Chapter 3: Page 40
Before the usual page thumb and whatnot, special announcement!
Yes, I put this off for far too long, but we’ve finally advanced into the 21st century and gotten ourselves a nice shiny Discord server. For those who don’t know what Discord is, it’s a chat program that you can run in a browser or via an app from pretty much any device you own. It’s fast, efficient, and most importantly, super chill.
Hit the link above and come hang out with us! A few regular readers are in there already, and Rachel, Jerome, and I also frequent it. It’s a great way to chat with us, share artwork, and generally geek out about things.
That said, we still want to encourage readers to comment here on the comic page every week as well! I’d love for new readers who don’t know about the Discord server to be able to join in discussions here and enjoy all the madness of the Salmon Party that we’ve enjoyed for all these years.
Man, the TENSION on this boat is INSANE! You could cut it with a knife. Hardin probably would try to if he wasn’t busy rowing the boat. We’ve gotten a lot of comments about Kenosh and Ashtor’s competition for grumpiest glower. Well, this page should seal the deal, I think. Kenosh has it in spades, while Ashtor looks like he’s well aware he’s just been out-grumped. Poor Rhosyn–she probably had no idea what she was getting into when she hopped into this boat.
For guest art this week, I wanted to share a piece from RM Fung! In his words:
“… [A] modern Ermehn meeting four members of the Sratha-Din. Unlike the Sratha-Din members who have lived their lives in the cold, this one is also in winter gear and not prepared for the harsh conditions.”
“Bevan and Rhosyn are examining the complicated metal contraption held in this Ermehn’s paws. Rathik notices her shivering and tries to be the gentleman he habitually is by offering her his cape. Eira is the one who’s actually curious of who this stranger is and where she comes from, asking along the lines of “What tribe are you from? Every tribe has its tattoos.”
While I wouldn’t classify Rathik as “habitually gentlemanly,” I do love the idea that ‘future’ ermehn will someday lose their natural aversion to cold when presented with generations of creature comforts and things like “actual clothes.” I also love Bevan and Rhosyn’s SUPER SURPRISED poses and expressions here as they see the gun. I can almost hear the gears turning in their heads as to how it might function. And Eira of course is busy chronicling the encounter, though her expression does signify a level of confusion that she’s not used to experiencing.
Love the artwork, RM! And we’ve got a few other pieces to share in upcoming weeks.
Lastly, if you’re in the Seattle area and you’re planning to swing by PAX West this weekend, come say hello! I’ll be wandering around mostly, but I’ll likely be hanging around the League of Geeks booth or the Ska Studios booth to help out where I can. I’d love to say hello!
awesome page, as always! how long with this boat ride last? how long until Kenosh singlehandedly turns Lake Felnach into Dunia’s equivalent of the Dead Sea with his salt? XD
anyways, nice fanart! I’ve always wondered how the cast would react to modern day stuff as well XD but still, it’s an interesting concept!!
Yeah, Kenosh doesn’t look like he’s in a good place. Although his expressions on this page make him look more of a cool old guy to me – quite the majestic military veteran freshly brought out of retirement. Though he might also be mulling over his recent life choices. I do wonder if it was Ashtor who gave him that green shawl. Really highlights these two old men who aren’t cut from the same cloth…
Cool fanart btw! I’m trying to come up with a way this modern Ermehn would have been around to meet the group: Time travel? Civilization rebuilt post-apocalypse? It’d be totally cool for her to give them a demonstration of her ‘complicated metal contraption’ & then watch them be confounded by the display! It already gives me “Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court’-vibes. It’s one for the history books.
Someone totally needs a f’sh.
Heya Geo! I don’t think we’ve met.
Your comment made me laugh haha. 10/10 would f’sh again.
OMG IT’S GEO!!!! Didn’t think I’d ever see you in the Salmon Party, or that you even followed this strip. Welcome aboard, and I look forward to seeing future participation from you here … or even, dare I say it, over on Discord?
Heya, there!
Highwing, dare you introduce us to the new friend?
Heh – turns out I spoke with Geo over the weekend, and he HAS been a follower of this comic since the beginning, AND has the books, AND has even commented on some of the early pages … but that was so long ago I’d clean forgot. Geo’s an old RFF bud of mine from back in the day, and I had the privilege of meeting him at Anthrocon 2011, in addition to numerous phone conversations and live chats and email exchanges with him over the years. Coolest ‘coon I know … when he’s not a ferret hybrid – but I’ll let him tell you more about that, if he’s so inclined.
Welcome to the salmon party, Geo!
Is it just me or does he look upset to you too? I think he is, and I’m pretty good at interpreting expressions.
I keep trying to tell you! That’s just Kenosh’s normal face!
Kenosh sure is angry. I’d say, as angry as a bird! He’s got quite bushy eyebrows for that.
Angry as a bird, you say? I resemble that remark!
I’ve seen some pretty great photos of otters that look like they REALLY want to punch something, so I think this helps emphasize Kenosh’s otter-ness quite well.
I can’t help but read Ashtor’s expression as, “So are we all just pretending he’s not furious with us? Is that what we’re doing? I guess that’s what we’re doing.”
Do you have a better suggestion?
Not really. The boat is probably not the place to try to unpack everything that’s happened. But Kenosh is very clearly still fuming and Ashtor is the only one who’s visibly uncomfortable with that, which makes it kind of look like he’s uncomfortable with everyone else’s seeming to act like it isn’t an issue. Or maybe I’m projecting.
(Now that I take another look, Rhosyn doesn’t look all that comfy herself, but then she seemed pretty satisfied on the previous page.)
By which I mean: Angry Kenosh is a force of nature best combatted by ignoring him and hoping he cheers up.
I would have thought that Ashtor would be the best one to talk Kenosh down, as a fellow oldie anyways. Maybe be the one who’d tell Kenosh’s storms to be still.
And the award of “saltiest sea otter” goes the big guy himself.
I’m suspecting that the moment they hit land he’s going to give Hardin a verbal lashing for not waiting until after Dakkan and Quin were safely out of Deltrada.
Or just punching him, at least.
I can’t imagine why Kenosh is so upset *rolls eyes innocently*. Though I’m sure we’ll hear it from the man himself soon! :D
I love the guest art. Such a great idea, and I like Rhosyn and Bevan’s reactions to the weapon. They’d love to get their hands on that.
The discord server is neat too! I’ll definitely get an account, though I don’t know how often I’ll be around.
I don’t think we’ve ever seen Kenosh look this PISSED before. Even Ashtor is unsure about what to think or do.
I’m actually quite relieved. I thought Kenosh would eventually let all of this blow over, and forget about Quin and Dak by now. I guess I didn’t have much faith in Kenosh.
Have you thought about incorporating Discord into your site? I know some webcomic creators use discord as their comment section instead of the one that comes with comicpress.
I actually prefer this commenting format. I’ve never liked Discord
I agree, Fruity. Discord is fine for real-time chat, but it’s got no real permanence, and isn’t one of the big advantages of the Salmon Party being able to go back and read all the comments we made on pages past when we were young and stupid?
Advantage or a curse, depending. I’d rather not explore younger me’s art and commentary.
Discord is more of a place for the community to goof around in realtime, yeah. Wherever you choose to do so is fine by us. c:
Echoing everyone – I love Kenosh’s expression! Honestly, it kinda reminds me of my own dad. xD There have been a few times where he had a similar expression, and it was a similar atmosphere. (Not overthrowing a Vulpin fort of course.) Being an adult now though, I can understand that seething, angry feeling a bit.
In any case, I can’t stop smiling every time I look at this.
Awww man! They have a discord!?