Chapter 1: Page 15
As I mentioned last week, the Tamian homestead isn’t quite what we’d consider a ‘home’. The Tamian people are active from the crack of dawn to the very moment the sun goes down (and if there’s a special brew on tap at the pub, usually a lot later than that). Because of this, many other races of the Four Kingdoms would consider the Tamian to be workaholics – unable to stop and smell the proverbial roses.
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For most Tamian, this is absolutely true. Some Tamian – even those with homes to call their own – rarely return to them, even to sleep. They are perfectly fine sleeping outdoors in the treetops, and in fact most of the Tamian people do in fact sleep outside in a spider’s web of communal hammocks that surround the city’s high-class center.
Quinlan, however, is rather attached to his home. As you can see, he keeps it clean and tidy, and he’s even adorned it with a few various knick-knacks. Of course, the purpose of Quin’s journey home is to pick up his Captain’s uniform – a tunic and sash emblazoned with the symbol of the Tamian kingdom: an oak leaf.
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The oak leaf has been around for a little while in our internal canon – if you look back at the old Tamian tree-house concepts from last week (which were drawn up quite a while ago, actually!) you will see them on banners hanging from the walkways. If you look carefully, you’ll see it in a lot of places throughout the city – it’s not just a symbol of the kingdom, but a communal sort of symbol for all Tamian people – a cultural identifier – one that even the least-patriotic Tamian can wear without feeling uncomfortable.
Nicely done! I love it! He doesn’t look to happy about wearing it, does he? poor Quin :(
All I can say is “;_;”
This is a page that is very beautiful and sad. I love the design of Quin’s home and those little private effects that add a touch of personal history to him. We see a sea-shell (maybe a gift from Dakkan or a souvenir from a trip to the Lutren lands and it’s beaches), an adorable childhood drawing (probably of his parents or Caldus) and his captain’s uniform. It’s little touches like this that can add so much to a comic.
The panel where he reaches over to pick his uniform up, leading into a flashback at what seems as the last time he saw his grandfather in life, is a real tear jerker. It seems that despite the animosity between the two toward the end of their time together, Caldus still loved his grandson and entrusted him with his legacy on his deathbed. The muted colours in the panel, establishing its not-quite-there mood, is another brilliant touch by Kobb.
I actually expected most of the commentary to be about that, but it’s mostly another look into Tamian society. The repeated emphasis on the lack of personal homes and most property leads to some other questions. First off: even if most Tamian don’t own much personal property, they probably still have some personal belongings that it would be impractical to carry around everywhere, especially when they leap through the treetops. Are there special places where homeless Tamians can store such belongings, like a bank or something?
Also, even if most Tamians don’t live in a permanent home but sleep in those open communal hammock thingies, there must come times – like during winter or heavy storms – when that would be very impractical. Presumably they have large huts in their communities where such individuals can live during such periods?
Ok, the flashback when he starts to pick up the mantle is quality storytelling, an image that delivers information and hits the gut at the same time. Well done!