When I write, I don’t always see the film in my head, but I had a clear vision of the Good Luck Charm: a realistic tone and style that would ground the story. I didn’t mention any of this to Jerem, since we trusted him to do a good job with the material and adapt it how he saw fit - even if he took a completely different tone, we were totally cool with it. That said, I was pleased to see that the style I’d envisioned as I wrote the story was very similar to what was put on the comic pages. I like how Jerem and Shi create a sharp contrast between the stylized world of the Drive-In and the realistic one of the Good Luck Charm. The characters, too, look very much like I saw them in my head - maybe not individual details (I’d always imagined Jennie as tall and thin) - but the vibe is right.

This is a seemingly simple and straightforward page, but it’s an important part of the story. It worked very well for me the first time I read it, and upon reading it again I noticed a few small details that made it more than a simple back-and-forth discussion:

-In Panel 1, I love how The Stranger looks almost directly towards the audience. He looks worn and tired, and you start to wonder what exactly has driven him to this point where he wants to cut such a deal for this precious family heirloom.

-In Panel 2, Jim’s expression changes turns cold once he realizes that The Stranger wants a loan and not a sale. The dialogue says as much, but the expression really sells it. You could cut the dialogue from this panel and still tell what’s going on - maybe not the fine details, but the gist.

One final note: when writing, I find it helpful and effective to indicate that there is a world that exists outside of the immediate location. Ideally, one should do this in a way that is subtle, inserting it into a line of dialogue that is serving the story more directly. In this case, the line in the second panel “Wish I could, but rules are rules. Sounds like you want a pawn shop.” directly serves the story, since it shows Jim’s reason to refuse The Stranger’s request. This was a perfect place to drop in the line that expands the world of the story: “Try Little Louie’s across town”. You could cut it and not lose the thrust of the conversation, but by putting it in you make the audience imagine what the pawn shop looks like, how far across town is it, and maybe Jim’s attitude towards Little Louie (I did, anyway). These kinds of details are critical in a short story, since words are precious and you have to cram as many of them into your dialogue without making them seem overwhelming.