5.38
*edit 8/17* The Meek was nominated for an Ignatz!! I’m really grateful. Thanks to you guys for reading and driving me to continue upping my game with every page, even if that means I’m updating like glacial molasses. I’m really glad about the news and will try and bang out an update this weekend :]
Oh hey buddy long time no see
Not much news, just chugging along. Schedule here is still the same if you need a reminder: slowly finishing this chapter (maybe a page or two a month), but my main priority in 2017 is completing my scifi webcomic Mare Internum, so there’s a lot of updates over there! As usual, you can subscribe to the RSS or email list for immediate update notifications as soon as a page goes live.
New tutorial for Patrons will also be up on Weds in case you are into that sort of thing. They go public after a ~6 month delay, so you can check out some of the free-to-read tutorial series as well :]
And for those of you who care, I’ve been slowly updating my web archive so that all of the page numbers match in style to the new black circles from this chapter… I’m up to page 35 on all the previous chapters now XD I’ve also been tweaking some colors and art to make things a bit more cohesive and readable.
Oh yeah, digital books are finally available on Comixology now, as well as in irl format below! I also just listed a few dinged HC and SC books on the Gumroad with a hefty 50% discount, if you wanted to pick up a fast cheap copy.
45 Comments
Oh. Wow. Formidable roomie you got there. I’m not sure a single bedroom is ample quarters for that size house cat.
If he fits, he sits
He can pass through walls, tho
*that house sized cat
Beautiful, frightening (second panel) page as ever, but the indifferent scripts of the last two panels are truly frustrating. I tried to enlarge them, but they only get unclear, with just a minimum of words which might make sense – or not.
Of course they should not be understood by the listener, but why use coherent words at all?
I think the jist is that the house servants are gossiping (“Did you hear about last night? I hear that….not that I…give a f***…” “Yeah…unacceptable…”).
1) There’s a precedent in Chapter 3 (where Soli is listening to a guy talking underground) 2) I hate the dashes/ scribble look and wanted them to look like actual words… like the difference between the sfx of muffled talking vs the “wah wah wah” in Peanuts 3) to show other people are going about their lives and that Rana isn’t really straining to pay attention until she hears the weird talking/ bubble from Dagre.
TL;DR a mix of precedence and personal visual storytelling choices. If you’re curious the text from the dudes is something like “did you hear what happened last night” “fuck that guy he deserved it” and from the door, I think Rana will try to find out more in the next page :]
I like it a lot! You can just make out a few words here and there, but not the whole thing; it really captures the effect of hearing or trying to listen in on a muffled conversation.
I love the effect. Just enough comes through to make it real, and even somewhat ominous.
What’s really freaking me out is the Rana can hear Tigger. He exists in the universe occupied by other people, not just the tortured recesses of Luca’s mind.
I think the reality of Dagre’s existence was sufficiently established in page 2.39 when he threw Luca against a closed door and the guards outside clearly heard the WHAM ;-)
But that could have been Luca flailing around in a psychotic moment. I never doubted that Luca experiences what we see, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually happening.
I think the best evidence for Dagre’s existance is Grandfather Salamander: if one exists, the other can exist.
I wonder if Phe knew about Dagre? I doubt it.
And poor Rana probably thinks her father is talking to himself.
Love that pale, washed out lighting in the last panel. I’m curious how much time has passed between the third and fourth panels—I know it was pre-sunrise before, and now it looks like very early morning, but maybe that’s not right.
But here’s a question that’s been bugging me: is it pronounced Beh-zo, Bay-zo, or Bee-zo?
I think you’re correct about the time change—Bezo probably arrived late at night while it was raining, and now it looks like princess-i-forgot-her-name is waiting for her father to wake up.
Yep, that’s exactly the timeframe (ie the morning after the day this chapter started).
And, it’s pronounced “bay-zo”
I like Rana’s pullover/shirt (with the green stripes)!
Dagre is best waifu
Hel lo Be zo. I made cas ser role.
These damn Stepford tigers
Rana’s on the case
83
Time for cat memes?
Scooping out the litter crate-kitteh is too big for the average litter box-would be bad enough, I would not want to clean up a hairball from that cat.
If anyone wants to know the exact dialogue, here’s the best I’ve been able to get
Person 1: Did you hear about last night? I hear that [name]’s (from context. can’t make out, don’t recall) days are numbered.
Not that I [much give?] a [fuck?] [can’t make out, seems to end in “ot”]
Person 2: Yeah, I won’t mind if he stops coming to breakfast. (fucking COLD, dude)
Dagre bubble no. 1: [i think this one’s genuinely unreadable]
Door bubble: Unacceptable. You’re asking [possibly “you’ve asked”] for far too much from me.
Dagre bubble no. 2: You have not yet begun to sac ri fice [very uncertain. could also be three words, possibly with “my” as the middle word] be zo.
I second this. The guy’s name was DePuller, not sure if does say him, but most likely. Luca’s bubble is more likely to be “asked”. Dagre’s reply indeed looks like “… sac ri fice be zo”
Looking at the page with the contrast way up, the name does seem to start with “De”, so yeah, definitely DePuller.
The last word of the first person’s second bubble looks to be “anyway,” which fits with “not that I much give a fuck.”
I think still think Luca’s more likely to be saying “asking” – I can’t make out the letters after “ask”, but there looks to be three rather than two.
haha, I actually meant to write “asking”, but wrote “asked”, oops.
I love love love love the Dagre’s design. Have for years. Excited to see more of it.
*opens door*
Wel come home
*closes door*
GAH! That second panel is so perfectly frightening. THOSE EYES.
love that last panel, great lighting, & Rana’s so pretty… I just want her to be okay :( leave her alone Dagre/hater misog readers!
Ugh, Dagre, it’s impolite to drive with highbeams on like that.
Just chiming in on the Dagre love and the beauty of the last panel. She’s sitting in the same spot Bezo was.
I don’t like the “…” speech bubble in the last panel. Why make it, when clearly Rana is sitting alone and not talking to anyone nor herself (which would be somewhat weird)? Personally I find this “…” or “!” bubbles overused in a lot of comics. I know it’s meant to signify the silence, but not putting any speech bubble at all would do the same. A little “sigh” is ok, even without the bubble, but this “…” doesn’t mean anything and could be erased easily.
Good thoughts! I’m glad you notice stuff like that, cuz I love those little details.
Personally, I don’t actually throw them in randomly to fill space… to me the ellipses signify some expectation of speech, like the pause before saying something. If I want to show someone looking at someone/ something in a meaningful way with zero intent to speak, I’ll usually leave it off, but in this case I felt like Rana was about to say something to herself (or try and induce that anticipatory feeling in the reader). In a less measured situation I’ll just go with “wh-” or something where they couldn’t stop themselves from expressing a noise.
Thanks for clarification! I guess this page will flow better with the next one, where – I suspect – there will be some dialogue.
Keep up a good job :)
Question- do other people know that Luca talks to the Dagre? I believe they know that the Dagre exists, because it shows up in their artwork, but do they know that it’s more than an ancient story?
I imagine Dagre as having a guttural but misleadingly warm voice, underscored by a constant low growling that doesn’t come from its throat as much as radiate from its very presence. As if it simply being there causes the air around it to be twisted into a threatening aura, pulling those under its influence close into what simultaneously feels like a warm and comforting embrace of a spirit, and the hot, snarling jaws of a beast.
Its voice causes the listener to lose all awareness of the world around them, as if time and space themselves part in awe and terror of its existence, respecting its significance while fearing its power. Like the beast focuses solely on its prey, the listener focuses solely on the Dagre, taking in its every wicked word as if agreement will grant them strength or solace. They fail to realize that when facing it, they are not prey being stalked; they are already caught by its claws, their hearts and minds torn to shreds as another meal for the insatiable predator.
…wow!
DAMMIT THOMAS NOT NOW
(jk hi Dagre!) <3
WHY HELLO THERE
Fancy seeing you here!
So, I never noticed this before, is “Bezo” the only multi-syllable word Dagre doesn’t break up into multiple words?
It’s the only word I’m a complete dumbass about and need to fix, more likely. Thank you for pointing that out! (Dagre’s speech pattern is a physical limitation, not an affectation)
Dagre calling him “bezo” is really disturbing/saddening because where I grew up “bezo” is a really affectionate thing to call someone. The kind of thing you would call your baby. I know this was probably not what you had in mind but I can’t help it.
I wonder, now, who is really in charge.
In my head I read all of Dagre’s lines with the G-man voice