About 6 months into the Wu-Tang graphic novel, right before I'd started pencils, I took a quick trip to NYC for some Staten Island research. I'd never been to the Island, and, this was before Google Street view was much of a thing. I needed to go there and see it for myself. In particular, the Staten Island housing project's called Park Hill.
It was probably one of nicest boroughs of NYC I'd ever visited. So much of NYC just seems like sprawling brownstones, Staten Island had its own sort of features ( and considering the place was a giant landfill originally).
A big part of the graphic novel was the Staten Island Ferry, which acted as a sort of way-station into the larger vibrant New York. Much of Staten Island almost seemed like 'hicksville' in comparison. I knew I wanted to add this into the story somehow.
I got about 4 dozen or so photos and created which amounted to a sort of Google Street View around my drawing table. In addition to visiting the place this gave a good sense of 'place' to work from, also adding in the very 1986 features of the place ( cars/ clothes/ etc.)
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