Street Code
Street Code is © Dean Haspiel
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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.
Hehehe, doored. Ah, good comedy there. But seriously, drivers, is there a biker in YOUR blindspot?
homestar'd!
i definitely didn't see the "doored" part coming, and in such a creative way. verrrrr' clever work, good sir
Dean, I'm really enjoying your series. Looking forward to more updates.
Damn it, Dean. That was like a bunch to the nuts. It's amazing to me how close to the surface my feelings on that day are. I hardly ever think about it anymore, but with one mention it all comes flooding back, still raw and fresh.
Seems pp22 was a surefire hit. Thx, party people.
RiverHelix -- sorry to learn that NBC Sticks are universal. Duh, I should've known. "Street cred" is as important as learning street codes. No doubt.
Steve Ellis -- my next story, a 3-parter titled "Doored," will surely date STREET CODE. A bunch of these stories happened to me a decade ago. Look for it tomorrow.
it's a gas gas gas
I lived in this neighborhood.. This is what it was like ten years ago for me. Really fun read....
Perfect ending for the Korean Twins.
LOL- NBC stick... In college, me and my roommate (from Newark) had a 'HNIC' stick (a broke-off ax handle) mounted on our wall just in case any drunken Mass-hole wanted to start something.
*****
I'm on for the Steet Code ride m'man. When I moved to Washington Heights from Va., I remember feeling like a stranger in a strange land. Fortunately enough I brought up my 130lb Rottweiler which instantly built up my street cred with the local tigeres...but soon enough I wished I had a coupla cats after the Mickeys would grab my dog's keebles, stick their middle fingers up at him and dart into some hole behind my sink. Ahhh New York:)
page twenty-two is in fact great. Nice read. Wis there was more.
Love page 22 Dean, and all-n-all this is an awesome story.
Thx, Tim. The title of that fridge story in OT was "The Ice Man."
Best ending to one of your stories since the refrigerator repair story (I forget the title) you did in "opposable thumbs. I can see what a great idea this strip is now that I read it all in one sitting.
Seth -- I doubt racism and/or fear of difference will ever go away. It's genetically innate. Still, it's surprising to face such old guard stylings in NYC.
Pete -- I keep a 6-inch TBS [Timony Bros. Stick] in my back pocket at all times for "just in case."
Ron -- "Old School" is a series of segue's and I'm glad the pace worked out. Thanks for the cheer, chief.
Josh -- You should talk, mister! Your webcomic, A.D. - New Orleans After the Deluge, is much more provocative and cringe inducing.
Dannaquinn -- *gleee*
Bryy -- I hope that's a GOOD thing!?!
Paul/pboi -- like water off a ducks back my comix making skills be. Thx for the high-five.
Dougan -- glad it worked well. Telling a story is one thing but showing it is a whole other can of worms.
RKB -- Jack ain't no loser. He's going through a transitional phase and there are bumps in the road. For STREET CODE - Season One, I elected to focus on Jack and his environment. We won't learn what he does for work or why he always has a bandage somewhere on his face [likely from a fist-fight or accident]. Instead, we get the inside track on what it's like to roam down the road you never took before and how that starts to make an impact.
Zegas -- thx for the reach-around, homeboy. I think Zuda aims to put these bad-assed puppies into print. If they don't, we can stay up late nights together and xerox/fold/staple a bunch of the stories into mini-comix form for next years SPX, APE, and MoCCA. Dig? ALSO -- good point about clicking directly to a story. I'll alert the Zuda Police.
That page 22 is classic ;)
FINALLY! A comic I can realate to! It's like your drawing table is firmly planted inside my soul. I hope ZUDA wises up and decides to print this collection of hard nosed, urban landscapery. I want to file it on my bookshelf next to "Strangers Than Paradise".
Also, is there a way to go directly to "Old School", or do I have to click page after page from the beginning? This will get impossible once the individual stories mount up after a while.
oh yeah I bumped you up a star to 4.
I like the tie-ins (cats, girlfriend gone) from one comic to the next. Also the way the awful george story played out never seeing his face, the ed gin ref. good stuff. The new story also along the lines of being controversial pushing the edge for Zuda, and expanding on the character of jack. You seemed to have set him up with a bit of the born loser twist at the end of his stories, nice enough but I would like to see Jack 'win' every once and awhile. The NBC story reminded me of a town not that far from where I live with a sign that shows up again and again that says "don't let the sun go down on your ass" same meaning implied. I'm liking the development so far, so you get a fav from me.
I was wondering if the NBC story was going to make its way into STREET CODE. This is great stuff! I really like the ending, too!
Hi Dean,
I just love the rythym of these stories, the off kilter way they end, the conversational manner. You make it look so effortless Dean!
Cheers for a great strip,
Paul Peart-Smith
The world is just so... it's got it's own culture.
Curiously, in today's news:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080815/ap_on_re_us/truck_nooses
There's only one thing I can say about this comic - I love it! I can't wait to see more. Thanks for an amazing comic.
Nice stuff.
But, dude, if the commentators had problems with your portrayal of the dead and dismembered cats last chapter, I cannot wait to see what they'll have to say about NBC sticks! You're gonna be rode out of Zuda on a rail! ;->
This series has such a great pace - every screen has such a nice cadence that you don't even realize you just read the whole thing, front to back.
Funny ending. Loved the expression on Jack's face at the bottom of page 21. Next time I'm in Brooklyn, I'm definitely keeping my eyes open for NBC sticks. Putting sticks in trees to ward off undesireables stikes me as a very primitive and superstitious thing to do.
Dino - This week's edition is a great follow-up to Awful George. The first part of the story is soooo Brooklyn. I remember you once told me about the NBC sticks so it's really interesting to see it illustrated and play out so closely to your earlier telling. It's one of those sad but true things that one wishes weren't still going on, and in Carroll Gardens, no less!
As to the second part, I was just waiting to see if "Jack" was going to score with one (or both!) of the twins, but instead it went to that tragicomic place that life sometimes brings us to. Very funny. If only I had twin Korean neighbor girls when I got dumped and moved into a new place years ago....though if I did, I'm sure a similar thing would have happened.
I'm enjoying Street Code a LOT!
BIG THANKS to all you friends, peers, and fans, who weighed in on "Awful George."
Bryy -- thx for digging my writing. I'm trying to build a case for publishers and editors to hire me for my story and dialogue chops. Fingers crossed I get signed to write/draw my own graphic novels, come soon.
Illinest -- happy to have covertly met and exceeded your expectations.
Kevin -- happy to oblige. My back often arches into a sexualized lordosis configuration whenever I am fraught with anxiety. They say, write what you know. Ergo, Jack's reaction. *cough* Yes, Manhattan is famous for its stories. New York should publish a weekly magazine. Oh, wait, it does.
FrequentContributor -- I'm a big fan of Paul Grist. Thx for the compliments.
Josh -- thx for affording me the confidence to try semi-autobio comix all those years ago within the pages of KEYHOLE.
This Friday comes a done-in-one STREET CODE story titled, "Old School," wherein I dial down the drama and we follow Jack as he enters his new digs in Brooklyn and confronts eons old neighborhood mores and mistakes.
Wow! I love Dino's autobio stuff, and this is right up there with anything from OPPOSABLE THUMBS. The image of the guys in the hazmat suits crawling on the pile of old magazines and other detritus was amazing, chilling, and horrifying all at once. "Mulch" indeed. I just pray I don't end up that way.
P.S. How could the authorities have decided a guy who lived with his dead mother rolled up in a rug for a year was "sane"?
Nice art, nice story. Reminded me a little of an old Paul Grist story, but somewhat due to the lettering. Hope to see more.
*Shudders* Blllergh, yicky!
Super!
Awful George looks...great.
I look fwd to Brooklyn adventures.
Mr. Haspiel, I am thoroughly offended by your portrayal of humane treatment of felines, specifically the affection depicted on page 9, panel 2. Jack's erotically arched back, his beckoning, outstretched arm, the "come-hither" eye contact between our protagonist (who looks suspiciously like yourself, dare I say) and his feline companion, the "petting" echoed in the last panel - just what are you insinuating, sir? But perhaps I'm just over-reacting ;)
I live not too far from where this story takes place, and my downstairs neighbor has stacks of papers and magazines lining his apartment as well. I'm not sure if he actually tortured any animals, but I heard a rumour that he once left his invalid wife locked inside with no food or water for quite some time until the super busted the door in and rescued her.
Why do these people always seem to end up in Manhattan? Is it something in the water?
being a recent (though i'll be leaving soon :\) resident of New York City, and a big fan of the art.... i love this comic.
...i haven't found any psycho murderers yet... that i know of....
awful george is rendered in such a way as to make him seem monstrous and yet at the same time still 'real'.
although i expected big things i'm finding that my expectations have been exceeded.
Terrific. The repetitions and transitions on p.9 are my favorite.
Once again, writing is simply stunning.
Yup, Love it. Having moved to LA from NYC two years ago, Street Code connected me instantly to the City. Pretty amazing storytelling.
Beautiful piece o' work. A real NYC story, right down to the Collyer Bros name-check.
I really love the ethereal look of the released Awful George melting back into the sharper-edged city.
Gang--
I've been extremely busy since the launch of STREET CODE and I apologize for my lack of presence on this forum. Due to tight funds and deadlines, I was forced to skip San Diego Comicon this year while I juggled several projects: from drawing my weekly webcomic, FEAR, MY DEAR [at ACT-I-VATE], to editing the NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOR webcomic anthology for SMITH Magazine, to [currently] illustrating a cover for the upcoming AMERICAN SPLENDOR: SEASON TWO [Vertigo] collection and a 6pp X-MEN FIRST CLASS story written by Jeff Parker [for Marvel], I've been chained to the art table and laptop all of July. Albeit morbidly tardy [and tired], I promised my girlfriend I would go to the beach this August weekend so I could officially inaugurate Summer of 2008.
Thx to all you folks and my pals for weighing in with mostly positive reactions to "Awful George," thus far. Some quick responses from myself, if I may:
RKB -- I'm experimenting a different spin on the semi-autobio genre with a little less narcissistic naval gazing and a little bit more anthropological observation concerning human behavior. Personally, I'm a Class A Control Freak and I'm the type of guy who likes to steer things my way. However, I've experienced [and witnessed] many events that I had no control over yet made a profound impact on my life and, so, STREET CODE aims to explore those extreme times of bizarre interaction with my community.
STREET CODE is planned to be bi-weekly and furnish 4 - 8 screens per episode.
Vonblinden22 -- "Jack" is my semi-autobio stand in. I personally experienced the tales that STREET CODE will divulge and with the crutch of hindsight, chronology, and the art of "the spin," I'm able to fictionalize the truth. There may be a tipping point towards the end of STREET CODE - Season One that will turn this comic into full frontal fiction, depending on the popularity of this experiment.
Infgernalbbq -- I toyed with the idea of graytoning STREET CODE [ala the teaser] but I wanted to prove that black and white comix are as powerful and poignant as your four-color fare. Plus, I believe the stark look of my art serves the series.
OK, party people, "Awful George" - Part Two drops tomorrow and I look fwd to reading what you thought of this lil' NYC ditty.
--Dino
This comic is horrible, fascinating and intense! I love it!
Very impressive... I'm a big fan of crisp black and white line art. I feel that color is so finicky that it seems to ruin beautiful line art more often than not. I commend your beautiful ink-work. Brovo!
This is way more real than I was anticipating. Baby bird like :)
Intruiging, I likes. Another thing I'd like to see is the grays from the original page carried through onto the others also. They were quite effective and would look good with the grit and grime of the kitten chamber of horrors segment.
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I'll return and look for more so good luck drawing!
Good start. I'll be back.
Pretty sweet, man. So, that character is supposed to be you? I'm supposing this is a stupid question, but I guess this strip was an editor's pick win, right? I don't remember it in any of the competitions. BTW... I have some cats, and I was glad to see that the lady was trying to save them, and not the one hurting them. (I only have two.)
Nice work, Dino. You keep 'em honest in the land of horizontal pagination, y'hear!
Excellent start Dino, can't wait to read more of the story!
Glad to see this story realized and out in the world. You've got such a cool collection of untold yarns that deserve the platform to be read, seen, and absorbed.
The art, as always, is top notch and has a slick grit that can only make sense in the world you project. I want you to make a million and one of these "Street Code" episodes, if only just to show future generations "what it is".