Chapter 2: Page 41
This week, Kenosh finally steps in to give Clovis what-for; though the mention of Hardin’s tribe certainly seems to put a damper on things. Speaking of damp (ha!), the rainstorm we’ve been seeing creep up throughout the chapter finally makes its presence known. Brought a storm with you indeed…
Not much else to say this week, really! We do, however, have a cool piece of fanart from Joshua Madoc, who you might remember as the artist behind the wonderful “Knights of the Round” interpretation of Quinlan, Dakkan, and Kenosh. This time, we get to see his interpretation of Rathik, Rhosyn, and Bevan!
The musculature and facial structures of the characters are definitely evoking a Thundercats kinda vibe for me, which is pretty sweet! It’s a lot of fun seeing the Sratha-din portrayed in different art styles given their very diverse natures, so thank you, Josh! As always I look forward to seeing more of your interpretations of the characters!
If you have any Western Deep-related fan works that you’d like to shared with us or have posted on the website along with a page, please send it to us at:
thewesterndeep (@) gmail (.) com!
Aww man! That third panel, I’m kinda in love with the lighting. It reads so much like a clap of lightning, I can’t even deal.
Ha, overdramatic lighting much? (It’s totes OK, just made me laugh b/c it is so glorious especially when combined with the expression on his face)
And by Kenosh’s reaction to the name, I’m guessing that perhaps “Sratha” was the name of an Important person, place or thing? Maybe a ruler or the capital or even the name of the Ermehn Nation pre-Canid invasion? Anyway, it’s important enough to distract him from Clovis’ smug face. (He and Crim should start a club- Bullies-R-Us, criteria: jab at the hero’s vulnerable/sore spots/family issues and have fabulous facial expressions.)
I just- that first panel killed me. And I love how even though Quinlan is interrupted (again- man, he really knows how to command a room) he is still giving Clovis this /death glare- like that’s probably the angriest we’ve seen Quinlan. And Kenosh’s sneer- that’s not the angriest we’ve seen him but still- it’s not just his face (am I alone in seeing contempt there?) his entire body language is like FIGHT ME. (PapaWolf!Kenosh makes me happy.) And poor Dakkan… ugh bby. That shame in his eyes… Others have commented on the last page rather thoroughly, so I won’t beat a dead horse but… ouch ouch ouch. That’s like the schoolyard bully suddenly decided to air your report card to all the other kids when you’re the son of a famous physicist or something. Clovis that was NOT OK.
Ugh and that smug look on Clovis’ face. It’s like the bully knowing he’ll get off scot free b/c he just ratted out the guy trying to smoke cigs in the playhouse and the kid with the cigs gets priority treatment.
And his dry comment on the storm- don’t lie Clovis, you’ve been practising that.
A note on the positioning- I just love how the first panel of this page flows from the last page- it’s like Kenosh and Quin got between Dakkan and Clovis, like a shield. And clearly the plot is thickening and it’s only going to get worse from here….
I think I’m going to raise the bet on Kenosh dying in light of this scene.
/I’m not emotionally prepared for this. nooo (and yessss all the yess.)
FORWARD TO THE GLORIOUS DEATH AND EMOTIONAL MAIMING THAT AWAITS
DUNN DUNN DUNN
Loving the light(n)ing effect in the third panel, it’s really neat!
For the readers, I would like to point out that real Ermines have particularly long necks. That was why I decided to give Rathik, Rhosyn and Bevan their own elongated necks. In the future, I may expand the designs to detailed full-body designs to give all of my prior submissions more context.
So Kenosh steps in after all, and protective at that; unfortunately, it’s not enough to stop Clovis, who uses his original (very cruel but true) point as a springboard to tell Kenosh about the Sratha-Din. Names are turning out to be very significant here.
I’m guessing that means something dark, considering Kenosh’s reaction…
Also, nice to see that Kenosh won’t take any jibes being made at his son’s expense. Dakkan’s expression in the first panel breaks my heart though :c
Whoa wait! So Kenosh already knows about Hardin’s group? I dont mean to step on the speculation train here, but I wonder if the reason of Kenosh’s sympathies towards the Ermehn is because he did something horrible to them (well, I guess that is somewhat of a given) but more so directly to the Sratha-Din. Perhaps he caused some misfortune to it’s previous incarnation or what not (I wouldnt think that Hardin was leader at the time since he’s still seems young here). If at all, I wouldnt be surprised that the Sratha-Din themselves would know of Kenosh at this point.
Or maybe I’m just overthinking it and Kenosh probably knows of them since they’re somewhat infamous among Ermehn tribes.
I would also like to comment on the awesome representation of Rathik, Roshyn and Bevan. They all look so cool! and who cant resist Bevan’s cheery profile! The style reminds me of the Breath of Fire series…which come to think of it…these guys look like Rei’s Race .
I like that assessment on Kenosh… and that would mean the Sratha-Din have some sort of grudge against him. The plot thickens!!
One thing I totally forgot to mention- the most /obvious/, really- is how Quinlan probably really understands how Dakkan feels here, thanks to his many arguments with Caldus, and his near-disownment. So it’s a double whammy for him. And I love the background details- the tent with the milling Canid, the stonework, even the reflections of the characters in the metal.
Ah, yes, the Woren/Worent race. I completely forgot about them. I was quite fascinated by Tatsuya Yoshikawa’s artwork back then, now that you mention it.
Veigue, notice that Kenosh emphasised the word “Sratha”, which implies that word has a very deep historical importance and alludes to someone or something that carries a lot of weight for those who can recognise it’s origin.
It’s probably Ermehn for “communist” or something of the sort.
Yeah I just now noticed that. I’ll go with Freya’s interpretation for the importance of that word by possibly alluding to a prestigious Ermehn lineage…..maybe relating to King Harkenlowe or whoever used to be in charge of the Ermehn before the Canid took over.
Ok I now realize that I’m reading WAAAAY Too much into this lol.
So… this word “Sratha” … seems to have a malevolent meaning behind it, or perhaps a prophesied one? I’m assume “Din” is just the Ermehn name for tribe or group since Kenosh focuses on the former name than the latter. Whatever the context though, it’s enough to gain Clovis’ arrogant attention and Kenosh’s jaw drop so its important. I do have to wonder if the Ermehn race had a royal line before they were defeated and perhaps Sratha was their family name. It would make sense that Hardin could be a distant descendant and that is why he habours so much Ermehn pride and resentment against the Canid. Perhaps the line was thought to be killed out long ago and now the resurgence of the name has caught Clovis’ attention (Damn, we let one live!) and Kenosh’s (One escaped the slaughter?!). Anyways, these are all speculations of course and I hope we find out soon. ;)
And then there’s the first panel of Kenosh stepping in. Not much to comment on it really except it was well done. I like Kenosh’s aggressive stance; ears flattened and paws fisted. It had me thinking – just punch him, you’re halfway there! – but Kenosh retains his restraint. It is nice to see Kenosh be protective of his son although there is that friction between them. And, oh Quin! I had to laugh at his posture and expression. Inexperience and gentle nature really shine through here as we have Kenosh, ready to fight and little Quin with his arms crossed. His demeanor has all the flare of young school kid intervening a bully. I was just waiting for him to stomp his feet and yell “Stop it you big meany!” But I’m joking of course – it fits perfectly with his apprehensive character.
Anyways, good page and I can’t wait to see what happens next week now that the ‘storm dark’ has rolled in. Cue Bevan. ;)
Cheers,
FT
OK, one more quick question- pronunciations. is it DAAK- AAN (Like Kraken) ? My new recruit (hopefully) pronounced it DOHKK-AHN I’v heard other people Or on Kenosh- I’ve heard KEE-nosh from Sara (Thank you Skype) while I say KEHN-osh. Also, SRAA- THUH- DEEN or SRAA-THUH- DIHN? Possible pronunciation guide?
It was pronounced K-ee-nosh?! Everything I thought about him is a lie! Nooooo!
Haha, yes, pronunciations for fantasy character names can be tricky! I remember pronouncing Celanawe’s name (from “Mouse Guard”) incorrectly until David Petersen corrected me himself :)
Dakkan is pronounced the same way as “Kraken” or “Slacken” or “Bracken”.
Kenosh is KEE-nosh, with the emphasis on the first syllable. The “nosh” is more “knowsh” than “nosh”
The “din” in Sratha-din, similarly to the last syllable in Hardin’s name, is “Deen”. In both cases, the emphasis is on the “din”.
And some bonuses! Bevan is pronounced like “Devon”, Eira is pronounced “EYE-rah,” Rhosyn is pronounced “Row-SIN,” and Rathik is pronounced “WRATH-ick.”
And now super-extra-special bonus: Dabheid is pronounced “DAHB-heed” — think of it as an older version of the current name “David” and you’ll get the right pronunciation in your head.
Yes, Dabheid’s name was driving me nuts! Thanks, Alex!
Whoa, I was really off with some of the pronunciations. Kenosh, Hardin, Eira and Rhosyn to be exact. I used to say “QUÉ-NAWSH” for Kenosh, “HAR-DEHN” for Hardin, “EY(as in Hey, without the H)-RAH” for Eira and for some reason I saw Rhosyn’s name as is Roshyn…so I said “Raw-SHIN”. How silly of me.
Oh! sorry about butting in, but speaking about names. I was wondering if the BWD cast have any last names? I know in many fictional works the authors dont really delve into surnames since they’re usually not that important, but I was wondering if the same applied to here. Thanks!
None of this would be happening if we used Spanish pronunciation rules. The “A” is always pronouced like in “lad”, the “E” is always pronounced like in “bed”, the “I” is always pronounced like in “pick”, and so forth!
Yes, I wanna know of last names! And also, once and for all I ask. Do. They. Know. The. Unending. Pleasure. Of. Cheese?
That is all! :)
The characters do not have last names, no — if there was ever the case where there were two Quinlans or two Dakkans, they would be further specified by their fathers or their roles (Captain Quinlan of the Royal Guard or Dakkan, son of Kenosh, etc).
Also, not sure what the cheese question’s all about… but I figure if they do have it, it would be like Redwall-style cheese, made from a special plant sap instead of milk.
Not much history behind the cheese question. I asked it a couple of times before and decided to repeat it with more insistence.
I apologize for repeating a silly question, but I personally think it is a very serious social and cultural concern. I mean, if they don’t have cheese, how can they make cheeseburgers?
Kenosh: Enough, Clovis! Nobody reveals that I am utterly disapointed at my failure of a son, except for me!
The sky: Leeeeeeet’s get ready to rumbleeeeee!
I am a terrible person for laughing at that comment.
With all the detail Alex and Rachel put into this comic, there’s no such thing as “reading too much in” Also, we have seven days between updates- we need something to occupy us so we stay sane until then!
I’ll try to see if I can stare at the sun for six seconds without blinking!
Nah, try http://shiitake-tissues.tumblr.com/post/80523634416/not-my-fault (Courtesy of Sara) Please take special note of Kenosh’s face. *I can’t make it do the inline text thing ughugh*
Woah jeez, hey there Clovis.
Love the expressions here, especially in the first panel. Quin looks like he’s ready to punch Clovis right in his self-assured, cutting-remark-making face, and Dakkan obviously doesn’t want to be there. Who would, after their light jest turned them into a prime target for public humiliation- right in front of the person that they probably want to please the most?
And I detected an underlying hint of self-consciousness in Kenosh’s reaction. Not merely because his son just got taken down a peg or three in front of him. Perhaps also because Clovis’ remarks made Kenosh confront his own attitude toward Dakkan, and he was ashamed to realize that Clovis was right.