The idea for this story came to me on April 24th (1998) as I lay in bed trying to sleep. Most of my creative ideas come either during this relaxing time or in the shower or driving for some reason. My bedroom window overlooks a field and a wall of trees (scanned images of these trees were used in the story) and I suddenly had the strange desire to know what it would feel like to be lying out in the field that night. Then I thought it would've been more comfortable to be under a "blanket" of dirt. Then the whole weird story of a boy who enjoys this sort of thing just came together...a boy prematurely seeking the welcome comfort of Mother Nature's Womb. I actually went out, sat in the field with a notebook and wrote the whole story the next day. I've been looking for some way, through my art, to deal with the loss of my mother since her death almost four years ago. I don't think this story is it, but that desire is obviously evident in "The Boy in the Yard". It was originally titled "The Boy Who Lies in Ditches" (doesn't exactly roll off the tongue). The biggest trouble was finding a suitable ending. I wanted to stay away from a heavy-handed morality tale yet include elements of one. I wanted it to be fantasy and yet be rooted in real life events and familiar characters. I wanted the visuals to begin with open blue skies and comfortable settings and then slowly get creepier and end at night with a panic-stricken child clawing through the wet mud with a failing flashlight. Maybe I'm sick but that's what I wanted. I certainly don't think anyone reading my story is going to go out in their backyard, dig a hole and jump in, but at the same time I didn't want to over glamorize this behavior. I wanted to have Peter, who to be fair is not an entirerly likable person yet not completely cold-hearted either, to go through an unpleasant experience when the dire consequences of his actions become apparent. Yet in the end, surreal and ambiguous as it is and as our own "endings" may prove to be, you get the feeling that he's happy and content, wherever he "is".

My older brother used to "mummify" me as a kid, and later I did ask my mom to do it and she thought it was kinda weird but would do it anyway. I researched the names and discovered that the name I first chose, Peter, means "rock" (perfect for a boy who lies in the dirt) and Billy means "guardian" (also ironically appropriate). The name Dutch actually means "ditch" but I didn't want to go that far. The visual style of using clay models for the basis of the images was an early decision based on my interest and admiration for Tim Burton and Henry Selick's stop-motion animation work. The character design of Peter in particular is very reminiscent of "Nightmare Before Christmas". I created only one body for the two boys since they are so similar anyway. I used a modeling clay called Plastalina. It's cheap, never hardens and comes in a variety of nice colors. I used only ivory though, deciding to do all the coloring digitally. I sculpted one head for each boy and first placed Peter's head on the body and took some shots from different angles, then I switched heads and did the same for Billy. Since the puppet had no skeleton, the tiny clay legs could not support the weight on the large body so they had to be later added digitally. The whole model stood, if it could, about 6 inches tall. I photographed the clay puppet with a macro lens outside in sunlight on a deck. Just as I was nearing completion a gust of wind came along and blew the puppet off the deck railing, ending my photo session with a thud and a sour mood. Nearly all the posing of arms and facial expressions was done digitally, because it was simply easier than constantly remodeling the puppet then taking a single shot. Background photos were taken of dirt and sky and, of course, a shovel. I cannibalized a few furniture catalogs to get some of the background elements as well. Each image took anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours to complete in Adobe Photoshop. I used oval-shaped windows for the images simply because I liked the idea and I don't see it done often. To force depth into the images, you'll notice that in most images I placed objects in the "background", the "middle ground" and the "foreground" and used varying degrees of motion or Gaussian blur. I consciously hid the faces of the parents from view because I wanted to truly focus the story on the two boys and keep the parents 'generic'. I kinda like how the image of Billy standing with the shovel as his brother comes up out of the ground (pearing through his hands - from Peter's POV...on Page 2) almost looks like he has large wings sprouting from his back. I guess you have to look at it a "certain way" to see that though.

At the end of the day, I'd say the comic turned out about as well as it could given my schedule. Sometimes (usually) the visual style of a production changes from conception to finished product and this one was no exception. Originally I envisioned the images to be more painterly and rough around the edges, still computer composites but more 'dirty' and abstract. However, the more I played with them the 'cleaner' they became. They now almost look like stills from a Rankin and Bass holiday special. The first line in the story is taken from a song called Nature Boy written by Eden Ahbez. I'm fairly happy with the final product and hope you got something out of it and will come back to see future Black Egg Theatre on-line comics. Someone mentioned merchandising and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in purchasing T-shirts or other items featuring characters from the B.E.T. Any suggestions? We're toying with the idea of more "interactive" stories where you could 'customize' the story as you view it and it could become a different story for each viewer. Also I'm always open for submissions. Please fell free to contact me if you have something you'd like to have presented in the Theatre. Thanks for all your support and I hope to 'see' you again. - Darren Wheeling (5-29-98)