Page 1275…
Happy Monday!
We’re doing 3 days a week again while I continue to work on the Gary the Pirate screenplay re-writes.
I really wish this would have come during a time in the story where we had Dan and Nicole talking in the lab or something (those pages are so much easier).
But alas…the biggest pages of the story to date are happening at the same time my life is at its busiest.
Sigh.
Thank you all for understanding. See you on Wednesday.
Scott
Am I seriously first? Wow, that’s a first. I only say this because I see no other comments here and it may just be a webpage glitch of mine, so I apologize if I just made a fool of myself. If I didn’t, YAY! First for the first time ever. Hoping against hope.
Epic Beatdown COMMENCE!!!
Grats. barely beat me out hehe
Let the Rice Crispies combat begin…you know…the combat with a lot of snap, crackle, and pop in it…;)
Mentioning his brother apparently was the trigger for Alex to go all Superhero. Shows how much he loves Dan, and how much he wishes Dan could share his time in Dreamland.
HoH-LEE-CUHRAP!!!
Manhandling an Elder Red Dragon and TALKING TRASH WHILE DOING SO!! If that don’t get him a crown, it aint HAPPENIN!!!
I fear this might devolve into a rage beat down. As long as your in control of yourself, YOU GO ALEX!!! BEAT HIM! BEAT HIM GOOD! BEAT THE SNOT AND TAR OUTTA HIM!!!
Scott: “But alas…the biggest pages of the story to date are happening at the same time my life is at its busiest.”
That’s pretty much the summation of life there my friend. I’m in my final year of university and have endured several years of family-involved “events” that chose just when my deadlines were due to emerge. Still. It pushed my mental capacity to it’s limit and showed that I can do what’s needed under pressure!
On the comic I really hope nothing spoils this. Nic has had the upper hand too much for my liking. (It made me doubt whether you actually had any faith in your own character… :s)
On that note, BEAT THE SMUG OUT OF HIM, ALEX!
So Nics power came from his horns? He seems to be surprisingly weak now.
Where is the Kapow? We cannot have a beatdown withouth Kapow!
By the way—I know this comic is totally PG, and I’m not suggesting you change anything for matters of physical accuracy, but in THEEEOORRY horns are full of nerves and blood vessels, and not only would getting a horn snapped off like that hurt like freakin’ crazy, I’m pretty sure it would be the equivalent water-fall granddaddy of all bloody noses.
Now again, I am not suggesting you re-write/re-render anything. I’m just making sure you know.
Also it is pretty awesome that the comment system gave my comment—representing as it does the over-educated stickler—the avatar of Nichole.
Hahah, nice going, website.
Nick’s gonna feel awful in the morning.
Assuming he regains consciousness by then.
(Also, the horn thing might not count if Nicodemus has more like a rhino horn—which has no blood in it whatsoever, but most lizards seem to have bone-based horns, with blood and nerve endings and stuff. Again though, I am not implying you take any of this into consideration, I am just letting u no.)
With all due respect… how many dragons have you dissected in your class? 🙂
hehe, that teaches us that we don’t need to use rude words to paint the air in black ^^ holy crud … “kick the s…not outta you” – I HAVE learned something today. ^^ go on, alex, kick the crud outta that dragon. ^^
Or ever. But I’m inclined to believe that he survives. After all, it’s the Longest Dragon Slaying Ever. Hope the Guinness Book people take notice.
Hey now—if you read my post, you’ll notice I say ‘in theory’, and never do I encourage him to alter the comic based on my advice. Anyway, the more knowledge you have, the better.
I think it’d be much better to know about horn anatomy, make a conscious decision not to include blood, and stick to your guns than it would be to totally miss the fact, and be confronted by enraged nerds years later, with no ready answer.
Nic already looks knocked out and Alex still punching, yayyyy!! I call that pent up anger for family since Dan can’t be there to do it himself xDD
Love the shot of Nic’s missing horn. Not to be too nit picky, but the dialog in the second panel is a little confusing with the two negatives. I had to read it a couple of times to figure out what it actually meant to say.
Correct me if I’m wrong: but when Alex says “you don’t think that might not be just one more reason to kick the snot out of you?” Isn’t he saying that Nick thinks it’s another reason to do it? What I’m saying is, I think there’s something wrong with the double negation. I could be wrong though.
So much violence and cheering… does no one feel sorry for Nic? Somehow?
Hahaha… yeah, good point. Maybe Alex doing that to him really shocked him.
There was a time I eventually stopped paying attention to that sort of thing, double negatives and the like, because I noticed grammar generally slips when one is upset anyway, so in a sense it’s kind of realistic, but having re-read the page you’re absolutely right, it should be something like “You don’t think that might be just one more reason for me to kick the snot out of you!?!” I also have to say Scott, I LOVE the use of the word ‘snot’ at a time when Alex is literally losing it! 😉
Still an awesome page though grammar or no. And to Sythiar, I WOULD feel sorry for Nic, but honestly, he deserves it. 100% I think perhaps his friends are going to stop him from killing Nic outright though, albeit because of that whole Superman thing of ‘though shall not kill the main bad guy for some odd reason’ as opposed to genuine pity. Well, except for Paddington, him being such a pacifist he’d not want Nic to be killed outright in any situation if he could help it, and would probably feel a little sorry for Nic at this moment.
I can guarantee you Kiwi want’s to see him get beat DOWN though, and is loving it! ^_^
And finally Scott, the fact you’re STILL keeping this at 3 pages a week when so much is going on (both in the comic and in life) is pretty amazing, rock on dude! 🙂
Ugh. This is the point where the referee usually stops the fight and declares a K.O. win.
No offense meant!
However, consider Nick’s size and his apparent mass *and* the ability to fly. No Earth-based life form has muscles that could do the trick. And he actually breathes fire. And he has three pairs of extremities. This leads us to one inevitable conclusion: even though he slightly resembles our reptilia, his biology has nothing to do with whatever we see here on Earth.
Actually, I’ve never heard anyone try to speak using double negatives when they’re in the middle of a fight. Trash talk tends to be simple as the brain is thinking about something else. 😉
I’m feeling some morality coming on soon.
In the mean time, I sure hope Alex’s helmet has a warranty? He may need it when the Nightmare realm puts in an appearance. Plus, I don’t think Nic is all down and out – yet.
Yes, except:
1. This is a street fight: no referee, and the only rule is that there are no rules.
2. This is a fight for the crown. Alex has to make sure that Nic goes down and stays down, i.e., Nic either willingly submits to Alex as king or Alex renders Nic incapable of resisting Alex claim to the throne.
3. The other option is that Alex wakes up, leaving Nic for another day.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “When you strike at a king, you must kill him.”
I think it can stop raining now. or are you just waiting for the final victory
As someone who has actually fought to the point of beating someone senseless.. If you say anything at all, you aren’t firing on all neurons!
and than he wakes up
Finnally nic is getting the snot kicked out of him. Its his big day i cant think of a nicer guy to do it to.
Not to be overly critical. However, the comments in frame 2 do not seem to have the cadence to feel like a good beat down.
“Don’t you think that might be ONE good reason to kick the SNOT out of you!” has a better 1-2 punch feel to it!
that or “you didn’t think that wouldn’t be ONE MORE good reason for me to kick the snot out of you?”
I don’t remember, does the armor supplement Alex’s strength too?
Great pages, Scott!
Has anyone ever wondered just a little bit what Alex’s body might be doing back on Earth? I know that Dreamland is a different world with his Spirit in it, but do you ever think there would still be some sort of reflex in his Earth body?
If so, he’s madly punching that air.
*stands and cheers on alex* GO ALEX GO! GO ALEX GO! Show him that being 2nd born doesn’t mean Jack @#$%.
he should beat that dragon until hes all purple then you know hes done.
Wow! I guess I should have expected a beat down like this. Yet, I’m not sure the dragon would understand mercy as a strength, but would rather consider it a weakness. It’s always difficult to show kindness to those who don’t recognize the concept…
You know I’m just trying to help, right?
Nope. That super strength is all Alex. Every human child in Dreamland gains both the power of flight and a unique superpower. During his training with the centaurs Alex discovered that his superpower is super strength.
SOCK! POW! ZOK! POW! BIF! BAM! SOK! BLAP! WHAP! BIFF! ooOOF!
GO GET ‘IM, BATMAN!!!
Haha, oh, whoops. Got a little carried away there. KNOCK HIS BLOCK OFF, ALEX!!!
Exactly what I was going to say!
Somehow, your avatar seems appropriate to your comment 🙂
Double negation is confusing.
The story is reflecting real life? Isn’t that a good thing?
He’s saving it for the final blow!
Is snot! Is stew! Is snot! Is stew!
“Childhood line said for laughs” Finally an ‘appropriate’ application. P)
Heh, that may well be true generally. But when pretentious people who don’t know how to fight properly get into a real life ‘beat-down’, look out, because grammar is likely the only thing that will really get the heat!!! O_O
I’ve thought about that too! Being a neuroscientist, my first thought was “are there nerves there???” But doesn’t it depend on how far down the horn you cut? I don’t think the top half has blood vessels.. though admittedly I don’t know how big the top “half” is usually. =P
But I’d imagine the strain before the snap would still hurt a lot @_@ When the top of my nails and hair, which has no nerves on its own, gets snagged on something and tugged hard, the overall feeling isn’t pleasant at all @_@
Since Paddington is so close to the action, looking on from the parapet, I’m thinking: One good ‘piledriver’ from that height and the rockboy could end this tout-suite! But I remember that this is Alex’s fight.
Any chance of a triumphant scene with someone blowing a tune from Nic’s broken horn?
Maybe. But most people’s bodies have mechanisms in place to prevent them from acting out their dreams (google REM atonia). Otherwise we’d ALL be doing weird stuff when we dream =P Lack of REM atonia is actually a very annoying disorder (google REM behavior disorder) as you might injure yourself or your bed partner.
So am I, so am I. Don’t those reasons overnerd any angry nerd’s nerdiness?
No, I was refering to things coming up in real life at inoportune times. I’m not implying that a movie deal is any less important or anything like it. Far from it.
I’m just saying it happens.
Hmm. This is a good thing in the short run, but I can’t help thinking about the long-term consequences. A violent overthrow always invites another. Will this set a precedent for later revolt under Alex’s reign?
Also, this may be just the thing that will invite the nightmare realm’s attack.
P.S. Vote!!! Dreamland needs to get back into the top 10 where it belongs!!
http://topwebcomics.com/vote/4274/default.aspx
Many modern democracies started with a coup.
Now there’s an idea…
LOL nice love this
ya
by the way ware did his sword go? cuz i cant see is
THAT’S HOW YOU FIGHT DRAGONS. WITH YOUR BEAR HANDS.
(yes, I meant “bear” hands.)
Nicodemus certainly seems to be out of it – which suggests Alex is hitting a lot harder than he realizes.
Considering how much grief Nicodemus has been handing out over the centuries, it’s hard to say he hasn’t earned it – but there comes a point when enough is enough. Of course, we don’t know how much fight Nicodemus has left in him, or if he’ll be going to plan B which might be calling in his flying monster buddies from the Nightmare Realm. Not to mention what the Wraiths might do if they decide to intervene….
So, anyone think Bognok has a pair of really big handcuffs tucked away somewhere? Securing Nicodemus is going to be a bit of a puzzle. While Nicodemus would like this to be a fight to the death, I don’t think Nastajia or Bognok would let Alex take it that far. There’s still too many questions Nic needs to answer for one. And, they still need to keep him secured for when Alex wakes up again.
dang, never thought i see the day alex beat the heck out of nick. O_o
He just better not wake up anytime soon
Well, possibly, except some of the best art is based in life—if Sava did not know what muscles looked like and did not know enough to draw them (or in this case have other people model them) correctly, and nicodemus might easily look like a big floppy gumby. The fact that Nicodemus is a fantasy creature notwithstanding, some people might not be as easily swayed by this argument as others.
While on the other hand, meticulously plotting every inch of of Nicodemus’ muscle structure to be realistic would be unnecessary, knowing about real things still helps you make fake things more believable. Even if he decides not to render a mangled mass of bone shards and torn marrow, he now knows about the pain that having a broken horn might inflict. This could help him add detail in several ways, if he wanted: Nicodemus could be in tremendous pain, which could make him even angrier and drive up the drama; Nicodemus could be next seen with a bandage on his horn—or perhaps later in the story (if it’s not too close to the end) with a metal horn cap, or a golden horn replacing his broken one.
I am not demanding that Sava use any of these ideas, and I’m not even saying he change anything at all—as I’ve pointed out already—but the more you know, the richer you can make your creations.
Awesome battle. And quite dreamlike, which is certainly appropriate to the setting. 😉
As a writer, I note that technically the “not” in that 2nd panel speech is redundant. The sentence makes sense without it. If anything, the extra “not” obscures the intended meaning with a confusing double-negative.
However, from a characterization point of view the dialog makes perfect sense for Alex in that situation. It’s a common misuse, it’s in the heat of the moment, and he’s not a careful speaker to begin with. It also emphasizes that Alex is denying Nic’s taunt.
Interestingly (at least to language hounds like me anyway 😛 ), he shows he hangs with educated people like his brother a lot by saying “might not be” instead of the more common (but incorrect) “may not be.” Well, either that, or Scott used the right word for clarity despite the double-negative. xD
At any rate, there’s quite a bit of density in that speech balloon. It’s really well done.
Let the pummeling commence.
Wow. Nick is going down!!
You don’t mess with the brothers, man.
Love the comic, sensing an ending though, and I’m very sad about that. The one problem I see in this page is the fact Alex says he’ll kick the snot out of nic. With all the heroic epicures going on, that just felt childlike. In any case, great work Scott, keep it up!
Actually!!! I _DO_ miss one logical step. Which may not be needed for the 13- audience, but for us older, PC-ish readers;
Before the attack begun, I miss a representative for our heroes (usually the leader – in this case, Nastajia for example, and some followers) approaching the castle, stating their claims. Something like:
“NICODEMUS! Surrender. We know that you are not the rightful leader of Dreamland. We know how you usurped power and enslaved the real king of Dreamland, Arthur, to gain your position.
Surrender peacefully now, or suffer the consequences of blah blah blah…”
Whereupon the villain refuses, of course. Then the party returns, and the attack begins, just as drawn.
Shouldn’t that be included as an extra page or two?
If not, please tell us why Nastajia skips this rather important piece of protocol/diplomatic procedures.
Ah! “Entourage”. I just remembered the proper word I should have used, but replaced with “followers” because I could not remember it when I needed to.
Good point, as the majority of the city’s inhabitants and the masses in general might be completely unaware of this. Nic did go to a lot of trouble to eradicate this information from anyone’s recollection.
ah, thanks. guess it’s back through the archives for me!
Yeah, that would work too.
No.
Not just no, but HECK no.
I believe when Alex tried that overhead stab and missed, sinking the sword into the building roof, Nic knocked him away before he could pull it loose. It’s been hand to claw combat since.
Nic is probably stunned. He’s not used to fighting, and he got tagged with a roundhouse blow hard enough to shatter a horn. Give him a few seconds to recover, though, and he might get back in the fight yet.
A later revolt or trouble with the Nightmare Realm is certainly possible. But Nic is a despised tyrant who’s lately been using the Iron Fist a lot, all of the races in Dreamland are currently united behind Alex, and by recounting Dreamland’s true history, the Sword has revealed this isn’t an overthrow but rather a restoration of the way things SHOULD be. I think as long as Alex doesn’t start acting like a loon as King, he should have no real trouble.
Assuming he becomes King…
Boo! 😉
Dun forget, that horn aint just floating there, it’s gonna be anchored to that skull. That blow would have tried to knock the horn out at the root, but it broke instead, but lotta pressure still on that root, and bone pain HURTS, then that would also rattle that brain around, that kinda blow = concussion. Dun matter how thick the skull is, a brain is still just gritty bit of mush floating in fluid. Get punched, your brain gets to bounce back and forth, hard, against the inside of your skull.
Wonder if Nic sees stars, little tweety birds, or wee dragons right now.
Awesome, Awesome, and awesome.
Coolness, Scott!
I dont’ really understand why some people are saying ‘Alex stop beating the one-horned dragon’… and let me tell you why I’m not saying that:
Ol’ Scaly Red kidnapped Nastajia’s parents, destroyed many arqueoligical an mythical records and devices, slayed and bullied people for a long long long loooong time and became a ruthless and deviant political behemoth that terrorized people… and the icing on the cake: HE LET THE NIGHTMARE REALM TAKE AWAY LITTLE CHILDREN!!!
Alex has all the right to beat him until he turns purple and keep on punching until the dragon turns every one of the other 5 colors available on the rainbow. But let’s remember something: Orion trained him, and Nastajia’s there and Kiwy and a lot of people that truly care for him. His safety net (emotionally speaking) won’t let him go over the edge.
And also, yeah, he’s super strong, but Nicodemus is a Red Dragon. RED. Haven’t you guys read *anything* about these type of dragons?! They are the very definition of fierce. So, yeah, this will be the Longest Dragon Slaying in the history of ’em all.
Which it all makes it all even greater.
Love you Scott! Keep on rollin’!
Wednesday’s page is still rendering. I’ll have it posted in the morning.
Dreamland is a monarchy, not a democracy. What we hope for is a republic though, if we truly want the people to rule by law, and not a democracy, where the majority rules. If you want to see democracy in action, take 2 wolves and a sheep deciding what’s for dinner…
You know what I mean
Alex took levels in Monk; Nic’s NOT coming back from this one!
Alex: “That’s one more reason for me to beat the snot out of you!”
Nicodemus: “Fool! You know not the awesome power of my mucus!”
I’m sorry, was that sympathy for one of the combatants? I couldn’t here you over the epic fight. Violence! ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?
*hear
(sigh…)