"Spectacles of Doom" (an ongoing multi-part sci-fi adventure comic).

[Low_Roads]

Episode 11, scene 1, pages 16-20:

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 11, scene 1, pages 21-23:

 

[His Divine Shadow]

Into the bog! Reminds me of both the Swamps of Sadness from the Neverending Story and the Death Marshes of LOTR, in a way. One may enter each, but from neither is one supposed to return. 'Course, neither had any hostile life within them if I remember correctly (Not counting Monsieur Wolf-thing from NES). Visions of Dune came to me in the first few frames as well. Wormsign!

 

[Low_Roads]

Trying to look back, it's really tough to figure out what exactly prompted the radium bog idea, HDS... as you indicate, influences from all over tend to get get scrambled together. Most likely it was old "Tarzan" movies :laughing: ... as a kid, I was always really impressed each time some bad guy disappeared into quicksand! It seemed a particularly nasty, exotic way to meet your end! The Lord of the Rings and the Dune series have always been amongst my very favorite reading... it seems impossible they wouldn't have been prime influences. As in The Two Towers, the bog was supposed to have formed around the site of a disaster (a radioactive meteor strike). A large dollop of King Kong will become obvious too, the further we proceed.

The primary source of inspiration for this whole project was Treasure Island (small surprise there), one of my favorite stories since childhood, with a bit of Moby Dick thrown in for spice (the random, multi-ethnic nature of the ships' crews; the name "Talioshi', a rather deliberate take-off on the Pequod's second harpooneer, Tashtego). Wilbur Webfoot is sort of a Jim Hawkins surrogate, though of course he doesn't receive the same focus as in the original. And many of the details don't have literary antecidents at all. I've lived in a quiet rural setting my whole life... without outside distratctions, the mind does tend to wander...

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 11, scene 2, pages 1-5:

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 11, scene 2, pages 6-7:

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 11, scene 3, pages 1-3:

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 11, scene 4, pages 1-5:

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 11, scene 4, pages 6-10:

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 11, scene 4, pages 11-13:

 

[His Divine Shadow]

Another one bites the dust (Or does he?). And Wilbur's a little crackers, if I do say so meself. =P First thing I though when I saw that slug-thing was that it was a krayt dragon, the greater variety anyway. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Giantkraytdragonsketches.jpg) *Thumbs up*

 

[Low_Roads]

That Krayt Dragon illustration is gorgeous! Incredible artwork! And you're right, the two animals look a lot alike (mine's the aquatic variety, I think! 😉) Thank you for the link, HDS! Also for your wealth of cross-cultural acumen! 🙂

Ah! A perceptive observation about Talioshi's fate (I'll say no more, so as not to ruin any suspense)! Wilbur may, in fact, be losing his grip. He certainly wasn't any help to Talioshi (even if his heart was in the right place). Well, he has been through a grueling ordeal!

After mulling the subject over for a few days, I've finally remembered the chief prompting for the Radium Bog idea. It was based mostly on a similar scene in a 1960s fantasy film, Captain Sinbad. Sinbad (stellarly portrayed by Guy Williams) and his crew are likewise forced to tramp through a swamp, encountering a wide selection of monsters and other menaces. While not as high-tech as the Harryhausen fantasy films which surrounded it (and doubtless inspired it), the film was great fun and made a huge impression on me. Don't pass up an opportunity to see it (there's been no DVD release that I know of... AMC might be the best bet).

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 11, scene 5, pages 1-2:

 

[His Divine Shadow]

Hee! I try not to fill your thread with comments every scene, but I must note that I like Mr. Celluloid's line in the second to last frame: "I'm an adult, of sorts." XD! I must remember to use that one.

 

[Low_Roads]

Heh heh! Thanks HDS! Please feel free! Mr. Celluloid was the primary role I played on the Commander Duck show. The character was loosely based on my own personality: a rabid cheap-horror film enthusiast; a goofy, optimistic loner; a guy always a little too eager to please... "an adult, of sorts" could easily be my motto!

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 11, scene 6, pages 1-5:

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 11, scene 6, pages 6-10:

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 11, scene 6, pages 11-13:

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 12, scene 1, pages 1-5:

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 12, scene 1, pages 6-10:

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 12, scene 1, page 11:

Picture #2 - another Commander Duck poster, this one for a special 4-part story. Caligula Jones was featured, along with the title monster:

 

[His Divine Shadow]

The plot thickens (Or, rather, hardens.)! HDS was wondering if the Gorgonhelm might have anything to do with those three dread sisters of lore. But even with that nifty swift-boat of sorts, methinks those two will be hard pressed to recover ground against Jones (Especially not with the other pursuers newly dispatched.).

 

[Low_Roads]

I reckoned you'd be hot on the heels of any and all clues, HDS! You've picked up on every subtlty I've attempted, and nothing pleases an author more (unless, perhaps, it's to have his characters taken seriously and discussed in terms of their motivations and concerns, something you've also been good enough to do! :happy: ) I'll have to bring the plot twists thick and fast to reach the conclusion to this story well before you do!

I've always been keen on the rich complexity of the Greek fables... Edith Hamilton was amongst my earliest reading, and most inspirational to what I'd come to create myself. I'm only sorry I couldn't work in some hint of the Labyrinth, a favorite mythological construction... though I do have plans for same once I've returned to the Low Roads.

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 12, scene 2, pages 1-5:

 

[Low_Roads]

Episode 12, scene 3, pages 1-5: