Lately, the introduction of powerful ancient artifacts is something that makes it increasingly hard for me to suspend disbelief when trying to enjoy a work of fiction. I start questioning the “wisdom of the ancients”, and before you know it, it’s full-blown MST3K heckling.
My family has been much happier on movie night, since I found this comic as an outlet ;)
That is the problem with the words “Epic” or “Artifact”: the more often you use them, the less they mean. Seems obvious, but clearly, if you examine any ten pieces of fantasy literature, it is not.
Okay…semi-serious question. Their first druid pulled this off. So, her people were still, ya’know, a people before this. I’m not sure that removal equals genocide (environmental disaster, sure, but not genocide).
Secondly – first druid…so, like, the most clueless Druid available? No wisdom of the ancients to draw on? Just “I have this gut feeling,” and rip? Points for chutzpah, but dang. That’s stupidly badass, even by Angry Marine standards. The Bough isn’t made with magic, its powered by hot-blooded manliness that shall pierce the heavens!
Hopefully this was late in her career…still, how have they not made a back-up Bough yet? Okay, yes, I don’t even want to contemplate the concentration check for casting as you rip off your own arm, but now they have anesthesia. and healers. and other druids able to assist in the casting. And an understanding of the “regrow limb” spell. Making a second one should be ten times easier.
Actually she was the First druid, i.e. “Druid of FIRST!”
When one of the other creator gods made a new post, Graiya would also be the first one there, yelling “First!!!”.
Always. Just one of those things.
What are you talking about? Graiya sounds like a Goddess. Have you never read any random, crazy-ass mythology/religious works before? There’s a self-decapitating Hindu Goddess.
Clearly tearing her own arm off is self-sacrifice but she’s doing fine because she’s a Goddess. She could probably regrow the limb if she wanted to. It might even be that they don’t know she redoes this constantly when the Bough becomes too old and no one knows it yet.
And yeah, your point about Graiya sounding god-like is well taken, but to pull out the Hindu religion for a counterpoint, so do most of the Kaurava, who kicked fair amounts of butt against the Pandawa, who were half divine themselves, and were more or less all mortal (if not all entirely human).
Heck, Buddha was mortal and untranscendent for a lot of his early feats – feats that his fellow sages not only could approach, but were considered standard for their calling at the time. I remember a story about one of his early teachers eating only a single grain of rice each day. Yogi were hardcore back then.
Very nice illustration in the background. The central part reminds me of paintings from North America First Nations. The outer part looks more ancient Mediterranean civilization (or plain made up – but nothing wrong with this).
Absolutely fantastic page! You have made some great ones before this, but I really like this one best. It looks like a lot of detail went into this one. Keep up the good work!
“What a child does not know, child …” Ouch. A man is adopting the “I’m older than you so you don’t know nuttin'” strategy as made popular by older siblings.
One limb is very much like another… Ya just gotta let your imagination branch out and germinate a little. I am sure your mind has fertile grounds for it.
Y’know…Graiya probably could have just cut her hair and used that to make the bough. Probably about the same mass as her arm, by the looks of it. Plus, she’d still have her arm, and still be able to hold her poker cards while drinking meade.
Yikes – I’d be barkin’ if I tore a limb off. But if I saw I had a limb of wood I would saw it with a wood saw, see? At least it didn’t cost her an arm and a leg.
It really just turns out that she had an itchy shoulder that just wouldn’t stop.
Or it was rave night, and Graiya was the only one without glowsticks.
I don’t know, she seems… disarmingly prepared for such an event.
“Alright you Primitive Screwheads, listen up! You see this? This is my bough stick!”
ROFL! Nice one. :-)
All this for a shrubbery.
Ni!
Ni!
Scary hair. Does it move?
Elven artifacts: armed and dangerous.
Lately, the introduction of powerful ancient artifacts is something that makes it increasingly hard for me to suspend disbelief when trying to enjoy a work of fiction. I start questioning the “wisdom of the ancients”, and before you know it, it’s full-blown MST3K heckling.
My family has been much happier on movie night, since I found this comic as an outlet ;)
“What do you mean, you lost the bough? No, I’m won’t make you another one!”
That is the problem with the words “Epic” or “Artifact”: the more often you use them, the less they mean. Seems obvious, but clearly, if you examine any ten pieces of fantasy literature, it is not.
So would you say that the bough has…root access?
Oh… That was bad enough that I can see it being canon (although it actually merits cannon).
Great Norton’s Ghost – I should have been the first with that one.
Oh my god it’s Jack Noir.
I cannot unsee…
one eye too many for that…and an arm stub.
Okay…semi-serious question. Their first druid pulled this off. So, her people were still, ya’know, a people before this. I’m not sure that removal equals genocide (environmental disaster, sure, but not genocide).
Secondly – first druid…so, like, the most clueless Druid available? No wisdom of the ancients to draw on? Just “I have this gut feeling,” and rip? Points for chutzpah, but dang. That’s stupidly badass, even by Angry Marine standards. The Bough isn’t made with magic, its powered by hot-blooded manliness that shall pierce the heavens!
Hopefully this was late in her career…still, how have they not made a back-up Bough yet? Okay, yes, I don’t even want to contemplate the concentration check for casting as you rip off your own arm, but now they have anesthesia. and healers. and other druids able to assist in the casting. And an understanding of the “regrow limb” spell. Making a second one should be ten times easier.
Actually she was the First druid, i.e. “Druid of FIRST!”
When one of the other creator gods made a new post, Graiya would also be the first one there, yelling “First!!!”.
Always. Just one of those things.
What are you talking about? Graiya sounds like a Goddess. Have you never read any random, crazy-ass mythology/religious works before? There’s a self-decapitating Hindu Goddess.
Clearly tearing her own arm off is self-sacrifice but she’s doing fine because she’s a Goddess. She could probably regrow the limb if she wanted to. It might even be that they don’t know she redoes this constantly when the Bough becomes too old and no one knows it yet.
It’s ok. I wasn’t using that head, anyway.
Then, why not call her a goddess?
And yeah, your point about Graiya sounding god-like is well taken, but to pull out the Hindu religion for a counterpoint, so do most of the Kaurava, who kicked fair amounts of butt against the Pandawa, who were half divine themselves, and were more or less all mortal (if not all entirely human).
Heck, Buddha was mortal and untranscendent for a lot of his early feats – feats that his fellow sages not only could approach, but were considered standard for their calling at the time. I remember a story about one of his early teachers eating only a single grain of rice each day. Yogi were hardcore back then.
(And yes, the Kaurava did lose, but it wasn’t the trouncing you’d expect from just the list of players)
Very nice illustration in the background. The central part reminds me of paintings from North America First Nations. The outer part looks more ancient Mediterranean civilization (or plain made up – but nothing wrong with this).
Seconded. Fantastic page, John!
Thank you. This one took a bit longer than usual to finish, it involved a lot more inking. Glad you like it.
Yes, excellent production of art that is nearly film-like in its’ realness; or more shortly, nice photosynthesis
She also invented the one armed bandit.
Yeah, but can a bandit steal THAT hat? I’d say it’s enough to impress even a Jägermonster!
Dot iz a verry nize hat.
love the hair, sorta like my fictional namesake.
I love the background on this page!
AMAZING job with the background art!
Thanks, Sev!
…o_o; I almost overlooked that. Thanks!
so it’s the root directory of their world?
It’d be funny if it turned out it wasn’t magic at all and the whole legend was just ancient superstition.
So, take a bough, and it’s show over?
So the bough is to the elves what the thermal exhaust port is to the Death Star?
this page reminds me of The Secret of Kells. I loved that movie.
So THAT’S what’s with the fine ‘twiggy’ top and the bright green dots. And the heavy twist just below that.
Which makes me curious as to how, exactly, the wound looks. Youch.
Absolutely fantastic page! You have made some great ones before this, but I really like this one best. It looks like a lot of detail went into this one. Keep up the good work!
“What a child does not know, child …” Ouch. A man is adopting the “I’m older than you so you don’t know nuttin'” strategy as made popular by older siblings.
Graiya’s Bough = the plug for the servers. Pull it and the world ends.
It would all have been a big joke if she’d made it out of a leg.
One limb is very much like another… Ya just gotta let your imagination branch out and germinate a little. I am sure your mind has fertile grounds for it.
Y’know…Graiya probably could have just cut her hair and used that to make the bough. Probably about the same mass as her arm, by the looks of it. Plus, she’d still have her arm, and still be able to hold her poker cards while drinking meade.
Yikes – I’d be barkin’ if I tore a limb off. But if I saw I had a limb of wood I would saw it with a wood saw, see? At least it didn’t cost her an arm and a leg.
Protip @ Elves : Move to a forest that doesn’t collapse when you remove one particular branch.