I’ve been drawing Geeks In Love since January, putting out a new episode every Sunday.
I’m very happy with the way it has evolved.
You see, for me, it’s mainly about the art. What I hoped would happen happened. As I’ve learned to draw the geeks, the drawing has become looser, freer, occasionally attaining a kind of essential simplicity that delights me.
Take the line that goes from the top of the forehead to the base of the nose in this drawing:
Or the arms and hands (and pelvis) in this one:
Beyond that, when the idea came to me, I thought that Geeks In Love might actually have some wide appeal. After all, Geeks are well represented on the Web, and even non Geeks can theoretically relate to the Love part.
So how is it doing?
Well, I’ve been linked to from prestigious and more confidential sites alike. But even when sites like Micropersuasion (or TechBee) linked to the Geeks, the site saw only a modest and short-lived increase in the number of visits.
In fact, it seems that Geeks In Love is being received like most of my music has. A few people are enthusiastic, but by and large, nobody gives a fuck. (Update: See the comments for an explanation of what I mean by that).
Look at the hits for this week:
Most of those hits are probably due to spambots. Look at the actual visits, according to Google Analytics:
Again, I expect this kind of response to my music. I was hoping for better for the Geeks. In fact, my music is doing much better.
During this time, I’ve obviously been on the lookout for geeky comics on the Web. Some are widely read and universally praised. They all share one thing in common from my perspective. The drawings are truly awful. They are usually drawn on the computer, have horrible colors, and show no artistry whatsoever. At best, the art seems to be an afterthought.
For instance, the (otherwise) great Presurfer site publishes a regular comic called home schooled.
I rest my case.
These types of successful geek comics may be hilariously funny, and/or incredibly smart and intelligent. I don’t know, because I can’t get past the bad art.
As a teenager, I used to be a huge fan of French (and Belgian) bandes dessinées. The art had to appeal to me or I wouldn’t read them. For example, I remember this one series drawn by Alexis (I think it was called Timoléon), in the seventies. Alexis drew wonderful hands. Having read the stories, I would go back, and just look at all the hands, from cover to cover, in wonderment.
I think that a good deal of European bande-dessinée lovers are similarly sensitive to the quality of the art. Gotlib‘s huge appeal is as much about his art as it is about his particular brand of humor.
So the lesson learned with Geeks In Love is that the art doesn’t seem to count for shit.
I know I sound bitter. I don’t think I am. I’m used to my « art » not appealing to the masses. But I am disappointed. I expected a little better (Oh all right. I secretly hoped that the Geeks would make me rich and famous).
So where am I going with this? I’m not sure. What I do know, is that I’ve run through most of the strip ideas I had when I imagined the series. I’m at a point where I have to rack my brains to find new subjects every week. And since my readership seems to barely reach beyond my immediate family, I’m not sure I’ll be all that motivated to publish on a regular basis anymore. Or at all.