Oscar Zahn returns to the drawing board.
Hello everyone,
I’m writing this with a bit of ink on my hands and a massive weight off my shoulders.
A few weeks ago, I crossed a major milestone: after more than a year of writing and rewriting, the rough draft for the new Oscar Zahn story, “The Hollow Shores,” is officially locked in. For the first time in a long time, I can finally stop staring at a script and start drawing Oscar Zahn pages again.
To put it in perspective: the last episode of the webtoon came out on May 21st, 2019. That is nearly seven years ago. Honestly, seeing that number written down is a bit of a "holy smokes" moment for me.
Lost in the Weeds
Rediscovering Oscar’s voice wasn't as easy as I’d hoped. The original webtoon was never "planned" in the traditional sense; it was a stream-of-consciousness experiment that somehow found a home and an audience. It still catches me off guard that the comic has been viewed more than 17 million times—it's a lot to process, even if I've had years to get used to the idea.
When I sat down to write The Hollow Shores, I had a strong gut feeling but no map. I had a million ideas, a scope that was far too grand for the 130 pages I had to work with, and the realization that I am not the same person I was seven years ago.
For much of the last year, I was writing in a spiral. I tried to force the characters toward a specific destination, only to hit dead end after dead end. Eventually, I had to stop trying to tell the story I wanted to tell and start telling the story that was actually on the page.
Writing, for me, is like taking a trip—the journey is going to be what it is, regardless of where you thought you were heading. Once I surrendered to that, the pieces finally clicked. I’ve never been the type of writer who knows the "theme" beforehand; I have to find it retroactively. By letting go of the reins, I finally figured out what this story was actually about.
An "Organic" Workflow
The biggest change this time around? I’m trying to move toward a more traditional process.
Because my process is so organic (and involves making drastic changes on the fly), I’ve become very dependent on the safety net of digital art. For the start of The Hollow Shores, I’m still utilizing digital tools for the layout and penciling phases—it just gives me the flexibility I need to find the right composition.
However, once those digital foundations are set, the goal is to shift into traditional inking. My hope is that as I regain my "paper legs" and build up some confidence, I can gradually shift more and more of the earlier steps away from the screen and back onto the page.
I don’t have a sophisticated "process" to share yet—I'm mostly just figuring it out as I go. There’s a very high chance things will look worse before they look better, but I’m excited to share the discoveries (and the mistakes) with you as I move forward.
See You in Montreal?
One last thing: I’ll be tabling at MCAF (Montreal Comic Arts Festival) this weekend!
It’s an outdoor festival, it’s free for everyone to attend, and it’s always a fantastic time. If you’re in the area, please swing by, say hello, and let’s talk shop.
Stay tuned for more updates from the shores,
Tri