Annotated 48-45
FB: Actually, getting Frigg started right now seems like a pretty good idea, strategically.
If we’d had the purplezerkers coming out of the ground just everywhere in this outro, then any defense our heroes could mount would be rendered futile too quickly. It’s enough, I think, to establish that the upcoming battle will be fought on more than one front.
I’d forgotten the detail that Ardaic starts to power up in the last panel here. I think we can assume a lot about that: Frigg isn’t going to be a stickler about his “prisoner” status under the circumstances. And he can probably summon the power as effectively as before—if not more so—now that he is defending the lives of the people he loves and not Taro’s reign, the way he had to tell himself he was doing before.
Since this is as close as we get to it in the final draft, here’s a roughed-out sequence we never used, featuring Bandit, Sundar, and the captured Taro. (This feels like something Flo would try and I would veto, but I honestly couldn’t say for sure. All I know is that it ended up on our discard pile.) It’s kinda cute, but aside from confirming all three are still alive, it doesn’t do that much.
PAGE THIRTY-EIGHT
1. Taro has reverted to a mere spoiled child, as he has done before when foiled. Sundar is a little awkward about the results of his actions, despite the fact that he just dethroned an incredibly evil dictator AND saved Bandit Keynes’ life. Bandit is in too much pain to have much patience with Sundar comforting TARO.
TARO
WAHHHHHHHH! IT HUUUUUUURTS!
SUNDAR
Geez, sorry, kid.
BANDIT
I’M SOMEWHAT LESS SORRY!
2. Sundar feeds an eager Bandit a draught of healing potion.
SUNDAR
Right. Here y’go, li’l buddy.
TARO (off-panel)
YOU HAVE HEALING POTION? I ORDER YOU TO GIVE ME SOME!
3. Sundar starts tying Taro up with the rope he used to scale the tank. Taro is ugly-crying. Bandit begins to get to her feet, stiffly: even a potion doesn’t fix an injury like hers right away, but she’s doing a lot better now.
SUNDAR
Sorry again, kid. Only had enough for Bandit, and Bandit was hurt a lot worse.
TARO
BLOO-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOOOOO
BANDIT
Guess y’ll just have t’adapt.
Taro isn’t tagged.
Ah, right. Thanks.
He’s easy to forget.
Sorry Frigg, they’re coming up, so you’d BETTER get this party started.
It’s not as if they were waiting for her to arrive… But at least she does look flashy
Pretty cool detail in the last panel, where Frigg is standing in front of the human and Ardaic is standing in front of the troll. It’s a subtle show of how things have already become more united than they were just five minutes prior.
In 48-14, Rendar says that even removing the power source could cause an explosion… or something even worse. I see he’s messing with it here, but I didn’t see anything between then and now that would explain why.