I've forgotten to blog about Step One and Step Two, so I guess I should do that here, too.
"The Biting Poltergeist" was drawn on several large pages of newsprint paper, back in 1972. One of my favorite mediums was blue Bic ballpoint pen. They tended to leak a little with overuse; I liked the sometimes globby result. I would sketch in pencil, ink the sketch, and then erase out the pencil lines. The newsprint pad had a roughish surface that took the ink like a dream.
The history behind the cartoon can be found at my other blog, this is more for the work I'm doing currently.
Step One, which just about gave me the hives, was to cut each individual frame out of the sheet of paper (each sheet was 24" x 30", I believe) with a utility knife. The paper is so fragile that it's disintegrating in spots. Newsprint may have taken the ink, but there's nothing permanent about it. One wrong twitch and an old cartoon could bite the dust.
Step Two was to cut up the empty pages of the newsprint pad into 8 1/2" x 11" rectangles. The plan was to affix the frames to similar newsprint, and then scan them before putting them into archival plastic sleeves, never to be touched again. That took the better part of an afternoon, plying the utility knife again as well as my reasonably good quality paper cutter.
Step Three was today, carefully using rubber cement to anchor the cartoons onto their individual old newsprint sheets. (I'd tested the rubber cement on some scraps a few days ago to make sure it wouldn't discolor the old paper. Looked fine!)
The studio is covered with drying paper sheets, and it was COLD out there, as I had the front garage door open so that Lil and her friend could play while I worked. 45 degrees is not all that bad, oddly enough, but by the time I was done pasting and numbering the 33 frames, I was ready to call it a night and come inside to find some supper and let my kneecaps warm up.
Step Four will be to scan each page into my computer; Five will be long and arduous, Photoshopping out the flaws in the paper. Six will be a modernization of the dialogue bubbles, and Seven will be uploading them to the Press so that they all have a copyright on them.
