5.07

Someone tagged your tank, dudes

(I am so glad this page is over, it took forever! I’ve been dreading it since 2007, haha)

In Patreon updates, a little post about the tank(s). Additionally, I spent last week updating as much as possible! In case you missed it there were 4 updates on Mare Internum*. Additionally I’m finishing up the last few rewards commission rewards tonight or early tomorrow if you haven’t received yours yet. Wrapping up another busy and successful month of 12x funded updates, thank you so much for supporting my work.

Today’s bonus art: A behind the scenes look at outsourced pencils for panel 2

*Someone mentioned this in the comments for the last page… to clarify, TM updates generally about 4-5x per month, because these pages take me much longer to draw and color than MI pages do. I skew heavier towards MI updates (around 8x/mo) at the moment because it is a shorter project that I’m trying to finish before the end of the year, so it requires a faster update pacing (TM, by comparison, is very long and serves no practical purpose to rush out). Historically TM has only ever updated 1x per week, so this isn’t really “news,” but I felt it warranted an explanation anyhow. The guaranteed way to get more updates here and overall is just to wait for or aid in the slow crawl towards the higher Patreon goals, which I’m sure will happen with time if readers think it’s meant to be~

 

50 Comments

  • Spark

    I’m guessing Suda is driving

  • dream-piper

    *raises a finger to say something, but is too speechless at the mass destruction being wrought to say anything*

  • Desert Moose

    Is that a Matilda I see?

    • I’m impressed :D

      • Calaros

        I could say the same, haha. I honestly wasn’t expecting an early WW2 British heavy tank to show up in this comic, especially one so faithfully reproduced.

        Would you say that you’re something of a WW2 buff then?

        • I was really into WW2 in highschool, not as much recently, but some things have still stuck with me :]

    • Hfar

      Why yes! I believe that is!

    • J1M

      Nope, that’s a Matilda II see.

      • J1M

        Aw it stripped my smilies.
        I’ll go old school
        :P ;)

  • cheri

    slowly eeking toward my goal of contributing $10 a month. It’s meant to be!!

  • Brian

    Nice Matilda II tank

    • You guys are too good

      • ewitwins

        So I guess that sort of officially places it… somewhere in our timeline?!

        I’m so confused.

        • Rei

          More like Grandma’s timeline… tech wise
          when the Matilda II was in operation, my grandmother was girl and people in her town still relied on horses for day to day local transportation. Most houses didn’t have electricity or running water…
          It’s easy to forget how scattered technology can be and how it is often concentrated around wealth and power for a long time before being extended outward for mass usage.

        • If you reread existing chapters, you might find some more data~

    • Tom

      The way they’re driving, it’s a Waltzing Matilda…

      • AAAaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhhh! o:
        (I wish I’d thought of that, but then I’d have to be beaten with a copy of “A Tramp in Armour.”)(Then thrown into a dry billabong from turret height….)

  • Hansontoons

    With a few Shingworks Industries mods! :)

    • Hansontoons

      And the uncertain wtf look on the gate guards’ face is amusing!

  • Wow, that thing is DESTROYING the palace roads, haha.

  • DS

    Who’s driving this crazy thing?! Rana’s instincts are excellent.

    • DS

      Also, I like how your bf penciled in the cloud of smoke from the tank firing. Guess it’s a good thing that didn’t make into the final page or the welcoming party would be splattered all over the front door. Though if their aim is as bad as their drive, Rana and the others would probably be fairly safe. Probably.

  • Spav

    The Emperor is not supposed to drive the Royal Tank.

    When the Emperor drives the Royal Tank, the steering wheel melts.

    When the steering wheel melts while the Emperor is driving the Royal Tank, this tends to happen.

    Unfortunately, the Emperor is the Emperor, and therefore we cannot tell him that he isn’t allowed to drive the Royal Tank.

    • Ceceoh

      The emperor is an excellent driver, and I, for one, welcome him in my driveway.

  • David

    I am curious, and admittedly ignorant about drawing- what makes this comic harder to draw than Mare Internum?

    • Well, a couple of reasons… MI was intentionally designed to be more efficient, art-wise, so I could finish it within 1-2 years. Like, the way my templates are set up and the specific way I’m inking and balancing proportions and such. Second MI settings are fairly limited and “organic” (excepting the start of Ch1) which takes less time to draw than inorganic shapes that don’t need to be so exact in order to look right. And last, there’s like 3 characters that matter, and they’re very easy for me to draw and feel at this point.

      TM by comparison tends to have scene changes every few pages, which need their own designs and lighting every time. I don’t use a lot of atmospheric texture so I gotta draw the details, sigh. Most of the settings are inorganic, except for the Angora chapters which are high-detail organics like forest and leaves and such. Lots of characters to keep track of, and I need to make sure I’m feeling them correctly or else their acting will be off. I’m also working off of the style I set in 2008, which is not super ideal in 2016 but I’m sticking within the parameters for consistency’s sake, even if it takes me more effort to do so. Oh, and because the story is so long, I need to make sure I’m weaving in a ton of shit to increase the reread value, which means a lot of planning backwards and forwards. Even though things are pretty well scripted, I don’t make any pages without improving the weak parts, which takes time to do as well.

      Sorry that was long, haha. Hopefully the end result is a comic that reads as compelling and cohesively 5 years from now as it will tomorrow.

      • David

        Interesting! Thanks for such a detailed answer.

        I have no artistic talent myself (I’m a scientist), but I love watching art, and it’s fun to get a glimpse into the thought process behind it.

      • Chris

        That’s very incredible, and a lot of effort on your part. I’m not surprised you have trouble with inorganic shapes, I like to draw armor but it always looks off in my style because of how much I rely on using softer rounder shapes.

        I’d like to thank you for putting so much thought into both comics. I prefer The Meek, mostly because the genre appeals to me more, and I want to say I truly do appreciate you sticking with it for so long. I can definitely see the care and time you put in.

        Thank you again Shing!

        • Yeah, inorganic is, strangely, easier for me to draw in real life. Recently I’ve been using the LazyNezumi plugin which makes drawing items that would in real life require a normal or french curve ruler a little easier… but generally I like to control my interior and exterior weights as closely as I can, and my hand is too unsteady to achieve that on my own. But! I’m glad you enjoy my work, and thanks for reading.

      • Jesse

        I read in an earlier comment that the author will not stop making the comic.
        Wouldn’t the end goal be to make it a real book or something?

  • Corbie

    The expressions are gold. I can’t wait to see Hyla’s reaction. And Luca’s reaction on the destroyed courtyard, whether he was driving himself or someone else mucked it up. :)

  • Wreck Smurfy

    If that’s a waltzing Matilda, someone needs a few dance lessons.

  • Lee M
  • taburde

    Th… that’s a tank. Did not see that coming.

  • Crestlinger

    Late for arrival but if you stick the parking and Don’t splatter mud on your royal audience, all good.

  • anameer

    Shing, forgive me, but I gotta ask: I was revisiting chapter 2 and noticing Rana back then and now… did she stop dieting after her mother’s death (which would be more than understandable), or is it just art evolution?

    • No, she has gained more than a few lbs for sure. Good observation :]

  • SilverAquila

    I’m guessing he failed the “parallel parking” section of the drivers test.

    • He also failed the “take the test” part of the test

      • SilverAquila

        Oooh, that’s a big one. They’ll take a lot of points off for that one…

  • Anton

    Oh, ya’ll like tanks?

    http://thetankproject.tumblr.com/

    • msouth

      Many tanks!

      • Anton

        You’re welcome! :3

  • YetAnotherTroper

    For best effect, play the following video while reading the second, fourth, and fifth panels:

    https://youtu.be/8X8rinUM8X8?t=7

  • Adam

    Just to clarify: this is about how the nation is actually ill-prepared for war? By showing that they can’t even show off their own tanks properly?

  • msouth

    That’s not a tag, that’s camouflage for operations in urban environments.

  • Zapmolcuno

    deja vu
    i just been in this place before
    higher on the street
    and i know its my time to go

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