2.11
November 3rd, 2009
Jazz hands! Just to clarify, in Pasori culture, toothy smiling does not connote good humor.
There is a new wallpaper contest this month! You can find the first clue and more info right here. Yes this is a not so clever way of making you vote.
This week’s pimp is a comic that is recognized as one of the finest webcomic ever, ever made. It is called Nedroid (starring Beartato and Reginald)! I had put off reading it until now, which was so stupid. Don’t make the same mistake as I did!
I’m, excited to see where this is going.
Yeah, I don’t think I’m the only one who saw his face toward the end there, and immediately thought of a predator about to strike. Like a man-shark of some kind. Maybe me about to demolish a triple cheeseburger or something.
I didn’t know that mansharks ate cheeseburgers! Learn something new every day.
Luca is so badass <3
(but we already knew that)
… I thought of the tatermitts…
I hope this leads to a “This is Sparta!” moment where he kicks them down a well.
…
*starts rapidly rewriting script*
No well in the immediate vicinity, but he does have a nice set of picture windows he could have them thrown out of if he felt so moved….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defenestrations_of_Prague
LOL – exactly my thoughts XD
Especially beautiful lighting going on here. I love that first panel profile shot of Lethy….the lines and the way her nose slopes is so nicely done.
Yeah, I was gonna say, Luca’s face pretty much scares me in that last panel. :O
Random question: Before, the ambassadors called her Queen Amakessar, now they’re calling her Queen Symon, and her dad Amakessar IV. Is Amakessar a Caris royal title?
….probably a very obvious yes
The family name is Amakessar
The current Queen is Queen Symon Amakessar, and her father was Furano Amakessar IV.
OH okay that makes sense….haha, shoulda figured that out before.
Thanks!
her father’s name sounds japanese-ish.
Ha ha! Oh God, I would be so afraid right now if I was her…
Luca reminds me of a crazy person with that face
He is a little crazy, haha…
No one who is sane could make the faces 2, 3, and 5. Very good job on the faces.
Luca looks insane. I love the lighting in this page.
I don’t normally, comment, but I just wanted to say that the look on Luca’s face virtually had me in tears. Awesome work!
Just to clarify, in Pasori culture, toothy smiling does not connote good humor.
{laugh} I don’t think that his toothy smiles connote good humor in any culture. Those are fantastic faces.
Any news on when we can buy you out of your extra print comics?
It’ll be up before next update for sure XD I’m waking up early tomorrow to start working on getting that set up.
Thanks! I was obsessively checking during the day of the last update and I figure that’s probably not a good thing to do…
Gotta support the artists and comickers you enjoy, I say!
That…is…just…so…SCARY! AAAAAAaaaiiiiii!!!! *runs for her life*
The other ambassador looks so unhappy
And Luca’s pupils get so large! It’s almost feral D:
YES WOLF GRINS
HE IS GOING TO BITE YOU
Those necklaces she’s wearing are going to be pulled like a train conductor’s whistle if this conversation continues like this…
You always amaze me with the brilliant coloring and expressions you do.
Great story and art Alex. I sort of thought, with the background you had provided, that Caris was the aggressor and a really bad, nasty, slaver type country. From the little I’ve been able to gleen, Caris under King Amakessar VII, expanded and accrued a great deal of wealth on the backs of the enslaved Pesori. That reparations be made, especially to the families who lost loved ones to a slaver/torturer/murderer nation is not at all unreasonable. While Queen Symon’s claims that she is not personally responsible for her father’s actions have merit, that little detail in no way mitigates the fact that she is now the head of state of a nation which committed those atrocities and that makes her de facto responsible. I like where you’re going with this. Lot of similarities to be drawn with our own worlds history.
On a different note, I had the impression, with the start of this latest story arc, that Luca was a real asshat. Now that we see a bit more character development I’m beginning to identify with him a bit. Given the grey in his hair and apparent age, I’m assuming that he was the leader responsible for bringing the depredations of Caris under King Amakessar VII, to a halt. If so, it’s not surprising that he takes the loss of his people very personally (millions!). Yah I totally understand the manner of his dealing with these ambassadors and his comments in the last panel. A king, no matter how powerful, does not rule alone.
I agree with most of what you said, though I had a different impression on a thing, that is, I don’t know if Caris was THAT bad. War involves dead people for both sides. Judgement, however, comes always from the winners. In WWI, the winners were also those who had enslaved their colonies for centuries. In WWII, Germans were asked for reparations because they were the losing ones – not because of morals (among the ones that won the war was Stalinist USSR)
Luca has probably seen much blood spilled in his country, and pain always calls for revenge. However, I doubt that he got to be called Emperor and Hand of the North without a reason. The further you go up the ladder, the least weight you are able to carry – the moral of a State and the morals of individuals cannot be the same. Anyway, what is obvious here is that Luca is a way better emperor and politician that Queen Amakessar, thus more responsible towards his nation, in kind of a Richelieu/Mazzarino/Olivares-que way.
Uh. Haha, its complicated. Yes, Caris under the king was the aggressor, but he wasn’t exactly in his right frame of mind. The Emperor wasn’t kidding when he said that they were all inbred, the Caris monarchy is basically made up of one large family. After the war Caris was basically broke, and Mesda (the old country) was so weak that it could no longer hold together. After the war the new states of the Territories were formed and Luca is the post-war leader of these. So this situation does have some parallels to our world’s history, but in this case the “victimized” group is now in a position to balance the score.
Luca is still an ass hat though.
Thank you there!
I will say I’m not one to read webcomics a lot but this has got me hooked. great job!
:O i think you’ve reached a record high with the art again…
right, got it. Toothy smile=CRAZY MAD. I wonder what happy looks like?
hehe, we’d first have to assume that Luca is *ever* happy.
Also, been reading from the beginning (of this version, not the DA stuff), first comment! This panel drug me out of lurk-mode! Keep it up!
He does have a happy face, I would say the second to last panel of the comic where he was saying goodbye to Phe, that was his happy face.
AAAAUAGAHGHha this comic is so good. I love the art, I love the coloring, and I love the story. Seriously, major kudos to you. Really great stuff. I remember when I first discovered this comic a month or two ago…waiting for the next pages is so agonizing!
I want to read moooooore…
Keep up the great work, you’re fantabulous!
Panel 3 is scary awesome. Panel 5 is a close second. How the hell does Luca control his pupils like that?
Through the power of love and magic.
HA! that reply made me snort coffee on my keyboard.
Do you read One Piece? ‘Cuz you just pulled an Oda-sensei moment.
“How does Zoro talk when he’s fighting with a sword in his teeth?”
“Ventriloquism and the power of his heart!”
D:
Luca looks positively mad here!
That last panel is amazng – even more so when contrasted with the beginning of the chapter (I forgot both ambassadors were female, and Lethy looks so much more obviously feminine here that I had to go back and look at the original dialog about them.)
You win at life, and get a cookie. I love this comic so hard!
Oh wow, I’m loving your style more and more.
And I really like the detail you put on Luca’s graying hair in the second panel.
Things are heating up! Can’t wait for the next page, as always.
Beautiful lighting, nice contrast for a conversation so serious.
He reminds me of an evil John Adams…..perfect!
You’re an absolute genius with coloring… That second panel is just stunning. o.o
I’m so confused! D: I could have swore that Leth was a guy and that it was just the other ambassador that was a woman, but everyone is calling Leth a she!
Anyways, great page. Definitely not what I was expecting, and totally cool to start seeing into the history of the situation.
And I’m kind of glad that this isn’t just Luca being a bitch. He actually does seem to care about his people and the damage done to them, rather than say a monetary loss or something, or pure “guys are better than girls.” It kind of makes him the good guy in my mind (even if he’s the insane egotistical good guy).
No, there are two women. Lethy is just sort of more masculine looking (it happens).
And Luca is caring for his people, to some degree, but he also has a personal vendetta which is a big part of the problem.
P.S: today’s vote incentive looks amazing, I wish we could see more of the comic without resizing!
He has a point you know. Sure Hitler ordered the majority of what happened on the side of the Germans during WWII, but the Nazis carried them out without much complaint.
It’s easy to push blame on a single, hated individual
Luca’s faces….LUCA’S FACES! I’m at a loss for words…seriously, I’m flored by how awesomely expressive and just plain batshit crazy they are!
Oooh Luca’s such a crazy adoreable dork!
In the last panel he looks like he’s on crack XD
The Shining comes to mind.
YES xD
“The guy who is responsible is dead!”
Man all of Luca’s panels are great. Expressions and dialogue alike. That close up of him has really nice hair detail.
Wow, his expression in the last panel is giving me chills! Ooooo, what will happen? Will Suda or Phe interfere and get told off by him later? Will Hyla suddenly float outside the huge window via a cute lil balloon? THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS
Luca’s way to think about the position of his territory and Caris shows the despot in him. It’s rather the desire for payback that he talks about than balance. (huuuuuh Angora has to restore balance to the world~ haha. Poor word choice there.)
I really liked the discussion comment above about historic/ real world references. I thought of the same reference before (splitting up Europe after WWII) but uh, WWII is something like a bandwagon at the moment so I didn’t want to mention it (But well, where’s the problem, I guess you got this idea way before so there). Nevertheless, I really expect you to surprise the readers… I guess this idea will be modified- the story so far has the potential for a totally unexpected development in the situations of these two great forces, Caris and the Territories, who stand against each other. Looking forward to that! :B
Page!
I love Lethy’s profile in the first panel, I love her nose =D
Luca is freaking me out though! Are his eyes a really dark green or a really dark brown?
Whatever they are, they are very flexible.
Yes you heard me, he has flexible eyes.
Great art as always, especially showing the increase of tensions and Luca’s anger. The politics are convincingly messy, with parallels quite nearby in our own world…
Luca’s grinning makes me think of the Maoris sticking out their tongues and making faces to intimidate their enemies…nice cultural reference!
Also I am reminded of a certain…shadow with those eyes and that grin. burrr. so scary. so badass BD
although we all know the original version had Luca with teef :B don’t even try to deny it
Man, everything had teef in the original version :B Even the horses, if I recall correctly XD
hahaha for reference…Pasori progression of rage
B{ = Peevish
BD = Pissed
B3 = Super pissed
8B = DEATH IS IMMINENT
His face on second panel.
It hurts. It’s all like “So you want to play ? Okay, i’ll play this little game of yours. And you’ll suffer all the way to the sad end..”
LOL, Jazz hands.
Interesting how earlier I rather liked Luca, but now I think he’s an idiot.
A driven powerful idiot. His mien is just begging for escalation. If he had just thought to say, he doesn’t hold the QUEEN responsible, he holds her COUNTRY responsible, then things, meh, would no doubt end up no differently…
I wonder how the ambassadors will deal with this doubly dangerous lunatic?
lol probably run screaming
Well he’s err…not really likable and probably not MEANT to be likable at all but I don’t see him as a idiot. I think he’s a lot smarter than that and I also think he’s in a position of advantage and is the sort of person who enjoys the feeling of having his enemies come begging to him but first they will pay and pay dearly. I get the idea that Luca’s culture is very clan-minded in the sense that if one person does something EVERYONE is responsible so there’s some of that to consider as well. As Alexds explained up further in the comments, Caris was the original aggressor so I think in this sense Luca feels justified in demanding recompense of some sort when they have the audacity to come begging for land to the people who they had victimized (at least in Luca’s way of looking at things) That’s the way the mean nasty world of politics works. Somebody’s gotta pay.
I don’t think anyone could describe that look as good humor 0.0. The psyco eyes kinda’ ruin the image of “good humor”.
Looks more like the baring of teeth.
Why do I get the feeling that Luca’s going to be yelling in your next update…?
PS: I am bedazled by those jazz hands. I feel the sudden need to emulate them…
If by all this is Luca’s move
Luca use ’scary face’ attack
Ambassador is intimidated.
I love how the colour pallet has kind of gradually brightened as the chapter went on. Somewhat gradual anyways… ha ha. it is so bright!
Also I’m glad you’re reading Nedroid now! It is a greatness. But there were a bunch of great things in his archive a year or so ago that are gone now ‘A’
Also also: Luca is such a professional.
I-I think that is the scariest face I have ever seen Luca make.This is getting even more interesting than it already was!
So, crazy Luca’s face is deliciously crazy. I might even venture to say I am hungry for more Crazy Luca face. Especially so well-lit as this. And kudos to that ambassador for speaking up. I don’t think I’d be able to handle the big L face to face.
What an amazing page – Congratulations. Luca’s expressions truly draw in the reader.
Luca’s faces remind me of the movie The Shining
“Here’s Johnny!”
hmm
I just realized the grey-haired character is a lady ;]
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:B
His face in the last panel creeps me out. I`m not understanding the story up to this page… could someone clarify
It’s not so much the toothy grin that worries me as it is the… the…
Yeah, he’s got dem crazy eyes.