Chapter 4: Page 04
Uh oh. See, this is the inherent flaw in the night watch system: if everyone’s exhausted, nobody’s awake! Poor Quinlan obviously had every intention of staying awake for that whole hour, but we’ve all been there: eventually you just lose all willpower to stay awake and BLAM several hours have gone by!
Returning to the thematic echoes of their previous journey over this ground in the beginning of chapter 2, you’ll notice that back then, the duo got themselves in trouble by getting distracted while they should have been swapping off their night watch. Now, they get themselves in trouble by sleeping during the day! I swear, these guys just can’t catch a break.
Rachel posted this piece up on her Twitter a little while ago and I really like it, so I figured I’d repost it here. These poor kids and their sleepless flight from canid goon patrols! Someday they’ll get a full night’s sleep, but it is not this day.
But let me tell you what day it IS today: it is the day where I reveal more cool Kickstarter news!
That is a terrible segue, I know. I’m not proud of it.
But we ARE proud to announce that the covers, colors, and interior pages for all three books from our Western Deep: Volume 2 Kickstarter have been approved and final binding/production can begin!
I initially thought that we’d approved it when we approved the covers and colors, but our printer actually insisted on a review round just for the paper to make sure everything was to our specifications, and we’re very happy to say they are. Check out these sample pages from Rachel’s dummy production pages:
Awesome stuff! We’re really happy with how these are turning out, and we think our backers will love them too.
And if you missed the campaign but still want to get copies of the books, you can get any of the three books (Volume 1, Volume 2, or the Limited Volume 2) right here: https://beyond-the-western-deep-volume-two.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
And don’t forget we’ve got a brand new Twitter account where we’ll be sharing guest art, behind the scenes sketches, and Kickstarter production updates: https://twitter.com/TheWesternDeep
Have a great weekend, everyone!
I like the way Quin’s paw on the bow in the fourth panel actually goes out of focus – nice subtle way of underscoring and conveying his own overall bleariness.
He’s also still got That Single Arrow. However shall it be used?
Also love his expression in the first panel. At first I thought it a bit out of place considering the gravity of their situation, but it does get across the affection he has for his companion. Something tells me we might not see him smiling like that again for some time. Poor Quin.
The blur is a nice touch, I didn’t notice it until you pointed it out!
It looks a bit on the last panel as if Quinlan would now get advice from his grandfather or father in his sleep.
A familiar shadow falls Over Quinlan. He looks up to see his grandfather regarding him, dignified and stern.
Quinlan:
‘Grandfather! Thank Tesque you are here! There’s so much I need to tell you! I was in a battle but I don’t know how or really why it happened but I fought an ermehn in single combat and defeated her and then fought another ermehn in single combat and threw him off a roof which means I killed someone which I have mixed feelings about and then I got shot with a crossbow so now my arm hurts all the time and doesn’t work right but I didn’t die and then the canid threw us in a dungeon but I got us out of there with cunning and perseverance and I strangled a canid who I think is alive but he probably has brain damage now or something and then we had to swim out of there and I had to hold my breath for ages and ages but I didn’t die that time either and then we had to go on the run for days but I don’t remember a whole lot about that ‘cause I was pretty delirious what with the blood loss and being so tired and everything so it sort of seemed like a montage and now I’m vigilantly keeping watch so the canid don’t find us and break all our bones and then you showed up which is cool but pretty unexpected and weird to be honest…so…are you proud of me?’
Quinlan’s Grandfather: *Reaches out and solemnly places a finger over Quinlan’s heart*
Quinlan: *Looks down*
Quinlan’s Grandfather: *Flicks Quinlan’s face*
It could happen. And it sounds especially great “flicks him in the face”