luke.

Page 13

The Gobs have a laugh at the sight of the faerie hoisting one of the kids up in the sky.

Page 12

Page 11

Nice inking from Luke. He drew the wacky gal in the lower left corner; when I sent him the page that area was blank, so he decided to put the space to use. He also added various lizards & birds to liven things up.

Page 10

Smasho!!

Page 9

I have recently started re-coloring the hair on these guys, after deciding that Stilt's hair needed to be purple and Gnash's red; that's so you can tell them apart...!

Page 8

The irascible Stilt has to lay down the law after some careless kids have chased a faerie over their table and knocked everything over. Especially the drinks! The Gobs drink of choice is called Clix Elixer.
A little family history: Clix was the name of a malt liquor made in Ionia, Michigan by my grand uncle, Clarence "Click" Koerber, who owned the Grand Valley Brewing Company. According to Wikipedia, he is credited for having invented malt liquor in 1937 and he received a patent for it in 1947.

Page 7

The Gobs sit down to enjoy their meal, then are rudely interrupted.

Page 6

The Gobs visit their favorite fast-squid joint. Squiggles, "Home of the Savory Cephalopod".

Pages 4 & 5

The double-page spread for pages 4 and 5 was fun to draw, and Luke did a wonderful job inking & coloring this piece. I've included the pencil art as well, to show how much detail went into it.

Character sketches

Here are a few of the original character sketches I did while creating the look of the 3 Gobs...it took a long time to figure out Grubsy's name. At one point he was called Crusty, then Crabby, then Crabsy and finally Grubsy. Stilt & Gnash were no-brainers.

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