“Aren’t there some witnesses we need to interview?”
Most police work isn’t glamourous. It’s taking statements, finding evidence, and filing unending reports. And sometimes it means telling people the news that someone close to them is dead.
There really was a Dunkin’ Donuts across the street from this building at the time I drew this in 2002. My friends lived upstairs from me at the time, and we’d meet for breakfast there a few times week to chat about life and work before we got started to our work day.
Kate and Mike arrive on the scene of a fresh murder, but are they prepared for what they’ll find?
Drawing the crime scenes in Paradigm Shift has always been a challenge, both technically and emotionally. When I first started to draw the story, I found a book called Death Scenes: A Homicide Detective’s Scrapbook which compiled crime scene photos from the 1920’s to the 1950’s from LA police detective Jack Huddleston. The photos are gristly, yet somehow sterile. Thankfully, they are all black and white, which lends an air of disconnection to everything. I leaned heavily on this resource to make the murder scenes in this story as plausible as possible.
The blood splatter over the body was originally created for the end of the first scene of Agitation. Instead of trying to do the splatter effect on the page itself, I covered the floor in newsprint and spattered watered-down ink on sheets of bristol board, Jackson Pollack-style. After the ink dried, I scanned everything and pulled the best splats and drips together to form the final image, here.
Awakened by an early morning phone call, Kate gets ready to investigate a second murder…
This scene is set in the Chicago neighborhood of Wrigleyville, just north of the friendly confines of Wrigley Field on the narrow, alley-like Dayton Street, just off of Belmont Ave. For those in the know, this is also the home of Ragstock, a go-to thrift shop for the young hipsters looking for street chic clothes at a rock-bottom price in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
I love the moody urban feel of this part of town and decided it would be the perfect spot to set Kate’s apartment. Later on, those fire escapes will prove useful, too…
Detectives Kate McAllister and Mike Stuart return to the streets of Chicago to hunt for a savage nocturnal killer, but are they searching for man or beast?
And does Kate know more about these grisly attacks than she realizes?
Their investigation may have to wait, though, because a new lead opens in an old case that forces them into a deadly showdown with a band of gunrunners.
“The lead characters are quickly endearing… a pleasant blend of Japanese-style design underlaid by American narrative.”
– NEWTYPE USA
“A wonderfully written and drawn police thriller that takes a sharp supernatural twist.”
– Marc Mason, Should it Be a Movie? www.moviepoopshoot.com
“Paradigm Shift is the total package: a thrilling cop drama, a supernatural mystery, and a lovingly-drawn portrait of Chicago. Do not fail to read it!”
The second book of Paradigm Shift debuted on the innovative and before-its-time subscription webcomics portal ModernTales.com in 2002. It picks up right where Part One: Equilibrium left off at its original home on dynamanga.net.
This first scene is set in the neighborhood where I used to live in Chicago. My old apartment building is in view right there in panel one—the second building to the left of the construction site. I took photos from a number of angles to capture the look of the block, including from the roof of my building.
