Paulie Blade
Paulie
[Author note] A short introduction to Murkwaste. Next time we take a first look at the ol' Sister Lena.
Paulie
[Author note] A tiny cliffhanger, as this exchange finishes the chapter. Will Ikati be properly corrected? And if so, how? Perhaps we’ll find out, but not next time. Next time we move to a territory that has been frequently mentioned, but not yet visited: Murkwaste.
Paulie
[Author note] If the summer on the northern hemisphere is not enough, have a bit of love story to warm your heart.
Paulie
[Author note] In this episode: Nadja takes a bath. Also, administrative matters are executed.
Paulie
[Author note] This particular bad guy’s name is revealed to be Zmora - fun fact about this word, it’s Polish and it’s a type of nightmare demon that strangles you in your sleep. Also, that’s how my grandpa named his cow (serious). The cow was black and had a twisted horn, hence Zmora’s look. Anyway, next episode we step away from the field trip and revisit our pal Mistress Nadja.
Paulie
[Author note] In this episode: Rifky quotes Devil Doll, Kurgoth’s veins have veins and the “disable friendly fire” box is unchecked!
Paulie
[Author note] I had doubts whether blood presented mostly as black liquid qualifies as mature content. Any ideas?
Paulie
[Author note] A bit slower and more reflective episode. I always claimed this comic would have a snail’s pace as I intend to make it for years and years.
Paulie
[Author note] On the second panel I broke the golden rule of “if you’re singing about the moon, the worst thing you can do is point at the moon.” While discussing Rifky’s aging I showed the side-by-side comparison. I feel vile. But I really wanted that shot of floating heads.
Paulie
[Author note] This is another episode that I open with Rifky’s summary of the current events. Are these reminders too frequent? Let me know if you feel like your intelligence is being insulted by the author.
Paulie
[Author note] Am I supportive of skimpiness and raunchiness in comics? Of course, and I keep saying that I welcome a tasteful dose of sexualization of all genders (sexualization of only women is kind of cringy to be honest). I tried to emphasize it with the butt cornucopia in panel 7, but Taro’s ass got mostly obscured by his greatsword. And, sadly, that’s not an euphemism.
Paulie
[Author note] This episode I am experimenting with the format a bit. The panels are slightly larger and more spread out than before. I did not want to make the font any larger, since every now and then I need a wall of text (like the monologues in this episode) and a larger font would take too much space. I hope it's fine this way and easy on the eye. Let me know in the comments, especially if you read on mobile.
Paulie
[Author note] Let’s end the chapter with some friendly banter between two relatively new characters. How many new characters is too many? I promise next episode we are returning to some established faces.
Paulie
[Author note] In this episode: people pouring booze.
Paulie
[Author note] Some wicked witches return and others debut.
Paulie
[Author note] That’s it when it comes to checking up on Rifky’s current day endeavors, at least for the time being. Next time we’re back to the retrospect of how the entire mess started.
Paulie
[Author note] Dialogue-heavy episodes are tough. Almost zero action, just talk, eh? Well, I hope that at least while binging the series, the episode will flow nicely.
Paulie
[Author note] This episode is heavy on references. Some are comedic, some are serious, but I don't really want to spoil them. I feel dirty even mentioning their presence 😬
Paulie
[Author note] A bit of an interlude in the Horrik’s story. For the next couple of episodes we’ll check directly on our narrator and hopefully learn what the deal with the fissures is.
Paulie
[Author note] Recently I’ve noticed a TYPO in episode 2 (the word “diving” instead of “dividing”). I’m trying not to be too anal about stuff like this, but it did bug me a lot and I’ve changed it in most of my mirrors (wherever I was able to edit an episode). It led me to an observation that I’m more eager to correct text than to correct art. I guess the sucking of early art is not an “error”, it’s a testament.
Paulie
[Author note] While I’m not a pro comic book artist, I did spend multiple years drawing comics. Today is the *first* time I’m attempting a panel frame break (the third to last panel). While I do respect the ‘rules’ of old-school comic book making, breaking the frame always seemed odd to me, like it was admitting “I ran out of space.” But I tried it and it seems pretty cool. I did run out of space btw.
Paulie
[Author note] This chapter introduces Nina and Taro, the story's mainstays. I hope they become fan-favorites, as Taro likes showing some skin and Nina is properly thicc.
Paulie
Thanks for the comment! Yeah, not from Shredder, but I can see why you would think that.
Paulie
[Author note] A few tidbits to finish off this chapter. There were two cases of an homage/blatant steal. The armor Warmaster Flesh is wearing is a design from a Guild Wars 1 game. In fact, that is where the character itself was first visualized properly. Also, the final line from this chapter is a Robert De Niro line from the movie Ronin. You know what they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Paulie 2 weeks ago
[Author note] If you feel overwhelmed by the number of characters, then I believe that Sister Lena is the final of the “main-stays” that will be introduced for a while. Minor spoiler: next episode we take a few steps back to learn what led to the current state of affairs.