Annotated 30-22
The three-chapter Peacemakers-vs.-Champions sequence represented an interesting balancing act of sympathies and effectiveness. Making two sides impressive while keeping them evenly matched is not as easy as it sounds. If we hadn’t built up Penk and Magda as badasses before this point, then we wouldn’t be getting this kind of “heroic last stand” energy from Rachel (energy that, errr, foreshadows her next major battle). It’d just look like she was up against two oversold mid-level opponents.
But we’ve also spent some time with Penk and Magda’s doubts, so we can also feel a little of their frustration as Rachel, in defiance of odds and expectations, just refuses to go down. This might’ve been a good time for Penk to use that sonic attack again, but the drum is busted so that’s out.
I appreciate that the lava giants, while awesome-looking, have dwarven proportions instead of human ones.
Rachel truly took a level in badass here, fending off two god-wielding protagonist, making it look easy and still being snappy with the insults.
Penk’s drum was smashed in page 30-10. Sonic attacks are out.
Roger, see below.
For what it’s worth, I think you guys did a great job of balancing sympathy and effectiveness
“This might’ve been a good time for Penk to use that sonic attack again”
He couldn’t do that, unless he can pull spare drums out of his ass; Frigg wrecked his drum on page 10.
Oh, dear, you’re right. Editing for posterity.
“three-chapter Peacemakers-vs.-Champions sequence”
I know you tried to keep chapters to a fixed length but this sequence was one of those things where I got caught by surprise, several times, in the middle of a fight, by a new chapter title page. Made me kind of fear you were about to interrupt the fight with something completely different, when it was already a task to keep track of who’s where doing what because it is already multi-threaded.
So I think it would not have hurt to just have an extralong chapter for this fight.
I think it makes sense for giants (of any type) to have more dwarven than human proportions anyway, owing to the square-cube law.
I’m curious what sort of magic the blue streaks in panel 1 are meant to be. Are they lightning bolts, or something more like a magic missile or eldritch blast (i.e. “force” damage in D&D terms)?
Yeah… “the square-cube law” …right.
The blue streaks are magic coming from the Sky Elf Mages on the airships.
I knew that it was sky-elf magic; I just wondered if it was meant to represent magic lightning or just generic magic bolts.
I appreciate that Frigg is trying to make a heroic effort to keep fighting in spite of her foot being FUBAR, but I wonder if she should. Even if Frigg could get up and hop on her good foot to where Rachel is fighting off two of their strongest enemies, then what? I once had an ingrown toenail, and let me tell you, not being able to stand properly made a world of difference when I tried to work on my punching bag. I couldn’t hit it at full strength, and I can only imagine how easy it would have been for someone to make me lose my balance and knock me down on the ground if that someone managed to hit me.
Now picture what trying to stand on a charred foot must be like (apart from the excruciating agony of losing a body part) Maybe she could make herself a solid light construct shaped like a boot around her injured foot?
…and then imagine there’s a couple of people trying to kill you dead — should you try to fight back or just let them?
You should definitely fight back, for sure. Question is: CAN you fight back, given the circumstances?
“I appreciate that the lava giants, while awesome-looking, have dwarven proportions instead of human ones.”
Wait, giantS plural? I always read the last panel as a single giant coming up from the ground since it (they?) emerge more as you go left- to- right.
Rachel’s line in panel 3 encapsulates everything I love about her character