Men call him...

On the laundry list of characters we’ve introduced for the quest, our boy Dirk needed an introduction. Who and what he is will be detailed a bit later in the story, but for the here and now, this scene shows us he’s got a bit of empathy and common sense, as he befriends the friendless Harald. Who is basically the weird guy who nobody particularly wants to approach. We’ve all known a Harald, I think.

I love how Dee transitions the scene from the main campfire and the four characters there, to up on the hill where Dirk and Harald are having a little bonding time, and we end with the elves in the background, indicating where the camera will move next.

DEE’S NOTES

Transitions are narratively important to me, to make sure pages like this never feel disconnected. I am always thinking of things in regards to the overall book and how pages will flow.

This page was a lot of fun, and it’s something I didn’t think either Sabrina or I expected. It’s just a bit of character building, but poor Harald is SO expressively cartoony and depressed that it made this a joy to draw.

COMMENTS

Something To Believe In

This page gives us a different side of Britomart. She knows now she can’t command Kane, but she still used the Voice of Command on her, making her wish known. As Ronni didn’t plan on abusing Leonitas any further, she complies, then watches as the faith healer does her work. Which, to a gal who doesn’t see that sort of thing everyday, is kind of amazing.

Mind you, Britomart’smoment of humility, deferring thanks to her god instead of accepting them herself, is undercut by her being snarky to Kane immediately afterward. But she raises a point, and one that will come back at the end of the adventure when Kane does commit and have faith in something.

They don’t become friends through the course of this narrative, but Britomart and Kane both influence one another, and create some change for good in the other. I like that element.

DEE’S NOTES

We don’t do many spot colors for anything BUT Ronni, but Britomart’s holy glowing is certainly one we have fun with when it shows up.

There is a lot happening in this page, but thematically, it is a closed scene unto itself, which is satisfying to read, for sure. There’s a lot of fun acting I got to play with, and the silent acknowledgment of Lexii taking up the position on Ronni’s shoulder she would maintain throughout the adventure.

COMMENTS

Test your might- fight!

I always seem to be learning lessons doing this series, and this page was no exception. I had revised the script quite a while ago to not break up this sequence, and make it a little less assaultive, a bit more ‘barbarian mating ritual’. And when Dee laid out this page and the next, I realized my pacing sucked. Too much on this page, not enough on the other.

Which I didn’t realize until I saw it all laid out on the pages.

Someday, assuming I get a chance to work with other creators and write scripts that I won’t be so closely involved with, I won’t be able to see and recognize these issues, so hopefully I will have learned how to work with the ‘real estate of the page’, as the old man put it.

Meanwhile, enjoy our boy Leonitas trying out his best barbarian come-on, and discovering that the lady titan doesn’t have to get the size of a mountain to kick his ass.

Side note? The sound effect in panel 3 came from one of my frequent typos, as I was trying to write ‘shading’. I commented that it looked like a sound effect, Dee jumped on it and now it’s canon.

DEE’S NOTES

COMMENTS

Camp, first watch

We seldom do a splash page, but a big inclusive establishing shot to lay out some of the ruins and the landscape, with the character scattered across it. This gives us a lot of visual cues for points of interest, as Dee will move the camera around, and having established where is what really comes into play for the next few scenes.

I mean, we’ll be doing a musical number on this set.

The tents, the choices, positions to the fire, all very deliberate.

DEE’S NOTES

This began very specifically with what Koen had drawn as a basis that I build over. (If it ain’t broke…) The lighting was really important, and honestly, rendering out trees is VERY much a zen, meditative thing for me.

The storytelling with our elves here was, probably, my favorite part to work on. They have always been fun to draw.

COMMENTS

Titan of legend

This is the first time Kane is referred to as a titan in this story, and to my mind, it’s quite fitting. Titans broke the rules of reality, and were greater forces striding the world- huge, primitive, and hard-to-control forces. Immune to most of the magics and forces available, they were those who begat the gods themselves.

And, of course, they were giant of the Urth. Thus leading us to the title of this particular epic.

While Veronica Kane is a superhero from another dimension, seeing her as a titan allows Britomart to frame her in such a way that the paladin understands, and gives context.

I love how, having been so thoroughly humbled by what she thought was going to be an easy challenge, Britomart shows she hasn’t learned that much by immediately turning to strongarm Ali Kazaam. She knows she can’t lean on Kane, but Ali is another matter entirely.

Of course, she does have a bit of a point. Ali knew what Kane was capable of and didn’t tell anyone else- in fact, he’s been spending all day trying to get her to NOT do something like so it wouldn’t freak people out. But now, far from Scott Castle and civilization, the big girl’s not going to be pushed around anymore.

DEE’S NOTES

Artistically, I kept a lot of Koen’s structure and basic layout for this page, though we have more panels to flesh out the character interactions. My thinking in all things is, if something isn’t broken, don’t muck with it. My main goals here was in taking what DID work, and grounding the scene more and giving greater visual backing for Ronni’s MASSIVE size here. Hopefully, it plays as it’s always a challenge to pull off.

COMMENTS

Have At Thee!

Britomart really has no clue what she’s in for, but here’s where she finds out to whom she’s been talking smack. Turns out there’s a reason Kane challenged her formally, and there’s a reason she’s so casual about it.

Sure, WE knew, but SHE sure didn’t...

DEE’S NOTES

I have been excited to get to this page for a while. It’s one where I felt the weight of what has come before well, as I think the original page did a great job here. As such, it was a challenge to find my own way into the sequence, and as usual, that was through performance and expressions.

There is a LOT going on with the characters here and I loved exploring it all.

COMMENTS

Showdown

Okay, to be fair, Britomart is pretty cold in her assessment of Kane. But that's not an unfair summation of the situation as she perceives it. Ali hears that 'realllly' and knows what's up, and it is pretty clear that he is moving not out of concern for Ronni, but for the golden girl paladin.

After all, he knows what Ronni is capable of should she decide to use her powers. So once again he moves to shut Ronni down and get her to diminish herself, but she's had a very, VERY long day, and with that one sentence and a brushing aside of the hand, Ali knows he's not going to stop her this time.

Karloff the Doomguide- the grim reaper there- knows it and calls it with one word when he sees it. He knows danger is imminent and he is calling the party's attention to it.

A duel. A matter of honor settled through contest of arms. Ronni may not know what's going on around here, and she may not have a grasp of the local physics, but she understands the holy warrior won't pass up the chance to kick the 'normal' gal's ass if she challenges her. It's a pretty linear line of logic for Ronni that cuts to the heart of the brewing conflict between her and Britomart, and she decides to settle it all in one challenge.

One that will establish just who is who, and who is not planning to get pushed around anymore...

TRAVEL MONTAGE!

Pull back for the epic overland trek shots and cue up the orchestral soundtrack for this time-honored tradition. In this case, we went with much of the original artist and production designer’s interpretation.

Which it’s clear to me now, with the benefit of hindsight, back then these 3 panels should have had their own page. As the proportion of the art would have either been ‘Cinemascope squished’ or we added the panel at the bottom to transition back to our ‘traditional’ art style.

DEE’S NOTES

Artistically, I wanted the transition panel for an additional reason as well. As an artist, I am all about making sure the emotional journey is being fully conveyed and I liked this insertion to add a point of focus on Ronni's emotions and frustration.

It's all about the performance.

COMMENTS

Loverboy

While Lexii offers some native advice that turns out to be totally on the money, Ronni is busy lamenting that she’s going to have to wipe her ass with leaves, which says a lot about her comfort level, I think. Also a lot of ‘I get’ in her statements, which indicates about whom she is concerned.

When Ali turns up to turn on the charm, all Lexii sees is a rival, from the moment they meet. And once again, she ain’t wrong. That casual little stab while the rest of her body language is cheerful was delightful to me.

As for the big squishy boob hug, it pushes boundaries- Lexii immediately invades Kane’s space, and assaults her. But Ronni finds it charming enough from the six-inch tall pixie, so she lets it slide. Inappropriate as hell, but she’s a pixie, and it’s not like the very powerful being plucked her off or struck her down, either.

And it just looked so cute, I had to. I think you’ll agree.

Side note, in panel 1, that's Britomart's father Warrick the Cleric, who's just popping into this moment in time to see the titan casually strolling the halls of Scott Castle, as he's from the future, and knows things.

The maiden and matron coming in through the big doorway is Juanita Hastings, a southern cousin of the Scotts. When she can escape her governess Mathilda, the young noble lady dons a specialized suit of armor and full-face helm to adventure as the knight of mystery men call the Iron Tarnsman.

I know. It's background details that mean something only to me, but it's all part of the tapestry, right?

DEE’S NOTES

The big, squishy boob hug is something that was a part of the original art, and it was something I had been dying to take on for myself. I had a blast drawing this page, as Lexii really is a wonderful delight to draw.

Unlike most figures in any given frame, her entire body is usually in the shot and since she hovers a lot, that means all of her limbs… wings included… get to play a part in conveying her emotions.

COMMENTS

Not imaginary, invisible!

Enter Lexii the Pixie, who will go on to be quite important in Ronni Kane’s life.

You can tell Dee loves drawing the pixie, because it shines through in every panel.

Is Giant Girl fighting giants irony or tragedy? I honestly don’t know.

DEE’S NOTES

YES, I could not WAIT for Lexii’s return as, Sabrina is correct- I ADORE drawing the wee one. She is a manic whirlwind of energy on the page that lets me go nuts and bring a lot of cartoony energy and dynamic posing.

As a wonderful reverse of it, Ronni is largely deadpan for a lot of their interaction here, which makes for a great juxtaposition. And yes, eagle-eyed readers will realize that we creatively LOVE to “rhyme” with certain panels.

COMMENTS