Hi all!
Well. It was close…but I made it to all 5 pages this week!
🙂
Thanks for your patience and understanding. Hope you’ve enjoyed the pages so far.
Also…
Have you downloaded our new iPad app?
It’s totally free. And it has The Dreamland Chronicles in it!
Please check it out!
But…. Alex can’t beat Nicodemus yet! There are too many chapters left!
If it isn’t the end, Nic will wimp out I’m sure.
(Alex had better not wake up, so help me)
TO THE PAIN!!!!
Um, to the death?
To the whine?
Nice end of the week! 5 strips, all great!!!
No…. To the Pain!
I would be disappointed if he accepts the crown to be of the winer. It may be his responsibility to take it but I feel he should not have the right to decide to give it away if he loose the fight. It’s like a gambling.
I love an epic battle, but seriously, far more is at stake here than Alex’s misplaced sense of honor. This is a revolution. Menzagitat is right.
it isn’t his battle. It’s their battle. They’re supposed to be a team. Way to go sexist pig boy
I wonder how this is going to play out. I’m thinking even if Alex wins here, there’s still the nightmare realm to deal with, so I’m not counting out Nic being beaten at this point just yet. There’s still a lot to be done even if he’s defeated.
Ooh, I like the close up of the scar young Alex gave Nick in the last panel… very symbolic. …Poetic? Awesomic? EPIC. THAT’s the word I’m looking for!
hehehehe… I’m loving how no one is showing any loving to Alex in the comments XD In a traditional story, this kind of dialogue would be the “moment of growing up and finding courage” for our hero. But here, we focus on the “sexist pig” and “misplaced sense of honor” side of his comment. Haha XD Maybe we’re getting too old? =P But I love this XD
I’ll defend Alex…. basically this is Alex FINALLY stepping up and taking responsibility for ALL of Dreamland. This is his fight (and Dan’s).
Nastajia is not going to sit around doing the Disney princess thing. Oh no, I feel sorry for those poor little birds and rainbows waiting in the wings for her to break out into song. I think they will be waiting around for a long time.
I think it’s more that we are in the “been there, screwed up that” place in our lives.
I think we ALL know Nastajia’s not going to sit by and watch. She never has…and never will.
But Alex needs to do this just as much for himself as anything else.
And Nastajia knows this. She ASKED for it. She wanted him to fight for something…and she sees he’s doing this…for her.
Even if he doesn’t understand WHY.
Wow. No ‘you’ll hear from my lawyer’ stuff?
Go Alex! Teach this lizard how ‘honour’ is spelt!
If this idea of having the principals themselves fight it out ever caught on, most wars would never be declared.
No… Not for the crow… but for the last DOUGHNUT!
Technically, the fight that Alex just stopped was a fight between Nicodemus and Bognok (definitely male), so Alex stating this isn’t a sexist thing at all. The fact is, Alex is supposed to be the new king of Dreamland, and so, to truly overthrow the usurper, it should be him fighting, otherwise it just brings about questions. If Bognok or Nastajia won the fight, some might question whether Alex should truly be king, or whether Bognok or Nastajia should be the new ruler of Dreamland (especially since they are both royalty of their own races). Also, as the rightful king, he has a duty to protect his subjects (including Bognok and Nastajia), so it also makes sense from that perspective as to why he should be fighting Nicodemus, especially since he is the one best equipped for this fight (being the only one able to repel fire).
Just the two of us, we can make it if we try, just the two of us…
I’m really sorry, that just popped into my head when I read Alexander’s last comment.
😀 !! I smell an epic battle coming !
I believe Alex can do it. He just got falcon punched twice into solid rock, would have had his pretty face rearranged if it weren’t for his helmet, had his chest plate cut open like it was a soda can, and he just challenged a dragon into a one-on-one fight with no knowledge of a missing scale like Smaug. He can do this just fine.
Wouldn’t surprise me if Alex had him down for the count and Nastajia goes for the final blow and succeeds.
This page = EPIC SCENE
Awesome page, now made more awesome by your random comment, cheers! 😛
Really like that last panel especially. As always Scott, worth the wait old bean. 😉
Any real fight is always a gamble, good sir. Just as any war is the same, both in fantasy and reality, for better and worse, no one is perfect, and everyone is the enemy of someone. If anything it’s an old fashioned, and honorable way of solving the dispute. Certainly beats modern politics/warfare (which let’s face it, are interchangeable).
And as bmonk said, if the wars of today were fought between the ‘men/women’ up top, face to face, sword to sword, as it were (the way it used to be I might add), the world would be a much more peaceful place, I can assure you.
Digressed a bit there, sorry. That being said I do see your point. ^_^
But the fact of the matter is that it was actually the people of Dreamland (well, his close friends and allies) who pushed him to this ‘responsibility’, or to be less negative, encouraged it. Though it might be politically dubious indeed, it’s quite literally what they’ve asked for.
H-how is he able to move? If Nico’s claws could rip through Alex’s armor like a can, why wouldn’t his punch crunch the helmet like a can?
Oh, right. Because Alex is the main character. ;D
FOR PONY!
I was really excited about Nastajia helping to fight Nicodemus, but now it feels we’re reverting to traditional gender norms… Why couldn’t they both fight together?
Even if he beats Nic, what about the Nightmare Realm? He still has to do something about them, doesn’t he? 😛
There are fewer wars today than the Feudal Europe you’re romanticizing. Kings dueling is out is better than kings fighting with armies, but if the conflict is about more than just the few on top, then the objectives may be more important then making war civil.
Nicodemus: “For the crown.”
Alex: “Okay…seriously…you can still come back to the good side…you were a good dragon once…we need not fight.”
Nicodemus: “And how do you figure that?”
Alex: “Return of the Jedi.”
Nicodemus: “Aw snap, George Lucas Strikes Again.”
On a more serious note…why can’t I get the iKids comics on my iPhone?!
Did anyone else hear Nic’s last line in the same voice as the knights/paladins from Warcraft 2? “For the king…”
No? Must just be me, then…
Nic, you’re a dragon. You don’t stand around and talk with them, you don’t brawl with them, you burn and step on them.
For once I’d like to see a real villain in such stories. You know, someone efficient. Cause when running into someone like that “good” always gets its ass kicked, cause “good” is too stupid.
With this much left of the story, I sense that either:
a) Alex will lose this battle, and the rest of the story will be about gathering a stronger army and re-take the crown.
Or
b) Alex is winning, Nic sees himself defeated and takes off with a “This won’t be the last you see of me, HUMAN! I will return… and the crown of Dreamland SHALL be MINE again! For ever!!! *Hissss….*”. Then our heroes have to fight an attack from the Nightmare Realm.
What will it be? Probably c) “????????”, since I’m usually never right! 😀
And that’s what I love MOST with this story! Its not so obvious.
um….yaaaaaaa. One on one. Like the War of The Roses, like the Hundred Years War, like the Ottomans invading the Byzantines, who then requested aid from their Christian allies who counter attacked the Muslims, and then got in a snot with the Orthodox Byzantines and sacked them too, leading to their ultimate loss. (and so yes, The Crusades, which were not called that till modern times, were a COUNTER-attack against Muslim invasion of Christian nations, but shhhh, that isn’t what people like to hear) Like the Huns, rampaging thru Europe, only to be stopped by the combination of the Black Plague and Kublai Khan dying during the campaign, thus all the heirs went back home to fight over who would be the successor, otherwise, all Europe would have been part of the Mongol Empire, for a time at least. Only in stories do two leaders duel it out for everything sparing the cannon fodder the bother of dying, or being riddled with arrows and sundered by blade. Not like humans ain’t been killing humans since the first one whacked another with a stone or stick.
Kings and paupers are cut from the same mould, the same thing that sets you wrangling over the fence with your neighbor sets Kings to war, with the peons doing the dying, rarely the King. They ain’t bothered to lead from the front in over 400 years, more but I’m blanking on the last one who did. Think it was one of the Edwards.
End of Rant. Thanks for listening.
Sleel
Maybe cause when you are ‘proving’ yourself worthy to lead, you don’t let others do your proving for you. As for automatically going for the sexist pig comment….. Mysandry much?
Nightmare realm gotta come into this somehow. They been hanging bout pulling to many strings. Nic’s to I figure. Who the frag runs Nigtmare anyhows…..canna recall, presuming I read the answer before. *Rubs two brain cells together trying to stimulate a memory response* ……… Fail!
Honestly, I’m going with B. If this was a computer game, beating Nico would be the ‘final boss’ of Act I of the story (Well, maybe Act II, but you get me, right?). I suspect this will be the case, here, too. The Nightmare Realm IS still out there, and they won’t take this defeat lightly…
Scott is far too good a storyteller to foreshadow the Nightmare Realm this whole time and then ignore them.
Agreed…
As much as it makes practical sense for the helmet visor to be down, I dislike that I can’t see his determined facial expression. It’s probably way to much work to change the model to have a translucent, energy-field like barrier around the bottom of the face, akin to the bubble shield, isn’t it?
Nastajia, in my opinion, is the legitimate ruler of dreamland. She is the direct lineal descendent of the current rulers and Alex, at best, should be the Prince consort. He certainly doesn’t have the training or apparent smarts to run the country. beating somebody up with your sword has nothing to do with leadership and everything with of masculine insecurity/ego. In a subtle way, it is also undermining Nastajia position/role in the country.
Mysandry has nothing to do with it but refuting classic gender roles and inappropriate ego driven treatment of a potential partner does.
Nice rant, but you both ignored some key facts, I didn’t say there were more wars now then there were then, and besides that, the fact is we live in a time when war, from the point of view of an Apache helicopter, for example, is literally a videogame (if you’re as well informed as you seem you’ll know EXACTLY what I’m talking about).
I know my history, and the history of man is bloody. Pure and simple. No civilization exists that wasn’t built on barbarism. Romanticism you say? Unless we’re talking 80’s New Romantics, no I don’t think so.
But the harsh fact is, we haven’t changed much since (which I think is partly your point?), except our ‘leaders’ are a lot more cowardly and our technology/weapons a LOT better. If that’s your idea of an improvement, great, good for you, but it ain’t mine.
Thanks for taking the time to respond though, I appreciate it.
But my point stands, IF people had to fight, actually, physically, fight in the wars they start today, there would be less conflict, simply because many of the politicians of today don’t have that kind of gall. But hey, we’ll agree to disagree. 🙂
Perhaps Nast could do all the ruling, and Alex could just be there for appearances?
I’ll defend Alex, even if it’s only because of how cool he looks on this page. 😉
Good job, Scott! 😀
Sorry, that was me.
It’s highly inconvenient if the protagonist dies, especially before the main plot has ended.
I’m guessing that might be what the next few chapters will be for. 😉
iKids is an iPad app. Hence it being under the “iPad” section of the Apple App Store. If it doesn’t say “Compatible with iPod Touch/iPhone”, then it’s not for those devices. Simple as A, B, C, 1, 2, 3. Oh, wait, too many steps. Nvm.
Hey, Scott already spends almost too much time on the comic as is. No need to make him any further stressed because you don’t like the helmet. >:(
But, I digress. I, too, would really like to see Alex’s facial expression.
:/
FOR PONY!
Oh wait…wrong comic.
My first reaction was to just think Alex was being stupid, but now I realize I was wrong. Alex is right. He is supposed to be King of Dreamland, and dealing with the Usurper, in this kind of setting, IS his job.
It’s not just a matter of satisfying the niceties of the Dreamworld’s standards, but I think also of demonstrating that Alex HAS taken on the full power of Dreamland. If Nicodemus still holds the reins of power, and Alex not sufficiently understanding or committed, Nick is going to hand him his ass on a silver platter.
If Alex DOES defeat him in one-on-one combat, he ESTABLISHES himself. He proves that he has become King, has become worthy of the great Sword and accepted his responsibility to risk himself for the sake of what he cares about.
The group — the alliance — were absolutely necessary to get him here, to strip Nicodemus of all his other resources and defenses, but at this time, in this place, it ALL does, and SHOULD, hinge on Alex.
You’re reading too much Cracked. 😀
Efficient villains are the ones who write the story books. That’s why you don’t hear of those much. Saviour of the Nation, Laureate of the Nobel’s Peace prize… never a villain. Villains are those who failed to crush all opposition. Like this little dragon.
Why, he IS being stupid. But there’s a lot of difference between the childish stupidity he’s been demonstrating so far and the stupidity needed to stand your ground and fight when it’s so convenient to step down and let others do the job. And since he doesn’t read Scott’s comments here, he really means it.
Boy, am I liking the lad here and now.
I just read the whole thing today! Fun story!
Actually, no offense, but you are quite mistaken about this. Nastajia is the rightful ruler of Ashendel, which is the Elven part of Dreamland, just like Bognok is the rightful ruler of Hilmdel, but a human is the rightful king of Dreamland as a whole. Nastajia states this directly, as does Bognok, and many others. Nastajia’s parents were traveling around in order to find the hidden tablets that recorded that history (as well as housing the armor for Alex, the true king). The flashback with Nicodemus and Arthur also shows it, as does the Sword directly stating that Alex is the rightful king of Dreamland.
As for the training, that is something they are working on. His time with the Centaurs was about learning more than just controlling his powers. Also, while he may not have the smarts to rule a country, few people (if any) do, and at least he has the smarts to admit he can’t do it himself, and to rely on those around him who are smarter and wiser, like Orion and Dan. He also has the courage and loyalty necessary to rule Dreamland, and has just shown that he has the sense of duty to those who will become his subjects to protect them from Nicodemus and fight this battle himself. In addition, if Nastajia were to get too involved, that would actually undermine Alex’s role as rightful king, not the other way around with him fighting this out on his own. Nicodemus usurped the throne from the human kings by force, so it is Alex’s battle to show that he is the rightful ruler, and is capable of ruling. It is not about ego at all, it is about honor and duty (things too undervalued). When Alex first arrived, he had a huge ego, and was failing, now that he realizes that it is about more than him looking cool, he has the strength necessary to defeat Nicodemus and rule Dreamland.
As stated before by me, he was actually responding to the fact that Nicodemus and Bognok were about to face off, anyway, so this isn’t about gender rules at all, as he is stopping Nicodemus from fighting another male, and while this also keeps Nicodemus away from Nastajia, it is not a matter of, “she is a girl, so she can’t fight, but I’m a guy, so I can”, but rather, “I am the rightful ruler of Dreamland, and you are the usurper, so this is a battle between us, and if I am to be worthy to rule Dreamland, I can’t make my subjects do all of my dirty work for me, I have to be willing to step in and risk my life (not just their lives) for what I believe in, and for what is right.” This is a quite noble and honorable view to hold, and is showing his growth as a person, and that he is slowly gaining the maturity to rule Dreamland.
In this dramatic scene Alex is not being sexist, but concerned for the well being of all those around him, regardless of gender; not egotistical, but willing to risk his life for the things and people he stands for and cares about; not undermining Nastajia as a ruler or a woman, but honoring and valuing her as a person; he is acting not as a man who sees himself as superior to women, and thus must fight, but as a king, who knows that in order to be worthy of that title, he must be willing to risk his own life for his subjects.
I really like this comment. Alex is being the type of “stupid” that requires a dedication to staying “stupid” rather than doing the easier “smart” thing of looking out for number one, and watching others fight in your place. Fortunately, that is also the type of “stupid” that is often too dumb to realize that they can’t win, and thus win even when it is impossible.
Well said.
“… Even if he doesn’t understand WHY.”
Ha! That made me smile…
It’s nice to see that, in spite of the fact that he doesn’t understand all the political ramifications of everything that’s happening right now, he still has this gut feeling that this is the right thing to do.
What do you know? He is growing up…
*snort*
😆
I wouldn’t say that modern leaders are more ‘cowardly’ for not leading from the front as they did in times past. That kind of leadership is what people followed back then. I suppose this could have its roots in the prehistoric tribal era when all the men from one clan unit would go and attack another. But leaders have since found news ways of getting people to follow them. Why be at the front if they don’t need to be?
“ALL the scones?”
“Aye, sir. ‘Tis war…”