The Achillian Graphics Company

The Illustration and Design Work of Mark McLawhorn

1917

FEBRUARY 16TH, 2009

missing panel 13 {restoration needed}

Notes: This is the very first “doughboy” chapter, as it appeared in Technician, from October 1995 to May 1996.

The Story:

It’s currently missing 2 strips, due to water damage to originals.

It has all the halmarks of a strip feeling itself out. The language is awkward, and the dialogue reeks of melodramatic post-teenage super-hero speak. Very few of the characters of the first year are still primary players in the current incarnation.

There’s the Archangel Gabriel, who’s amnesiac escapades lead him to join the United States Army in World War I (hence, the origins of the title of the strip, “doughboy,” named after American soldiers of the time period). He shows up from time to time through the life of the Technician stories, but is largely absent from any substantial role in material from the past 5-7 years.

Maxine is the angel who appears in Gabriel’s dream while he sleeps in the trenches. This sweet, caressing version of the character is drastically different than the current incarnation who is a fairly prominent figure in the ongoing narrative. The current version of Maxine is a foul-mouthed, irritable shrew who would much rather plant someone like Gabriel into next Tuesday than sit in flowers and talk about butterflies.

And then there’s Oskar, the cigar-smoking cat.

I can honestly tell you I have no idea how or why Oskar climbs out of the sky… except…

From what I can remember, the strip was originally written as some sort of Paradise Lost or Inferno-esque thing, only it was gonna take place in modern times. So, from what I can gather, I decided this was not the direction the story should head… so I had a cigar-smoking cat climb out of the sky and hit the lead bad guy, Azazel, over the head.

From time to time, this first year’s story-line has been re-worked in my sketchbooks. The basic principle of the story is the same, but now the only characters who appear are Gabriel and Maxine. Maxine is much more threatening and war-like than she appears in this version, and she has no interest in any sort of romantic interludes.

As far as I’m concerned, the characters of Zephon, Ithuriel and Azazel never existed.

And with the removal of those characters, there is no need for Oskar to ever climb down a ladder from Heaven and knock anyone out.

Gabriel sorts everything out on his own and still goes to the moon.

The Art:

I have a love/hate relationship with some of the early works of “doughboy.”

On one hand, there’s a striking design to some of the positive/negative spaces in this first year. On the other hand, there’s some pretty terrible anatomy that is more embarrassing and is only out-done by the awful roided-out dialogue (especially the whole “straight through the fokker” and “we’re talking nuts” garbage.)

I absolutley detest the first 5 strips…but the feel gets better as the story progresses.

I still think the last strip, with Gabriel hovering over the plummeting bi-planes and him sitting on the moon, is one of the greatest illustrations i’ve ever done.