2.04

Wow, on time update?? How mysterious. Short Emperor is short.

And he doesn’t exactly have a wide range of expressions >:

Hum, I should probably plug something… it’s becoming hard to think of things, since I am off the internet so much nowadays ;_; Under normal circumstances I breathe and eat internet but nowadays I have to budget my time and hands. But hey, I just thought of a good one… This week’s plug shall be to Flaky Pastry! which features a variety of cute girls getting up no good. In addition to the creator being a nice guy (rare), the comic is actually pretty funny (super rare) and is very very well drawn to boot (ultra rare!!!). So kudos to Felix! Go take a look if you haven’t already (FP is often linked in the ads up there so you might have seen it previously).

To other webcomic folks, I want to reiterate something that I read somewhere and will not cite because I forgot who said it (whoops)… since we have readers and people might actually care about our opinions, please take the time to plug other comics and artists whose work you really enjoy (if you don’t already)! It creates a great community feeling and won’t take away from your traffic ;) At some point we’ll all just glom together into a multicellular organism of love (and then form a stalk and release spores so that the cycle may begin anew).

90 Comments

  • DAW everytime I see Phe’s height in comparison to Luca’s, I start fangirling.

    All the little nuances in their conversation, they really make it a genuine relationship. ……also I love Phe’s outfit. :D

    I’m not an artist with my own webcomic (YET) but I’m gonna be obnoxious here and link to a webcomic by a good friend of mine – Kastle Comics. http://kastlecomics.comicgenesis.com/

    Just cause! Hope that doesn’t count as spam… :O

  • Carolyn

    Love this page!!! Lol he’s not short… just bite sized!

  • Bea

    Hahaha, I love it when guys do that. Even I know how to tie a tie XD.

    • brushmen

      By the way, I don’t think it’s because he doesn’t know how. Keep reading to find out why. ;)

  • Bea

    I didn’t know he had such a tall wife. Eiither that he’s really short XD.

  • valky

    So frickin’ cute. Flustered shorty emperor… d’aww!! :)

  • Nosferatu

    I have this whole new bout of love for Luca cuz hes short, I love short people. I know its shallow but..I DONT CARE

  • Jesse~

    Awesome stuff once again! Love this comic. Really shows how much help Luca really needs. Good stuff. :D

    Jesse~

  • julitka

    omg Luca, I love you :D

  • Tiuni

    “Behind every great man, there is a woman shaking her head.”

    Something like that. I think it defines their relationship quite well. :’D

    And I’ll also add to the fangirling about the height differences awwww

  • Emperial

    You know, I just had to go back and re-read this whole dialogue from the start of the chapter because it’s so brilliantly paced. That’s something so very many webcomics don’t do well, and when you read this, you hear the characters and the timing in your head so clearly, it’s such great storytelling! Plus, things get revealed about the characters in so many ways. The words, the expressions, the actions, even the way the conversation is staged and the characters move about the scene. (The fact we can tell how the characters are moving about is impressive, too!) It’s not just two people talking with dialogue boxes. It’s a living, breathing scene.

    You know I love what you do to pieces anyway, but hey! There you go! Some articulate reasons why!

    • Emjee

      That is one of many many reasons why I adore this comic. It is a big inspiration to me too. I also can imagine their voices, and their tones, and everything, and it is a little difficult to do that with most other comics, books too.

    • Actually the pacing is pretty terrible with these 1/week pages XD I write the chunks of script in one sitting though, so there shouldn’t technically be any pacing problems there (other than the ones caused by me failing). And thanks :) I can’t stand talking head comics, even when I’m not doing anything I tend to be doing something…

  • Wood

    I like that you introduce an emperor in the story by showing him putting his clothes on, just like any normal person.

  • A.L.

    Wow I didn’t know Emperor Pilaf was making an appearance in your comic…oh wait it’s just some short guy with Napoleon Complex.And since we’re on the subject on giving other artists support,I’d like to take time out to plug this guy (and please don’t kill me for doing this if it’s not ok);
    http://tomcatltd.com/wordpress/

    If anyone remembers that strip from last year that Scott from VG Cats had up on his site,this is the person behind it.It’s a pretty fun read even though the pacing is abit conversed at times,but the artwork is top notch and has plenty of visual gags and references.I suggest give it a go.

    • That Dragonball reference made my day! I have a feeling Luca would step on Pilaf and squish him if they ever met :)

  • Cheri

    You’re asking us to plug?

    I’m not artisically inclined, but Ursula Vernon is! (duh)

    She has quite a wonderful comic by the name of “Digger.” that has won and been nominated for several awards. ( http://www.diggercomic.com ) and is described as “visually powerful” by the NY Times.

    Beyond that she is an amazingly witty person, with a wide range of artistic abilities, and has several published works as well. =]

    Her official website is http://www.redwombatstudio.com(Some stuff NSFW) and he Livejournal is ursulav.livejournal.com

    I’ve been closely following her work for at least a good 7 years, if that says anything!

  • Emjee

    Everytime I see any of thewse pages, I am not reading it. I am watching it. It is like a movie

  • *agrees with Emperial* Brilliant dialogue! Super timing!

    I love how you draw Phe’s nose. It’s really unique!
    Even if Luca has “similar” expressions in these panels, I think you manage to vary them really well, even if there are only tiny changes. Gives him lots of character! You’ve got to have true skeellz since you can draw a similar expression in different, reliable, ways!

    Yay for short Emperor! <3
    keep up the awesome work!

    I gotta start plugging comics too. :) Gives me a good reason to search for more inspirational comics!

    • Thank you ;3; I tend to draw his expressions okay since I draw him so often. I have no excuse!

      Plugging comics is the gift that keeps on giving :)

  • You gotta love him at that last panel. I bet Phe’s a really badass lady x)
    And that comic you plugged actually made lol! :’D

  • heyyoitsmj

    I love love love the lighting and the color palette of this chapter. A great contrast from the first and fantastically professional!

  • marinated-fish

    Oh, I recognise that you picked up your “inspirational piece” there!
    and the incentive today (wed) is really, really nice.
    I love Phe and Luca… (Sorry that I don’t ship Der-Shing/Luca as much ;P )

    Somehow the room looks a bit empty to me. Usually I don’t enjoy high ceilings and large rooms as a personal living space. They have this cold and rather monumental atmosphere. Maybe this is what you wanted to achieve?
    I guess either that Luca wants this or that he doesn’t care about or doesn’t need cosiness or decoration. (Apart from some tribal decoration, as seen in the cover page.)

    • Yeah… I borrowed a book about Buckingham Palace to see how they filled their spaces, and they kind of didn’t : There is a lot of open floorplan, maybe just to show how awesome it is? Either way, this palace is not the main house, they live up north but the family is taking a mini-vacation/ change of scenery since Luca has business down south.

      And I’m glad you recognized it XD For some reason the idea of him standing there and getting buttoned into his suit made me laugh.

  • Haha, yay for short rulers! There should be a club :D

    • There should be XD XD

  • Kyn

    Haha! Luca seems to struggle with whether or not women can be equals. On one hand he seems predisposed to believe they’re inferior, but then his wife is so powerful :P

    Even /he/ realizes how silly his statement was in light of the fact that he can’t even put his clothes on without her :P He’s visibly deflated in the last panel, like men sometimes are when they realize they acted stupid, but don’t want to apologize ;)

  • Evan

    Awesome strip. Buttons ARE hard!

  • Arison

    I think I’m love with Phe right now. <3 And Luca and… sldajfdl you just write and draw such awesome characters.

  • I just died from the cute…

    *here lies a meek fangurl*

  • rockfish

    Aww damn Luca, you’re so cute c:

  • Oh yeah, we can see exactly how self-sufficient Luca is… ;)

  • Calick

    What makes a well drawn comic even better is a well written comic. This is clever!

  • xerox

    Luca’s wife looks suspiciously like Angora…

    • That’s me being a suspiciously lazy artist XD

  • Oh, Irony, you bitter friend. XD

    And at five feet tall, I feel rather loved with all the love coming out for the short people. XD

  • LP

    This is funny. LOL’d

  • Oh, Luca. How would you get dressed without Phe around to help? I love the height difference, it makes me go “gleee!”

  • grnppr

    This comic inspires me in many ways that I can’t write in one comment. I hope I can adopt even a fraction of the hard work you put into this wonderful comic and apply it to my own stuff. adskfaldj amazing stuff here dude.

    Anyway, great page! I like how Phe goes and helps her husband dress despite her conflicting opinions with Luca. It shows how strong she is as a woman and a wife :)

  • Ibuki-san

    Ok, I know, I haven’t let a comment jet but my English is not the best and I hate that. It doesn’t matter, I have to tell you that I love your comic. Your characters just RULESSSSS!!! Even if I’m not submit a comment, believe me, I’m reading.

    Kisses from Mexico.

    • Thank you for reading! And your English sounds pretty good to me :)

    • ¡Feliz Día de Independencia Ibuki-san!

      • Ibuki-san

        Gracias. n_n (Thanks)

  • Haha, Luca’s got such an imposing personality, I keep forgetting how not tall he is XD.

    Love those last three panels! One of the best things about The Meek is the way the characters interact so convincingly :D

  • The webcomics community is truly a thousand monkeys at a thousand typewriters. Wait around long enough and our combined madness will eventually result in something akin to Shakespeare!

  • RnH

    The last three panels of this page cracked me up.

    I enjoy this comic,
    as well as this one:
    http://www.edenworldsaga.com
    Although it’s in black & white (or more like greyscale).
    … I envy her robot drawing skillz.

  • That your comic is awesome goes without saying. So I won’t.
    And since we are all pimping our favorite comics today, I will too.
    Read Kukuburi!
    It is serenely surreal, with a subtle humor and fun characters.
    Oh, and great art, as well!
    Check it out at: http://www.kukuburi.com

    • Yay :) I linked that week before last, actually. Its a great comic!

      • Heh! That’s probably how I found it then. Thanks!
        I can never remember these things because I find different comics so many ways….

      • But since you have already linked it, I’ll have to find something else to plug.
        Let’s see, other readers have already mentioned Digger, Girl Genius and Gunnerkrigg Court, some of my favorites, so instead how about, oh, Ask Dr. Eldritch!, Dicebox, or The Sergeant and Professor Skeary Winslow?
        Nah. They are all good, but not my plug fodder today…
        I know: Roza! It’s about a young gypsy girl on a quest. She’s currently chasing after her kidnapped possum. And so is a bear!
        http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/

  • I am forced to stop being a poorly-mannered lurker by the sheer force of wit and absurdity in your last sentence.

    Looking over the page itself– while it may be true that the Short!emperor does not have a very wide range of expressions so far, I am VERY amused that his lovely lady has picked up the same looks over their years together!

  • Silvermoonlight

    I love the last three frames because it’s the ultimate irony. You say you don’t need someone’s help when deep down what your really saying is I need you more than you’ll ever know I’m just to proud to admit it aloud.

  • KatieC

    Oh I love Flaky Pastry! I’ve been reading that for about a year now…

    This is a great page. I love when people say they don’t need help when they do, and then grudgingly let you help them :D That always makes my day haha.

  • I waited and waited for weeks for Chapter 2, then I saw it begins with a dialogue, so I waited for some more weeks for this dialogue to flourish, so I could read it in one peace. It was worth it. The new characters immediately come off as having personalities and the conclusion (it sounds like this is a conclusion of the dialogue) is lovely.

    Oh, and I love Kukubiri, and its so cool that you plugged it, just saw that… Now I’m off to see Flaky Pastry, haven’t heard of that one before, even though I make a point of checking out as many webcomics as I can (I suppose I believe in karma and hope that means people will check out our webcomic. That, and I love comics. :)).

  • Connor

    Are we comic plugging now? I thought that wasn’t allowed! http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/ uh oh too late, don’t worry I tell everyone about your comic anyways so I hope it evens out on the karma scale
    Oh and did I mention how much I like your clothing designs? And your comic in general?

  • NeuStrasbourg

    Hi, I don’t know if you remember me, I have started to translate your work into german with the help of Marinatedfish. Unfortunately my computer collapsed and I stopped translating for a while… anyhow I decided to continue even though what I did before isn’t recovered yet.

    I am saying this because I am amazed at the fact you continue working on this on such a frequent basis. I realized I had no excuse for resting on my little project :D

    PS. huhuhu, after the jungle adventure we’re having a little “policy”… I have the feeling this is going to be savage :D

  • Hel

    This page is pearcing through my heart. Morning light, matronal poses, mathernal care in the middle of quarrels. Enjoy the silence!
    Is it the light that makes Phe’s nose look less pigmentated?

    • X3

      And no, her nose is less pigmented because it just is. Just like natural range of skin variation in people.

  • ~L.K.

    Thanks for a new webcomic as well as an update! :D

  • Haha, this is so adorable. *fangirlish sqees for Phe* X3

    And my goodness, this is a huge room! They could easily host a banquet in there. O_o

    • Thats what happens when you are Emperor XD Lots of wasted space.

  • Chameleon Kid

    *ROFL*

    So far the introduction of Luca and Phe has been a flying success! XDD

  • rainey

    Pint-sized soon-to-be dictators FTW.

    • Not soon-to-be, he has been a dictator for a while!

  • JM

    “multicellular organism of love” :D how optimistic :) I’m linking comic which is very funny for me, I hope You’ll like it too http://www.hell-hotel.com/lang-pref/en

  • Kristie

    Lol Love this comic xD <3

    But where are the ceilings? D:

    • They are high up! Thats what you get when you’re emperor… ridiculously high ceilings (the rooms are actually in proportion to my model room in these panels, the ceiling wasn’t low enough to show)

  • Katie

    I love these comics! They are awesome! I love the slightly wacky naked girl, and her hairy flabby drinking new friend/traveling buddy(I know they have names I just like referring to them like this). Please update soon!

  • Kitty

    Hahah Cute XD
    Love your style and your expressions ans the story is really interesting.
    How long it take you to color a page? Less or so.

    • Thanks! It takes about 8-10 hours to color a page (depending on complexity, this one was only about 7), but I break it up into several sessions.

      • Kitty

        That’s a lot of work! But it’s worth it ^^

  • saramon

    If I was a man, I would so cosplay Luca because his outfit is made of coolness.

    Unfortunately I can’t grow a beard. Thought that counts, right?

  • rae

    the last three panels, we’re just so great, it really made my day. You have some really good timing :)

  • Sarah

    Haha. I love Luca little face of defeat. The room you drew them living room would give me some sort of comfort. I guess I’ve always loved wide spaces…and the warm colors.

    Great as always. The story took a massive turn from naked-green-haired girl who lives in the forest, to the short emperor’s house!

    • Sarah

      *I love Luca’s little face of defeat. The room you drew them living in would give me some sort of comfort.

  • Amandazon

    Lovely page. Particularly the lighting. I giggled for sure. :D

    As for comics, I’d have to recommend Gunnerkrigg Court (http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=1) and Mathema (http://www.mathemacomic.com/index.html#). Gunnerkrigg has been going for a long time while Mathema is still pretty green. Love both though!

    • Gunnerkrigg is great! Coolness three times a week!
      I saw Mathema long ago on Zuda, I think. Beautiful art.

  • mistermoshi

    wow! this is turning out way, way different than the rough draft sketches! i’m in love with your coloring :D. can’t wait til Rana shows up! Rana Rana Rana~

  • SP

    Ah, guys. (No offense) :D

  • Eddy

    this is great. i like how you added more years to his wife’s appearance than in the draft, so she seems more his age. And I LOVE the last three panels

  • Lily

    XDD You SO need her help.

  • shallot

    BWAHAHAHA. I love your characterisation so much. :)

  • Hel

    Today’s (22/09) vote incentive is fantastic.
    Short emperor loves cookies! This calls for a crossover with Kate Beaton’s Napoleon xD

  • Oh Luca.

    <3

  • Dooz

    Oh the sweet, sweet taste of irony.

  • Jonboy

    This comic is fabulous! How the hell havent I heard of this until now? lol.
    LOVE the art, story is also enthralling.

  • Adriano

    Oh, the irony !

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