Chapter 2: Page 25
Apologies for the delayed page/post today! As I mentioned in the delay post, we were both waylaid quite a bit by Christmas festivities! As always, we appreciate your patience in getting this week’s page up, and we hope you like it!
It’s hard to believe, but Beyond the Western Deep and westerndeep.net will be two years old this upcoming Wednesday! For those who remember, the very first page of the prologue went up on midnight, January 1st, 2012. I’m not too sure what, if anything, we’ll be doing to celebrate, but we may have a surprise or two in store!
Speaking of surprises, I suppose now is as good a time as ever to announce that Rachel and I are both planning to attend Baltimore Comic Con next September with a table at Artist’s Alley!
We haven’t quite nailed down the specific merchandise yet, but at the very, very least, we plan to have a self-published first print hardcover edition of Beyond the Western Deep Volume 1, which will include the material from the Prologue and Chapter 1.
The book won’t be 1:1 with the webcomic pages currently on the site, however, as over the last two years Rachel and I have assembled quite a long list of tweaks and fixes we want to address before printing anything official. We’re also thinking of prints and stickers, that sort of thing.
Anything we have left after the show, we’ll try to set up a shop to sell them online via this website.
Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season, and here’s to a happy, healthy New Year!
Poor Ashtor. Forever seeing all of the sacrifices as the people they are instead of numbers. But now we see why Hardin is pressing this so hard; if they can grab hold of General Clovis, they’ve got their foot in the door.
Called it.
And so more of the plot unravels. Hardin is after capturing Clovis and more than likely holding him hostage for some sort of treaty or compromise of acquiring their lands back. We’ll have to see how that all goes because if Clovis is any kind of general I’m envisioning, he’d rather fight to the death on the battlefield than be taken prisoner… and likewise if the Canid are as militant as they have been built to be, they won’t negotiate with Hardin over Clovis’ life and just see his life forfeited as the spoils of war. Hmmm, Hardin’s had this planned for a while though, so let’s see what happens! :D
Now, these frames show something I’ve been meaning to comment on for a long time, and that is the attention to detail in the artwork. I love how the ages are portrayed and shown here. We have Ashtor (clearly the oldest) with his dull coat, greater number of whiskers and thicker/longer fur at his chin. Then there’s Hardin, more coat to his coat, not as many whiskers and some scruff on his chin. And then the last couple of pages, Bevan: Baby-faced, only a few whiskers and brighter colour to his coat. Not like its HUGE in terms of story development, but it’s something that has caught my eye and impressed me with the depth of thought put into the drawing of their characters.
Also, the sheets of rain pelting down from the forthcoming clouds show its going to be one hell of a storm. That should lead for some interesting art pieces. ;)
Hmmm, bait… yes, well, I think Bevan is going to have a reality check in the next little bit. I picture him being dragged into the Canid forces, seeing Hardin and screaming for aid, but the cold-hearted bastard turning his back on him. I would say Bevan is most likely to die, but I think he’s had too much character development to just be a throw away character… and with Quin’s previously displayed lenience to the Ermehn… ya, I think those two are going to intersect very shortly.
Anyways, great work as always and congrats on being up and going for 2 years!
Cheers and sharp quills,
FT
I definitely have to agree with you, Freya. The attention to detail is marvelous, and it’s especially noticeable in this page. The clothing, especially, have a wonderful weight and heft to them.
Also, “more coat to his coat” is fantastic and sounds like it should be in an Ermehn shampoo infomercial. “Been spending too much time in the northern wastes? Run ragged by a nomadic lifestyle? Then you need Stoat Coat, the fur conditioner to put more coat in your coat. An invigorating symposium of secret ingredients guaranteed to restore that healthy glossy fur. Feel like you’re relaxing on the beaches of Sunsgrove. Look good enough to conquer the world! Be the envy of your tribe and add more coat to your coat today!”
Hardin uses it every night.
So does Bevan. Hardin uses a lot of Calvin Klein products as well.
So who is general Clovis anyway?
The handsome Canid who was on the cover page for this chapter. Brother of Tosch (? correct spelling?) and another general like Galleon.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Hardin you magnificent bastard
Geeminee! Has it really been two years already? How time flies, and good on you guys for staying so consistent with this marvelous behemoth. Here’s to the new year and beyond!
I’m interested to know exactly how Hardin got that bit of information. It seems like he’s the only one who knows about Clovis being there.
Also, I love his bored-bordering-on-annoyed face in the second panel.
Quinn and Co. know about Clovis, or at least about *some* Canid general being there – that’s who they’re going out to see. It’s not a stretch to assume that it’s common knowledge that a general is posted at the garrison.
Hey I’m new to this webcomic and I’ve got to say it is AWESOME! I’ll be a consistent reader from now on, I just read the entire archive in one sitting xD
Redwall basically started my interest in writing, and I was on the Redwall Online Community for a good while (Still am, if the distantly removed from canon “Vulpine Imperium” counts, and it’s awesome to see such love being put into a similar setting.
I also like very much how the “antagonists” are being developed just as much as the “protagonists,” and how their respective moralities are quite ambiguous, leaving us to decide who’s right.
Keep up the awesome!
Thanks for the kind words, Stealer! We’re glad to have you along for the ride! :) Rachel and I are both huge fans of the Redwall series, so we’re always happy to hear that fans of the books are enjoying Beyond the Western Deep as well.
Again, good page. Sorry for my laziness…
I’ve been re reading this over the past few days. I have to say I love the interactions between Hardin and Ashtor.
Hardin is committed to his path, willing to kill and do whatever he thinks is necessary for his goals. However, he isn’t a one note villain, killing anyone who isnt a yesman.
By the same token Ashtor has strong doubts about the path, but follows anyway. Despite his loyalty to Hardin, he isn’t afraid to speak his mind and keep his leader honest.