Behind the Ink: under Arrestimated Edition

 The original drawing referenced on Page 1. I drew this during my two weeks in driving school classes during my junior year in early 2019. I based this drawing off the anti-drinking and driving ad where a guy is shown driving in a car full of booze. It ends with the guy getting caught by the cops and when he rolls the window down, all the booze comes pouring out. The comic version removes Kenny's dialogue and hat because I felt both aspects were unnecessary since the rest of the reference drawings depict him without a hat. Along with that, Max's dialogue was moved to the top and the mention of Mountain Dew was removed (at first, but then it was brought back in Page 2).

A common thing done by comic artists is to make these sketches called thumbnails. These thumbnails are sketches that shows where the characters are to be placed and the layout of all the panels for another person to later draw and ink together. For a lot of these thumbnails I took a simplistic approach since I was the only person drawing the entire comic. While in this instance it was almost unnecessary, I still drew it anyway to better place the changes between the original drawing and the final version

The first page, of course, establishes our two main characters and why Max gets arrested this time around, that being for driving under the influence of sugar (or underaged driving, take your pick). Though it's not mentioned here, the green stuff is indeed Mountain Dew. It could also be Fyzzi, the Nerdy Maniakz version of Mountain Dew, but Max does mention the soda by its nickname on Page 2.

Page 4 is one of the four pages not based off a pre-existing drawing or comic (the other three being the last three pages of UA). Instead, I entirely relied on the thumbnail for this page even later flipping panel 4 to make things more interesting and less consistent. As you might also notice, the two quips on this page were changed in the final version. Fun Fact: The first three panels were originally going to be the sequel to the original comic "Under Arrestimated" referenced on Page 2 but after I shown Tyler the comic and told him this idea, he said the comic was funny without it.

Since the Interrogation Room is a shot that's used the most in the entire comic, it was important to have a detailed sketch that I could work with. Other than Kenny who changes positions, everything else in this shot remains in the same position throughout the comic. Don't worry, this shot is redrawn for every panel using this shot in UA. To avoid the tediousness of it all, I made most of the panel borders in the comic a rhombus because things at angles are more interesting and dynamic.

The third page where we get to where the majority of the comic takes place: The Interrogation Room. I almost made the background of the Interrogation Room akin to the one in Detroit: Become Human, but decided not to so it could be more like the original comic referenced for Page 4.

The original comic referenced on Page 4. This is from the portfolio I mentioned earlier from junior year and the one that gave me the idea here in the year 2023 to write a full story (that and the sequel to this one that is referenced on pages 6 and 8). The only notable changes are the cake's flavor, the numbers on Max's shirt changing sides, and some dialogue rewording.

Another redundant thumbnail but you gotta love how Kenny briefly becomes a South Park character in panel 2. Honestly, this one really looks like that meme where something gets more and more simplified, even down to the simple interaction between the characters in panel 3. "Cake?" "No." Oscar winning material right there!

The fourth page is here to further establish this new setting and build up to the meat and gravy of the whole comic. it also serves as more time to establish the character dynamic between Max and Kenny, showing how well they know and hate each other. The cake is honestly my favorite bit in the comic because this not only falls in line with the idea that Kenny has to eat sugary foods to keep his superhuman body going but also because I'm sure most readers like you wouldn't expect this man to eat an entire cake or you probably think this is a Matilda reference.

 The first original drawing/comic referenced on Page 6. This was a drawing I did for my dad, Robert, for his birthday two years ago of him punching Rivers Cuomo from Weezer in his Buddy Holly-looking face. My dad hates Weezer as much as I do for how whiny Cuomo's singing is and the terrible instrumentation (though if you like Weezer, power to you I guess). Obviously, I replaced my dad with Max and gave him something to say to better establish who the guy getting punched in the face is.

 The second original drawing/comic referenced here on page 6 and later on page 8. This is the sequel to the comic referenced on Page 4 which started the idea for Under Arrestimated, so of course I had to reference this one as well (though a lot more disjointedly than the other references). It was drawn my senior year four years ago where, for a brief moment, I thought Kenny needed a butt chin.

 The third original drawing/comic referenced here on page 6. This is the most recent thing referenced in Under Arrestimated since it was drawn in November of 2021 ("Dad Punching Rivers Cuomo" being done in August of 2021) which makes it the first time period falsely listed in the comic, being off by 1 year and 1 month. Why this sudden inconsistency? Because it's my art, shut up.

 I'll go ahead and included the sequel to the previous drawing since this crime shouldn't be charged as murder but rather a murder attempt since Max doesn't kill Adam Conover in the end. You might be wondering why try to kill him? I thought it was funny, plus it'll make it seem like Max isn't playing for either side of the political spectrum.

 The fourth original drawing/comic referenced here on page 6. This one dates all the way back to 2016 during the presidential election (not sure on the exact date but it was before my freshman year started seven years, making this the second time period inaccuracy in UA, it being changed to three years ago to correspond to the 2020 presidential election). I thought it'd be funny on the rare chance I met this douchebag I'd give him an active grenade to sign. Of course, this drawing looks waaaaay different than how its depicted in the comic and Max's name is different here, so I redrew it.

 The redraw of the fourth drawing/comic which I then implemented into UA. The main differences between this and its predecessor are making Trump look more like Trump, giving Max his iconic hat, and cleaning up their poses, particularly their hands. For a couple of these redraws since I drew a little too big, I had to draw the hands of certain characters in an open spot that I later moved to the right spot digitally.

 The fifth original comic/drawing referenced on pages 6 and 7, so I might as well talk about it here. This is the oldest comic referenced in UA, dating all the way back to my eighth grade year in 2015, eight years before UA. This was from a series of comics I did poking fun at the teachers who gave me a hard time, this instance being my eighth grade science teacher who wouldn't let my get my binder from my locker after I forgot it. I imagined him and a lot of my other teachers as zombie cyborgs hellbent on making my life miserable, so that's what's going on here. Of course, Mr. Schulman was replaced with Mr. Ferrari to fit the comic into the world of Nerdy Maniakz.

Another thumbnail that also got altered in the final version. As you can see, the bit with Rivers Cuomo wasn't originally included, but I decided to add it anyway since it would've been a nice nod to that original drawing, especially since the comic came out on August 19, 2023, a day before my dad's birthday. As mentioned before, I dropped different drawings (that being all the ones listed here except "Assblasting Everything") and rearranged the page layout in the final version, even dropping the transition that was going to be between the Mr. Ferrari bit and all the other bits. Storytelling wise it made more sense to split that bit between the two pages rather than have it entirely on one.

The sixth page is more of the comical montage, this time being a lightning round before entering what I call the magnum opus of the montage on Page 7. Here, we've got two more assault and battery charges and two first degree murder charges (though the one with Adam Conover could also be interpreted as a murder attempt since the sequel drawing that's not referenced here shows that Adam takes the gun and turns the tables on Max)

This is the last thumbnail that had its layout changed in the final version. Originally, I was going to replicate the original comic's layout but felt it would've been better to let each scene have more breathing space, especially the last two panels which so desperately called for and deserved it. The other change was reversing the third, fourth, and fifth panels to better convey that the stuff where Mr. Ferrari is a zombie cyborg is in Max's imagination.

RIGHT:  Yep. This page has redraws which, as mentioned before, were drawn in the modern style with more detail and yada yada yada. 

The seventh page picks up where this segment started on Page 6. Why is this segment divided, you might ask? For the twist effect! To really drive home the fact this is all in Max's head, I changed the comic's style (excluding the characters themselves) into a manga style and made that part of the segment black and white. Don't you love how I gave you a friendly reminder of this style change with the bright red arrow? I thought it was genius!

"Boondock?" "What?" "No! Die!" is another Oscar worthy interaction. The only thing worth noting here is that the poses were changed in the final version and Kenny once again looks like Bill from Boxtown in the last panel.

RIGHT: To further support these pose changes, Max was redrawn on paper and, in fact, is doing the Jim Crow pose that Childish Gambino does in the "This is America" music video (sort of).

The ninth page is where the climax really takes off in the form of Max threatening to shoot Kenny. I'm sure you've got a lot of questions like "Why doesn't Max just leave?", "Why does Kenny not fight back?", "Why does Max's gun keep changing in between panels?", and "What message, if any, is this comic suppose to portray and how should I feel?". I won't answer your questions, instead I'll leave it up to your own personal interpretation because that's what art really is about. (although to answer the third question, I thought it'd be funny to use that gun hand meme for panel 3)

 I might as well show you the stuff that was cut from the comical montage since most of these are mentioned in the thumbnail. If it was used, this stupid doodle of me jokingly shooting my friend would've been the oldest sketch referenced, having been drawn back in the seventh grade in 2014. I would've replaced Guillaume here with Norman and have him tweeting out hateful messages against liberals. I ended up cutting the drawing in the end because the layout of pages 5, 6, and 7 was rearranged (which is the main reason all of these were cut) but also because it was too complicated to draw in a small panel, even after redrawing it (which I never did).

This sketch, once completed, would've depicted Max akin to that Peeing Calvin car sticker of him peeing on the Gaston snake on the "Don't Tread on Me" flag. If it was included, it would've made Kenny charging Max with defamation more accurate. Again, it was cut in the rearrangement of panels but also because it was way too crude comparative to the other bits used.

I wanted to make this sketch of Max lighting a cigar with his thumb to be like one of those cutscenes you see after a character wins in a fighting game and, like the previous, I would've finished it for UA. It was cut because there was already a bit with Trump (a much better one even) and because I don't actually smoke cigars so it wouldn't have made sense to give what's essentially my cartoon persona this attribute. I couldn't think of anyone to replace the guy on the ground with, though it most likely would've been an actor I dislike, like James Franco.

This absolute banger is (slightly) older than "Noodlez Meets Trump" and is a classic, depicting Max burning down a wild west tourist trap along with his original partner in crime, David. If it was included, it would made Kenny charging Max with arson more accurate, but alas it was cut for the reasons I said for why "That Message Was Real" wasn't included: panel arrangement and complexity.

Although, if I did include the wild west scene, I would've used this redraw I did in 2021 as a reference. It would've saved me the time and paper which I had to used with the other redraws for UA, that's for sure.