Page 976…
Today….Alex flew.
I had to keep reminding myself while working on today’s page how important it was to the story.
This is the day that Alex really becomes a man. That he takes everything he’s learned. And decides…there’s something bigger…more important than him.
Nastajia.
On a personal note. This is a bit autobiographical I guess.
I was just like Alex in many ways growing up. Cocky, always focusing on my own thing. I missed a lot of important events with my family because I was focused on my art, or whatever was on my radar at the time.
It wasn’t until I met Donna that my eyes were opened. I realized how selfish I was.
Suddenly…I saw my mom doing laundry. And wanted to help.
I wanted to help my sister in school.
It was as if I saw it all for the first time.
All because I had this wonderful girl in my life (she was 19…I was 20) and all I cared about was making her happy.
This is the path I wanted for Alex. His journey. It followed in many ways my own.
And now. Alex can TRULY be more than he ever could alone. Because of the love of Nastajia.
Both his love for her…and the love she will return to him.
In many ways…I think that’s the only time a person feels “whole”.
Though a child’s love for their parent is pretty cool too.
🙂
But Alex is WAAAAAYYY far away from THAT type of love. TRUST me.
Anyways. I hope you’ve enjoyed this momentous page. And I hope my rambling didn’t do anything to diminish its importance.
Scott
DA DA-DA-DA DA-DA DA-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
all i am waiting is for him to come up and right hook after orion saying excellent!
that…was…TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!!
And Scott, hey, thanks for everything you shared with us; both this story, and your story, and your time. You truely are “da man!”
Whoohoo Alex! On a side note, awesome reflection in his armor. Gives a very nice depth to the artwork.
Nice motivation. Of course, Orion knew he would do that the entire time. But now…he has to face Alex’s wrath! lol. Nice page, Scott, and I don’t think the rambling was too long. It helped define Alex a little bit more. I think we all have that “turning point” though.
I would expect the sword to come into play, however we all know that Alex isn’t that type of character. I’ve been reading to much GRRM.
Is this the part where Alex goes: “I know Kung-fu”?
It may just be me and my love for the dramatic, but I’d love a wallpaper of this moment in Alex’s life. Him hovering miles above ground facing Orion on his first flight, a look of determination and clarity in Alex’s face from the epiphany he experienced… (Or maybe it only looks as good in my head?)
Either way, I know what few epiphanies I’ve experienced have been treasured moments of mine. I assume the same is true of yours. It couldn’t have happened to a better person, and it’s portrayed fantastically in the strip. I especially love the gleam in Alex’s eyes on panel 1, like the lights have suddenly gone on.
I applaud your brilliance!
Orion’s excellent… did he really think it was excellent, dude, like something Bill & Ted would say, or was it more of a non-plussed “hmm, well, either way he’ll be gone soon” excellent?
I mean, it was kind of a win-win situation for Orion, either the annoying human is removed from the picture or the human leaves and is removed from the picture.
And now he socks Orion in the face?
I had a similar thought.
Scott, you may not use Mike Meyers or Keanu Reeves as the voice of Orion in any adaptation of TDC.
Banaticus, I expect that the word “Excellent” was said with satisfaction and a bit of congratulations.
Yes! Let the centaur beatings commence! 😀
And then when Orion is all battered and bruised, Alex leans down and says, adding insult to injury, “You know that girl back in my world at college that draws the centaur hentai? Yeah… I am not using your magic bag to smuggle some of that back for you now – deal’s off.”
now rip Orion’s tail feather out and stab him in the eye with it.
W00T! Alexander flew!
Now we are so happy, we do the Dance of Joy!
Aaand…I think it’s really sweet and pretty much perfect how Nastajia is his reason. 🙂 *hopeless romantic*
subtle
precise
i like it.
And he’s not going to get crazy-mad either. He’s just had his eyes opened.
So am I XD
Well, now.
Alex has achieved flying, but Orion stated that he could do “much more.” We already saw some of that when Alex threw off the 10 or more pirates that jumped on him. So what more can Alex do? What can he learn from the tablets that is such a threat to Nicodemous?
Taking that thought further, how did it all “go down” when Nick (presumably) killed the human ruling family of Dreamland and usurped the throne? Some or all of them were in full possession of these extra abilities.
Well, if nothing else, we’ll probably find out how the sword got into the hall of human kings and into the stone.
First off…wow what a ride to get to this point! Keep it coming!
Secondly, DUDE! you can do better than those last three panels. Don’t change it now, but the poster edition of “Alex’s return to Flight” needs to be a shot from behind Orion with Alex slightly above him having just flown up out of the canyon. We’ve been waiting for this moment for so long and the “reveal” is good, but you can do better.
I’m so mixed feeling’d right now. That was so anti-climatic yet so very awesome at the same time. For example, if I was just a person passing by and seeing this over someone’s shoulder, I would not think of this as awesomely as for someone who’s stuck with the story from page 1 onwards.
And the moment we all have been waiting for has finally arrived!! WOO HOO! Go Alex!
Your “rambling” did nothing to diminish this moment. If anything it made it even more significant. It’s a beautiful story and a poignant lesson that more of us have gone through than would probably like to admit. Though I guess the real moral of that story is that we have Donna to thank for all the wonderful work you do. Hmmm….. =)
Please, Tempest, allow me to view my point of view on your comment. It will only take a moment of your time.
When someone plays the guitar, will they be able to pull off “Smoke on the Water” (by Deep Purple), “Back in Black” (by ACDC), “Want You Bad”(by The Offspring; could’ve done a better example), or “Freebird” (by Lynyrd Skynyrd) flawlessly, meaning without missing a single note or beat, blind-folded, while skydiving? Of course not; that would be silly. Would make an awesome picture, but realistically improbable. A beginning learns the fine basics of the notes, the hand positions, etc. before moving on the more advanced techniques. Sooner or later, they will be able to do a couple of songs and possibly make their own! But Orion isn’t giving guitar lessons, is he? So, back to the topic.
As I see it, the first “basic” of flying in levitation, a simple hovering above the ground. In this page, Alex looks more like he’s hovering off of the slant of the cliff, and slowly (but surely) rising to Orion’s level. Sure, it’s not Superman status, but he’s just a beginner. So give it time, Tempest!
Sooner or later, Alex will learn how to do loop-de-loop barrel rolls, blindfolded, while writing an eccentric poem and finishing a good cup of hot joe. Just give the boy some time…
And liked that autobiographical touch you’ve used here. It was really sweet, too. <3
LOL!!!! Sorry I just had to comment since you made a GRRM reference and all. This comic is way on the other side of the spectrum from ASoIaF, I did not expect to see that.
scott, albeit I do not care for Love anymore, I do perfectly well understand what you mean. I’ve been THERE. ^^
Good job, Alex! Now PUNCH him!
Problem with that is, Alex is not just now learning how to fly; he is not a beginner. He did it for years as a child, he just had to get back on the horse, so to speak. I would be very surprised if, now over his fear and disbelief, he did not return to his previous aptitude. Like riding a bike, you never truly forget a skill.
I certainly hope so. *mutters* self-righteous prick.
I suspect it was more of a self-satisfied sort of ‘excellent’.
the kids and their cosplays and their fanarts! SQUEE~ X3
My first thought was “That was it? All of it?”
Imho there is a page inbetween missing or something alike…
I mean maybe it’s only me but I miss a bit of struggling here. You see him fall, then a face closeup and then Alex is already almost on top again. You don’t actually see him stop falling and fighting or tensing or repositioning or something to get up again. You somehow don’t see the process, it happens too casually imho. You don’t see his body in this most crucial moment of the story. Just his face: “No! Oh, yeah, I’m back…” I almost felt cheated.
Zarkanorf,
I agree with your point. He shouldn’t come flying up at super-sonic speeds. Or come up swinging. One never forgets how to ride a bike, but you can certainly take a while to get your sense of balance and control again after several years away from riding.
I’m not saying Alex should exhibit any different abilities than what we see in the comic. I am saying that how it is shown isn’t as good as SSava’s past work has shown him to be capable of. This page made me smile and cheer out loud, when it could have made me shed tears of joy.
Yahooo!!! IT happened!!! He did he did he did! ok, yeah, I love the centar’s comment “Ecellent” I just pushed you off the cliff and all I have to say for it is ‘Ecellent’ lol.
After reading the last few pages, I felt inspired to create a Dreamland Poster in homage to my favorite game series of all time. Check it out. So much thanks to Scott for animating Alexander in the perfect falling pose.
http://4thwall.240gl.org/viewtopic.php?t=1134
I too noticed the reflection of Orion! very nice detail there Scott!
I think it was more of the “Mr. Burns” style of excellent…
Many of you also forgotten that Alex did predict that this will happen lol. That he would be thrown off the side of the mountain in-order to relearn how to fly again :p
Alex is a bit smarter than you would think! haha.
On another note, I do love the close-ups of Alex and we can truly see how shiny and reflective it is, but just noticing now, when he is with Orion, the suit seems to stand out too much, as if there isn’t enough shading on it to reflect the difference in sunlight and shadows. It just seems a bit out of place in the 2nd through 4th panels. The first panel is perfect but the rest of them just seems too…bright with no contrast.
I got more of a Morpheus vibe from it. Come to think of it, whenever Orion says anything, I hear Laurence Fishburne…
… and the moment he realizes that he’s flying, he’ll fall… just like in first attempt at driving a bike. 😉
ooops?
😀 That would be childish, but I want to see Orion’s reaction to it. I am not a horrible person for that, am I? Okay, I probably don’t want to know the honest answer to that, but still, it would so be worth the shock factor even if it was done as a joke. To bad it probably won’t happen. Oh well.
For some reason this part of the comic can be filled with Matrix references. Its probably a good thing that I am not getting the chance to make any original references to it.
You are cruel. Alex has a sword on his back after all. No need to take Orion’s feather. Just be careful with the sword…
Excellent Indeed! The best stories are the ones that come from the heart and are based on your own life. I love it!
I would have to agree. I would like it to also go down that I think there is at least one person who can make every one do some thing they would normally never even consider as possible. Sadly, more often than not, people don’t meet the one person that can improve them, make them in to better people, make them stronger (morally), make them willing to use their body as a shield for that one person if they are ever in danger in any form. It really is nice to hear about some one finding that one person for them selves. So if you think it is important enough to the story, I say you have free rein to rant.
I think the entire struggle was internally done. When Alex was remembering Nastajia, it triggered his “F%$@ this! I am not leaving again just because I don’t want to dream about a long fall.” reaction. So he decided to stop falling. Now hopefully he lays a smack-down on Orion. If he doesn’t, then I am going to be kind of bored by the “good guy doesn’t do this, this, this….” part of the story.
I want to make a comment, but I don’t have much else to say that I didn’t say in response to Ottoscorzzato’s earlier comment. Hmmm… I wonder if Alex draws his sword… I hope that doesn’t end badly for Alex just because he gets ready to fight. 😛
Go Alex!
Now.. can he do it it when he needs too or do we need to throw him off another cliff? 😉 Because I suspect with Alex, that could develop into a habit/running gag pretty quickly!
Oh great, now Orion is Mr. Burns. Now I fear him ever more than I did before.
punch the wise man alex!!! that punk threw you off, and you can fly now!! lol, great page to day Scott
I know this would never happen, but I wish Alex would say to Orion, “Okay, your turn.” 🙂
Even though Orion taught me to fly, I’d have to chop his head off with my sword for daring to toss me off a cliff. Of course, with an attitude like that, I can’t imagine being with Nastajia or thinking she was more important than me. Certainly she’d dump me after I beheaded a centaur. 😛
I think he’s in the perfect spot to duplicate Alex Karras as Mongo in ‘Blazing Saddles’. While not as strong as Mongo, a mailed fist makes up for a lot. But I don’t expect a full flown beat down, more like a ‘You got your shot, here’s mine’, if there is any violence at all.
Because no matter how much we the readers think Orion has some hurt coming, Alex’s primary concern isn’t Orion, it’s Nastajia. Revenge, while ‘fun’, isn’t really the priority here. They need to get the tablet (the real reason they’re here in the first place) and move on.
Hmmf. There will probably be no beatings. Orion will probably say something completely intellectual, and then Alex will forgive him and they’ll all sing Kum Ba Yah.
Scott– Ditto.
(Wow, that didn’t take long 😉 )
Otto, as someone who’s involved in ministry, I have found as I’ve worked with several pastors that a good wife (or the absence thereof) can make or break a pastor’s effectiveness in ministry. So, you’d be surprised how often the person you see is not really the person you should REALLY be thanking. 😉
Thank you, Scott, for sharing your story and how Alex is really an image of you. That probably explains a lot of why I can appreciate Alex’s character development. It’s realistic in it’s depth because it’s based on real life character development- your own.
Also, Scott (not to sound arrogant, but I say what I’m about to say in the way I do simply out of not knowing your understanding of The Bible), the Scriptures speak all throughout to exactly what you said regarding the life changing power of biblical love. Yesterday’s quote from “The Love Dare” (a book who’s theme is from an idea in the movie “Fireproof” starring Kirk Cameron) is completely based on Scriptural principles. I didn’t necessarily include more from the quote just because I don’t want to be an unnecessary offense (I do remember how a lot of people responded wrongly to your use of references to historical human kings who were also central biblical figures- i.e. David and Solomon). But, it’s something you can check out yourself if you’re so inclined.
Thanks for sharing your testimony of how love has worked in your life to help you become a better man, son, brother, husband, and father.
Myst? I LOVE that game series!!
I bet if Orion wouldn’t have thrown him down like that, Alex would have made a *DING!* Elevator noise in last panel 🙂
Nice comic as always 🙂 (Does it even worth mentioning? I mean its so obvious.)
Joining the crowd that thinks a right hook is SO in order… precisely for the same reasons that made him fly.
Good Morning all!
Wow. What a lot of replies.
SO glad you enjoyed the page.
I’ll see if I can find time to reply directly to most of yours. But my apologies if I can’t today.
Lots to do.
Very cool!!
I’m glad it was a slow float back up in front of Orion. I just couldn’t see the “new” Alex popping up like a piece of toast in front of Orion. The deliberateness is something that suits Alex.
Wow! Just wow!
Thank you Scott for such an awesome page and giving us some insight into both yourself and how it reflects in Alex. 😀
Wow! I’ve been following for a while, today gave me goosebumps!
that’s what i keep hearing in my head too after I read that~~ Mr. Burns saying “excellent” in my head over + over… make him stop ><
Yay! We have a flying Alex! And we still have two more pages left this week!
interestingly, judging from Zarkanorf’s post right underneath this one, it appears you two have the same idea…. that the scene wasn’t PORTRAYED as dramatic as we’ve come to expect it would be.
I agree, I thought it would be a bit more dramatic, and even Scott pointed out this is an important scene for the comic… but I have no clue how I’d do it to make it more dramatic =P Tempest_D suggest a view from behind Alex? Hmm.. possibly. I’d have to see it to really understand it =P But I guess i agree a more “whole picture” view might help~
I agree! I think after reading your “rambling”, it made this scene a lot more significant =)
Eh, this could’ve been dragged out another few days as Alex mulls over his guilt and self-doubt. >_>
I know what you mean~ I think that’s similar in idea to some other ppl’s idea that this was not quite as dramatic as we thought…. but now that I look at the comic again, I think the “struggle” you’re thinking of happened btwn the last panel of yesterday and the first panel today.. and it was more of a “anti-struggle”… sorta like how you have to relax to swim. Note the last panel yesterday he was in a pretty awkward position, with his shoulder pads all the way up behind his face. Then as he becomes more firmly focused on not leaving Nastajia, he stops focusing on his own falling, and his body relaxes into a natural standing/hovering position. Notice that he basically said the same thing in these 2 panels, just more resolute in today’s panel, showing the mental struggle part falling into place…
Now cut him off that horse…
But seriously, noone thinks that Alex was pushed to the edge of doing that? After all, he was literally pushed off that edge.
Think of the happiest thiiiiings…..
It’s the same as having wiiiiiings….
Heh. Read it like an anime comic and he is slowly falling 😛
Now all he needs is a long coat and a nodachi, and he’s ready for that Bleach cosplay, I mean, ready to kick butt and chew gum.
Me: “Nancy, Alex is safe. He’s floating at the edge of the cliff in front of Orion.”
Nancy: “I don’t trust him.”
Me: “Why not? It taught Alex how to fly (and fast, I’m thinking to myself – nothing like motivation).”
Nancy: “(sarcasm dial up to 7) Hellooooo? He threw him off a cliff!”
Me: “But Orion knew Alex wouldn’t be hurt, he was helping him find himself. Maybe it’s a little too adult to understand.”
Nancy: “I understand okay, he threw him off a cliff.”
At this point I recognize a common thread and don’t bother to correct her that Orion dropped Alex, not threw him.
I bet she will come around and look today, if for no other reason than to see for herself that Alex is safe.
It’s just that he then has to learn how to write eccentric poems too before that can happen XD
…in the face!
It’s weird. All of the obvious quips and quotes folks have been pointing out–Orion doing Mr. Burns “Excellent!”, Matrix movie quotes, Alex now throwing a punch, etc.–I didn’t think of when I was reading the panel. And I usually DO think of the bad movie lines to quote during scenes.
And why is that? Because I was focused on one thing: Is Alex wearing platform shoes? 🙂 I mean, those yellow accents on the boots, they sure look like high heels to me.
Do you know what time it is? Its time for a flight assisted falcon punch straight to his chin! So hard that that it blows his tail feather off!
Me too, but since I had them before the page loaded it might be because my radiator is out of order and it’s below zero outside here.
For all those who think Alex should take a swing at Orion. I can see it now…
Alex pulls back his hand to puch Orion.
Orion points behind Alex and yells, “Nicodemus has found us!”
Alex screams, “Wha’? Where?” Gets scraed and falls down the cliff again.
Orion rolls his eyes, crosses his arms, and waits for Alex to come back up once more.
Here’s a more interesting Question….
Now that Alex can fly in Dreamland, Does he REALLY need the sword to get there anymore?
HEADBUTT! Uh, seriously. Alex is such a pushover. He’s used to everyone being mad at him. I’m more worried about what Staj will do to Orion when SHE Finds out he dropped Alex off a cliff. He might get thanked or he might get ARROWED.
I sort of thought he said excellent the way Vader says Impressive.
And now Alex does something high spirited and childish to Orion, just to prove that yeah, he’s make a big step but also that he’s still Alex and he KNOWS he made a big step. Or swoops in and takes Nast for a ride. Or something fun like that. I think he’s earned it.
All these movie quotes!
The one that occurred to me during this scene was from a film that hit the theaters last week and also involves a young man finding his inner hero while under grave duress:
“F%*& this clown!”
Ha ha
I have scarred her permanently…haven’t I?
I thought it looked rather like an allusion to him having the weight of the world on his shoulders. xD
I’m probably looking too far into it, but it looks a lot like the world instead of shoulder-plates :]
that’s not flying, that’s falling. In style!
and then levitating. /nitpick
I’m waiting for the real flying to commence… awesome check in three, two…
Great way to wake Alex up, I like the way you used your own experience to make his revelatory moment so much more real.
That could contribute to a feeling of chillness…. Time to light some signal fires for warmth.
Well I hope I’m alone in this but I found it a bit anticlimactic. I haven’t read the other comments so I don’t know yet. I started at the top of the page and saw Alex hovering in front of Orion. My reaction can pretty much summed up as punchhimpunchhimpunchhimpunchhimpunchhim awwwww. Maybe a more dynamic panel of him flying? I don’t know you’re the expert. : ) I guess you wanted to go for the slow majestic rising effect?
And learn how to play the guitar. And learn how to play Freebird.
ALEX AND THE DREAMERS, THEY WOULD BE CALLED.
Or maybe a more awesome name.
Alex has now gained all he needs. The next time he meets Nick, its going to be a different experience. Fully armored. Deadly sword. Able to soar.
Time for go Dragon Hunting.
As for movie quotes…
“You can fly! You can fight! You can-”
“*throws his head back and crows!*
“*all the Lost Boys join in*”
To everybody saying he should punch Orion now — isn’t part of the point that he’s achieved this new breakthrough in maturity and responsibility? Decking Orion in thanks wouldn’t be in keeping, particularly since nothing else works.
He could comment on it, sure, but to actually punch his teacher? Nah…
I hope this doesn’t come off as too critical, because I absolutely LOVE this comic…but someone mentioned above that a more “dramatic” moment might’ve been in order, and I’m inclined to agree. I think, from a storytelling perspective, a camera-shot from just behind Orion’s shoulder, looking up at Alex, with Alex as the focal point and Orion a bit blurred due to depth-of-field, would have been breathtaking, especially if the only dialog had been “I won’t put her through that again.” Heck, you could even have him looking frustratedly at Orion and pointing a finger at him to emphasize his seriousness. Plus, you’d only need the one panel, as a picture is indeed worth a thousand words.
Just my two cents…please don’t flame me. 🙂
Ahahahahahahah! “It HAD to be a clown…”
Your Nancy is one smart girl in my opinion. The fact is he could have been wrong and he still threw Alex off a cliff.
I often want to punch my teachers.
Haha. Only kidding. *cough*
Anyway. Orian might see a punch coming trough his magical wiseness (is that a word?). Nothing gets past that guy – er – centaur.
I still think Orion is a Jerk. If it weren’t for felicity and I’d say that Alex should get everyone together and leave immediately. Maybe I would anyway. I would find someone who throws me off a cliff, for whatever reason, very, very, very hard to trust.
Excellent? EXCELLENT?! How about YEEEEEE-HAAAAAAH!
oh, (ahem) pardon….
Cool!
Alex: *sly smile* *points to Orion* You jerk, you knew that would happen didn’t you?
Orion: *also sly smile* It was the only way.
Yay Alex flew 😀
Orion is just a subdued kind of fellow.
even though by this point you see it coming a mile away, that certainly doesn’t deminish the AWESOMENESS !!! …. if anything, it makes it more enjoyable.
Great Page!!
Punching him in the face would be great and lots of fun but id probably go find a small rock or something similar and drop it on him from above.
I don’t think it’s a bad attitude. With all the work Alex is going to have to do, he’s going to need to learn to stick up for himself and not let people jerk him around.
NICE page! I hope my brother, who is practicaly useless when doing chores, making me rake the leaves even though I am sick and have a lot of papers to do, changes like you did when he meets a girl. He barely does anything on his own.
I think this page and yesterday’s page are perfect the way they are. Nastajia and his duty for her came pretty quickly, showing me me that he really does care. If it came to him toward the end of the fall, moments before he hit the ground, it would be more like a survival tactic.
As for flying, I don’t think it takes any physical effort to fly, that it’s all mental effort (How else can babies fly, as stated by Joey.) so there’s no point in showing when he stopped falling and when he started to fly. I think that as soon as Alex realized and accepted his duties to Nastajia, flying kicked in, and with barely a thought, he was able to get back to Orion.
dude, i totally agree!
He figured it out! All he had to do was miss the ground! 😀
heck yeah
duuuuuuuuude…
egskellent…
when i think of orion, i think of mr. miyogi from karate kid
i think he needs something like dragon ball z where he becomes saiyan like and blows stuff up with super abilities
Absolutely
…wow
I’m joining the group that wants to punch Orion.
But I thought this whole time that Alex believed it was all real and not a figment of his imagination. Maybe at first it didn’t click, but I would think that by now he believed in it…
but oh well 🙂
he gots it now!!
If I were him, I’d punch him in the face for that.
Orion, you sneaky little… Bah. Nicely done. Don’t do it again.
In my opinion, it was to Alex for his excellent progress. He needed–absolutely needed–to make this step if he was to continue to be Dreamland’s king-elect and champion against Nicodemus.
Like all of these comments above mine I totally agree, the comment you made , Scott, made this comic more enjoyable and even realistic.
No flames. Promise.
Critiques are always welcome.
Thank you.
HA! rofl.
But it would still take a little while before those flight reflexes come back. And probably more than just a minute or two.
Oh, good! I’m not the only one who really kinda wanted to see Alex deck him. LOL!
Not really. But still!
Hey, it’s what parental figures do…
YAY! He flew! I wonder what he will say to Orion?
ALex: “Wow, I worked!”
Orion: “Yes, yes it did.”
Alex: “ummm… before you threw me off a cliff, did you really mean all that you said?”
Orion: “*grin * Yes, yes I did.”
I’m with Jen. But then, I tend to be reasonably non-violent anyway. Too much talk about punching and all.
Alex going to snap out of his hero moment and fall down again isn’t he? And then orion will grab his hand.
Alex just doesn’t feel like a character that things work for.
*hums “You can Fly” from Peter Pan*
Great job. Now Punch Dracula!
…Centaur.
Same difference.
Nick is not going to be happy, now that Alex can fly up to him and slash the other eye now!
I can see were you’re going at. Though personally, I’m more into family love. Probably cause I never felt lover love before and the fact that my family is everything to me. But it’s still very cute on how that’s based off of your own personal experience. 🙂
Keep up the great work.
He just overcame his flaw!! ^_^ yay.
(I’m taking a writing course, and if that doesn’t explain it, i can’t…)
AWESOME!!! :3 great day for this. as it is not friday lol. any whoo i meant to post yesterday buut as i was lazy and NOT having a good day. ill post my thoughts for todays and yesterdays
Yesterday i had the randomist thought of something for dreamland fan done buuuuut would need your help nevertheless rofl. soo its a wierd thought of making a music video for the sequence of alex falling and remembering everything from his time in dreamland as to pay homage to everything thus far and play into todays comic >.>
todays comic AWESOME!!! though anti-climatic its still Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think you guys are making some incorrect assumptions. Can’t say more in case my guess is a spoiler.
Good point. Alex still has much to learn from Orion and the Centaur’s tablet.
Class is just starting, Alex!
That might be the perspective of the first panel tomorrow.
So did you start out cospalying at that age, Jac?
The focus on these 2 pages are on the internal transformation inside Alex. The scenery changing around him is just a distraction compared to that.
Ha, ha!
Here’s tomorrow’s comic. All in thin vertical panels like
Panel 1: Alex keeps rising up.
Panel 2: Alex is higher. Orion says “That’s far enough, Alex.”
Panel 3: Only Alex’s feet are visible. Alex says: “Ahh! I can’t stop. Help!”
Panel 4: Orion looks up, says: “Alex, control your fear or else. . . .”
Panel 5: WHOOOSH! Alex shoots straight down past Orion
Panel 6: Alex’s voice from below the panel: “It’s OK, I’m coming back up!” Orion facepalms, says: “This is going to take a long time.”
I really enjoyed the look on Alex face 🙂 Maybe he will eventually become a man not child forever 🙂
ROFL! 😀
Do you notice that the people yesterday are not on here today?
ha. i knew that was going to happen, this comic is so predictable.
and yeah, orion totally needs to be punched.
alex: ” thanks alot for dropping me, jackass!” lol
Whoooo! I was really waiting for this update, and am so glad to see/read it! YES!
Better Limber Up first. XD
Here it comes.. FALCON-
Nicely done, Scott!
Alex set himself up for this moment (Well actually you set him up, Scott) by the way he kept resisting Orion, all the way back to when he asked “You’re not going to throw me over the edge are you?” or words to that effect. There was that awkward moment with Nastajia too, when she shoved him off that rock under the moonlight. Alex had built himself a nice little comfort zone of low expectations; he really didn’t want to give that up.
The questioning, the doubting – all of it was Alex trying to delay this moment, when he’d have no more excuses for not living up to the responsibilities he’d promised to take on.
It’s like standing on a dock, nerving yourself up to jump into the lake. You know it’s going to be cold and a shock at first – but you have to do it if you ever mean to actually go swimming. And trying to ease into it slowly is far harder. Plus, they really don’t have time for Alex to keep dithering. Nicodemus is still out there.
Of course, the real test will be the second time Alex tries to fly.
Now I’m just left waiting to see if Orion did what I would have done in his place. And what he’ll do next. If he’s like other teachers I’ve known, his next words will be something along the lines of: “Now let’s see you do it again.”
Every time I read “punch Orion” comments, I think of the old Kung Fu TV series, which I realize most here may not have seen (cough I was a young child at the time it was first aired, cough cough).
If Kwai Chang Caine had tried to punch his Master Po or Master Kan in anger if they had done something dangerous to teach him a valuable lesson, blind Master Po would have turned him into a spring roll faster than Caine could raise his fist — and Caine knew it. But he also respected his masters as wise fathers who would never deliberately hurt him without good reason. He trusted them to do the best for him as a disciple and respected them greatly.
I think this is the same kind of respect/relationship that Alex is coming to have with Orion. Even if he gets angry, the respect he has for Orion and the knowledge in the back of his skull that the centaur could probably thrash him senseless before that big sword could be drawn will keep Alex in check. And knowing that Orion has the best interests of all of Dreamland in his heart will also be a factor.
Sorry if that messes with anyone’s punch-the-centaur fantasy!
I have to ask where FALCON PUNCH originated from.
Anyone?
I’m going to guess Blue Falcon, but I’m probably wrong. 🙂
Wow I predicted a storyline correctly for once, and YAY he flew! Although I have to start laughing when I imagine what Orion would do if Alex had in fact fell to his death. I imagine him looking around for witnesses and then walking off whistling like “woops, my bad…I’m gonna go… find an alibi now …… yeah.”
An impressed congrats to Scott for revealing the flying-because-of-love thing WITHOUT making it cheesy at all, which would have been so easy to do! Also despite previous commenters, I think the more simplistic telling works great, it gives off this mood that I can’t really describe but that fits really well. heh I’m half expecting Orion to be like “That was good, but now the REAL training begins” DUN DUN DUN
hmm… I wonder if he’s going to tell Nastajia? lol she’d probably be pretty mad at Orion.
1. Falcon Punch
An extremely animated and/or self-narrated punch that resembles that dealt by Captain Falcon (of SNES game F-Zero) in the Nintendo video game Super Smash Brothers. Usually accompanied by the screaming of the phrase “Falcon Punch!”
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=falcon+punch
The SNES totally rocks, just sayin’
Way on the other side of the spectrum is one way to put it. 😉
Hear hear
Are you suggesting she’s arrow-minded?
Agree!!! 😀 bust out tha karate
goodness no XD I started in 2003
Wow. Your “totally awesome!” line came across in my head very clearly with the voice of the little neighbor kid in “The Incredibles”.
😉
Now THAT was baaad …
*sniff* I’m so proud …
😉
Yeah, he does keep a tight rein on his feelings most of the time, doesn’t he? He did seem genuinely a little hot to trot right before he pitched Alex off the cliff, though …
(Sorry, couldn’t resist … )
Nah…he’s going to fly up a meter more or so and kick him in the face instead. Less opportunity for counterattack.
Hmm, would Alex overstep his limits with a lil friendly kick in his face? ^^ (jk)
Looks like Orion found his Happy Thought…
It was ALL a plan.
Mastersword!
That kind of thinking shows you’re an expert
Furrealz? That’s marvelously good to know.