I foolishly thought that this was the debut of the brick-pattern trick in the first panel, but on further researching I found it goes all the way back to #178. What I came to learn is that it’s entirely possible to give texture to a surface you’re drawing by simply doing bits and pieces of that texture here and there, then letting the brain fill in the rest. That way I can have, for instance, a brick wall without having to draw each brick. It’s hugely time-saving and it gives some variety to comics that are otherwise set in a vague, abstract whiteness. (Like most of the first year.)

I’m fairly certain I learned this from the work of Mike Mignola, who is like this black-belt-level-40 Master of Texture. That guy throws down a line and a couple of dots and hey presto, it’s an ancient, rough-hewn stone wall. [November 16, 2011]