Jason Badower/War Buddies, Part 5

After Annette Kwok joked about having a seizure if she had to color another vegetable, Jason decided to throw some in this page as a playful dig.

Jason originally drew Au Co's guardian being killed, but NBC asked that he remove her from the scene as they felt it was too distracting.

"When he grabs her in panel 3 and nothing happens ... she's dead.... The script stated that she is shot in the gut. I moved it up to the chest to not only make it more lethal, but also because we know Austin can heal someone of a chest wound if they're not dead."

Jason liked "how dirty our boys are compared to the guards", but wonders how the Army got filing cabinets inside the tent. In the last panel, Jason tried to avoid a "superhero" effect for Dallas's punch, instead going for a "good solid sock to the jaw".

The Silver Star served as the model for Dallas and Austin's medals. The Silver Star is actually a gold star with a small silver star in the middle, but the script called for a silver medal, so Annette colored it accordingly.

Jason wanted a minimalist feel on this page: he felt we were already "drawn in" to the characters enough at this point that he didn't feel he had to include his normal amount of detail, but rather just have fun.

This line was not originally in the script. Jason likes to think his drawings inspired writers Harrison Wilcox and Oliver Grigsby.

Jason, feeling burnt out and tired from tight deadlines, felt inspired by fan support. He dedicates this page to the "whacky kids on the 9th Wonders Forums". He also feels that the 3rd panel is one of his "strongest character performances".

Jason feels his depiction of Nathan as a child is one of his weakest illustrations (using an adult as reference for a child did not work the way he wanted). However, he feels he made up for it by going off-script to have Nathan hold flying toys. "It's probably my favourite bit of nerdery."

Jason used this behind-the-scenes image at the Petrelli mansion...

...as a reference for drawing Austin's arrival.

In drawing Linderman and Mr. Petrelli introducing themselves, Jason decided to make Linderman in control, and Petrelli "a little out of his depth. I tried to communicate that by giving Linderman the higher ground and a very Machiavellian look. I also like Petrelli's worried expression."