I skipped the title over the page, because it’s not really necessary the way the pages are presented here on ComicPress …

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I recently discovered that the Google Maps street view is available for the UK, which means that I can do even better research about Willie’s home grounds in Newcastle.

The neighbourhood where she lives was initially based on Hjällbo and Hammarkullen, two northern suburbs of Gothenburg (estimated by some to be the 4th and 3rd “worst” neighbourhoods in Sweden – of course that’s not very bad at all on a global scale), where I lived for a while and where my aunt and my cousins lived up until just a short time ago. There are a few similar neighbourhoods in Newcastle and Gateshead.

Here is how I’ve drawn it in the comic so far: chapter 4, chapter 6 and chapter 6 again. The way I’ve drawn the buildings isn’t very consistent, so I am quite free to draw it a bit differently again next time …

While I probably won’t base the area slavishly on an existing neighbourhood, it’s still nice to have a specific area in mind that I can then pervert however I like to make it fit the story.

At first I thought that Walker, Newcastle, could be a suitable area. But if I should succumb to the urge to feature prominent landmarks of Newcastle and Gateshead, Walker is kind of far away from everything …

Across the river, in Gateshead, there are some nice social housing blocks too. There was once the lovely St Cuthbert’s Village (two historical photos) in Bensham, Gateshead, featured in the film Get Carter (1971). However, the lower flats were demolished in 1994, which is a couple of years before 1998 when Driftwood takes place. Only the taller blocks remain since then, and I have always imagined Willie’s neighbourhood to consist of both lower and higher blocks of flats.

But … there are also the Chandless Flats in Gateshead (historical photo 1, photo 2). They are located next to the Gateshead Highway, convenient for access to both the Tyne Bridge and the Angel of the North, which I might use in the comic …

I like the sound of “Gateshead” more than “Newcastle”, anyway, so maybe from now on Willie is from Gateshead. (Just have to remember to change it everywhere next time I print anything …)