Graphic Novel Cycle Gal illustrator Duncan Long

"Biker Gal" originally created for the cover -- didn't make it into the final version of our graphic novel. (Illustration by Duncan Long)

When I stared creating the illustrations for the graphic novel The Werewolves of New Idria, we knew the final page count and approximately how many illustrations I’d need to create for John Chadwell’s story.

That said, there’s always a little “wheel spinning” with an art project like this, so a few pieces were created that doesn’t make it into this graphic novel. Some simply didn’t measure up in one way or another… Possibly the publisher or writer don’t like them, or the artwork doesn’t further the action. A few were left out due to space considerations.

In the case of The Werewolves of New Idria there was an extra bit of complexity in that we were using a “wide screen format” for the book, so instead of four or so frames per page there was just one giant picture spanning two pages. And where smaller frames allow for an occasional dog to be thrown into the mix, the widescreen does not. Either it’s your best artwork or it should be left out.

And, yes, that puts some extra pressure on the illustrator.

But in the end (I think and hope) the result was a collection of better-than-average illustrations for the title.

That said, I thought I’d share a few of the illustrations that for one reason or another failed to make the cut. So here are the “lost illustrations” that never went to print in the final version of our graphic novel.

Book artist Duncan Long - Lost Illustration that would have appeared around page 76.

Book artist Duncan Long - Lost artwork that might have appeared around page 48 of our graphic novel.

A lost illustratio created for around page 16 (by illustrator Duncan Long)

A demonic giant that might have appeared on page 65 -- had he made the cut (book artist Duncan Long).

"Drop that weapon, soldier" was dropped from the lineup. (Book artist Duncan Long)

This illustration was dropped like some of the others on this post because we had too many hand-off-the-edge illustrations already in the graphic novel.

A collection of werewolves. This illustration was later "broken apart" so some of the wolves appeared elsewhere in the graphic novel.

This collection of werewolves was "broken apart" with the wolves appearing in other illustrations within the graphic novel. elsewhere in the graphic novel.

And there you have them: The lost illustrations from The Werewolves of New Idria.

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Artist Duncan Long was the illustrator for The Werewolves of New Idria (written by John Chadwell). The graphic novel is available from Moonstone Books and contains 80 of Long’s illustrations. You can see more of the artwork from this graphic novel as well as concept drawings and other illustrations at the artist’s The Werewolves of New Idria Gallery.