He had walked all day and his feet hurt. He was almost killed by giant centipedes and an ogre. He had murdered five sleeping kobolds. He hurt his back hauling a treasure chest up a flight of stairs. He looked again at his hands. His blood-stained hands.
And he realized, despite all those negatives, that he had never felt so alive. So adventurous. So free. And, if he could, he would do it all again tomorrow.
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| Click to enlarge, or view here. |
Hmmm...I hope this isn't the last we see of Ehlissa, that character has grown on me. I mean, it has *really* grown on me being perhaps the most original graphic portrayal of an AD&D woman character ever.
ReplyDeleteShe is cute, but looks like a real woman from a medieval world, using head covers and dresses. The conical hat in the early pages was awesome. The artist is either looking at real-world medieval fashion or has watched certain 1950's movies set in the Middle Ages.
She is something we could expect to see in medival-fantastic setting that is minimally serious and is not trying to pander to the darker impulses of adolescent boys.
No dominatrix leathers, chainmail bikinis with spiky nipples, magical makeup that never comes off or gravity-defying boobs on an impossibly narrow waist for this lady (and I use the term in its truest sense). Heck, she even looks she might be a bit on the chubby side by modern standards (hard to tell with her dress) and I bet she has hairy legs and armpits too.
Go Ehlissa! :-)
Oh, I'd also like to see if her desire for hanky-panky with Tenser (as shown on Page 8) reaches any fruition. But if that happens, please...no Game of Thrones TV series levels of pornography. :-p
Tenser and Yrag are awesome too. The wizard in his egyptian-esque attire is readily identifiable from the only official picture I saw of him, and Yrag...good lord! Did anyone notice the padded gambeson he was wearing when the trip to Castle Greyhawk started? Or the quilted open-face balaclava he wears beneath his helm? And his plate armor looks like, *gasp*, normal plate armor!
This series is turning out to be very best AD&D-inspired comic in history. None of the official comics put out by TSR or WotC come close in comparison. If Wizards had a brain they should hire Scott and Mortellan to make a commercial, deadwood version of it, probably colored or better yet available in B&W and color versions electronically. Covers by invited artists, TSR luminaries if possible.
The OSR folks would probably step over each other trying to get those goodies.
Ehlissa has an interesting history. Originally intended as a throw-away early companion to Tenser, that idea was vetoed very early on by my girlfriend. Insisting that Ehlissa was the best part, she demanded that I bring her back. Sadly, Ehlissa does not figure into chapter 2, but you will see her again if this runs long enough. In the meanwhile, you can head over to Fanfiction.net and read "Ehlissa's Story" (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4016724/1/Ehlissa-s-Story) a prologue to Castle Greyhawk I wrote -- gosh, six years ago now!
ReplyDeleteAs for Wizards, I keep dreaming for that phone call too. Sure, I'd like to earn some bucks off of this myself, but the real crime is that Mike earns nothing for all the amazing art he's given us Greyhawk fans over the years. Tell that to everyone you know and get them following this blog. Wizards isn't going to pay any attention to a blog with 40-50 followers, but if we had 400-500...?
I read Ehlissa's Tale just now. Very nice. Love your style. It really pulled me in and made me want to just keep reading.
DeleteI had to stop myself from reading the Castle Greyhawk entry of yours because I don't want to be spoiled on the rest of the strip.
Thank you, Blucher! "Ehlissa's Story," written so long ago, doesn't quite fit in with the story as it looks today. That's why I didn't include it in the hardcover edition.
DeleteThis is very good stuff Scott - I am recommending the series for my beginning characters to read. I also am finding Ehlissa to be very sympathetic, and am sad to see (at least for the short term), that she won't be involved.
DeleteThank you, Quint! I think your characters will have a difficult time reading this. Perhaps your players should read it?
DeleteWell, I for one, hope that you dreams come true Scott.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're right, Mike is often under-appreciated . . . but not by me. ;)
Thanks for all the hard work guys. Love the comic!
I'm way late to the party obviously, but I agree. This is a fantastic series. The art is great! Really like all the characters too. I'm glad there has been just three so far. Makes you feel like you are really getting to know them.
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