I Did Nothing
(PG; Slice of Life) A teenager walks alone at night.
I Did Nothing: Page 1 of 4
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The television's way too small, but I'm happy with everything else.
I Did Nothing: Page 2 of 4
About This Page
The first panel background is based on reference photos I took of my old house for School Fight! Ended up not using a back yard scene then, so glad it was around now!
I Did Nothing: Page 3 of 4
About This Page
The literal action is told through a 180-degree cut with a Krazy Kat panel inset. As kids we discovered the malt liquor puzzle caps while playing stick ball in the Western Auto parking lot on Sundays. Collecting and solving the puzzles was one of our shared obsessions. The tragedy of why they were there never occurred to us. Presenting them as decoration seemed cool at the time, but might be a bit self indulgent.
At 6'2" and 135 pounds, I wasn't going to win any fistfights if the winos and junkies got rough. Luckily nothing happened. The ghetto depression of Winchester Square was more complacent than violent back then. It was certainly safer than Times Square or the South Bronx. I must've looked too skinny and poor to bother with.
I Did Nothing: Page 4 of 4
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To this day, I don't know if that old man was dead or merely injured. Looking at this now, I wish I drew a payphone to show the teenage me literally walking away from being useful.
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Story Notes
This started as a literal tale of my teenage insomnia, which was probably driven by poverty, sugar, and fear of life after high school in 1979. Making it wordless rendered those details obsolete. Is this kid brave, stupid, crazy, or desperate? It's been so long even I don't remember.
To make the story look unique, I spent some effort backwards engineering Springfield MA of the late 1970s. Period details include comic book decals, black-and-white television, Winchester Square in its decline, and malt liquor bottle cap puzzles. Like my other Springfield tales "Six-Year-Old Horse Thief" and "School Fight!", this is a fictional work built on my distant memories and old man guilt. I could easily be both characters.
Tools and Materials
- 10 x 15 inch live art area (10.5 x 16 inch on the bleed page)
- Strathmore 500 bristol smooth paper
- Blick Black Cat india ink
- Short-handle round #2 sable brush
- Ruling pen (borders)
- Speedball nib #515EF (thicker lines)
- Hunt 22B (medium lines)
- hunt 102 crow quill nib (thin lines)
- Adobe Illustrator (bottle caps)
- Adobe Photoshop (bottle cap puzzles, production)
Hoping that's more than you need to enjoy "I Did Nothing." Thanks for not mugging me that night.
Dave M!, reconstructing his past one anecdote at a time.