The Scholar and the Seawal: Page 6
Ha-ha-HA! Ha-HA! It’s Chekov’s Polcan! It’s a well-known storytelling rule that if you mention a polcan pirate ship at the beginning of a story, it must ominously sail in by the end. I learned that somewhere, maybe one of those Master Class videos?
This page also formally introduces the lutren captain we saw in the title page. I love that bushy moustache! And yes, I’m spelling it “moustache” even though my web browser insists I’m spelling it incorrectly.
You can see there were some changes made between the sketch version and the final version of the page. The original script called for the ship to be off the port bow. However, as you might be able to tell, the way the characters are oriented, that is not actually the port bow!
I forget which is which all the time, and the only way I can remember them is by recalling this very specific Calvin and Hobbes strip from 1990:
“Starboard is RIGHT! PORT is left!” There, see? Now you know!
Just to keep you all in the loop, we’ve been communicating with a Kickstarter campaign management company to try and organize the sourcing, storage, and fulfillment of campaign rewards. We’ve got a pretty good idea of the sorts of goodies we’d like to include in the pledge tiers, but our number one goal is actually to keep things relatively simple.
We’ll let you know when we’ve got more information to share. But in the meantime, if you have anything you’d like to share WITH US (ala artwork, fan-fiction, etc) please send it our way at THEWESTERNDEEP (at) GMAIL (dot) COM! We’d love to share your work with the readership.
Another way to remember starboard; how do you get to Neverland? Second star to the right.
STARboard is RIGHT.
(That, and “port” and “left” both have the same amount of letters.)
Nice page. The plot thickens.
4º panel!! Ohh! That sinking feeling!
Yes, that’s not quite a Scary Beck Face®, although it flirts with that territory.
If only… It’s known among the Seaguard that a Scary Beck Face®, if aimed correctly can cripple any Polcan vessel up to a sloop-of-war.
“Sloop-of-War” would now be entering my regular vocabulary even if it didn’t also constitute an excellent band name.
Ha!
If Sloop-of-War actually exist and aren’t a Manowar cover band then they’re doing it wrong!
Well called!
I too prefer to spell moustache the same way.
Nice to finally see Captain Whiskers get a speaking part. Wonder when we’ll find out what his name is?
Another fine page.
Looks like it’s time to beat to quarters! The Polcan ship looming out of the fog looks super cool! Now I want to watch Master and Commander*. I’m not worried though; Captain Otter Sam Elliott’s peerless moustache** will surely deflect any attack the Polcan can devise.
A warm welcome to the final sailor who I can only imagine was brought aboard to make up for the rest of the crew’s pitiable lack of earrings. She’s got some Avatar Korra level buff arms too which is probably really useful for doing boaty things like pulling ropes and punching Polcan pirates.
Now everyone is standing up the real surprise of this page is revealed and it’s not the Polcan… Nora is a but a little, wee, slight & small Lutren, barely up to Isa’s nose. I shouldn’t assume a Lutren should be taller than a Felis but for some reason I did.
*Even more than I usually want to watch Master and Commander.
**Alex, if you and I are spelling moustache wrong then baby, I don’t want to be right.
Actually, while it’s not easily apparent in these panels, Isa is actually wearing Elton John’s Pinball Wizard stilt boots from “Tommy.” That’s the only reason she appears as tall as she does.
That deft, dun, feline kid
Portrays a mean Seawal.
This gets a prize. Not sure what kind, but definitely a prize.
It is even easier if you keep the etymology in mind, the Germanic terms meaning “steer board”; styrbord (right side rudder paddle on most right handed Viking longboats) and “behind board”: babord (the back side for the steering person).
… “back board”:= babord, actually.
Cool.
YAY Polcan! Battle time