Enter the Warlock

While he’ll refer to himself as a sorcerer, and some may call him a wizard, Ali Kazaam is, of course, a warlock. His power is tied to his bloodline, which draws it’s power from a blood pact. In this case a powerful ancestor, the progenitor of the Chesterfield line who also provides Morgan with her extradimensional space.

Ali, you might notice, tends to speak aloud when casting, as many tend to do. In this case we’re seeing one of his standards- his Teleport spell. Which involves him invoking “Now you see me, now…” he snaps his fingers and appears saying “…you don’t!” Which is somehow always perfectly fitted into the conversation, as seen here. Readers who have seen the end of this story will watch him try this trick again in a hundred and some-odd pages.

I wanted to insure that Ali and his mother’s relationship seemed just a touch unhealthy- nothing to make you wince, just enough to feel a bit uncomfortable about it. Which I feel we’ve managed here. At the same time, I wanted to lay the groundwork for the easy intimacy he has with Ronni, and her feelings about him, on his introduction page.

Morgan punching the relatives button to continue winding Ronni up is a simple comment, but one that echoes even further down the line, when Giant Girl meets one of her ancestors who makes her seem overcautious by comparison. But that moment’s a ways off just yet.

Last but not least, the firelight reflected in the witch’s glasses, her heavy shadowing and steepled fingers all play very solidly into that little speech Morgan’s giving in that last panel. Which we’ll hear again in the future, adjusted for the subject. Clearly this scornful little diatribe was very carefully chosen for effect- kind of the wind-up for the pitch.

DEE’S NOTES

This was a fun page to work on, as a LOT was added from the script stage as we developed it. The “POOF” panel added a bit of comedy to the moment of Ali appearing that was fun, and Stanley and Ronni’s snippy exchange in panel 5 developed in the lettering stage as the expressions I gave them inspired Sabrina to add some fun banter.

That sort of back and forth is part of the creative fun in this comic.

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