Chapter 2: Page 58
[Sorry for the unpolished look of the page this week. I’m hoping to clean it up to the regular standard ASAP! -Rachel]
It’s always nice when the story naturally allows for some fun history to be dropped, and this conversation is a good example of that. The Oran Uprising, like the Ermehn War of 2E:120, shaped a great deal of history around it — both for the world of the Four Kingdoms and for our characters. We’ll learn more about it in the coming weeks as Quinlan and Dakkan get a chance to continue their conversation.
Not much else to report this week! I actually spent a good day at New York Comic Con and had the opportunity to chat with a comics podcast about Western Deep, so hopefully once that’s posted I can put a link up here next week. It was a fun chat about some of BWD’s influences (a spiel I’m used to giving at comic book conventions by now!) and I also got to wax nostalgic with the host about when Princess Mononoke came out in the States in a small theatrical run and seeing it felt like discovering some rare heretofore unknown treasure. I still remember sitting in that dingy New York theater with a film buff friend of mine who had invited me to see it — I had zero expectations, which meant I was completely blown away. It’s still one of my favorite movies of all time, I think.
This week, a fun bit of fan ANIMATION!Ā Western Deep fan Mike Williamson put together a short walking cycle animation of Quinlan for an Animation 101 project, and when I learned of its existence I just had to see it in action. It’s so much fun seeing Quinlan moving around, so we’re super grateful to Michael for sending this over to us! It was pretty huge right off the bat, so I compressed it down pretty heavily. If you’re looking at it all blown up on a giant monitor, just remember that the artifacting is entirely my fault, and the 160+ meg original animation doesn’t have any of that :)
Seeing that animation just makes me hope that one day BWD gets animated somehow. I can just imagine what the voice cast will be…although I think some of the readers already pondered about voices a long while ago. Thats really awesome work Micheal!
Anyway I’m already interested in this Oran uprising now. I wonder if we’ll get to learn about Kenosh’s connection with the Sratha-din…if he had any. Furthermore I wonder if this incident has anything to do with Dakkan’s fear of blood/father resentment.
Definitely hoping for an animated BWD someday. Here’s hoping Alex and Rachel go through the trouble of finding a film studio to take it once the story is complete.
I’d watch it in theaters nonstop and drag all my friends and family along.
Looks like Kenosh went native during his time in north. I wonder if him being an emissary is basically a way to exile Dances With Stoats from the capital and its politics?
It brings me great shame to admit this, but yes, ever since Clovis mentioned it, I had come to the conclusion that Dakkan is half Ermehn, or something.
What juicy gossip, it must be true! That explains why they never talk about Dakkan’s mother.
This would actually explain a lot.
Only issue is that Dakkan doesn’t look even a little bit Ermehn.
We’ll find out soon enough.
Haha, no, nothing like that X)
Awwww. I was just getting started on making my “crossbreeds of Dunia” reference chart.
If this is not a reveal of a half-ling, it should be an interesting discovery.
All this talk about halflings makes me wonder where the Lutren are being taken to.
Aisling-gard, of course.
I’d imagine it’s bad form to double-dip songs, but I can’t resist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE-1RPDqJAY
Please forgive me . . .
Unpolished page, Rachel? It looks fantastic as always.
I don’t remember ever hearing the word “Oran” before. It isn’t a race, isn’t a place, isn’t a nation . . . does anyone have any idea what it is?
I would guess Oran was the leader of the uprising, or some person important who was involved in it.
I assume it the place where it happened, or the tribe that started it.
Alternatively, it could be an anagram of Aron, which is close to Aaron, the bbrother of Moses.
Illuminati confirmed!
Quinlan’s letter continues to be rained upon. Maybe he wants it to have a watermark.
Haa!
‘Eeeeey
Someday one of us will make a pun so grating that Alex and Rachel will declare a moratorium on wordplay in the comments section. I await that inevatability with equal parts dread and longing.
It’s the Ragnarok our kind strives for, Trees. I, for one, will be glad to go down making horrible puns next to you lot.
You will have my word and my ask.
And my elbow.
Looks like we’re all four going out in a blaze of wordplay glory.
If Trees is onboard too that would make it a fiver.
Trees is wisely biding time for the perfect opportunity to strike.
I know of a certain dwarf who agrees in your estimation of what trees are up to.
Who, this guy?
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0150.html
Got it in one!
Quote: “If Trees is onboard too that would make it a fiver.”
Don’t forget the Scribe! You’ll need someone of intelligence on this mission… quest… thing.
Stop this silliness or you’ll face severe punishment!
Sure thing, Colonel.
Well, I feel I ought to contribute something more to this page than my silly comments, so here’s a proper one. Quinlan’s letter just can’t get a break, can it? And it seems neither can Dakkan, for that matter. He and Kenosh don’t have the most stable father/son relationship, and if that nice hand-raising page a while back wasn’t a good, clear indication of it, this certainly is.
Seeing Bevan and Hardin are about to crash the party, it’s going to get a whole lot worse before it gets any better (though, er, the party didn’t seem to be going so great to start with, so maybe that’s a good a thing). Bevan just better hope he doesn’t end up the piƱata.
Also, Kenosh backstory coming up. Popcorn, anyone?
So . . . I hate to be “that guy”, but I’m wondering how close we are to getting that updated cast page . . .
What kind of accent is Dakkan supposed to have?
What I imagine: A dash of southern United States accent.
What I wish I could imagine: Australian. Sadly, he doesn’t use any of the requisite slang, or I’d be dreaming of Aussie Otters day in and day out.
Actually I imagine Dak with a bit of an Irish accent. I know that plays into the whole “Kenosh is Liam Neeson” thing, but there ya go :)
Quin and Janik I imagine with a more proper English accent. No American accents for anyone, though — I think I lose something of the medieval feel when I imagine American accents with this world.
Good point about the American, good point. I see the Irish now . . . or hear, I guess? Let’s go with that.
And I do love a good Irish accent. Reminds me of the Hobbits from my beloved Tolkienverse. And so much fun can be had with the accents of nations that speak English (Posh, Cockney, BBC, the American ones we aren’t using, Canadian, Irish, Australian, and South African).
So, so far we have:
Tamian = British
Lutren = Irish
Canis = ?
Vulpin = ?
Felis = ?
Ermehn = ?
Polcan = ?
What do you imagine for the rest of the list? It’s your comic, after all. I just want to know what your intent is. I find that it makes me enjoy this sort of thing better when the details are clarified.
There were Irish hobbits?
Sam, Merry, and Pippin all sounded kind of Irish to me.
There are also some minor characters who are Hobbits who definitely sound Irish.
Pippin has a rather refined Scottish accent (Billy Boyd is Glaswegian). Merri and Sam were speaking with ‘west country’ English accents though definitely a few stereotype points short of going full Wurzel.
As for LoTR characters with Irish accents I can’t think of any off the top of my head though other commenters may be able to point some out. Bofur from the Hobbit is about as Northern Irish as you can get while still being comprehensible to foreigners.
Right, I forgot about both Scottish accents and Bofur completely. Thanks for setting me straight.
My personal predictions (we’ll see how accurate they are):
Canis: Maybe German? I could see a mild version working.
Vulpin: I’d give them a slight Arabian lilt, just because that’s the culture I identify them with the most.
Felis: I would go for extremely proper British English, but that already seems covered by the Tamian. As a substitute, I feel that mild French or Spanish could be used for that cultured, non-British feel.
Ermehn: Leaning toward Irish, since nothing else seems to fit. This one is hard.
Polcan: If Australian accents are anywhere in Dunia, I feel that the Polcan should have them. Reinforces their reputation as a tough, wild group.
Just speculations, Alex; feel free to shoot them full of holes. I’m just having fun.
The fact that it helps support the “Kenosh is Liam Neeson” factor is why I so easily accepted it.
Also, I think I should say that I have difficulty imagining distinct accents except for the Sunsgrovians; everyone else blanks in my head. For some reason I can hear the Canid with a light Russian accent or something from that area, just enough to make them pronounce certain words and sharp syllables harder than other races. Polcan probably sound a lot like Lutren.
I imagine Quinlan with the voice of Greg Cipes oddly enough.
Interesting choice
there are many accents around the world but there are so many choices i can’t choose which one that i like.
Hmm, somehow I skipped this page. I really appreciate the body language that’s going on here, and I like the broken barrels and cobwebs. it really adds realism to the page.
Also, the second splashdown of the droplet was a beautiful touch.
(Greg Cipes? Interesting- I personally hear Cameron Bowen when Quinlan talks)