The Low Roads, Chapter 4 (comic, M/F: ribs; various).

[Low_Roads]

Link to Chapter 1: http://www.tickletheater.com/showthread.php?t=22104
Link to Chpater 5: http://www.tickletheater.com/showthread.php?t=28472
Links to all chapters: http://www.tickletheater.com/showthread.php?t=39114

Evening all, and welcome to another session (24 pages) in our continuing Low Roads saga. Dress for damp weather... tonight's trail leads us to the soggy setting of Unterburg, a settlement mired in the misery of an ugly past...

Pages 1-5:

 

[Low_Roads]

Pages 6-10:

 

[Low_Roads]

Pages 11-16:

 

[Low_Roads]

Pages 16-20:

 

[Low_Roads]

Final pages, 21-24:

 

[Kalamos]

Epic.

 

[a1532b]

Sweet addition to the comic. You should make it into a full-blown webcomic. Very well thought out and deep. 😉

Littlebighead scares me, though....

 

[Abadon XXX1]

Excellent man \m/
I have to admit, Sally was a decent looker. Too bad she is dead though. I bet she had really ticklish feet.

 

[Low_Roads]

Thanks a lot, Kal! 😀 I want this story to be intimate primarily, but it should also have some epic scope from time to time. This is your chapter, by the way. I've been building to this one ever since we had that discussion about necro-tickling way back last year. Sally isn't technically a corpse, but her withered, mummfied appearance makes the difference not worth considering.

Very kind of you, A1! Such appreciation makes the effort involved more than worthwhile! Keep a wary eye on Little Big Head... he'll become far more disreputable and dangerous as the story wears on!

Thanks so much for the kind words about Sally, Abadon! I imagine you're right about her feet... all my characters are desperately ticklish one way or another (and feet are always my favorite target!) We should revisit the early Sally someday and see if it's true... it would make a good incident for a future chapter!

 

[Ignatz]

I am going to be late for work! And it's ALL YOUR FAULT!

 

[Low_Roads]

I really like this style 🙂

A poor thing, but all mine own!😛 Thanks so much for the compliment, Obdub!

Ah man, so sorry Ignatz! The exposition was a bit thick in this chapter... my characters never know when to shut up! 😛 I try to rein 'em in, but they overpower me!

 

[scavenger]

What a read! Your story is truly getting epic proportions, I can't wait how this will evolve!

I also want to say the descend to the lake bottom is very well done colour wise: first green then blue and black, which gives it a realistic feeling of the cold, silent darkness down there.

🙂

 

[Low_Roads]

Thank you Scav! :happy: Delighted you're enjoying the story! And so pleased to get your take on the color motif, supporting my decision to go monochromatic at the lake bottom. The original plan was to use ordinary colors themes, then darken them. In retrospect, this would probably have been a mistake, adding a bit of variety but sacrificing, as you say, an atmosphere of icy isolation. It also made for a bit less work on the panels (but it was wholly an artistic consideration, I promise you! 😛 )

 

[cyclypse]

*saves all* Nice! More for the folder! Awesome as always LBH XD

 

[Low_Roads]

Thanks loads, Anime! Always honored to have space in your folder! Love the wild, dynamic new signature, by the way! Jypsy and Yuri look wonderful in those cool blue tones!

 

[cyclypse]

Thanks =) Trying to figure out how to make it link to my new site.

 

[Jaynin]

I think I can help you with that if you like it, 316.

Anyway, I have to be sneaky (damned roommate) but I'll just say that I found this incredibly interesting; I've always been one for a good plot, which is why my stories are so long. Of course you draw excellently as always, and I do think the monochromatic scheme of the underwater scene was quite effective.

 

[Ignatz]

My pleasure in reading Chapter 4 was diminished only by the fact that Sally bears an uncomfortable resemblance to my last date.

 

[Low_Roads]

I hope that means the site opening is immenent, Anime! The taste you gave us a few weeks ago of the reconfigured Jipsy is quite tantalizing! Can't wait to see the whole thing!

Thanks for saying so, Jaynin! Very kind of you! The expostion passages are always fun to write: I think they broaden story's environment a bit, making it more credible. Speaking of stories, I hadn't been back to your site in awhile: I notice that there's now a 6th chapter to your Demon Hunter Shuni that I've yet to read! I really, REALLY need to be more diligent, since that series is so entertaining! I'm anxious to see how Chapter 5's cliff-hanger ending resolves... my guess is that Shuni and Akari's animosity will lessen, and that a friendship (or at least an understanding) will develop. Of course, that's only empty speculation... I'll be better informed once I've actually read it!

I know I'm skating on thin ice, Ignatz... but which Sally resembled your date: the early or the later one! I tried to make them both moderately attractive (and, of course, that's an impossible up-hill battle with the current desicated model!) Regardless, I'm deeply pleased your enjoying the read! Thanks so much for letting me know!

 

[pison]

Your artwork is quite amazing, I'll have to admit. Good work.

The art style somewhat reminds me of Dr. Seuss, or some of those old-school cartoons that I think used to be on the old sesame street. The ones with the flying fox or whatever he was cartoons? I forget.

 

[Low_Roads]

That's very nice of you to say, Pison! Thank you! Comparing my art to that of Dr. Seuss is a huge compliment, and he could easily have influenced my work! I read his books constantly during my formative years! Perhaps the cartoon show you're refering to is the early '60s Jay Ward series Rocky and His Friends (featuring Rocky the Flying Squirrel). If so, that's another huge compliment... I'm probably the biggest Rocky and Bullwinkle fan there is (barring Ignatz, of course!)

 

[Ignatz]

I meant Dessicated Sally. (SIGH!)

 

[Darth Godflesh]

Quite an excellent addition to the saga!
Even though I don't have a lot of sympathy for zombie chicks (even ticklsh ones!) yout storytelling is great, it's going even further into more strange settings, some of the sea-creatures reminded me of H.P. lovecraft's Deep Ones (Have you read about them?) even when their purposes were different.
Congrats!

 

[Low_Roads]

I meant Dessicated Sally. (SIGH!)

Ouch! That's what I was afraid of!

Many thanks, Darth Godflesh! Oh yes, I'm highly familiar with Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos and Innsmouth setting! I didn't intend it in any deliberate way, but Unterburg certainly is a shadow of Cthulhu's submerged city, R'lyeh. In fact, the whole notion of bogey transfromation has a Lovecraftean feel (a la Wilbur Whately). I'd always wanted to do a Dunwich Horror film adapation featuring Cthulhu (see picture below). Indeed, HP Lovecraft has had a profound influense on my thinking about this project, moreso than I'd ever fully considered! Well recognized!

 

[Senshi1]

Wow, just saw this thread - I love your style, LBH! 😀 It's also evident that a hell of a lot of work has gone into this series. Did you use any programs to enhance the pictures or was it all done by hand, if you don't mind my asking? It looks as though it must have taken you days.