City of Cards: The Ace of Spades

This week I'll be introducing the guy I consider my main protagonist, Ace. I'm going to do my best to keep this spoiler free but I can't make full promises. Also, this week you get a bonus sample finished inked page from the upcoming comic Ghosts of Samsara!

First, ready for some true horror? I dug up one of my earliest sketches I did of Ace back in 2004.



The boy definitely has come a long way since then. Here's an updated version of him for comparison.



Originally Ace was designed to be some kind of street magician character but I can safely say that as much as I love magicians, that just wasn't in the cards for Ace. (oh man, the puns are already starting...)

I always had a couple of goals with his character that have definitely cemented themselves even more over time. Most importantly, I wanted him to be a ball of contradictions both physically and mentally. Physically, he's average height, somewhat average build though pretty built in part due to his work, and if you wrote down a description of him on paper he'd match a significant portion of the population. Off paper, he's definitely something else.

And finally, a sample inked page of Ace in the pages of City of Cards: Ghosts of Samsara:



I definitely think I'm striking the right mood with this page. Final version will have blacked out panel gutters and text added.

Next week I'm hoping to get to Plato so stay tuned!