Chapter 3: Page 3
How does one commit a long list of names to memory? Personally, I use mnemonics like Janik here, which have helped me out in more ways that one. Let’s say I can’t remember somebody’s name, but they’ve got a fancy car. Car rhymes with par, which is a term in golf — Rolf! Yes, I know, that’s a poor example, because nobody is named Rolf anymore. I’ll just segue out of this part of the post now.
Personally I love how Rachel handled visually representing Janik’s train of thought. This is one of those fun things that the comic medium affords us — being able to show sequential thought with a single BG and multiple versions of the character to suggest musing over time.
Anyway, Janik has successfully named all the names! Mitra’s lesson can finally continue, and we’ll get to learn a little bit more about the kinds of things an ambassador to Navran should know before taking up the job.
This week for guest art, some fun artwork by Jerijune of a character we haven’t seen in a while: Crim! As a Tesque trainer, he’s always ready to push his students further to help them rise to his level. With his rather commanding personality, he’s a natural at the job!
Thank you so much for the great artwork, Jerijune! The Tesque uniforms look spot on, and Crim looks appropriately in “teacher mode” here :)
I’ve been mailing out copies of Volume 2 as quickly as I can — we’ve still got a bunch left, so if you’re interested in getting a signed copy with an included mini-print and bookmark, head on over to our store and check it out!
Also, if you did get a copy of the book, don’t forget to head to Amazon and Goodreads to leave a review. Every positive comment helps!
So Janik is showing her inner Jeff Goldblum. I also love how quizzical she looks throughout the whole page (and the previous ones for that matter) It’s stuff like that, that really breaks and makes an artist when it comes to drawing, keep up the good work kobb!
Taking to any sort of context with Jerijune’s artwork here….I guess Crim is…lulling Quin into some sort of false sense of security so that…when the time comes right…he’ll be able to I guess…dismantle his pride/dignity or….*sigh* Crim buddy, this whole “rival” game you’re playing is beginning to make no sense.
jokesaside I love this picture Jer, it helps me think that クリム先輩 is really tsundere for クィンランさん (chances are in his deep, dark and lonely heart he probably likes Quinlan). Speaking of which I assume he has no friends? Like at all.. Oh geez if that’s the case, there really is a reason for his attention needs. He probably has a hard time finding people that he could relate to or vice versa, the poor thing. Oh no, why am I suddenly over analyzing things?..why am I still commenting?
nice page! I wonder what Mitra’s got up her sleeve this time… more diplomats? sociology? more political science?
@veigue: that’s actually a different guy– he’s not Quin. just another student. although he’s got good intentions, Crim’s just shouting a lot to keep the student’s attention. I always thought he was really loud at times.
I just put the pieces together and realized my mistake, but by then it was too late. I apologize for my derpness
Wait . . . wait wait wait . . .
So Beck just so happened to pick a name for her disguise (in “The Mark”) that was the same as the name of one of the Vulpin high council members? And nobody noticed? (Also Tess was listed as a “good Lutren name”, but I won’t ask why one of the Vulpin leaders has it).
This is a fun page, though; Mitria gives Janik a hint and she remembers from there. Good reminder of what a sharp cookie our Diplosquirrel Mark II is. I usually don’t bother with mnemonics–I feel like they take more effort to remember than the list itself does–but this method is more fun to watch.
Clearly Chapter 3 is still just revving up. My initial massive excitement rush has worn off, but it’ll be back just as soon as when we see where this conversation–and the plot–are going.
Just because the name’s origin is Lutren doesn’t necessarily mean another race wouldn’t take it. A parent hears a name they like, they give the name to the kid :) I imagine there’s a good bit of overlap between names and the different races. For example, I think Eira is a great Ermehn name, but it could also theoretically be a Vulpin name. Clovis is a great Canid name, but it could also be a Felis name.
You know, I’m really starting to like Janik here.
I’ll admit, when I first started reading, she didn’t really stand out to me. Her design was a little plain, and her role in the story thus far was insignificant. She just didn’t seem to fit with all the other interesting and compelling characters.
But now her personality is really starting to shine through, with the help of Rachel’s use of expression and gestures, and her role in the story as a viewpoint into the other side of the world of Beyond the Western Deep makes me really excited to see more of her and her adventures into the Southern Kingdom.
I’m glad she’s being focused on thus far in Chapter 3, and I don’t think I’d mind it if the narrative focused solely on her throughout this chapter.
Thanks for saying so, Fruitso! We’re glad you’re taking a liking to her character :) When we started creating the story originally, Janik was a very small part and didn’t really factor into it after the first act. But over time and several drafts later, we realized Janik had the potential to be a very compelling and fun character, helping us to show things going on in the world we wouldn’t normally be able to see through the other POV characters. We’re really excited to have her perspective in the mix — there’s a lot of fun stuff planned!
OK, maybe the comment will go through this time, power outages be Treewalker’d or whatever they say.
I love the flow of action on this page, and I love the presence of mnemonic devices. It’s the little details like that that really bring Beyond the Western Deep to life- you rarely see mnemonic devices in any sort of fantasy, and certainly not employed by a brilliant politician. (Janik 2020, please). Yet their presence here really brings the character to life- it’s only reasonable to have someone utilize a mnemonic device, even though it’s something we typically think of as a modern phenomena, it’s really not.
Anyway,
Fourth beat me to the ‘Tess’ comment, lol.
I really like how, even though the lighting implies a similar time as to the conversation Quinlan, Dakkan and Kenosh had about the Ermehn uprising, the landscape is distinctively different- or at least it appears so to me, lol.
Have I mentioned I love Mitra’s design? Because it really stands out, in my opinion.
Interesting! So in the Western Deep language crown rhymes with gown and dress rhymes with Tess just like in english?
I jest, of course, but this page will require a bit of creativity to translate to another language, should it more foreign viewers.
Not necessarily- unless the words of the mnemonic are plot relevant (suspicious look over my shoulder) one just needs to figure out a hint Mitra gives that allows that kind of rhyming lead-in. With perhaps a bit of compensation for word length.
That’s why I said a bit of creativity and not a lot.
And now I wonder how “gown” could beome a plot relevant word that would alter the course of the entire series.
Ah, my bad
Mitra is arrested or otherwise removed from the plotline, and her last act is to alert Janik to the culprits behind the conspiracy, eithe rvia witty remark or letter, by informing Janik that her GOWN *winkwink* was skewed at the last practice so try not to mess it up this time, alright? Knowing the true villains, Janik can set her efforts to unmasking the right culprit- and thus the Scooby gang saves the day!
“. . . and I would have gotten away with it, too, if not for those meddling thieves and Sunsgrovians!”
“..and their canid!”
Well that is a clever way of making it relevant to the story.
I figure this 4-month-old page is still recent enough that I don’t have to feel too awkward about commenting.
Panel 3: Janik is beside herself with confusion. (Yes, that was a lame pun. No, I’m not sorry.)
These kinds of mnemonics never work for me, because they could lead anywhere: South is at the bottom of the compass rose, which rhymes with nose, which is on your face, which rhymes with space, so her name is Armstrong? No, let’s try again. South rhymes with mouth, which you use to eat food, which rhymes with Dude… Her name is Jeff Bridges??
Of course, by that standard, the mnemonics that do work for me (taking the initials of the list you’re memorizing and turning it into a memorable phrase) shouldn’t work either: “Please Do Not Throw Sausage Pizza Away” (for the OSI model) gives us PDNTSPA, which gives us Plugs, Dialup, Networking, Throttling, Scanning, Porn, and Ads. (Yep, that sounds like the Internet.) I guess it’s one of those weird cases where different things work for different people.