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Post by PFA on Aug 1, 2020 12:33:55 GMT -5
 Everything was well in Sutilos, until suddenly a man from another world appears to them. Little did anyone know, that this would be the start of a series of events that would forever change the fate of all the worlds.--- Hey everyone! As some of you might know, I've been doing an event called Backstory Month for several years, where I make a short comic talking about the backstory of one or more of my characters. I usually just post it on my personal website and spam links to it now and then, but I'm really excited about this one, so I thought I'd try posting it here, too! If all goes well, I'll be updating this post with a new page every day for the rest of August (and likely some of September too). This comic should require no foreknowledge of any of my other stories. I hope you enjoy! --- Page 1 (TW: animal hides (not super detailed though)) Page 2 (TW: same as above) Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 (TW: blood?) Page 31 (TW: same as above but even less) |
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Post by PFA on Sept 2, 2020 1:09:01 GMT -5
The final page of the comic is now up! For anyone who was waiting to read the whole thing in one go, you can now do so \ o /
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Post by Celestial on Sept 14, 2020 10:37:56 GMT -5
I finally got around to reading this! Here's the commentary. I will be giving a page by page read and then an overall summary. Page 1: The perspective on this is very good. It sets things up nicely by telling the audience about where it is. Curious to see where it will go.
Page 2: Ah, sweet, Vallen and Almodine! Nice to know what characters we are following. Curious about this beast infestation too. Let's see what these two find.
Page 3: I love thar bard's outfit. The hat and the extra detail of the cape makes them really visually interesting. Their pose is also great! And ooh, title drop and ancient songs. I am intrigued. Also, Almodine's face at the end is really cute.
Page 4: Aww, we don't get to hear the song. =( But I get the feeling it will be important as we go in, since the thought has been planted in Almodine's head (and knowing what I know of your work). Once again, the bard's pose is amazing. Perspective on the last panel is also great. Your art style is simple but it really does give that sense of space and perspective.
Pge 5: Time skip! It is nice to see Vallen interacting more with his dad, I do get a sense of the bond between them. And ooh, intruiging stuff. Who is this mysterious person from Tilotaria? Love his outfit.
Page 6: Mysterious stranger has a name, nice, and we get a glimpse of his magnificent sideburns. x3 And oh wow, that's a change! People from other worlds, coming in to share knowledge? Could go so wrong but also yield so much good. Let's see what the council says...
Page 7: Hmm, that is suspicious. I would say the sword is for self-defence but why would a mage need a sword for self-defence? Odd. Also, Lucho's face at the end, combined with all the information that the other characters sense about him, it seems sinister.
Page 8: Oh, whoops. Yes, definitely was a bad decision, and welp, that's what I was fearing might happen. This is not going to lead to good things. I am very worried for Vallen's dad.
Page 9: Oh no, Vallen's dad! But seeing Lucho's power here was really cool. Finally nice to see what he is capable of.
Page 10: Urgh, Lucho is such a smug jerk. If he's that powerful, it would make sense but still. And, Vallen, no, that's a bad idea, don't do it.
Page 11: =O Portal! Oh no, Vallen, Almodine, no! That is so bad.
Page 12: I feel so awful for Vallen's dad. =( Having your kid and his friend gone like that...Lucho better pay (although it was technically Vallen's fault for chasing him)
Page 13: New place! We see where our heroes ended up. And ooh, mysterious old man threatening the smug jerk. Please, yes, show him the error of his ways and get him to stop invading other worlds. =|
Page 14: Urgh, Lucho's colonialist mindset is gross here. It sucks that is what people believed in the past (and some still do). But now mysterious old man has noticed our characters... (I do love how each page ends with a little cliffhanger. It makes the comic really fast-paced and encourages the reader to keep going. I often get mixed up with what page I am commenting on since they all blend so well)
Page 15: Mysterious artefacts? Colour me curious. Also, I know it is simple and black and white but the background of these past few pages in the new world is really gorgeous. I do love myself some overgrown, atmospheric what-looks-like-ruins.
Page 16: We now have a name! Avrum. I already like him. And cool, we get more context of the Unias Praetris, and some worldbuilding. I always do like the idea of one central world connecting to other worlds.
Page 17: Alright, more worldbuilding, and the introduction of a new, cool device for our heroes. I am liking all of this, it makes for a cool cosmology. And potential quest for recovering the stones?
Page 18: Aah, an answer to how the Tilotarians are travelling between worlds, and it clearly not good. It explains the crystal we saw on Lucho's glove (which he shows off kindly for us here, looking punchable as always). Also, holy cow, that last panel. The uniforms are gorgeous and it is so atmospheric and sinister. =O Definitely my favourite panel in the comic so far, and it is going to be hard to top.
Page 19: Poor kids, seems like they are stuck for now. Unless, of course, they take on that world stone finding quest. Because I doubt the Tilotarians will help. They seem like jerks.
Page 20: Good on you, Vallen, fight the power! But yes, for now, it seems like it is a good idea for the two to get some food and rest. They have had a rough day, and some food and rest will help them decide what to do next.
Page 21: Heck yes, help Avrum with his task. \o/ This is the start of an epic adventure. Vallen certainly has the spirit and determination for it.
Page 22: Timeskip, and we see our heroes developing their might and magic skills in order to become great adventurers. It is cool to see the skills Vallen was being taught earlier coming back. (Though his poor dad) And yes, we get to start out grand adventure. \o/
Page 23: New world, and new characters. Hello, Kirsten, and thanks for demonstrating the magic for us. It is also cool to see Avrum's relationships amongst all the worlds. We get the sense that he has travelled.
Page 24: OH NO, not those guys again. Please stop them...hopefully without killing Avrum. =(
Page 25: Hey, it's that guy from the epic panel on page 18. That can only be bad news. Everyone, trust Avrum. You know him! Don't fall for this dude's rhetoric.
Page 26: Whoo, Vallen to the rescue. Tell them like it is. And good on Kristen for standing up to the jerk...but oh gosh, that was a mistake. =( Still, nice of him to show his true colours.
Page 27: Phew, glad that there was no conflict and he was driven off. But doubt that is the last we see of him. Avrum is right, it is dangerous. But this may also be the morale boost the heroes need to start actively fighting, so yay.
Page 28: Oh, Kirsten's ability is unusual? I did not pick up on that. Still, that is cool. And yes, join the gang, girl. \o/ it is cool that Kirsten does not know about the Unias Praetris too: shows the disparity among worlds regarding the legend. UniPra is such an adorkable name. It is the sort of thing someone as enthusiastic and young as Vallen would come up with for sure.
Page 29: This really does make it feel like a backstory thing, with Vallen narrating his adventures. And the group shot at the end, awesome!
Page 30: ...oh, oh no. So much for that truimphant feeling in the last page. Poor Vallen. Poor everyone. Though what happened to Almodine?
Page 31: CLIFFHANGER holy cow. Hello Gloria! Well, this is certainly a great segue into Mundus Concordia.
Overall: A really great backstory comic! You clearly put a ton of work into it. The story flows well and shows us the backstory for Vallen and Almodine and how they came to be involved. It also does a really great job of establishing the Tilotarians and their tactics for conquering worlds, as well as the world system themselves. The characters are fun, although Vallen does get disportionately more focus than Almodine, who I feel fades out of the story in the second half. You did a really great job with the art. Even though it is black and white and simple, the presence of the setting is felt. I could almost imagine the different colour shifts in the worlds. As a backstory comic to Mundus, it sets up Vallen and Almodine and their quest, as well as their past efforts in trying to fight the Tilotarians. Their motivations are clear, especially Vallen's, and relatable. You also give off a sense of what the game itself is all about. Even without playng RPGs like Final Fantasy, which I believe is what Mundus is going to be like, I got the feeling of it from this comic: recruiting teams, fighting bad guys, all that fun stuff.
You made a fantastic backstory comic and should be proud! =D |
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Post by PFA on Sept 14, 2020 11:37:36 GMT -5
Ahh, thanks, Celestial! I really appreciate it. <3 I'm really glad you like the backgrounds! Finding the right balance of "setting the scene" and "being simple to draw" is a challenge, so it's good to hear I succeeded on that front. I'm also really glad you liked the final panel of page 18, because it was easily my favorite panel to draw, haha.
Speaking of which, though, I should clarify that the colonel who shows up to Adaru is not the same character as the one from page 18. I'll chalk that up to me still getting over Same Face Syndrome, lol.
You're right that Almodine kind of falls out of the story in the latter half. My reasoning for that is that Avrum didn't start taking Almodine with him to other worlds until a bit later, just due to Vallen being older than her. But she is part of the group in page 29, for whatever that's worth. (She also does appear in panel 2 of page 30)
But yeah, I'm really glad you enjoyed it! I've been working on this story for a long time, so it's good to hear it came out well. <3 |
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