Chapter 3: Page 22
Somewhere out there, there’s a version of this story where Dakkan rips his restraints right off and kicks down the cell door, Hulk style — but chances are that’s just in his head. In truth, Canid dungeons are probably some of the best dungeons in the Four Kingdoms! And by best I mean they serve their purpose in not letting anyone out. The word ‘dungeon’ actually comes from the French word donjon, referring to a castle keep or tower. While many people tend to associate dungeons with being underground, they were historically in the tallest towers of a castle.
Sometimes, if you had a very dangerous individual, you needed to get more creative than just locking them up behind a door. For example, Elizabeth Báthory, a Hungarian noblewoman and serial killer, required a little bit more than a tall tower. Why? Well, for one, she had murdered over 600 people. She actually still holds the Guinness World Record as the “Most Prolific Female Murderer” over 500 years after her death!
But because of her noble stature, she was given a relatively light sentence for the time: imprisoned in the tall tower of Čachtice Castle with all the doors and windows bricked up and left there until she died four years later.
So Quin and Dak have to put it all into perspective: it could be a lot worse!
This week for guest art, we’ve got a fun piece from RM Fung, inspired by Ghost in the Shell (which, as we know, is back in the public eye thanks to the new live-action film). As he explains:
“In this pic, you’ve got Major Janik (Janik + the Major-Ghost in the Shell’s protagonist) doing a freefall down a skyscraper, having just finished her latest anti-terror mission. As she falls, she activates her thermoptic camouflage (invisibility) suit, disappearing out of sight, out of mind. You can also presume that she’s in a futuristic Nessa, having become a metropolis over the centuries and more multicultural+multiracial than it was in the original comic.”
I haven’t seen the new live-action movie, but the skyscraper freefall from the original 1995 anime is one of the more iconic images in sci-fi films, and it’s so cool to see a crossover with such a storied piece of animation. The idea of Janik as a cyborg is also pretty freaking awesome.
Thank you so much, RM! We love how the piece turned out!
And remember, if you have any Western Deep-related artwork you’d like to share with us and the rest of the readership, you can send it to us at “thewesterndeep(at)gmail(dot).com”!
Go Dakkan! Showing off your otter strength and macho model for a classic super jailbreak shot.
Oh, the chains didn’t come off? Well, you tried. Good job anyway! We’ve still got a good look at you from the few panels in this page…
Well, looks like the duo, or at least Quin, already caught on to Tosch’s possible excuse to get rid of his two inconveniences. Unless he surprises us all, I’m still left itching with proof that he’s indeed the smarter general.
And wow, cool picture of Janik here! I don’t remember if I mentioned this yet, but ideas of a future BTWD-world always pique my interest. When you put one thing you like with another thing you like, well, you got quite a cool world you wanna live in. At the same time, I feel like it fits because of Nessa’s tendency to be riddled with messes involving politics and murder, if Song of the Eastern Sands & the beginning of Chapter 3 is anything to go by.
Now if only there were a Four Kingdoms-version of the chant that plays in the beginning of 1995’s Ghost in the Shell…
Wait Dak! I got a better idea! Try to do what you just did….but do it really,really hard.
That’s gotta work right!? Anyway I love how totally cool Dakkan is playing the situation.
And I love the artwork of Janik! I’m not familiar with Ghost in the Shell, but from what I’ve seen about it, I can see Janik filling the role.
Even his manly physique falls short of manacles meant to hold Canids. There are some problems you can’t flex yourself out of, Dakkan!
Also I cannot help noticing that the dungeon is at least as inviting as their guest room, but doesn’t have a leaky roof…
Sadly, when it comes to slipping Canid restraints, a Lutren’s strength is otterly inadequate.
Man, Quinlan is really lucky Dakkan is there :P
I’m guessing Quinlan’s Tesque might come in handy. Even if his hands are bound, he’s still got his feet, and he can lift himself up by the manacles. It’d hurt, but he could probably pull off some pretty fancy footwork and catch a guard unawares… though I doubt the canid would be foolish enough to send only /one/ guard.
Kenosh would question it, but who would believe him?
Anyway, this is a fine mess these two have gotten themselves into now. The easiest way to get out at this point would be to get some outside help, but I don’t see how that could happen . . .
I’m really looking forward to seeing where this goes!
got my volume 1 book from amazon. Awesome comic so far!