25. Fragmentation
The ongoing newsletter for THE PHANTOM PLEASURE Comic
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Hello, everyone!! I’m so terribly sorry for the long absence. I’m so glad to finally be back here, to share some art and concepts from 404EVER.
I’ve been working on a few large scale commission and collaboration projects, one of which I can’t talk about just quite yet. I’ve barely had time to slow down and process what’s been going on in my work or in my life. I’m a bit exhausted but grateful to be able to spend my life creating art. I promise not to stay away for so long again…
In the next newsletter, I’ll be able to share more about the TRASHUMANISM Graphic Novel project with Le Destroy You might already know her work if you’ve played Cyberpunk 2077. We’ve been working together for some time to bring you this collection of stories based on the world of her album, and I’ll have much more to say next time. We received some very exciting news on it last week, but I must be hush hush.
If you would like a copy, please go here to pre-order!
Because the story of 404EVER is so dense with a lot of esoteric concepts, I keep a volume of notes on the base level points I want to convey with the first episode. It’s mostly so I don’t completely lose myself in the setting and forget to actually tell a story! For those of you writing highly detailed comics of your own, you may or may not find this next section useful.
Here are some of my notes from the first episode, with some concept sketches:
Prelude Opening (Points to get across)
Halo can astral project her consciousness (The how and why will be explained later, it’s OK if it’s mysterious or confusing for now).
Halo’s astral projection is searching for Echo’s physical body. Basically, it’s her mind scrolling through physical space the way we would use an old search engine. From this disembodied view, the reader could see more of the city’s geography; so it’s good excuse to show off the world from various heights and perspectives.
At the same time, we cut to see that Echo is somewhere in the darkness, half-asleep. Her Synth Suit has deconstructed into some form of hanging sleep apparatus.
First sketch attempt 
In-progress Second Attempt Halo gets distracted by a large crowd of users gathered around a Gogg Republic pop up ad. Curious, she projects herself closer to see what they’re gawking at. She sees herself in a very revealing/sexual pose in the invasive pop up advertisements. These Gogg Republic ads must look obviously distinct from the usual signs/ads we see everywhere else.
Sketches of GEO-CITY ONE slumbags and a GOGG REPUBLIC Pop-Up Ad Halo is shocked by her appearance. Some slumbags are amused by the Gogg Republic ads, saying all kinds of perved-out comments. Halo voices her frustrations about her moderator, Colin Atari, conveying to the reader that Halo is not in control of how her image is being used in Geo-City One. The reader must understand that Halo has not seen this ad before. On instinct, she tries to yell out the crowd to shut up, but of course they can’t see or hear her in this astral state.
Side note: I originally sketched out the pervy Pop-Up Ad like the above drawing, but I felt it was too tame to get the point across. So then I did this one:
And I then I probably went too far on the second sketch. I have to find a happy balance between being too tame, and being too over the top. I don’t even know what I was thinking here…
We cut away and see that Echo has finally succumbed to REM sleep. Halo suddenly senses Echo’s mind has “come online”, which really means that Echo has fallen into REM state sleep and Halo can pick up Echo’s subconscious mind. Halo is then able to follow the dream signal, a hint at what Halo’s “psychic powers” actually are.
We see that Echo has a private domain (looks like a bombed out store in an abandoned mall. The only thing left standing is the small rectangle room with a door). An older, kind looking homeless user named BOOTLEG squats outside near a makeshift shelter. He’s mildly infected by The Frag. We see the signs on his skin.
The intensity of Echo’s nightmare (“Phantom Pleasure Syndrome”) increases the closer Halo’s mind gets to her. We can see Bootleg’s reaction to the moaning coming from her private domain. This is not normal.
Echo writhing in her sleep. Multiple images of an astral Halo descend on Echo from different angles. The poses look like the sexualized ads we saw earlier, hinting that Halo’s advertisements have embedded into Echo’s subconscious; making it easier for Halo to enter and take control.
Work-in-progress sketch
Thank you, everyone, for being so patient with me. I promise that this will be worth the wait in the end. I will return with some new art, new collaboration art, and some exciting news very soon.
With love,
Lordess
