Episode 285: “It’s come to this.”
This was yet another case where I repeatedly tore up the page and started over.
In the previous version, I had “the king” begin explaining the backstory to Quimp while they all just sat there. Sure, the dragon snuggles are cute, but it meant having five characters (seven, if you count Maledicta and Bob’s occasional appearances) in a cramped space over many, many pages.
It was fine but it definitely felt stifling and visually uninteresting. It felt claustrophobic and I wasn’t happy with it. So I tore it up.
I ended up doing what I always seem to do when I hit this kind of impasse, we’re moving the plot forward and will overlap the backstory with what was going to have happened next.
I’m already much happier to have the characters moving.
And then, just before the episode went live, I felt the need to rewrite some dialogue. “The King” in panel three was saying something a bit too mean to Quimp. It was a pretty good joke/insult but, again, just too mean and not really in keeping with “the king’s” character. This version is better.
Shockingly, today (Monday July 18), is the 6th anniversary of The Middle Age! I can’t thank you all enough for your kind years of support!
And welcome to new Patreon supporter Dan!
— Steve
This Post Has 7 Comments
6th anniversary ? Cant be , when did that happen? 😉
Congratulations ! ANd please keep the awesome work btw
Okay, a couple of questions around Phosophene… Why in her previous human forms dis he have what looked to be green hair behind her “crown”, but now it’s black, and we didn’t see her ears before??? Even so, Mom’s appearance is fully human with very human looking ears… So I’m just a bit confused. Second, her facial features have changed, you are giving her much more distinct cheeks. Perhaps the cheeks are supposed to show she is ill and “gaunt”, but if not I liked the previous way you drew her better…
Hey, just looked at the previous strip, and her hair was green there… are they messing up colors again on you like when the “necklace’s” runes were blacked out when she went through a portal? Looks like they might have done it on the strip titled “The Red” too, though that one is through a shading that makes it a bit opaque….
That last panel summarizes a popular abbreviated appreciation of relativity.
Don’t post… unless you want to…. Are you alright, you’ve never taken almost a month’s break from posting before????
Rich, thanks for checking in. I really need a blog section here to post non-episode updates. 🙂 There were a few unexpected interruptions but I am at work on the next episode – I was about to start streaming the coloring on twitch when my Mac went kablooey. I’m typing this as my desktop restarts. I expect to be back to at least a weekly schedule for the rest of the year, Mac-willing! 🙂
I really appreciate everyone’s patience!
Time to consult the Computer Wizard, or depending on how far along the problem is, a Technomancer.