Chapter 4: Page 41
So now we’re full circle with the chapter’s cover image, it would seem! That middle panel in particular is really just a different perspective of the more heroic behind-the-back image we saw during the chapter’s onset.
When I first wrote this scene, the original idea was to have Rathik snap the crossbow bolts, which doesn’t really make them better weapons, but did solve for the issue I was most concerned about, which is that pulling out stuff that’s stuck in your torso and/or leg can maybe be kinda gruesome!
We’ve always tried to balance that fine line between realistic and ‘fantasy’ violence that so many G and PG films got away with in the 80’s and 90’s. Who could forget the many slashes and stabbings during Justin and Jenner’s climactic battle in The Secret of NIMH or Blackavar’s unfortunate end in Watership Down?
And of course there’s plenty of material in the Redwall series that would make this scene look tame in comparison… but even so, we like to keep the flow of blood to a minimum wherever we can. Rachel insisted that she could ride that line and I believe she’s accomplished that here quite handily.
Rathik should be thanking her, because now he’s got much better weapons for his attack against the canid soldiers!
Speaking of Rathik’s mad leap, we got some wonderful guest art to share this week from reader Joe LaMagna featuring everyone’s favorite gigantic both-shot-and-stabbed ermehn!
I absolutely love the mood of this piece, Joe! Rathik’s snarling visage pairs nicely with the heavy rain–you can almost feel the chill of the mountain as all other sounds fade to silence… just before Rathik ROARS and begins his desperate attack against his pursuers!
Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic guest piece with us, Joe!
And remember, if anyone out there wants to share their Western Deep-related artwork with us and the rest of the Western Deep community, feel free to drop us an email at hello(at)westerndeep.net or ping us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TheWesternDeep!
See you next week!
Aw jeeze, he’s going down fighting…but I can’t imagine him buying that much time for the others to flee with just a pointy stick against Canid swords.
I’m tempted to agree, but then I wouldn’t have expected him to be on his feet after all the blood he’s already lost fighting with Rhosyn and Bevan. I guess adrenaline is a heck of a drug.
Yes, adrenaline can make you not feel the pain.
But pulling out the arrows will also pull the stopper from any injured vene or artery and the blood will flow out much faster.
Thats why only the doctor should take things out of your body.
I dare say Rathik will make a good accounting of himself.
If memory serves, every canid we have ever seen fight in the whole history of the comic has lost*. If you deduct points for crossbow team-killing they have a negative score!
*Sigrid’s back-stab is only dubiously “a fight”.
This is probably the best page I have seen in this comic.
Glory to the Ermehns!!!
But … but … Redwall isn’t violent! BJ said so himself!
While I agree that this page might be a tad bloodier and gorier than what we’re used to seeing in “BWD,” it still stays safely within PG/PG-13 lines. And it is dramatic as hell, even if the chapter cover page tipped us off that this was coming. My biggest question is that, in the final panel, Rathik appears to be jumping down at the canid. If those wolfies have any sort of decent reflexes at all, all they’d have to do is raise their blades and impale Rathik as he descends. Or maybe they all lift their swords at once, get them all tangled up with each other, and Rathik lands unscathed to dispatch merciless non-nicety upon them? (Well, unscathed by them, at any rate.)
Waiting on tenterhooks for the next page! And what the heck are tenterhooks anyway? Sounds like something the canid might use as weapons…
Having just conferred with Dr. Wikipedia, I believe they’re hooks used for stretching just-woven fabric as it’s cleaned, so it retains its shape when it dries. They’re nailed into a wooden frame. That’s the origin of the phrase: If you’re “on tenterhooks” you’re tense, as if stretched tight. (I love how the Internet has enabled me to find information quickly enough to pretend I know what I’m talking about. :P )
Probably not useful when you’ve already got swords, but they still look quite pointy. Probably wouldn’t be any worse as melee weapons than the crossbow bolts Rathik is using.
Best case scenario: Rathik steals a sword, shreds through all the canid pursuers, then sits down against a rock and lets the rain whisk him away to wherever brave ermehn warriors go.
Next best—Rathik remembers the Irish hero Cu Chulainn and ties himself to a rock so he dies standing up, fighting all who charge him until someone gets a lucky pot-shot.
I wouldn’t wish it on Rachel to have to draw a Rathik Warp-Spasm.
Wonderfull page.
But, the Bevan’s stab wound is missing.
This is incredible! Totally the best page that’s ever been shown yet! ;)
No! I love Rathik! poor guy.
On the subject of Redwall, how do you feel about the new Redwall series coming to Netflix?
Hey Andy! It’s obviously a really big deal! Rachel and I are both lifelong Redwall fans, so we’re very interested in how the Netflix movie and series both develop. I’d say at the moment we’re cautiously optimistic, and at the very least hope that it helps increase a demand for all-ages fantasy tales with sword-wielding animals! :)