I just finished inking this page. Here are three of the Seven Deadly Sins—gluttony, wrath and sloth—being introduced by the demon Mephistopheles. The scene is out of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus play.

Because it’s the 21st Century, I think an audience will want more show-biz than seeing the Sins merely parade across a stage (as they did in Marlowe’s play). I was looking for the kind of energy Robin Williams injected into the “You Ain’t Never Had A Friend Like Me” number from Disney’s Aladdin. Williams’ Genie sings a rip-roaring show-stopping Who I Am cavalcade of all his mighty powers that the animators must’ve struggled to keep up with. Mephistopheles is doing the same kind of presentation here but it’s a dark and sinister one. No kidding, gang—each of the Sins can genuinely ruin us.

I hope I haven’t gone too far over the top—I don’t want to frighten off the YA crowd my project is aimed at.

The weird little background creatures are inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s painting The Garden of Earthly Delights.