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Swann went thru a number of name changes. Originally, I was going to call him "Mark Stagg", after a friend of my Dad's when I was a kid, whose name I thought was very cool. I mentioned this to a friend, tho, and he immediately said "Sounds like a porn star." Ugh! Time's change.

So I played around with a number of other names, and finally came upon "Swann". Then it seemed a natural to name him Michael, as a nod to the musical comedy team of Michael Flanders and Donald Swann, who played such an important role in shaping my brain when I was growing up.

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Four, then four more, then four more, then four more. . . . .

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First thing you may notice is NO BLACK GUTTERS. Also, a much more "conventional" panel layout.

Trying here to invoke without actually imitating the "feel" of a 1950s comic. We've even been contemplating an overall hue to the pages that will suggest age in a subtle but hopefully effective way.

Plans at present, by the way, for a black & white "alternate" edition of the first issue, as well as the regular color version.

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I think it's scheduled for September. Before the end of the year, anyway.

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East Berlin. So grateful to the Russians, for not embarking upon the massive rebuilding campaign that happened in the West. SO much more fun drawing blasted and battered buildings!

Oh -- and in case any of you might be concerned that some of these elaborate backgrounds will disappear under balloons and captions, the opening sequence of the issue is "silent", save for one identifying caption in the first panel.

I thought that might be more fun than "translating" all that Russian and German!!