Wheel Saint starts today with a comic that picks up right where our one page pitch left off. Obviously I love making Penny Arcade but doing these side projects is always especially fun.
Sam is a character that I first came up with back in High School around 1993. Back then he was a teenager who had a fallen angel imprisoned inside him. I never got more than a few pages of a comic book done and eventually when Penny Arcade started in 1998 that was the end of Sam. Sort of. He was essentially parted out to become Gabe and Tycho. It’s easy to see elements of both characters in his design.
I’m always excited and nervous when one of these new projects goes up. I love them but recognize they take over the normal strip for a while.I hope you dig Wheel Saint. Here’s one of my first drawings of Sam from around 1996! pic.twitter.com/iKkosOiH7c
— Gabe (@cwgabriel) July 5, 2023
In the past, a car was the last thing I would ever want to draw and a whole comic about racing never would have happened. As I got more and more into sim racing and cars I started wanting to draw them though and eventually the idea of a fast paced comic about cars sounded like a fun challenge instead of a nightmare.
Added a couple more cars to the old digital sketchbook. pic.twitter.com/55eSWBLMA6
— Gabe (@cwgabriel) April 19, 2023
In general I try to “punch above my weight” on these side projects. Comics like Lookouts, Automata, Sand or Nightlight are a chance to push myself, try new techniques and get outside my comfort zone. I know taking away the normal three panel comic for a couple weeks might be a bummer for some people and I appreciate you all sticking around no matter where we decide to take the strip.
Here’s a few behind the scenes pics from the making of page 2 for those who like to see how the sausage gets made.
-Gabe out
