Contract fulfilled

The Witch explained how all of this worked at the beginning of the quest, and that’s exactly how it has played out. Even down to that uncouth crack she made, which Ali parrotted when he introduced Kane the Uncouth to the Scotts. Which makes you wonder, did she know that Ali would say that, or did she plant the idea?

She’s a clever witch.

‘Amply  compensated’ is a quote from the beginning of the story, and you are going to see a lot of parallels to the beginning here at the return to Witching Hill.

I love Ronni’s restrained rage, and her inadvertently growing as her ire grows over the situation. It’s pretty clear that through his actions on the adventure, any sway Ali used to have over Ronni is gone. You can see in panel 4 how she realizes she used to take comfort from his touch, and that’s now gone. Instead he’s just pawing her and she’s having noise of it.

That last panel, though, is pure genius, and it plays exactly the way I envisioned it, brought to life through Dee’s brilliance. You might have missed it, but in more than one case now, Dee has mirrored the Witch’s eyes, so that they look... off. No one has a completely symmetrical face, so mirroring will be technically correct but just look... off. Which was precisely what we were aiming for here.

DEE’S NOTES

As Sabrina pointed out, Ronni’s expression when she looks at Ali’s hand has a lot going on. When we’re developing these pages, there is often a LOT of back and forth between us on the phone and screen-sharing on DISCORD. We tweak, edit and adjust every eyebrow and expression and spend a lot of time talking about what the characters are thinking and feeling.

There’s little I enjoy drawing more than scenes like this that are all about the character “acting” and complex emotions. Ronni always has a lot going on under the surface, and I adore exploring that on her face.

And the Witch and her cat are just a hoot to draw.

COMMENTS

...and back again

While I asked for an individual take on the design, this otherworldly parlour was all from Koen’s fertile imagination, and it’s still perfect. I love Dee’s art, but Koen will always get production design credit for this issue. Because it was distinctive and brilliant, and it informs everything we do.

Now, honestly, this is just plain mean on the part of the Witch. If we assume the know-it-all diviner witch (of a coven unknown to Dirk Swann, as he reported to the Overlord) has been watching, she knows this was Ronni really committing. Dedicating herself to something, to someone other than herself. It’s not the entire hero’s journey, but it’s a step.

Which is precisely the moment the Witch pulls her home, forcing Ronni to abandon the friends to whom she just committed herself.

To be fair, she explains precisely why she pulled Ronni out. Succinctly.

That look sells that plead in panel 5. Ronni’s not too proud to beg, and she pleads with the witch to send her back. That’s what matters to her- not being free of doing the witch’s bidding, not the literal treasures at her feet. Her friends, who have faced life and death together.

Lexii.

The gauntlets of power are swell as the big hands gloves, and I have loved their stint as part of the costume. That’s another thing Koen always tried to sell me on- that her costume should be more fluid. We’re going to adopt that as well, because it’s pretty easy to tell who she is- there’s always that red to look for, after all.

Everybody see the reflections in the witch’s glasses? We’ll post a close up in the comments..

DEE’S NOTES

Ronni with the superhero landing for the win! This page was a LOT of work in adapting what Koen had originally designed for both Ali’s mom, Morgan, AND the parlor of Witching Hill. The design was all great, but I needed to figure out how I would interpret it to fit with my own style.

Plus, I did NOT choose easy camera angles, to be sure. It was also fun to FINALLY start drawing Stanley. Ronni has a lot of emotions on her face here and I love exploring her evolving emotional awareness in this arc. She has really matured in a lot of ways, and it was important to emphasis, above all else, that she DID commit to the quest BECAUSE she has grown to care about the others.

Note she has all the riches she’s been collecting all adventure at her feet, and hasn’t looked down at it once. She is FAR more worried about her friends, and I wanted to emphasize that.

COMMENTS

PAGE 108

Something to believe in

Somewhere out there I owe Bon Jovi royalties now. Remember back on page 24 when Britomart chided Ronni that she should consider believing in something? Here's your callback. To me it shows how far Ronni has come through the course of this adventure.

Nice simple page- everybody committing, explaining their motivation for doing so. I’ll let Dee do the talking for this one. Although I will add that Ronni’s leap there is definitely going to result in a hard on the knees Superhero landing on the other side.

Also, everyone’s hand in gives you some cue as to their motivation or personality. I think it’s telling that Ali just echoes Lexii’s statement. The cliffhanger I'm just not going to address... after all that's why it's a cliffhanger

DEE’S NOTES

Again, I position Ronni so that the arm with the red bracer is mostly away from the camera, specifically for the big moment where she puts her hand in. This is the payoff for why her outfit has shown less and less of her signature color since she told her story to Lexii: She is choosing to be a part of the group for real and has been doing so more and more.

This was a big moment to play right and getting the acting on her face and posture was really important to me. To me, the expression she has in panel 7 is less about hesitation and more about her almost being surprised that she’s really not hesitant. At least, that’s how I saw it in my head as I drew her.

This being a double sized page is very much my fault. I pushed for the additions after having the idea that we needed to stretch this moment out where Ronni takes the leap. Plus, what is happening in those last two panels as a cliffhanger, I thought, had a lot of emotional weight to lead to what’s coming in the next page.

In PRINT, this will be two pages, but Sabrina and I decided to make this one, long page so as to not take an entire week on a page where a lot really doesn’t happen, plot wise. Hope you dig. :)

COMMENTS

Swirly portal of DOOOOOM!

Heroic speeches are the bread and butter of paladins. It’s why they need that high charisma- so they can inspire those around them. In this sequence, we see Britomart lay out the situation, call for action, guilt them about the quest a teensy bit, then asks- nay, invites the party to accompany her. We take the pan of everyone’s jaw setting as the speech has the desired effect, and really, it all comes together so well.

I’ve given Britomart a few pages to shine through this story, but this one is a big moment. Because through it all, she’s learned not to be unyielding and demanding, but to work with others. Which is why her call to arms here is a question and not an order.

When one cannot rein in chaos, one must adapt. Book of Char-jha, 12:8

I’m pleased with the progress she’s made as a character through this story. And I am damned fortunate that Dee enjoys drawing her design.

To her credit, that premonition Britomart had back on page 53? Spot on. Bringing the mounts would only have gotten them all killed, and they are definitely not passing that way again. I mean, plot, but still. You wouldn’t have wanted to see them falling in the ice cave trap, or in the battle, or the attendant explosion. Vanu is merciful, after all, and gave her a little tip-off.

We’ve debated the one-page story of Buttercup’s heroic mission to get the other two horses to safety after somebody threw a giant snowball full of trolls and wendigoes and ice apes and who knows what down the mountain in their direction. It probably won’t happen, but it is a funny idea.

DEE’S NOTES

This page was an interesting compositional challenge. Not only does it had two main shots where everyone is shown, but in the script, the way we show them all was not specified. Originally, there was no indication of what we see in panel 3, as the script centered on just Britomart making her speech.

Talking it over, we discussed making a series of shots showing each of our heroes reacting to the call to action, and as I began laying it out, it ended up working far better as one, long panel across the scene. This is frequently how things evolve in the process and we often end up with a stronger dynamic for it.

Also, Ronni is positioned her very specifically to show as little of her red as is possible and that is on purpose.

COMMENTS

RUMPLE MINTZ, HOOOOO!

We always had plans for Cuddles, and eventually he got worked in here. I literally asked Dee for an homage to the old Rumple Mintz ad, and I got what I was after. Cuddles gets 3 distinctive acting jobs on this page, thus illustrating that even our walk-on characters get some character bred into them.

This page was a masterwork of acting, so I’m going to let Dee handle the lion’s share of the commentary here.

DEE’S NOTES

Ronni’s re-emergence from having shrunk them down small enough to avoid the blast was inspired by the linked piece of Frank Frazetta artwork, though admittedly it was subconscious. It was in my head, down to Ronni’s stiff-armed hold, but I didn’t reference it directly. Realizing it, however, I will fully admit my inspiration. :)

(Link: http://frankfrazetta.org/viewimage.php?loc=frank_frazetta_thesilverwarrior.jpg)

As usual, Ali gets knocked around a little. It’s on this page that I realized I personally don’t like the guy, as him getting knocked around the last couple of times was NOT in the script. Lol. I just like abusing the guy. That’s what he gets for being a jerk.

The rest of this page is, for the most part, pure “acting” moments that I loved digging into artistically. There are a LOT of conflicting emotions at play here with our heroes, who are processing loss and the fact that they all do care about each other at this point, on a deeper level.

Ronni’s red is more pronounced in panel one, as I made sure to showcase the elements of her outfit that still have her signature color, as that is a very super-heroic moment for her. However, as the story has gone on, she had taken more pieces of clothing and armor she’s found along the way and, as such, lost a LOT of the color that usually makes her stand out. This is a very intentional bit of visual metaphor we have enjoyed peppering in, as she has become much more a part of the group over time.

Flynna had to express a LOT in this sequence, from massive grief and pain, to an attempt at blowing it off, and eventually accepting some of her sorrow and expressing it in a way that challenges her usual facade.

I really wanted to show Ronni processing emotions she is NOT used to seeing, especially directed at her: gratitude. As many of you pointed out, reality isn’t her enemy in this strange place, so Flynna’s reaction here is strange to her. Back home, this would have created a new villain for her, and she takes a second to actually realize she is being thanked for what she did.

For Britomart, she is seeing both Ronni’s emotional growth emerge, which gives her some measure of pride, while also just being happy to see life being preserved amongst the group. Her emotions are more straightforward, but also fun to express.

And then there’s Lexii the Pixie. I adore this character and love drawing her. She got to have her moment of comfort with Flynna for sure, but her placement in the last three panels was, like Ali getting knocked on his ass in panel one, not in the script. But she’s fallen HARD for our heroine, and I really wanted to show her happiness at Ronni being okay. You have to zoom in to SEE it, but she is in there. :)

COMMENTS

Break The Silence

It is a mark of the artist that you should be able to put the page out with no words, no narration, and it still tells the story. As you will see in the comments below, this page meets and exceeds that metric. Dee brought it home after the catastrophic devastation of the previous page, to put more personal a cost on the faces of the survivors. Meanwhile I really wanted Swann’s narration, so I kept it. After all, his recollections of this even are the only eyewitness accounts that will survive for the generations to come to learn the tale, as it becomes legend.

For true immortality, bring a bard on the quest.

I know, cliffhanger. That look on Lexii's face in that last panel is heartbreaking, ennit? Are they dead? All in due time...

DEE’S NOTES

When drawing the aftermath within the crater itself, I was inspired by an image I had once seen of the glass created after multiple lightning strikes on sand, combined with images of melted rock in the aftermath of Chernobyl. I wanted to really showcase just how powerful that blast was, by essentially melting the stone of the floor.

While Karloff and Britomart’s efforts were enough to protect the others, those involved are just now beginning to realize who all is missing from their numbers. I LOVE drawing Lexii, so I put a lot into the horror of her realization in that last panel. With Ali, I wanted his expression to read with a mix of conflicting emotions, ranging from shock to disbelief and even a little fear.

COMMENTS

MICHAEL BAY-SPLOSION!!!

COMMENTS

Deeds Not Words

COMMENTS

Down amongst the dead

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TakingYouWithMe

Our resident devil-may-care swashbuckler got an offer she couldn’t refuse, and with a stolen staff- a thief to the last- Flynna enacts one of those often talked about and seldom seen breaking of staves, particularly those of power.

I love that, once again, Ali is off to one side muttering something about himself as a women carries his weight.

Anyone who has played a fantasy RPG has certainly encountered the trope. And it tends to be more disappointing than badass, honestly. Few can claim to have survived it, but mostly because few (other than particularly angry or vengeful NPCs) ever try it, because of the risk/reward ratio.

Flynna don’t care. She’s very, very angry and very, very sad, and she’s going to do something very extreme. Because that’s Flynna. That grin is still there, but the eyes are dead and hollow.

As Karloff indicated with his big angel of death last page, he’s gonna make this some serious explosion, as she’s choosing her moment. But some of you still might have a question. If you watch on page 101, Ali lost his staff when a giant punched him out of the air. You can even see the maker’s mark, the rune of Archangelos, which Swann mentioned back in his report to the Overlord  way back on page 48.

The Duke Serendon Archangelos, Lord of the Living Flame. A clever and inventive archmage, who had a long and storied career crafting and enchanting artifacts of power. One of the great archmages of the Urth, a little known fact is that he is, paradoxically, also it’s greatest villain in the bleeding skeletal form of the Heart of Blood, the name he chose when he embraced undeath. After which he was cast back in time to shape the heroes of the age of man, and bring about the age of chaos, then cold undeath to all the Urth. As Britomart mentioned is writ in the Book of Vanu, back on page 23.

I’m bringing together threads here, so I figure many as well spell it all out, right?

The breaking of the stone floor and the sigils representing powers of the staff were all Dee, and I asked for Akira radiation and some antigravity stones, and she gave me all this. It was work to get Karloff worked into the shots- in panel 4, he is literally the camera POV- but I absolutely adore his inky shadow presence as Flynna breaks the staff. Calling out the name of the creator as she does so, which happens to be the name of the artifact, which you need to know to access such a power.

As mentioned, the Duke Archangelos was quite the crafter, and something of an egotist. The easiest way to insure he could always use his own items was a simple universal password, as it were. Being from the Wizard’s Isle, Flynna is an accomplished scholar, is familiar with the lore of the man himself, and is familiar enough with the artifact by legend to work out it’s operation. Just in case anyone was going to ask. Because I know some of you pay attention to such things.

There have been quite a few benchmark moments throughout this process for me. This sequence is certainly one I’ve waited a long time to see- heck, I wrote the script back in 2014? Through really amazing teamwork, Dee and I have brought the story this far, and this is a moment I have been dying to share with you as a creator. So thanks for this one, Dee. Here’s to a great artistic partner, and to making splosions together.

DEE’S NOTES

As an artist, I have been dying to get to this sequence and this PAGE in specific. I’ve had the image of Flynna smashing the staff in my head for MONTHS and this is fairly close to how I pictured it. Or, at least as close as ANY of my art gets to what I’m seeing in my head.

For me, this page is all about the expressions and that was a huge part of my focus here. Like Sabrina mentioned, the combo of the devil-may-care smirk with the lifeless eyes was as difficult to draw as it was legitimately heartbreaking from a creative standpoint.

Ali’s self-centered surprise and Britomart’s look of pure empathy were things I needed to discover in the art process, but were really important to get right as well. The way I saw it, Brit’s an avatar of light and life, and what she’s seeing about to happen is an emotional hit for her on some level.

When you evoke legit emotions in the creative process, that’s generally a cue that something’s going right, so hopefully you will all agree.

COMMENTS

Angel of Death Rising

I don’t know if it is irony or poetic that Brunhilde’s ice spikes impaled our resident assassin, exactly as he himself murdered her husband mere moments ago.

One might say that she has achieved a measure of revenge for him, in this moment.

Not that Flynna would be inclined to agree.

This scene was long planned, as is the sequence that will follow, and I have to admit, I have been waiting for it for a VERY long time. This is a scene with (I hope) a lot of emotional weight to it. We played up their romance, pairing them off, even letting them bicker about about love and the nature of relationships. Because in the battle of the frost giant’s citadel, Halder was always destined to die.

Knowing that, Dee took every opportunity to keep them interacting, so that we weren’t just relying on their introduction to indicate their relationship was ongoing, we illustrated it. So that when you see Flynna’s heartbreak here, you believe it. She’s carrying his unborn child, as we are all keenly aware in this moment. But her heart is broken, and she plans to cure that in the manner of her sort of people- with revenge.

Karloff is using his priest special ability to ‘Snip The Thread’, wherein if you choose your moment, he can magnify the attacks you put forth. Which, as fate would have it, Ali Kazaam’s staff, the artifact of power, dropped practically in her hands.

Fate can be fickle or funny, depending on her whim.

Beyond all of that, I hope this is as dramatic and moving for you, the readers, as it was for us, the authors. The battle rages on, but the soundtrack sure is getting dramatic and loud...

DEE’S NOTES

Controlled chaos has very much been the name of the game artistically with this scene. With each main battle getting a little more serious each time, this is a sequence I have been DYING to get to. (See what I did there.)

It’s been a massive challenge to not only show the powerful emotions with poor Flynna here, but also to show that there’s a whirlwind of intense action still happening all around her. Selective blurring, working at the composition and the toning helps keep the attention focused while also letting everyone else have their moments. The work is intense, but I hope that it pays off for a truly epic scene.

COMMENTS