2.29

Well I guess I survived this bg. Its nice to have the establishing shot not only to set up the scene, but so I can go back and reference it again and again and again D: Today’s vote incentive is about horrible, horrible Pasori foods, but later on in the week I’ll post my giant extensive wip animation for doing the perspective on that long panel.

Optional background information: The southern palace (where we have been all chapter, though that is not yet obvious) was built when Luca was Secretary General and not Emperor. This was done during the expansion period where he was busy making jobs to occupy the new citizens of the Territories after he had… well, assimilated them. Since he was still an elected official at the time, things were a bit more heterogeneous back then. Accordingly, at the time of its construction this building incorporated some Santri uses. While the less ostentatious Northern Santri follow the Generalist religion, Southern Santri tend to follow the Carissi religion repelete with showy rooms of worship. This room used to be used for Carissi religious services. At the present, Emperor Luca finds it amusing to use the space as a dining room.

Pimp of the week goes to Boxer Hockey, which I only found last week. Just the art alone is like woahhhhh but the writing is also great. Awesome expressions, character design, paneling, action, humor etc etc etc. Despite the non-serious topics its a seriously pro job. This strip in particular keeps cracking me up *single tear* I don’t think I’ve looked forward to staring at a comic so much for a while.

118 Comments

  • makani

    OMG UPDATE pressing refresh for the 10th time today paid off! :D

    o lawd dinner.. it’s almost that time isn’t it… slkdjfslkdjf

    ooo what’s the pic on the cieling things? looks kinna like “grandpa”

    • tbwulf

      I was going to ask about the paintings as well. Fermented foods? I think I’ll pass on that one…

    • Hey, whats all this paying attention to detail.

      • Edhelith

        Well, that’s what you get for putting all that detail in! ;)

  • Damn, that’s a high ceiling. Great establishing shot!

  • rainey

    Awwww yeah fermented meat! Nothing like the taste of something that’s been dead in the ground for several months!

    Holy shit that dining room looks like it was hell to draw. I salute you.

  • Jerry

    My virus scanner says the Boxer Hockey site is unsafe.

    • Really? :C Maybe he is running some creepy ads or something…

  • Fermented food? I once tried nattō and it was horrible. I’ll pass, thanks.

    That page was really worth the effort. I love the palace’s interior design and just when I thought it can’t get even more awesome you come up with this! <3

  • Maelstrom

    Hum. Sounds East/Southeast Asian. Well, hopefully this means that they carry alcohol in abundance, so everyone should be tipsy enough not to notice that their veal has a slight rancid scent.

    Hey, question- is he just saying “ta, ta” or does it mean something? I would hope that it’s the former, but you’ve pulled some Basori shenanigans before and I wouldn’t put it past you to do so again! And entirely without explanation, too! For shame.

    On an entirely unrelated note, I think that comic is a spoof on Cromartie High School (or, at the very least, others of its ilk). Had me literally rolling on the floor laughing during my first read-through. You should check it out! Be warned, there is a gorilla.

    • “Ta” just means yes. He’s like “Yeah yeah just sit down already”

    • Quats

      My first thought on seeing the fermented foods were the Scandinavian versions with fish… lutefisk (whitefish dried then soaked in water, lye, then water again for two weeks, then cooked) and rakfisk (trout fermented in brine for 2-3 months, eaten uncooked).

      Second thought was kimchi, which is indeed Asian.

      …bwaha, the commentary on wikipedia about lutefisk made me feel bad for laughing at the snooty ambassador’s foot-in-mouth comment:
      “Lutefisk is cod that has been dried in a lye solution. It looks like the desiccated cadavers of squirrels run over by trucks, but after it is soaked and reconstituted and the lye is washed out and it’s cooked, it looks more fish-related, though with lutefisk, the window of success is small. It can be tasty, but the statistics aren’t on your side. It is the hereditary delicacy of Swedes and Norwegians who serve it around the holidays, in memory of their ancestors, who ate it because they were poor. Most lutefisk is not edible by normal people. It is reminiscent of the afterbirth of a dog or the world’s largest chunk of phlegm.”

      • Oh my god. Why do they dry it in lye? I thought lye was used to dissolve things? I guess I can google that. Damn though that sounds pretty nasty.

      • minnsu

        As a Swede, I can tell you that lutfisk isn’t very appreciated over here either; people either feel disgusted over how it’s made or think it doesn’t taste anything at all (strangely enough).
        Personally, I think it tastes pretty good. It does indeed look like phlegm, but if you pour shittons of sauce over it you won’t notice :D

        • Phlegmy foods don’t bother me too much if they don’t taste bad :B I like eating raw eggs! And okra is okay too (that is the snottiest food ever)

  • Bunni

    That hall. It is a good hall.

    I think there’s this one Chinese egg thing they get a horse to pee on before burying it and unearthing it a thousand years later. Or maybe I got my facts wrong.

    • tbwulf

      I know what you’re talking about, never had it, nor do I ever plan to. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_year_egg

    • Yeah, I… don’t eat those. I like preserved beancurd, but black egg is one of those Chinese foods I won’t touch with a 10 ft pole.

      • Cestus

        You are NOT missing anything there!

      • Minuiko

        I beg to differ, you’re missing out on a lot here (I’m serious, it’s delicious). Of course, I’m Chinese (Chinese-American, if it helps any) so it may be an acquired taste, but just throwing in my two cents here.

        In any case, that is a gorgeous hall and this is a gorgeous comic, every page is just begging to be eye-molested over and over because your use of color is so ace. The amount of thought you put into everything (culture, story, art, dialogue, etc.) continues to be an inspiration to me.

  • PH

    Niiiiiiiiiice! :)

    My first comment here. I’ve been following your comic for quite some time now. I think it’s the best comic I’ve ever seen. (That includes non-web comics!) It’s so full of detail. I think you should make this into a film! ;)

  • Mark

    Was anyone else reminded of Hogwarts?

    • Every ceremonial room with a high roof is now Hogwarts.

      • 1oo pts to Gryffindor!

      • Mark

        I was kind of referring to the painted-sky-ceiling, but yes.

  • oh my god, that comic is great.

    Oh, also yours is, too.

  • Marion

    Heh, I once saw a documentary about ‘cultural foods’. They had a Chinese family and a British family taste each other’s favourite foods. The Chinese had fermented eggs (thousand year eggs?) and the Brits had Stilton cheese, and both gagged at eachother’s food. “It’s rotten!”, both parties cried, and they were both right. Both fermented eggs as well as Stilton are ‘ripened’ foods, but it is just the fact that one grows up with these things that makes them palatable, even delicious in one’s own eye.

    They also showed the Icelandic national dish of buried sharkmeat (has to be rotted for the toxis to desolve), that Sicilian (?) cheese with the maggots, live squid (the joy of the eating is in the fact that the severed tentacles will still fight back on the way to your stomach – the whole idea is that you ingest the ‘strength’ of the animal with the eating) and other such lovely dishes.

    I have you know that I, personally, gag at the idea of Stilton, so I was really squeamish – though fascinated – through the whole program.

    But hey! Our national dish (I’m Dutch) is raw herring with finely chopped raw onions! (yum!)

    • ampquot

      Sicilian (?) cheese with the maggots

      Sardinian :)

      • Marion

        I knew it started with an ‘s’. :-)

    • DoggySpew

      Don’t you forget Snert (Which is very thick peasoup, with meat and carrots etc and having the look and consistency of vomit. Luckilly, not the taste.)

      • Marion

        Snert! I love snert!!! Soothing and tasty and with little slices of smoked sausage floating in it. Yummm!!!

        *does happy clogdance*

  • Marion

    Sorry, forgot to add that the fun thing about these national dishes is that they all come from necessity (the Icelandic shark thing because Iceland is not an agricultural paradise, so there is not much other to eat and sharkmeat needs to ferment for it to be digestable) and are made into a virtue and then a delicasy.

    • I took the ripened meat idea from a couple of northern cultures. Also there was an episode of Bizarre Foods where aboriginal Taiwanese folks were eating raw rotten pork with ice? or something. Thank goodness for cultural diversity to get the creativity flowing.

  • Blunderbuss

    Daaaamn, that hall looks amazing! I couldn’t imagine how long it must’ve taken for you to do it. Your art is so inspiring to me. :3

    By the way, what does ‘ta’ mean? In the UK/Aus it’s a common way of saying ‘thanks’, but I doubt that’s what you meant. XD

  • I would think (in fact, I do think), that “Ta, ta” means something like “enough, enough”.
    But what the heck is a “proof of host”?

    Raw herring with onions? Sounds tasty!

  • ampquot

    It looks like the queen and the ambassadors are going to sit in front of the king and very far away from him.. really looking forward to the social dinamics here.

  • squidmaster

    First of all, WOW, THAT IS ONE HOT SEX DINING ROOM. I mean. My deepest sympathies for having to work with such painful perspective. :'( But it’s beautiful, if that shoothes your wrists any.

    Ah, and lovin’ Luca’s new clothes. <3 He looks good in white, doesn't he.

    That pattern on the floor looks niceeeee. :3 I think this color scheme is my favorite so far, but… earthtones always have a special place in my heart. <3

    Mmmm, great start to my day, this is~

    • LOL, your “hot sex” jumped your comment right into the spam box XD Good thing I look through that before dumping.

      • squidmaster

        Whoops. :’) I’ll be more careful in the future.

        Also, the first time I saw that WIP gif my mouth literally dropped open when I saw those circles pop up. YOU KILL YOURSELF TOO MUCH FOR US :c

  • ColdCedric

    Clap,clap,clap

  • Really impressive page. :) The bg truly blew me away. And Luca looks lovely in those clothes. <3

  • Beautiful! And OMG Luca looks very nice in that outfit! :D

  • I started reading your comic not too long ago, and I just wanted to say I’ve really enjoyed it so far, especially this last chapter! I cannot say what it is about Luca, but something about him just endears him to me. I adore him! (I think physically he sort of reminds me of my boyfriend…and yes I mean a shortish, overweight, old man, hehe.) And I must say he does look quite handsome in this page! Anyway, keep up the great work, I can’t wait to see where this story is going!

  • DoctorWhyly

    I absolutely LOVE Luca’s outfit! And that dining room just blew my mind. Amazing!

    Ta, ta.

  • Well SOMEBODY cuts a dashing figure in his formal attire!

    Also, love the Cromartie reference in Boxer Hockey…

  • Namsab

    So…
    this used to be a room of worship for the Carissi religion.
    The thin ambassador told Mrs. Stuff-my-face to speak Carissi, so I figure they follow the religion as well.
    Having dinner with them in a hall that was once a somewhat sacred place? Nice one, Luca.

    I also love the extremely formal introduction of the emperor etc. and all he does is ‘Yes. I know. Sit down. I want to eat.’ XD

    • The Carissi are actually named after their religion! Or is it the other way around…

  • Awesome, the set up shot does a really nice job of giving us a better idea of the grandeur of the palace.

    I like it.

  • Did you design th interior of this place before drawing the chapter? So solid man. So solid.

    • Well I have a basic architecture type I’m using, so I can use that formula for the rooms I haven’t “visited” yet :B

      • Ah, that’s a good idea.

        my stuff ends up coming out so plain and boring, baaaaah so I end up doing a half-hearted job. Well… I’ll keep practicing.

  • There’s something about that white suit that makes me want to jump Luca’s bones.

  • ERA Lanke

    I absolutely love that dining room! Ahh, I _looooove_ palaces that are huge and giant. I have one! Granted its not as giant as yours, but god it’s fun to imagine… just like walking through a city with the high towers all around you… :D!

    Hm, rotten foods. Never thought of that one before! I guess I put the idea out of my mind since you’d think rotten foots wouldn’t be a delicacy… x) time for more research I guess! Haha.

    I’d just LOVE to wander in that palace alone… so cool! Even if i would get imprisoned… x)

  • Your attention to detail is amazing. Seriously. I LOVE YOU. <3

  • Draw2much

    *whistles* I do NOT envy you trying to draw that room. I’m an artist too, but I never got good with background. You did an excellent job! I’m really just impressed with how you managed to get that long table in proportion with the rest of the room.

    Plus, ugh, “fermented” food… I lived in Japan for 4 years and all I can say is NO THANKS. I’ll eat raw fish any day (sushi, sashimi, FTW) but I’m not touching anything resembling/smelling like natto.

    It makes me appreciate the fact that the USA is mostly farm and cattle country…

    • Thanks! I do not look forward to drawing it from different angles in the next several pages D:

  • I love the attention to detail you have as well – and the universe that you’ve created! It’s wonderful. Just learning about the Pasori – especially today’s vote bonus is just awesome. Makes me think of the Swedes and Finns!

  • Joel

    Lacto-fermentation almost never makes things less palatable, in my book.

    It works for wheat (sourdough bread, malt vinegar), veggies (pickles, sauerkraut), milk (yogurt), and even meat (fancy European hams and such). Some of the fermented meats aren’t done until white mold appears on the skin (similar to Brie rind, I think), but in general they just have a nice vinegary taste, I think partly due to the glycogen (starch) stored in the muscles.

  • Matt

    I really do love the backgrounds in this chapter. The design isn’t just well done, it’s consistent. The style remains the same, and reflects on the behavior of our pal the emperor. Despite being very opulent, there’s a certain lack of comfort in the dining…room? Chamber? Hall? I think it matches Luca very well.

    • I’ve avoided a lot of rounded shapes in this chapter, things are supposed to have corners and be kind of uncomfortably formal looking. Like Luca! Yayyyy

  • I’d tell you the things that this page makes me feel, but my comment would probably be marked as spam!

    YOU KNOW IT

    • Not in front of the children *sobs*

  • I love that there’s even a pattern detail on the tall window in the back of the room. The whole room is just beautiful.

    As usual, I love Luca and his impatience. “Yeah, that’s great. Shut up. Let’s eat.” I also love his formal wear. :D

  • First time commenter, long time reader 8D

    I have to say, The Meek is really very inspiring. Since I’ve started reading it I’ve been working harder on studying how to digitally color, and focusing more on background and scenery art. They’re so difficult, but you make it look so easy! You’re really just plain inspirational!

    And I want to have Luca’s babies. Kthnks.

  • Poor sobbing sod

    Boxer Hockey is so awesome it hurts.

  • Cestus

    Your backgrounds are excellent. They have a warmth and depth to them that really brings out the ‘life’ in the panels.

    Love Luca’s expression of barely restrained ‘stately tedium’!

  • It must really suck to change those lightbulbs.

  • Neill

    Is that the night sky, or a painting? haha

    • A painting! It should be a lighter blue but since the room isn’t totally lit, it looks a bit darker…

  • Broccoli

    Me likey the short but well formulated speech and the amazing art.
    They really got a thing for big rooms, that palace seems huge!

  • rufftoon

    You’ve done a great job rendering the room- nice lighting, my eyes keep resting on all the details, even the floor pattern. It is a very beautiful page.
    I sort of miss the original layout a bit: in it, Luca was more “dominant”. Now, he’s at the same level as the servants behind him. It gave a different vibe, is all I’m saying.
    But!
    This may work better with what you have coming up next, depending how you play it. Never judge a page alone, got to see it in full context.

    • Thank you! Yeah, I uh raised the ceiling a bit. I gave him a tall chair though, maybe that will make him feel special? (Though more likely it will make him look shorter, yikes, I should have thought that out more).

      • rufftoon

        Just add a few pillows on his chair to boost him up.
        No one will notice.

  • dot

    Oh my god how high is the ceiling?! Amazing work (as usual)!

  • lazysmirk

    Hot damn.

  • Luca should definitely stay in that outfit for the rest of the chapter.

  • I think I see Mocheril and… that other guy, in the banners up there :D. That whole panel is amazing — it was great to see the process that went into it, especially how you worked with the rectangles and arches in the ceiling.

    And another webcomic to be bookmarked. Just the most recent couple of strips got me hooked XD.

  • Quats

    On about the, oh, 4th look at the gorgeous hall… I finally noticed the armed guards clearly visible. Guards I can expect, given Important Personages present; but guards with large weapons (rifles?) ready and in hand, watching you? Seems a bit… oppressive… for dinner. Hard on the digestion.

    • I guess totalitarians are pretty oppressive in general XD

  • speearr

    The votey bonus with the animated gif is incredible, love this stuff. Where’d you learn to construct your arches like that?

    • Common sense D: I really just winged it! I chose some points on an oval that I knew would be consistent (the width) and transformed my original template oval to be larger according to the perspective grid I made. My friend who actually knows how to do perspective says it makes sense, so I’m pretty relieved….

      • speearr

        Innovative! Think we’re all pretty relieved too ;)

  • That’s a RIDICULOUS perspective shot! :O

    • The correct word is “RIDONKULOUS”

  • brian

    yeah you should stop releasing these one page at a time, even if the updates are less frequent, do like 5 or 10 at once every few weeks, i think that would be better.
    love this comic sooooooooooo much, btw.

    • You’re right, I probably should do that! Unfortunately if I don’t post a page within the first 30 seconds of completing it, a bus of senior citizens will crash into an orphanage.

      • Is six years too long a wait to stumble on this reply and laugh to tears? .°D

  • Tito

    By the way, is it just me, or does anyone else find echoes of John Kricfalusi (Ren and Stimpy) in Boxer Hockey? And just for the record, WHAT AN AMAZING WEBCOMIC!

  • daniel bensen

    fantastic

  • jamie cannon

    Just found this comic on TWC. I’m hooked! Your characters are not only well-drawn but very expressive and I find that admirable. Of course, seeing the sweeping view of the dining hall here was also impressive. I’ll follow this now :)

    • Thanks man! Hope you stick around, the really good part is coming up :)

    • echosong

      jamie cannon, what is TWC?

      • Stig Hemmer

        TWC= Top Web Comic. Click on the banner just below the comic for more info.

  • TH89

    This is so pimp.

    How do you do the architecture linework? It doesn’t look freehand, but it doesn’t look like the line tool either.

    • That was a trick I learned from my buddy Fox-Orian on DA, (http://fox-orian.deviantart.com/) the master of all things architecture. If you want to make a nice line in photoshop you just click, hold shift, then click another point and the lines will connect. I’d been working with PS for 9 years before finding that out.

      • *secretly delighted that she figured this out from studying The Meek and is now in love with BGs after hating hating hating them for years*

  • Cheri

    Soo I just noticed what looks like Mocheril and Dagre(?) up by the ceiling of the first panel.
    hmmmmmmmm

  • Ernest

    hi, i just stumbled into this sight and i must say that this work of yours is great. the art is of an incredibly high quality and the story interesting. i was surprised to see something like this for free on the internet. to say the least its a web comic. or is it a graphic novel? lol. anyway, i can tell that this is something worth keeping an eye on so expect to see my around.

  • peterpane

    just read all your comics and got to say i’m hooked! very very very good :D keep it up, looking forward for new material :)

  • Rinnen

    I am very impressed by not only the intelligence of your story, but the talent of your work. I am constantly checking for new comics due to the fact that your deliverance really makes people care about the world you have created.

    • Thanks so much! Sorry to fail in my delivery this weekend, I had computer troubles. Next page will be up soon :)

      • Rinnen

        Hah quality beats punctuality any day! Just look at Blizzard.

      • PH

        Tsk tsk!
        Don’t be sorry :

        “Also I’m going to stop asking for forgiveness for late posts.”

  • Jac

    This establishing shot is fantastic! If you don’t mind me asking, how on Earth did you get all of the beautiful little patterns and details into that shot, like the patterns on the floor and rug?

  • Peppa

    What makes your erratic deliveries forgivable is not just the quality per se, but it’s the content. Some webcomic artists take like weeks and weeks, don’t really state why, and then the page is just… a bunch of dialogue with an annoying cliffhanger that makes you want to beat your head against the wall and scream WHY to the heavens.

    Yours, however, is witty, hilarious dialogue with a yummy dish of art, and stuff always happens. Always. It’s not just “Oh look, Luca is standing there scowling at the reader :| This is why it took forevar.” (that is awesome though btw, but yeah). Who cares if it’s late? It’s like being forced to wait at a fancy restaurant; yes, the food may take a long time, but when it’s brought out, IT’S SO AWESOME THAT YOU CAN’T EAT MORE THAN THREE BITES.

    TL;DR this webcomic = equivalent to fancy restaurant food

  • Maphysto

    For what it’s worth, your vote incentives the past few days have been adorable. Especially the Luca/Phe one :3

  • Eric

    Excellent page!Excellent comic! Got to say i’m hooked!:D
    You’re very talented.

    Ah…btw what are these vote incentives people keep talking about? I vote but I don’t see any pic… :C

    • Really? After you vote, there should be an image that appears. Maybe scroll down to the bottom of the incentive page, sometimes it is under the “thank you” words.

      • Eric

        Ok I got what the problem is…I guess you upload the picture on some image hosting site that’s blocked by my ISP …I will keep voting though, the comic is so awesome!C:

  • AAUGH! Haven’t caught up yet? I didn’t check to see if there was another page of links or not. Not I gotta… ^^; Started wondering what happened to you, lol.

    • Well, I’m working! Serious work needs to come before comics stuff, and I have a lot of serious work recently.

      • Jimmy

        Yes, but have you considered the allure of abject poverty, homelessness, and an increasingly harsh life on the edges of society? I mean, you could probably use the very beginning of that road to crank out like ten more comics before it was time to craft a makeshift knife and start shanking fools.

        • 10 comics will only bring us to page 40, 5 pages short of the thrilling conclusion to the chapter. Also for some reason my computer won’t work when I plug it into rocks and clods of dirt :C

  • I hate to say this but I LOVE the incentives you’ve had during your computer issues! But I know how much trouble the computer troubles must’ve caused you which is why I hated to say that… Hope you have been able to fix it and that you don’t explode in stress. <:| Take your time!
    *shakes fist* Computer issues make me shiver…

  • I love that big-ass panel.

    And…I’ve just noticed, on seeing the bigger version on dA, those banners/paintings? A lizard and a striped thing? -eyebroweyebrow- Significant?

  • Kiel West

    I wish Phe was my wife. Her moral center is way hot.

  • tom

    I know I’m late to the party,but I thought I’d let you know that ‘ta ta’ is a colloquialism for goodbye in the UK. Coincidence? Definitely confusing for British readers!

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