A ramble on past comics [2/5]: I’M ONLY THE SLEEPING

Starting sometime in 2006, this was one of my earliest attempts at a longer story [eventually clocking in at almost 60 pages]. When Joe got back from his first tour with The Sleeping, I was so entertained by his stories on the road that I had him re-tell them as I recorded it on cassette. That tape became the “script” and a simple way for me to start a relatively more ambitious comic.

My first hurdle was tackling likenesses, which was [and remains] a weakness for me. Apologies to Joe, Cameron, Sal, and Doug for any potentially unflattering depictions! The second, much larger, hurdle was effectively conveying the energy of a live rock show in a silent medium. 

The story ended up in 2 parts as “Let’s Do This” issues 2-3, half of the copies being sold at The Sleeping’s merch table 2007-08. It only dawned on me after finishing the comic that the way Joe tells stories is what made those tour anecdotes entertaining to me… not the anecdotes themselves. Sure, I was living the nitty gritty road life vicariously through depicting them, but it was an early lesson on my limitations as a storyteller.