Just a reminder that there is still a lot of chaos and destruction going on while people sit around talking.
Kinda unfortunate here I didn't indicate the buildings outside the window on the inks level, but I wanted them to just be background decoration until the bomb goes off.
Yeah more people sitting around talking. But at least there's no table between them. I wanted to re-introduce the character Kāng Min-Chèng, who will become more important to the story as the war heats up.
2021-05-04 17:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Putting together a new social movement.
Some readers have complained the strip has a lot of people sitting around a table and talking. But that's kind of what leaders do. The point of this story is to show how a society without a state could defend itself from external aggression. Don't worry, though, we'll be getting into some action soon.
2021-05-03 17:00:00 +0000 UTC
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Hammering-out details of a grand plan can be challenging. Here I have abbreviated the discussion considerably.
2021-04-30 17:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
The Action Team is now assembled, and includes two more members.
These character designs were roughly based on some Internet political commentators I listen to from time to time. The resemblance is stronger with some than with others -- it all came down to what the story wants.
Even when the best tech is not available, medical tech in Bubbleopolis is still pretty impressive. But now we must turn to other matters.
2021-04-28 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Yeah it's been too long but I'm nearly ready to launch the next printed volume.
We're doing this differently this time. Before, we used a Print-On-Demand outfit (Lightning Source) to print our books, as the quality is good and it's a lot easier for us from a cash-flow standpoint. But LS keeps raising their rates and our already-slim profit m...
The shape of that poor burn victim's face has made some readers suspect this is the real Diana Martelli. Is she? Maybe so, maybe not.
2021-04-27 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
OK, I have some time now to upload more pencils and inks.
Returning here to Otto Sullivan, who is learning about the limitations of 31st-Century medicine.
I like doing the "fish on a bicycle" joke from time to time. It's sort of a QV tradition. But this is the first time the fish has had a speaking part.
Who is tailing Albert? And who is tailing the tail? Ah, therein lies a tale. With a surprise or two. Stay tuned.
Everyone's a critic.
Nuveau Mo'orea is a relatively free-wheeling place but no libertarian paradise. It has a central government which issues its own currency and then taxes currency exchanges made through its banking system.
So, if you want to get your money changed with a more reasonable fee, you go to your friendly neighbor...
And now we move to the idyllic resort world, Nuveau Mo'orea.
Playground to the wealthy, and goldmine of the grifters who live off of the wealthy.
2021-02-23 20:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
It seems that even at the age of 524, Alyss can be reckless when she's intensely curious about something. She just has to know all about it right away.
Will this come back to bite her later? Probably.
The 'off the record' meeting with Mordy continues.
The homily, "beware of strange geeks bearing gifts" comes to mind here.
For this scene I had to come up with a logo for the Intergalactic Council (I'm not happy with that name, "Council," but can't come up with a better one just yet. Maybe if it comes to me I'll do some ret-conni...
More catch-up time.
Here's our first view of Mordecai's lair. Full of instruments of violence and war. To Mordy, this represents Power and Status.
You can imagine what it represents to our heroes.
I was going to have Mordy introduce his secretary as "Mr. Parker" but I chickened out. I hope "Miles Stacy" gets the point across for those w...
Ah, Hugo, that lying rapscallion. What do you suppose he's up to in that last panel?
2020-12-31 22:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
After the charming father/boa bonding scene, we go back to the Pillars preparing for a visit to the Galactic Council's new Interest Section. And guess who their secretary is.
The Montoyas, father and son. (William was introduced back in Château Périlleux.)
Sorting out and setting up the groundwork for the Diana Who sub-plot. The matter of Diana's back-up will become key later.
2020-12-28 21:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
There are times when the colors just support the line art and times when the colors take center stage.
But Sergio will have a lot to say to Alyss about Diana a little bit later.
Picking up the Diana Who sub-plot: Ah, the less said about it the better, except that I have to stop myself from letting Diana take over this story.
OK, meanwhile, back at the ranch:
That exterior shot of Bubbleopolis missing some of its bubbles took a fair
The capital world of the Intergalactic Council is basically bits of every urban center -- homes, offices, factories, harbors, arenas, fair centers -- in our world jammed up together and replicated enough to cover nearly every land mass. Viewed from afar it looks kind of like a grey fungus, yes? The atmosphere is too polluted to breathe but...
2020-12-10 21:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
For opening up part 2 I decided to introduce some of the villains, especially two we'll see more of in this volume.
I also spent a bit more time on the art than typical, hoping to start off on the right foot.
Sharp eyes will notice that the planet isn't there on the ink layer. I built the planet Shărén in paint layers, using the pe...
Aaaand that's it for Part 1. This is a 3-part story and I thought it better to split into three 96-page books than one 282-page book. And wait another two years to print the whole story.
I have a few more characters to introduce (and one suprise re-appearance) in Part 2. Then things get really hairy.
Page 94 was one of those rare cases where I re-worked a panel after it was shown on the website. People were confused as to whether it was the Clínica or the building behind it that exploded. I hope my change fixed that.
I hope I succeeded in conveying that Albert and Sergio are old friends.
And Otto learns that no one can twist the knife like a well-meaning cousin. But she's right to encourage him to keep working.
2020-11-06 21:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Yeah this story is starting to look uncomfortably close to real life, eh? Sorry about that, just a logical consequence of events I'd set up a year ago. I just hope real life doesn't get as extreme as this story will in the next volume.
The red-headed, pointy-eared chap in the pub was something I just cooked up on the spot but I kind of lik...
2020-11-05 20:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Alyss is not entirely convinced by Diana's story. So after they part she sends a heads-up to Sergio.
Gynoids don't get physically tired, but "Tin-Men" like Alyss do get emotionally exhausted. Having someone you thought of as a grandchild go missing during a mass-murder then turn unscathed a cycle later with a weird story has got to be an ...
I could have sworn I had most of these pages in the que already.
Oh well, here goes:
Diana explains her disappearance, and wheedles a promise of work out of Alyss. Alyss sends him to the man most likely to be able to detect phoniness.
Also, what good is having a whole back-stock of strips when I can't gank a scene out of the...