Annotated 42-9
So here we are in the observatory whose height was negotiated in Chapter 7 and which was destroyed in Chapter 14. That might seem like a continuity error until you look more closely at the outer walls of it, which include a memorial to the battle in which it was destroyed. So it’s been rebuilt, and much like the One World Trade Center, it has the history of its predecessor etched into its design. Literally, in its case. The wallmakers have memorialized the mass of gnomes that fought against the Hammertank, and the heroic Peacemakers who fought at their side…with one glaring exception.
So much love for those non-gnomish Peacemakers! And if that’s not enough to curdle the milk in Bandit’s cornflakes, she also has to listen to Dean Reynolds fretting about how something horrible must have happened to Syr’Nj, that dear friend of his whom any right-thinking person would admire and respect. Well, let’s see how she handles this.
Side note: when Reynolds talks about the gnomes being housed “within these walls,” he’s talking about the outer walls of Gnometown, not the building he currently occupies, naturally. Interesting that it’s only been a few (gnomish) generations. Is Reynolds old enough to remember his people’s “inodus”? Some Gnometown traditions, at least, seem to be older, but they were probably just brought in from wherever the gnomes lived before.
Our FB description of this page: “Today we observe a high-ranking political figure consulting with a known felon. Could this be the kind of political scandal that finally gets our news division some ad revenue? GUILDED AGE dares to ask.”
I’ve just noticed that the painting/picture on the wall looks a bit like Corruptor-Beasts.
Nicely spotted.
I just noticed the fresco on the tower’s outside wall (or I did not remember).
And as pointed by the author above, yep, there is one glaring exception in the heroes being represented.
Also I love the shift in camera/viewpoint focus between panels 2 and 3.
– I think the opposite of exodus is influx.
– Once again I have to compliment the impressive amount of layers in the last two panels!
Thank you, Thomas! There were a LOT of layers for those last two panels! It was the only way to achieve the desired “pull-focus” effect with the multiple reflections.
I was never opposed to digital art, but an example like this really sells it! Sometimes, when I’m facing my own reflection and what lies beyond in a dark window, I think back on this page and how difficult it must be to pull off an effect like that and what possibilities it offers for artists and filmmakers.
I don’t quite remember it, because even in the rerun this is some time ago: I guess Syr N’j and Byron where not present at that battle, right?
To be fair, though, there’s nothing saying that Bandit wouldn’t show up on the other side of the building (except the fact of course that she’s not super-welcome in Gnometown, of course, even though she played an important role in that fight.
Yeah, Syr was still adjusting Byron’s meds at that point.
It’s true, Bandit COULD be on the other side, but that’d still raise the question of why she was put there and not with the others.
yes, correct.
… aaahh… because she was of course leading the effort, and therefore far in front of everyone, right in the face of the hammertank which is also depicted on the other side?
(I know how plausible that sounds …)