Something in the Wind
- December 5, 2023
Steve —
I really dig history. Especially learning about all the parts that we think we know, but we actually don’t. Modern record keeping and the postsecondary-degree mill complex employing of Historians, plus the prevalence of obsessive wonks on the internet equals a new age of learning and parsing and knowing about what happened before now.
I’m also kinda fascinated by prophets and oracles; specifically those in the ages prior to all our historians and modern record keeping (yes I know historians have existed throughout history but our standards as of late have improved greatly…) Entire civilizations lived and died by the falling of stones or the guts of chickens or the meaningless jibber jabber of intoxicated young greek women. What’s most funny is how sometimes, sometimes more often than not it seemed, these wackos got it right. Like a broken clock accurate to twice a day, guessing about a closed system can statistically lead to occasional success.
At least that’s the interpretation. Reality is no prognosticator on record has ever actually predicted and pinpointed an event prior to it happening (and don’t ‘Uri Geller’ me) It’s always folks ‘after the fact’ linking events and predictions. Everything about Nostradamus is this way.
So is Oba actually just reading enormous mechanical tea-leaves? Or does she actually have a much deeper insight into the functionings of the world? Don’t ask me. I’m just the writer here. As soon as Oba lets me know what she knows, I’ll make sure to pass it all along to you.
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Lucas —
I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before, but Oba is quickly becoming my favourite character. Her dogged mental myopia and unfettered enthusiasm for her craft more than makes up for her utter incompetence. Every panel she’s in brings me joy to draw.
From the very first drafts of the story, Oba existed as a mentor figure for Jea, but the details were up in the air. Early sketches flip-flop Oba’s gender and even species … sometimes she is a moustachioed Christmas elf, other times a looming, monk-like Tommy Lee Jones. I tried aping Eduardo Risso’s linework — obsessed with the marble-etched characters in 100 Bullets — and even borrowed from my own character designs for 설문대 할망.
Slowly, though, the character of Oba coalesced on the page: part ajumma, part ageing Mojave hippie; she is the impish high priestess of a faith that counts her as its sole practitioner. A broken brass gear hangs around her neck, and her head is adorned with a starburst motif taken from the walls of the Orrery. She is one part Geppetto, two parts Doc Brown, with a generous Salt Bae sprinkling of Eda the Owl Lady.
Some of the above sketches are getting very close to ‘final’ Oba, but it wasn’t until I was laying out the comic pages that the character really took on a life of her own. She is awesome. Thanks to Steve’s writing, she lights up every panel she’s in, and I can’t wait to see what adventures are in store for her and her granddaughter Jea.
