A Forgotten Milestone…
The very first time I drew the PC Weenies in my sketchbook was October 14th, 1998. A week later, on October 21st, the very first PC Weenies website launched, with the inaugural PC Weenies comic accompanying it.
11 years is a lot of time. It’s time that I never expected to commit to when I published the first comic. But, in hindsight, I am so glad that I did…
There have been many ups-and-downs (including the most recent server ups-and-downs, haha) throughout the past 11 years, so as this week continues thru October 21st, I will be posting some “blasts from the pasts” PC Weenies nuggets that have been tucked away. Some of these have never been seen by readers before.
Like? Well, how about the cover to the sketchbook wherein the very first PC Weenies characters (and comics) were conceived:
On the front of the sketchbook were sketches of Oswald, Maximus, and Hubert (aka Klaws) – three characters that you may have seen in various incarnations on the blog.
Below are some photos of pages containing a few of the very earliest PC Weenies comics. (These never made it to the web.) I’m putting these up here for the first time. Look at how Bob’s changed… he used to be somewhat tall. And look at his mammoth hands!
In fact, in the page below, Bob almost appears to be as tall as Pam!
When I first started making comics, I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. I just had the urge to make and draw my own comics. I had stories to tell. I wanted to make people laugh. If I knew back then that I’d keep drawing the same characters for over 10 years AND have a book (which you should seriously buy!), I probably wouldn’t have believed it. But I’m glad I stuck with it through thick and thin.
I hope that these images will inspire other cartoonists to start ACTING on their own dreams – and not wait for “the right moment”, because it will never come. You just have to START and see what happens…
-Krishna
These beautiful and intelligent people wrote
Tell me what you think!
Jose Gonzalez
October 16, 2009 at 5:19 amWow… Bob surely has changed. The hair, glasses and body proportions are pretty far from today’s Bob. Great to see this perspective. There’s great value to the viewing the then and now. A side by side colored view would be cool… (you probably have one waiting to show :) ).
Thanks for sharing these nostalgic images. PCW Museum stuff!
Keith C. Smith
October 16, 2009 at 6:04 amThanks Krishna I always love to see the creative process.
I also believe there is no “right” time to start. The gods are not going rain down upon you the gift of a brilliant comic, but through hard work and dogged perseverance you may just uncover that comic. As trite as the nike slogan has become, it is quite apt in this case “Just do it.”
Rene van Belzen
October 16, 2009 at 6:50 amYes, just do it, but something has changed between now and 1999, something called the World Wide Web.
It is much easier now to read comics from all over the world, and more importantly, learn the craft by copying your favorite comics, tell new stories with those characters, or do cross-overs between comics. Anything to make it fun and get your creative juices flowing, without the hassle of coming up with new characters off the bat.
Then you look around you, what’s going on in your world, and start writing stories, using your skills acquired by copying and rehashing other artists.
At least, that is what I’m going to try: start at the end and work my way back to the beginning of the creative process.
Antoine
October 16, 2009 at 7:21 amNice! Happy 11th anniversary to Bob, Pam and you, Krishna!
And as Keith just mentioned, it’s ALWAYS time to start working on dreams. I just passed my 1st year myself last week, and last October 2008, I was like you in 98, I knew nothing about it but just decided to do it!
Let’s hope I’ll last that long! :P
Happy anniversary again!!!
DungeonWarden
October 16, 2009 at 9:54 amYou know, I think I put my first comic book online in late 1998 – early 1999. Now I really wish I had stuck with it. I might be in a different place then I am right now.
Congratulations! Keep growing and developing and never give up on your dreams.