Song of the Eastern Sands: Page 35
Looks like that headbutt was enough to take care of the Canid assassin! Asha’s no doubt quite pleased with herself — but the thrill of a successful chase is quickly dashed by the pain that comes from using your forehead as a melee weapon.
As you can see, there were a couple of minor tweaks to the page between sketches and the final pass. We felt an extra beat of silence was necessary to sell Asha’s painful shift from “I’m the best!” to “Why did I just use my face to hurt his face?!”
I also wanted to take a brief moment to implore our readers to check out this link.
When our website had issues last week, Philip Hofer (creator of the ComicPress theme) suggested that in a bid to get some more readers, we put together a little teaser on imgur and see if any folks swing by because of it. I figured it’s probably worth a shot!
So please, follow the link above, then Like and Upvote!
This week for guest art, a really fun piece from Jerijune of the Sand Spiders’ gregarious thief/scam-artist/dental professional’s nightmare, Beck!
It looks to me like she just got caught doing something she shouldn’t have — probably stealing bags of things that aren’t hers. Well, hey, at least she looks enthusiastic about the chances of her escape!
Thanks so much for the wonderful artwork, Jerijune! Beck looks absolutely fantastic!
Very good page! When adrenaline fades, the pain comes. I do love Asha’s satisfied face in panel 2 just before that happens. But they still need to figure out what to do with the assassin and how to escape before anyone asks some very pointed questions. Can they do it? Tune in next week, same sand-time, same sand-channel!
I’ll set my hourglass to tell me when the new page shows up.
You know what I like about Asha? I love how deceptively innocent her character is. Now the next question will be what are they planning to do with the assassin? Take him in to the authorities? Pilfer his goods and leave him stranded? Consume his soul and inherit his “hidden arts” ability? So many questions!
Hopefully that teaser page will bring in more people though! Lets hope we can get more readers to join in on the salmon pa- *gets uppercutted*
Finally, Jerijune I swear you’re like…an art machine on an never-ending engine. So many BWD arts! and I love each and every single one of them. I’m gonna be quoting zealot here but “you’re the gift that keeps on giving”.
More people joining the Salmon Party? Let the mass indoctrinations begin….
“it seemed like a good idea at the time!”
I like how Rook is there for Asha like a big brother. Maybe he is the big bro of the Sand Spiders and Asha is the innocent-looking mischievous little sibling who can get away within anything if she uses puppy-dog eyes…
Anyway, nice page! I really like the colors here!
@veigue BWD is a recurring theme wherever I get bored and just… draw stuff. Plus there are so many fun ideas the characters can do, considering their personalities. Add the chaos that is the Salmon Party, and the ideas would come out like a flood
I love the reaction after the headbutt however I think she got lucky that she hit just the right spot to render him unconscious(? need sleep).
I guess it’s clear in this case that brains beat brawn.
Asha got lucky, but at least the assassins are all down. For now. I like that beat and pacing between the first three panels.
One thing that does feel a bit off is the speech bubble in the last panel. At first, I thought Asha was talking because the speech bubble was placed lower than him and in the direction Asha had left by, although a glance at the draft page quickly fixed that, and in a print version the next page would clear that up anyway.
I love the texture of the stone in the background of the last panel.
I really enjoy the way the Sand Spiders interplay with each other. Rook’s concern for Asha is touching, especially when you consider that he probably has the best idea of the lot about how the Canid in the north oppress the Ermehn. I’m curious to see what Beck wants from Rook- maybe he has some medical skill?
Only 6 commentses so far? For shame! This page deserves so much more! At least I can bump it up to 7!
Agree with what’s been said about the wonderful coloring in this page, which pleasantly assaulted my eye with my very first glimpse and continues to delight me. And poor AshaHead! That looks painful just … well, looking at it. Hope there’s no lasting damage to our favorite Ermehn. (She is our favorite, isn’t she? Although I know Bevan certainly has his fans, and then there’s the Yurk Brigade. Battlestoats!)
I had the dubious pleasure of taking a strong liking to Feyn.
You could say he fell from my Feyvor.
*loud gag* Oh dear, that pun was so nasty I almost barfed.
and if you’re going to say otherwise then dont bother “feyning” ignorance.
Our puns are not for the Feynt of heart.
Veigue, I have never claimed a sophisticated sense of humor.
But I am ‘fain’ to keep this comment thread going as long as I can execute the Feyn puns, preferably via a long drop.
I will sing an ode to Feyn’s brave and noble final moments.
Ahem..
Half a pound of tupenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
That’s the way the money goes….
Alex, I know that I’m a steaming pile of scat that seldom contributes in any positive manner to this site, but I think what I’m about to say might be a legitimate good idea.
Maybe posting Western Deep pages at funnyjunk.com could atract a lot of fans too. Some of the stuff people post there IS junk, but it gets thousands of views and has a lot of good stuff as well.
In fact, that’s how I found THIS little gem of a webcomic.
Wow, I just started this, and I am absolutely hooked.
I love the pause between Asha’s moment of triumph and the pain. It’s like the pain doesn’t even register until she remembers that she used her skull as a melee weapon. Hopefully she’ll be alright!
Now that the Sand Spiders have disposed of both of the assassins, I wonder what their next plan of action will be, considering they’ve still got the money in their possession.
Third panel = ROFLMAO. I can’t think of very many times I’ve seen that reaction after someone headbutts someone else in a movie. They all act like they don’t have a brain in their skull and just walk off like they didn’t feel a thing.