Street Code
Street Code is © Dean Haspiel
Login to Add a Favorite
Jack, a native New York bruiser, is fed up with living in the dregs of a drug-addled Alphabet City where his neighbors are insane shut-ins and his bicycle is always getting stolen. So, Jack escapes from Manhattan to Brooklyn to make a fresh start in Carroll Gardens only to face a new strain of street logic where most everything he stumbles upon is not as it seems. Jack steeps in the hazing of eons old rituals as a polarized community begrudgingly changes hands between tribes. With STREET CODE, Dean Haspiel returns to his semi-autobiographical roots and explores the emotional truths between prime and primate.
Love this. Good work Sir.
The writing is stunning.
yeah. this might work. gimee' some more. more please.
It looks bee-yoo-tee-full, despite the horrifying subject matter. I like the little switcheroo where at first we think that woman is an evil psycho, mutilating cats in the basement, and then it turns out that she's actually saving them. Cool story--can't wait to see more!
Eeeek! As a cat lover, I'm freaking out just reading about the unhappy cats. I hope this Awful George gets what's coming to him.
Also, the *tiniest* note: page 8, first panel has a punctuation error. "One's" should read simply "ones". That word is not an abbreviation, nor a possessive. Ugh, now I'm "that girl." Can I have your job, Kwanza? :)
Nice! I love your ink lines, my man. "Jack".
And we're off! Very intriguing. You know I loves the BILLY DOGMA, but I'm also looking forward to seeing more work in this vein, a la OPPOSABLE THUMBS. Oh, I know - it's SEMI-autobio, but more slice-of-life from you is always welcome.
Hey Dean, congrats on your debut! Awful George must PAY.
Very interesting start. The thing with the cats was messed up!
Looking good so far!
RKB--
The first chapter of STREET CODE is a 2-part story titled "Awful George." The preview only shows 5pp of a 7pp chapter. Even though STREET CODE is a b&w comic, all the characters are quite grey. There are no villains and heroes in STREET CODE. More this coming Friday.
Thx for watching and weighing in.
it sort of seems like aweful george is the bad guy Jack's going to be going up against, maybe. The update here at Zuda is going to have more than what we read in the preview right???
Pop Candy's Whitney Matheson has an exclusive preview of STREET CODE at USA Today:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2008/07/exclusive-previ.html
Hey - in case you didn't read the blog, STREET CODE begins in earnest on July 18th!
*24 countdown clock ticking away*
Soon, soon...
Hey, is there an update schedule on this?
it's quiet around here, too quiet....
1 page? Super tease! Looks great so far. I love the brush work.
Kleid/
I'm a comic book ninja!
Jernell/
"Street Code" was my proposed title for my collaboration with Harvey Pekar on THE QUITTER when we first pitched the graphic novel to Vertigo. Harvey changed the title halfway thru the project to befit his story intent. I am quite fond of Jack Kirby's only published autobio story and the title stuck with me. So, in my own personal way, I'm paying homage to my favorite cartoonist. When you read the stories for my "Street Code," you'll see how appropriate the title is. Thx for asking.
Lookin' forward to it!
Dean, is the title, 'STREET CODE' an homage to Jack Kirby?
––Jernell
Dean... you're EVERYWHERE.
Yes, let loose your inner fábio moon!
Have fun with it.
So say we all, Dean.
-
But what's up with the icon photo? Are you trying to get a job on a soap opera with all that free time you have?
-
Seems to me your Zuda icon should say something simple, deep and pithy. Something positive, active and at the same time fraught with worry. Something like,
"****.
****.
****.
Karate."
-Rob
I'm looking forward to seeing the story in the summer Dean, and seeing what i think about it.
Rob/
Thx for pimping my wares. You're a good egg. I wish I had the free time to pursue other career options but comix keep me shackled to the art board AND the key board! SFPK!
RKB/
I was never a goon. Ergo, the "semi" in semi-autobio comix. However, some folks might dub me a bruiser for my ability to bruise easily. So, try not to judge a book by its cover, much less, its teaser and gimme a chance to flex wise once I drop some pages come early summer. My aim for STREET CODE is to write/draw some honest yet outrageous anecdotes as outlined in my synopsis.
Alex/
Thx for the kudos. Eisner is a big influence of mine.
I won't be able to respond to everybody's comments but I truly appreciate your thoughts and support. Keep 'em coming.
yer pal, Dean
Jernell is the guy with the good information.
And.....
I've no doubt that this will be instant win worthy. I can't really express what I'd like to say except that the 'gut' is judging this to be the work of an experienced creator. I won't blow smoke up your ass and pretend like I knew of Mr. Haspiel beforehand, he could have all the credentials of my 6 year old niece for all I know, but the craft is evident from the very top of panel one.
I can't wait for this comic to happen.
Hey folks. I appreciate the warm welcome. The teaser image was meant to be just that for the NYCC announcement. I'm hoping to launch STREET CODE proper come mid-June/early summer. I have "season one" fully outlined and I'm excited to draw my stories.
Between ACT-I-VATE and Zuda and Transmission-X and The Chemistry Set and Smith Magazine and ComicSpace.com, et al, it's an exciting time for webcomix. I'd like to thank Kwanza, Ron, and especially, Richard Brunning, for shepherding this project along and bringing it into fruition. Let's continue to lift the veil between creation, creator, and reader. So say we all.
hahaha, one screen and five stars?!! yowza. anyway, i really like the art, and was wondering when the heck we'd get to see a new instant winner. looking forward to this, but (no offense) no rating yet.
4 1/2 stars based on one screen???
Must have more pages....crave content....*hissssssssssss*
Thanks Jernell.
@RKB, if I remember correctly 'Aspect to Aspect' storytelling is using seemingly unrelated or loosely related images to tell a story. This device is most often used to establish mood, for instance a horror story might have one panel where it's raining, one panel with a scary-looking house, and a third with a shot of a full moon and twisted trees. In this page of Dean's work we get a feel for New York (some of the grittier parts) and the tone is also set for the story.
.
On a side note I've read some of Dean's work on ACT-I-VATE and I've listened to multiple interviews with him on Word Balloon, Fanboy Radio, and other podcasts and I think his approach to comics will bring freshness and innovation to Zuda.
.
––Jernell
@Rob: BD: Immortal was pretty interesting, got me more into seeing what Street Code does later on.
guess we cannot rate this comic from just this one page. but nice art. reminds me a crossover of will eisner, chris sprouse and fábio moon.
Thanks for the directions Rob.
RKB, go to ACT-I-VATE, man. Under the "comix" section Dean has a couple of things to review. FEAR, MY DEAR is running right now, but there's some Billy Dogma stories as well. IMMORTAL is there as a completed story and I'm particularly fond of that one.
I was there for the announcement today, guys, and don't think the intention here is for people to start evaluating Dean's work based upon this one page. It's more of a teaser to coincide with his joining the Zuda fold. The strip itself is intended to start running later this summer.
-Rob
@Illinest: For those of us who have never read anything of Scott McCloud's work (except Zot!) what do you mean by 'aspect to aspect'? I'm sure I could track it down on the net, but i don't want to. Let's give Street Code some traffic. No I've never read any of the understanding comics books, will some day I'm sure.
@Dean: (or his fans) I saw some of the previews for the quitter, but if someone wanted to go out and buy a tpb of your work, what do you think would be the best example to start with. Come on Dean fans help me out.
having re-read mccloud's understanding comics last night, i recognize the 'aspect to aspect' storytelling device at work.
i hope you knock my socks off. ;)
How much can you judge by a single page????????/
Not much actually, and i don't really know your work Dean. Nice art, the mono-color scheme reminds me of mountains at dusk another Zuda comic. Love the Synopsis very to the point. Shoes on a line, and the S of L, nice images to talk over. Just what do you mean by semi-autobiographical, you used to be a goon??????? It does seem like it's got some promise just off the one screen, but compared to some of the other comics on here, I would have liked to see you bring the colors. Your a name (just one I hadn't read much of) what made you want to come to Zuda, besides a new fan base and the cash. (We all need the money these days don't we) Looking forward to more screens pass the tease and seeing what you do with this.