I actually surprised myself a couple of times while finalizing the art for this page:
- it wasn’t until I finished the pencils that I noticed what a nice egalitarian feel there is here, by having each team member have a say in devising their strategy. It was there in the script all along, but being able to see each one get their close-up and make their input… I dunno, it struck me as cozy and pleasant somehow! 🙂
- while I was putting the stars in panel 1, I suddenly realized that some of those “stars” should actually be lights, things like satellites and ships and whatnot… and then I got the idea of putting in a couple of dense clusters of them, to suggest large space stations orbiting in the distance, and the spaceship traffic that surrounds them. Wish I could say I was smart enough to have planned to do that all along, but I ain’t. At least I thought of it in time, though! 😛
Panel one knocks my socks off. Great transition from previous page; great scene-setting; great composition and drawing. And, yes, I really like those light-clusters you mention in your comment.
Also, adding onto your comment about the egalitarian feel: the layout is 6 equal-sized panels.
Marvelous work, John!
Thanks, Perry! That means a lot to me coming from you — you do great work yourself!