Chapter 4: Page 36
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Two crossbow bolts and a dagger to the ribs later, Rathik has finally gotten the hint–albeit a little too late for him to walk away with his once-comrades-in-arms. Add that up alongside the precariously wounded Hardin and the inevitable canid party crashers, and you’ve got yourself a good and proper Marx Brothers movie! Shenanigans will ensue.
This is one of those instances where Rachel’s editing sense really comes to the fore, by the way! The original script called for only Ashtor’s line in the first panel while the rest was more subtextual, focusing on expressions and body language.
In a game or film script, that might make sense, but Rachel rightly observed in her initial pass on the thumbnail that the pacing was better served with some more explicit dialogue to help keep things paced appropriately and I couldn’t have agreed more. If you’re going to kick off shenanigans, it helps to have everybody on the same page as efficiently and quickly as possible.
Speaking of shenanigans (and also since we’ve got Kenosh here), now seems like a great time to share this glorious piece of guest art from community member and artist extraordinaire, Shay!
Caldus and Kenosh in their younger (but not quite so younger) days, whiling their time away at the Land’s End Tavern and one trying to constantly out-macho the other seems like a pretty solid take on their relationship if ever there was one.
We haven’t explored it that much beyond the fact that Caldus met Kenosh when Dakkan and Quinlan were but wee bairns–but I kinda like the idea that they got sassy with each other and maybe got into at least one (possibly more) drunken fist fights to prove how much better they were than the other.
Thank you so much as always for the wonderful artwork, Shay! We love seeing these characters in your style!
Observation 1: Hardin looks more badly hurt than was first apparent, since we couldn’t previously see how squarely in the chest Rathik had stabbed him.
Observation 2: I think I liked the canid “Awoooooo’s” in the thumbnail better than “Cave up there, sir!”
Observation 3: It’s amazing to see how Ashtor’s face went from almost snarling in the first panel to tragically beseeching in the last one. Truly emotional, and great work by Alex and Rachel.
https://www.lookingangrily@rathik.grove
For ffs sake, just kill him! he will probably turn against the movement in revenge!
I really love the textured brush used for action (swinging weapons, rain, blows landing, etc) and also for the blood. It makes it stand out from the smoother colors and shadows without being jarring, and is just generally pleasant to the eye. I also appreciate that the blood is present as needed but isn’t excessive and is shown in a tasteful way. I could go on and on; I love the artwork of this comic so very much <3
I guess Kenosh will have a scar now, since the panels here seem to go to lengths to avoid showing the scratched side of his face