The Shuttle now arriving

Assumes much more reasonable proportions here...

After all, literally anything thats not provided on Io itself has to fit onboard for the whole mining colony for a month, so it would be like a large supermarket receiving its delivery monthly, just imagine how big the truck would have to be...

and the hand built model of the shuttle more than conveys this successfully - being a model of the post star wars (back when it was only the one movie) period where massive hand built models with incredible detail where made

You can literally almost feel its weight in the movie, it looks very solid and real and its these elements which CGI can never reproduce

As seen above, Steranko faithfully renders the shuttle in full on 3 quarters of page looming massiveness and does include a good amount of detailing, but just how faithful will my rendering be?

and how well will this fit together with the previous page to make the full 2 page spread...

Well, why not have a look and let me know what you think?

In the meantime, take a look at the three panels in the bottom right hand corner - that's right the assassins have arrived - so join me tomorrow for a gunfight at the so-so corral

Space is the place...

So say the lyrics of "Your the only star in heaven" from Frankie Goes to Hollywood's album "welcome to the pleasure dome"

Well I think we already more than safely know that the last place that Outland could be is heaven - and if any more proof was needed - a load of stars appear below...

It makes one wonder what could come next - but all you have to do is come back here next week and you will see the story unfold - only a few more weeks to go and hopefully I will be finished!

Spots in front of my eyes

Is that what these are?

Oh yeah, that is still just the rather impractical way I do stars - given as this page is almost all black I best get on shading this in so its finished for - tomorrow

Towering above the tower

Talk about dominating the scene

Here we have the space shuttle on approach and its loading dock, both of which by any right should be massive...

Yet O'Neil is bigger than these or any other element in this drawing?

Hmm, could it be time for O'Neil to find out which assassins are coming his way?

Maybe, let's see as the drawing progresses

It's Ballard

So after O'Neil's short 2nd video call with his wife, in which she realises he is up to his neck in it, but still will not just leave Outland behind

O'Neil has a meeting in a dimly lit Escher staircase with the now almost totally reformed Lazarus and the hither fore un-introduced Deputy Ballard (who is the one dominating the drawing below)

In the Movie Ballard does appear before this point, several times... does that make more sense - well when it comes to a certain forthcoming plot point it does

By far the most interesting thing about the above is the above scene literally didn't happen in the movie at all, its not a stylistic reinterpretation its something completely made up

Ballard and Lazarus don't even see each other until later in the movie, O'Neil's question to Ballard does get asked by in O'Neil's office

the Escher staircase never even existed in the movie and the clock didn't intrude on this particular scene

But, the main point being Ballard has to be so large to kind of make up for him not being around now and  gives the reader a far less than subtle hint to keep a eye on him, not just by size but by the fact he is clearly sweating

But why - we will find out eventually

Tomorrow the shuttle finally arrives or starts to at any rate

Dominating the picture

Well this certainly can't be O'Neil....

who not only completely dominates this page but also has the rest of his arm over the previous page

But, it must be someone important right?  The size of a person normally indicates their importance, right?

Not always in this adaptation as we have seen many times already

Let's fill this in with some ink and join the pages together and then we can finally figure out whats going on here

Next week

Shuttle in Transit

So here we go with only the 2nd (and final) comic adaptation nod to Outland's infamous clock

Which as I earlier mentioned seems to serve as not only a technologically modern update of the old town clock ringing twelve (high noon) but also as a tension device by fading in and out constantly counting down the time (and clattering away) while O'Neil prepares to meet the assassins

The clock here can't really be said to be that in your face, well not more than anything else, the thing with skewed perceptions is objects can loose their consistency particularly when something else is dominating almost the entire picture - which is certainly the case above

So what preparations is O'Neil making above.. we are getting closer to the answer