ABLE SEAMAN

INTRODUCTION

My Mother recently spent a week in hospital with a painful, yet non-life threatening stomach condition. To keep her company during this frightening time - and to keep her from leaping out of the window for a cigarette - I sat with her during the day.

This left me with a lot of time to kill. Rather than expose my delicate mind to the horrors of the Life Style Magazine, I set about drawing a series of short comic strips that put the Ripcord Messiah characters - Able Seaman, Fishwife, Trouble Bruin, Newstreet, Mister Christian and Gavin - through the same experience...or, at least, the same experience, skewed through the eyes of a superhero.

I set myself the task of drawing, scanning and publishing a strip for every day that my Mother was in hospital. As she was (thankfully) able to make a swift, if somewhat messy recovery - a story for another day, perhaps - I wasn't able to include Newstreet in this cycle. That said, I hope you enjoy these heartfelt, if somewhat crudely-drawn stories.

A brief note on style: you'll see that, in most cases, the dialogue appears below the pictures, instead of in speech bubbles. I did this to keep clean-up to a minimum, as I needed to get each strip finished before bedtime. Each line of dialogue is labeled with the speaker's initials - AS for Able Seaman, TB for Trouble Bruin, and so on, so you should have no trouble following the story.

The Ripcord Messiah characters may also be found in 24-Hour Parting People, which you may buy here, or read online here. And rest assured: Gavin, Newstreet and the gang will return...

COMICS