Page 1122…
So…I made a last minute change to the dialog.
Originally Arthur said “Now I suppose I should find a comfortable place to sit”
But after looking at the page…thought it seemed kind of obvious.
What do you guys think?
Also…
My apologies. I have no buffer. And dealing with some REALLY big things here. So IF I am getting these pages done each day…they feel rushed.
I have really not spent enough time (in my opinion) tweaking lighting or poses and such.
But hopefully it’s still passable. And I can come back at a later time and redo some frames.
Thanks for your patience.
Scott
Uh oh… somehow i think this is how the sword ended up where it was when Alex found it… This cannot end well…
It, to me, looks like Arthur suddenly slumped, backwards, after putting the sword in.
I think it’s because he’s about to go to sleep. It wouldn’t surprise me that because the amulet is a bridge between the waking world and dreamland if part of the procedure is done awake and part is done asleep.
Or maybe he’s a guy who knows how to slouch when he sits down. Homer Simpson style
When I saw him slump, I thought it was either exhaustion or he was waiting for something. I expect we will find out soon enough.
Little tip to Arthur: If you want to fall asleep, apply some eye patches or go sit behind the tomb in the shadow instead of in the sun.
Yessss…. Arthur… in the ssshadowwssss… sssssleeeeep.
Eh? Who said that? Who else is here?
I still believe he falls asleep, but dies in the real word as Nic waits for him in the shadows.
Ermm…is it me that I’m suspicious or is the today’s page a hint that the Centaur and Merlin are somehow affected (or controlled) by the shadowy Wraiths?
Arthur: “Merlin insisted that I relinquish the sword for the duration of the procedure.”
*SCHUNK!*
Nicodemus: “OW!”
Arthur: “NICODEMUS?! What are you doing here?”
Nicodemus: “Don’t ask.”
Arthur: “And HOW did you get into that stone box?!”
Nicodemus: “Determination and a crowbar. Now get me some asprin and call a trauma surgeon and my chiropractor.”
Arthur: “Can’t lizards just grow their tails back?”
Nicodemus: “What? Euh.. Geez Arthur, do I look like a squamate reptile to you?”
Arthur: “Dunno, wanna try? See if it works?”
Nicodemus:”Sigh… No Arthur. Aspirin for me, Stilnox for you. That’s all.”
To me, Arthur in the third panel looks like he has fallen, overcome by some sort of weakness. Maybe it is the “un-kingliness” of the pose?
Scott, don’t worry about the updates. Update if you can, but don’t drive yourself (or your family) crazy. I for one am willing to miss a day or two if it means the movie is coming closer to reality!
I’ve been getting strong suspicions that Merlin might be in on this whole thing ever since he started encouraging Arthur to keep everything secret from Nic while also bringing more humans to Dreamland even though Nic insisted it would disrupt the peace of Dreamland itself.
The whole conflict between Arthur and Nic with Arthur being convinced that humans need to see Dreamland for there to be peace and Nic being convinced that bringing humans to Dreamland would cause chaos might be entirely the wraiths’ doing.
Looks good to me.
Good luck this week!
I must agree with some of the above posters, it looks like Arthur is feeling weak or tired. I had wondered initially if, by letting go of the sword, he was starting to get pulled out of Dreamland or something, but I’m guessing that the whole “sword-brings-you-into-Dreamland” thing hasn’t actually started yet at this point in the chronology.
As far as the updates go, I’d rather see only one or two per week than get five that you had to lose sleep over, Mr. Sava.
I don’t understand the idea that relinquishing the sword made Arthur ‘weak’. Alex has had it out of his hands multiple times and hasn’t been weakened. I suppose if we postulate that whatever procedure is about to take place changes how the sword affects its bearer, it could make sense. Or perhaps Arthur is relinquishing it in more than just a physical sense…
Nope…I think Arthur is just one of those awesome people fully capable of slouching. 🙂
See.. we told you not to wish for things to get interesting. lol!! No worries, Scott, though we know you will anyway. ;D
I think his left hand is going to be removed from his dreamland avatar…. Would that trap his dream self in dreamland, without the amulet to guide him back to the real world?
I think you should restore the dialog. It wasn’t obvious to me as to what Arthur was doing in that 3rd panel. Is it exhaustion, did he slip? Having him state that he needs to sit would help clarify, IMO.
Enjoying the storyline and can’t wait to see what happens next!
my thoughts too…. it was as if too much energy was drained from him too quickly…. bad choice for that frame…. maybe that omitted phrase should have been put in there somewhere…
Great. Thank you all!
I shall restore the dialog.
LMAO both of you XD
agree on the dialog restoration. my only real nit-pick on the last couple of pages is i can’t really tell where the light sources are coming from. from the entrance of the cave is one, but yesterday there was definitely another. from above? in front of them? it doesn’t seem to be there today.
i would have laughed my butt of if he would have made that comment but i still love the look on his face in the last pannel. scott don’t worry about the buffer we all understand about how busy things can get epically with 2 boys and them being out of school for the summer. I haven’t seen you on lar’s ustream in a while. I hope everything is well in you family.
I think the original dialogue is best. I wasn’t sure what he was doing sitting down. It gave me the impression that he was tired and wanted to sleep within his dream.
I wouldn’t mind going to 2-3 days a week; not for the sake of quality pages right off the bat but to let you have time for everything else. Getting the movie out will bring in a ton of new fans, I’m sure of it.
Yeah, it looked to me like he collapsed. I thought he got weak because he didn’t have the sword or something.
Interesting! So if Arthur wakes up while he’s in this spot, and a stone tomb is built over it… Arthur will be trapped every time he comes to dreamland! That would be a pretty effective way to thwart Arthur’s plans.
One of the great things about comics is that they are produced on a deadline. Think of all the amazing comics that are as great as they are because of deadline pressure. Perfectionism like you describe is pretty recent.
Why do I get the feeling the centaur set Arthur up? With the emphasis on which hand the amulet was in and being instructed to do so… seems like there could be a double cross.
And yeah, he does look like he collapses with weakness. It’s the way his left hand is down on the ground the way a person would do in order to prop themselves up because they can no longer stand. Maybe a more of an upright position? I’m guessing he’s like that because he’s in the process of laying down…
I notice the quote from Ephesians (perhaps just a placeholder text itself) from page twenty is not engraved on the front of the stone where the sword is ensconced. The magic barrier is not in place either, so perhaps those things occur at a later time. LOVE the comic, Scott. By all means know that most all your fans would understand an occasional break as needed. We know you’re a dedicated (and talented) workaholic for us and appreciate that, but family and health issues take presidence. It’s OKAY to, say, take a Friday off to make a long weekend, even if it is just to get a buffer page under your belt. Just let us know so we don’t worry needlessly.
This. Is. Trouble.
Heh heh… Uh oh…
Hey! what’s the point of a blank stone, uh, box in the middle of a tomb? Hmm…
Don’t kill yourself, Scott! This site still updates more often than almost any webcomic. If you need a break, I’d say take it, or at least go to 3x weekly.
I like the original dialogue as well. Don’t kill yourself with work Scott! You can always take a break, remember that!
I think that will also help to give the impression that this might not be such an easy or quick task Arthur has ahead of him.
does it really matter what hand he holds the amulet in? O-o
Woo! I finally caught up! I’ve been making my way through the archives and finally made it to today’s. (Thank goodness for that bookmark feature!) I’ve been so caught up in the story, only now do I get a chance to slow down and really admire the artwork here. I just want to say, I love the website: the design, the beautiful backdrop that changes between day and night, the nifty bookmark, the jukebox. I’ve seen some of these features mentioned in your blogs as they came trickling in, but coming to it all now as a new reader it looks Very Professional.
On a plot note – it’s all coming full circle! Dreamland is coming into place as the land that Alex knew as a child. I’ve zoomed through the story in a few days, and now I have to slow down and get it page by page along with the rest of you, haha!
Scott, it sounds like your life is tough right now, but I want to say I’m amazed at all the work you’ve already put into this, and thank you for being so dedicated to this story and to your fans!
Scott, please, seriously, ive been reading your comic for a while now, and enjoying the hell outta it every day, if you have to miss a couple, i seriously dont think anyone here will suddenly start screaming for your head, or forming lynch mobs 🙂
“Just remember! Apostrophes cause Catastrophes!”
So the cave is bugging me, sometimes it looks like the walk in to cave directly to the hall of kings, and other times there are hidden shadows out of no where, and other time there are stairs and curves. Maybe I am just confused, but I went back and looked at the initial scenes and where the heck did Nic come from, and how did he get in. The shadow he was in seems to magically appear and disappear. Maybe the wiki will one day clarify but the layout has me confused. Also Author does look like he collapsed.
Also in your drawing of him and Merlin it was in his right hand. I wonder if that is the mistake…
He has to turn 180. The sword is behind him when he sits down. A slump would leave him on a knee facing the alter.
A career swordsman sitting down and going to sleep in the middle of an important procedure is very strange. But that is how humans get in and out of dreamland so it makes perfect sense in this story.
I am a bit iffy on this page.
Panel one: The sword is very long and the pedestal is nearly at Arthur’s eye level.
Panel two: Somehow Arthur has reached a height in front of the pedestal to exceed the length of the sword to get the tip into the pedestal and the pedestal is crotch height.
Panel three: the pedestal is now about mid-breast in height from the top-most step.
Panel four: the pedestal appears to have shrunk another 2.5 inches.
If you look closely you will notice the steps Arthur is sitting on. The pedestal is head height when he is on the floor, crotch height when standing on the top step. Scott’s program doesn’t randomly change the scale of fixed objects. Quite the contrary.
The alterations clear that up. Though there is still the issue with the first two panels – the sword would have gone in at an angle as Arthur could not reach high enough to get the tip to come down straight on the pedestal. Did he jump up? Fly?
http://thedreamlandchronicles.com/the-dreamland-chronicles/chapter-01/page-39/
The tomb is a straight long hall with a alcove and stairway hidden in the back right corner. Page 39 shows the back entrance that Nicodemus used to get in when Alex first visited, and Alex used to exit on his second visit. The shadow does seem a bit larger than normal although there is a dark corner there after he moves out. There were flames when Alex visited and although we don’t see them with Arthur they could be concealed with the low angle of the view and the light confused with the sunrise.
I’ll try to clarify the wording and progression of events on the wiki later today.
Wow I didn’t know the left or right hand should have any significance
“Arthur… He’s driven it right into the spine of the Dragon!”
Has anyone translated the writing on the stone Arthur is leaning against?