28

Aug 2014

Chapter 4: Page 45 - Interlude 5

Posted by / in Comic / 49 comments

Hey all!

Thanks so much for all the wellwishes, luck and goat sacrifices. I think my test went ok :)

Just an interlude page today, but can you figure out who’s talking? I like this one a lot, actually.

Next week we start up another sequence by Nico, so be prepared!

 

  • Amberlight

    Well, it’s rather obvious that those are Jorge’s wife and the doctor.

    • 1/2 credit. It’s supposed to be one of the nurses instead of the doctor. His bedside manner isn’t that good ;)

  • NickDA

    Wow, I hadn’t read the dialog for this one in our planning tool… It hit me kinda hard. Very nicely written.

    • That’s what you get for not checking Basecamp that often :P

  • Demetri Ermak

    And it’s a rather tense dialogue. Always touching, these stories. My wife actually have a friend who serves in the military, and she sais that it’s really hard every time - he always comes by everyone he cares about, saying goodbye as if it’s the last time, just in case.

    • Adriano #WR

      Damn that’s sad. But she must be very happy everytime he returns alive, no ?

      • Demetri Ermak

        Sure she is! But his wife wasn’t so happy about all the “waiting for his comrade to come in the parade uniform with a ribbon and an envelope” part, so eventually she left him. But I guess it takes a kind of a special devotion to be a wife of a sailor or a military.

        • Adriano #WR

          Wow, that’s kinda hard for him !
          But yeah, if his wife didn’t have the courage to stay and wait, maybe lefting was the only option.

  • Delta-v

    I actually teared up reading this-that doesn’t happen very often.

    • Not sure if it is Kosher for me to say “Good!” at you crying… but good! It worked! >:D

      • Delta-v

        It takes a special tear-jerker to affect me, and you did it, so, yeah-ya’ done good. :)

  • I saw your question on Facebook about all-text pages, so I’m going to weigh in here and be specific about this page.

    I usually subscribe to the idea that if you can explain it without words, then you should. The art needs to carry the story as much as possible. However, I say this because, in most cases, an amateur comic creator will over-rely on walls of text because they haven’t quite learned how to let their art speak and forcing themselves to use less or zero words will teach them to stretch their art skills

    This is NOT the case here. In fact, while it is the text that tells the story (and the dialog is quite well-written), there are lots of artistic touches that also help things along. There’s the obvious, like the blurred words and the heart monitor, but the stark, black background, descending composition and long spaces between word bubbles also communicate. They create a sense of mood, movement, and help the eye travel down the page smoothly.

    In other words, while there is no single image to carry this page, it still uses effective visuals and given the context, it makes perfect sense that you made this choice. This is not the work of a clueless amateur. It’s not “lazy art”. This is a deliberate artistic decision that uses the medium of word bubbles to convey the story while using minimalistic designs to make the page cohesive.

    I always say that if you must use an all-text page, find a creative way to do it. This is exactly the type of thing I would point to in order to give others an idea of how to use text-heavy pages right.

    • These are some great thoughts, Sarah. Thanks so much! All the artistic credit for the page goes to @sebastinpriz:disqus. I just tried to write good dialogue :)

      • Delta-v

        You’re telling this part of the story from the experiences of a character that can’t see. What would images do to enhance that experience?

        • Adriano #WR

          Maybe some people would be thinking of some psychedelic background ?

      • Wiseman

        Dialogue is important to me because I am an avid book reader. The art work is amazing as well. Kudos to both of you.

  • That is absolutely devastating.

  • Adriano #WR

    Damn feels…

  • Adriano #WR

    One vote a day keeps the death away ;)

    • Hehe, it almost sounds like I’m holding characters hostage. “Vote, or [insert name here] DIES!”

      • Adriano #WR

        Yeah that was what I had in mind xD

        But in fact, apart Tenzin there isn’t that much people to save now x)

        • Sebastián Píriz

          There’s this place, called Minerva. full of people… well, you’ll see in a couple of months ;)

          • Adriano #WR

            I just can’t wait to see *-*

            You’re really driving me insane, guys xD

      • BuilderJim

        Oh noes- we must find that voting link so that we may save more lives! *hint-nudge* ;)

  • Adriano #WR

    Here’s some words I wanted to say to the comic crew :
    I really love you guys ! You’re always there to answer to our comments, always there to publish those pages twice a week and you’re really a nice team :D
    So thank you all and keep goiiiiiiiin’ !!!

    • NickDA

      Thank you for reading. I know I at least have really been enjoying this more since the commenter community starting giving feedback. It means a huge amount to us.

      • Delta-v

        It’s especially impressive when an “Interlude” page draws this many comments.

        • Adriano #WR

          That’s cuze you’re so cool ! And that we must fill the “blanks” x)

      • Adriano #WR

        You’re welcome !
        I se u-u

      • Amberlight

        I can sign up to this, the best part in making a translation is all those comments that show that people really care about what they read. Like, to the point of reading well-backed wall of text about tactics or equipment:D

    • Sebastián Píriz

      thanks a lot :)

      • Adriano #WR

        You’re welcome :D

  • Mark White

    man! it’s dusty in here! Got something in my eyes………………………..I love the way some panels tell the story with out words and then panels with words, but you can see the “picture”. You guys rock!!

  • Jason Clayton

    so yeah, after about an hour of trying, I finally got logged in.

    As an artist, and hobby writer (write down dreams for fun some times), I love the golden rule: Simplicity can be the most beautiful thing

  • Wiseman

    I have read about some voting? How do I vote for your awesome comic?

    • We have an entry on TopWebcomics.com, where you can vote every day (1 time per IP address):

      http://www.topwebcomics.com/vote/15797/default.aspx

      • Wiseman

        Done and done.

        • Thank you, my good squishy black mage. You can even bookmark that link if you wish for daily voting ;)

          • Wiseman

            I will do just that good sir

          • Jason Clayton

            Question, whose watermark do I see on the vote incentive?

          • You mean the owl logo, right? That is the log/emblem of Minerva.

          • Jason Clayton

            Ah, I like it. It has a good design, yet isn’t so complicated that it takes away from the actual image

  • Professor Fate

    This comic just continues to be awesome. The artwork and storylines are first rate. I can see our injured hero becoming a RoboCop-like soldier with powered limbs and an exoskeleton. I know this, he’s too tough to die.

    • NickDA

      This comic is actually directed by M.Night. Shamalamadingdong… The twist is that everyone dies… sorry for ruining it… SPOILERS!

  • Neil Kapit

    The blurred lines of dialogue add some visual interest to a page that was already strong enough to stand based on its dialogue alone.

  • Agreed, I really like these cut scenes. I know as a creator they might seem like a bit of a cheat, but they really add rhythm to the story. Ditto on the text blur, that was a great idea.

  • Citrus Reaper

    Tenzin! Don’t make me double-jealous by having the opportunity to eat awesome tamales, and then missing it because you’re in a coma!

  • Adriano

    I don’t think you can eat “Ta ma des!” xD