Polterguys Volume One Preview

This is going to be my first graphic novel in print, guys and I'm anxious and excited. I know not everyone is going to dig it (Oh god, it's black and white mannn-gooo) but I hope I can find readers who appreciate the same stories that I do - character-driven struggles with some humor (and hopefully) a lot of heart.

This is Chapter 1's double page spread which I've uploaded everywhere else except here. Psyched about how it turned out. (You know, even if my fingers swelled for two weeks...XD)

You voted and I'll be releasing chunks of pages starting this Saturday Feb. 18 (My bday! ) on my website Laurbits.com until Polterguys' official publication date Jun 29, 2012 - the first day of Anime Expo. I'll be updating my journal to give you a link to the pages as a reminder. DA is not a very good place to load comics in general since coding navigation is still a pain.

Synopsis:
Bree is a nerdy freshman who wants to do well in college. Things get a little tricky when she moves in with a bunch of cute ghost guys and needs to resolve their unfinished businesses!

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As a countdown before the release, I'll be doing short character spotlights for each of the main players this week and updating this everyday.

Character Spotlight: Feb 17, 2012
Finally, we have the twins Alex, the surly-looking one standing and Ben, the smiling one to his right. In the grand tradition of the reverse harem, I had to include twins! Amiboshi and Suboshi from Fushigi Yuugi and Hikaru and Kaoru from Ouran are a few famous pairs.

Rather than have matching outfits for them, I wanted them to have distinct fashion identities if that makes any sense so you can almost barely tell they are related, much less realize they are identical twins. I think there's something interesting there - the pull between trying to form your own identity and understanding you are part of something special.

Character Spotlight: Feb 16, 2012
Frankie is the gentleman wearing the sports jacket next to Simon. It was really hard for me to write a bully as I initially envisioned him. Nate and I would argue how he should interact with the other guys and what he would sound like. In the end, I decided to go with my gut and he ended up like a giant teddy bear.

I know I have a recurring problem with characters that are all too nice but I think Frankie will surprise you once you get to know him. ^_~

Character Spotlight: Feb 15, 2012
Doug is the little dude sporting the dreads in the top right corner. Now, there's usually a voice of rationality in a typical reverse-harem troupe and I'm a sucker for intelligent kids that know more about the universe than I do. Admittedly, I've been staring a little too much at my Eyeshield 21 books and love the way Agon's hair has an entire life of its own. That's probably how I came up with his design now that I think about it!

Anyway, his character has gone through several drafts (which I'll save for future newsletters) but in all, he's the little brainiac of the group.

Character Spotlight: Feb 14, 2012
Today's spotlight was an easy addition to the cast of Polterguys. Simon is the kid in the far right with the sheep pajamas on. If you've ever read/watched a reverse-harem story, for some reason there is always a kid that is wayyyy too young to be of any real romantic interest to the female protagonist.

Some of my favorites include Momiji from Fruits Basket, and Hunny-sempai from Ouran High School Host Club and Chiriko from Fushigi Yuugi. One "cheat" manga artists employ is that the character is usually much older than he appears to be... ^_~

Character Spotlight: Feb 13, 2012
Bree is a character I've been wanting to write for a while. Someone with a bit of a stubborn, independent streak and with a lot of room to grow. I think female characters are usually portrayed as prioritizing relationships (friendships and romances) over their own goals or at least, they usually have someone they can always talk their problems over. In contrast, I wanted to tell the story of someone more isolated. (a spiritual successor to Haruhi and Tohru, if you will but completely her own character and not just a poor imitation.)

Getting this personality to work right was a huge hurdle to overcome in writing but once we found her voice, it really helped gel the story better.