New Comics Every Weekday - Written by T Campbell & Phil Kahn - Illustrated by John & Jason Waltrip
Guilded Age
The Saga of the Working Class Adventurer – New comics every weekday!
Katsucon XX
(National Harbor, MD 2/14-16)
Smudge Expo
(Arlington, VA 3/8)
AwesomeCon, D.C.
(Washington, D.C. 4/18-20)
Ooh, I love the art on this page. I knew this comic would be in good hands with John.
And “she’s using word magic” needs to become a meme. :D
Thank you, Alice.
I do believe Murphy’s law has been invoked.
At least Byron knows how the rules of the narrative work. Bandit could use a little help.
In the third panel, third guy from the left has a horde insigna ?
kind of a fast jump. elven favours. drinking…boom. ring of baddies. could be the wait though.
Awesome sauce! :-D
John, I hereby bow to your superior art skills. Wow!
I particularly love the Savage Races’ customized weapons… great attention to detail.
Looking forward to our heroes’ continuing adventures!
the owl with the awesome featherspear is awesome.
Thanks, Seb. No bowing necessary. I thought I would tailor the weapons to each race. Not just ordinary swords and such, but things derived from non-human cultures.
I think the Landsharks should have UNICEF boxes as their racial weapon.
Byron’s lookin’ like one grumpy berserker, bub.
I am foaming at the mouth because of all the awesome. Yesssssssssssssssss.
My initial fears that the great art (that was a big part in making me read this comic in the first place) would be gone with Erika were completely unfounded! Yay!
Those backgrounds have an insane amount of detail…
Have you noticed that Frigg’s detail has gone up enough that you can now see that she’s wearing the plate over blue garments?
I foresee that he shall rise and rise until he becmoes the BEST king.And then he shall be like a father to his people.And to all the complainers YOU JUST GOT THE BEST SCENE.PS: Just a little observation did someone else think that Best got younger in this artstyle?
It’s no Erika, but I’ll settle. :3
Great, the wolf-man with the knife and fork is very funny. :)
Just a couple of points:
1. Syr’s facial expression. This peace thing is very important to her. It’s practically her life’s work and she is generally very kind and empathic. Judging by her character development up to now I am almost sure that she wouldn’t be having that “fuck you” expression on her face in this situation. She’d display a much softer countenance in order to appeal to her “audience”.
2. Bandit’s face. Bandit never takes anything completely seriously and she never gives proper respect to the person or situation at hand. Whatever happens she always maintains a bit of a snarky attitude. In this strip she seems genuinely and fully concerned, worried and mindful of the seriousness of the situation which is uncharacteristic of her.
That’s it, just tryin’ to help.
3. Lip-lines on the women. Erica only rarely outlined the lips like that. Seeing all of them suddenly all lip-outlined like that was jarring. Sure, they don’t look as “pretty” that way, but that was half of the point. These women aren’t there to be eye candy; they are there to get crap done.
I can’t make up my mind if Syr has a “fuck you” expression or not. But, as far as a softer expression, I don’t think she’d make that mistake. “Soft” isn’t going to work with these folks too well, I don’t think: I think a show of strength is necessary for them to listen to her.
I agree about Bandit, somewhat – except that she might just be worried about the odds, which are a little stacked against them. Or she’s concerned that there are too many pockets for her to pick quickly. Or even worse! that the pockets in question are full of unlikely and non-valuable objects, like feathers and severed ears.
I like the owl dude in panel 2. Looks like a more badass version of that blue eagle character from the Muppets.
Y’know, this is something I generally avoid doing, but since we’re all confused by this strange new art…
Hawk has it 100% correct.
Let’s not start in on the ‘But Erica would…’ bit.
I rather like Erica’s work, too, but this is a new artist.
i’m with eric. we can’t force this guy into an erica-shaped mould.
he’s taken a little more comical route with this page than i really care for, but it’s his first page.
give him a week or two before you start judging.
I personally feel that, yes, the style is different than Erica’s, but that’s not a bad thing. I like this guy’s style, and he’s just starting out. Personally, I think he’s got Byron down to a T, and Bandit’s the next closest to “canon” looks. It’ll take time for both us AND the artist to adjust to the art, but this guy has a lot of talent, and we should be happy for that as well as having someone who can faithfully lay out the story that was written for us in an aesthetically pleasing manner. We will grow to love him as we did Erica. :D
The way this comic jumps back and forth in time, who knows when this scene is happening relative to where the last storyline left off? Lots of things could have changed and Syr’ng’s and Bandit’s (semi-uncharacteristic) attitudes might be intentional.
I… certainly hope not. Syr’nj’s stiffness and srs bzns face were kind of, well, grating on my end. Like, erf. Have much hope that it’s just one of those new-artist transitional-errors, rather than something that risks it being real.
With much love for a great artist who did a great job in my book aside from whatthesyr’nj.
More importantly, it looks like Byron has wet himself :D
>.>
Shading, dude. Look it up. :P
yes. you shade the wet patches darker :)
Or Frigg spilled the dregs of her morning beer in his lap just before they left.
For the lulz.
At last we know Byron’s last name! It is….MURPHY!!!
The comic’s artwork is certainly in safe hands here. A change in style for sure but the quality is just as good. Welcome!
Love the knife and fork wielding guy in the first panel.
It’s been long enough that I’ve actually forgotten what was going on in the actual story line. If you experienced the same memory lapse, here’s the link to page 1: http://guildedage.net/webcomic/chapter-8/chapter-8-page-1/
Rendering’s fine, main characters even look like they could have been rendered by Erica in most cases, but oh my god [i]please[/i] work on expression. Everyone’s face and posture are chiseled out of pure Tex Avery-grade melodrama, here.
I’ll chalk it up to transition pains this week. ;)
First things first: The quality of the art is top notch. I love the weapons and the detail of the scene where they’re surrounded. All in all this is very good Art.
Second things second: I feel like I’m looking at the right people, but with the wrong personalities.
Frigg’s expression is flat…
Bandit looks like a lost child
and Syr’nj has become a vulcan.
GA art has been good from the start with Erica, but now is simply wonderful!
It’s just a matter of personal taste but the amount of details, and the picture “definition” is stunning.
By the way, about cjrayn comment (second part):
Frigg’s expression could be flat because she’s ready for battle and she’s experimenting what ancient greeks called “katalepsis”
Bandit’s a “little worried” by the quantity of enemies. Hard to play the thief combat style (hide, sneak and stab in the back) when surrounded by enemies in a 10 to 1 ratio.
Syr’nj is obviously really pissed off by savage people’s attitude. Come on, she came there as a diplomat, and you face her with weapons and nasty grins? Childish.
Plus, her expression and body language made me think of Nanny McPhee and her way to manage “difficult” children…
Thank you, Lupo.
My thinking exactly.
…and your English is fine.
P.s.
Sorry if my English is not good/clear, i’m from Italy…
I think I need some time to get used to the new style of the main characters. They look awesome, but you know… transition. I particulary like the monstrous humanoids in this page. The goblins look quite aquatic and froglike, I like that.
And the knives of the landsharks look a bit sharky themselves.
The sharkiness of the landsharks’ blades makes them even better, doesn’t it?
I am going to be honest with you. The new style isn’t bad, but it will take some time to get used to.
Kudos on your new artist, he’s got everyone pegged! And hey, at least it isn’t raining!
The expressions are exactly what Phil and I wanted and, especially in Syr’Nj’s case, took pains to describe. So those are on us.
I apologize, then. I suppose the new art will just take some getting used to. I looked through the archives last night to see if I was just being nostalgic and I see that Frigg’s expression isn’t new, and Bandit’s expression isn’t out of character for her when she’s totally out of her element. I suppose Syr’nj’s expression is in character, and she’s probably got one hand in that bag of holding of hers. But I did notice something…Syr’nj stood out to me immediately as looking odd, looking stiffer than usual. Part of it is just the strong lines of John’s art, but her cloak is amazingly square. It looks like it’s starched. I think that set me looking for things that didn’t seem right.
Well, hello. It’s my first time commenting here, but I noticed something I wish to point out. These “critiques” you are making to the new artist wouldn’t had been made if Erika was still here. My point is: with her, everyone let her do as she thought best, no one told her how to do her work, except for the writers (and that’s their task, after all). And now, with the new artist just beginning, we start being authorities on how the art “should” be. Haven’t you thought that, perhaps, that’s what the writers wanted? The new art just won’t be equal to the old one, that’s a fact we should accept.
I, for one, liked this page very much. Keep up the good work!
I adore the new art and I also completely agree. ‘v’ It’s wonderful in its own way, and while I’ll miss Erica’s art, this is fantastic too! >3< <3
Lemme second that thought!
I find some comments rather rude and unappreciative of John’s excellent effort on this new page. There are at least several hours of work into it, which we all enjoy for free. Of course he can’t draw *just like Erica*, what would be the point in that? Give him some time to settle in and get used to the characters and their antagonists! It’s by no mean an easy thing.
(for the curious, see how worse it could have been with my own audition page from the same script)
I’m sure in a few months’ time we’ll wonder how we could have stood to read this comic *without* all the subtle changes brought by John. :-P
I like your audition page! Hey, maybe you and John could take turns, alternating chapters or storylines or something, so you don’t burn out. ;-) I think in both cases the characters look correct, but each has its own unique qualities of color, line and arrangement. Can we see the other audition pages too, with the respective artists’ permission?
Oh, and I loved the original “hangover” guest strip too. ;-)
I’m a little concerned what it looks like Bandit is doing in the last panel :p
I really really like the character positioning you’ve done in panel 2, the back-to-back feel really makes it feel more like they’ve been penned in – but the sheer level of detail John put into this is amazing.
I dread to think how long this takes.
actually, people kinda pulled erica to bits a lot too. “you forgot the beard!” “byron looks like a woman!” stuff like that.
surely you can understand that there are people here who are aprehensive of a change that they had no control over, and that can serve only to disjoint the continuity of the art and characters.
that said, the change has been unavoidable, having a new artist is a lot better than cutting off GA. and in having a new artist, there are those that will be overly accomidating to the point of silliness, those that will complain “but erica would-” at every page, those that will give him a chance to prove himself, and those that will leave. it’s a real test of both the writer’s control of their audience, and the artist’s appeal as to how (and if) the project continues…
I always thought it was rather rude to hate for mistakes like disappearing-stache/beard/whatever.
And like you said, I will take new art (so detailed!) happily before taking the loss of one of my favorite webcomics.
My opinion is that people are being rather judgemental, with their judgy judgy eyes. Some of these comments look are awfully negative for a free comic of such incredible quality.
I think it’s lovely, and while there are stylistic things that I like and dislike, any uncomfortableness I have with the art will be stemming from not being used to it.
I mean, just look at panel 2.
It’s my first time here too ; )
…..bow chicka wow wow.
I could do a series of short comics on “Shark guy in panel 3 ponders things.” Eminently caption-able.
Panel 2, idjit.
Nope, panel 3. I’m arguing with myself before noon. Dire portents.
That’s not a shark guy. That’s a goblin. It’s a troll, a gnoll, a goblin, and an avian.
The sunrise/sunset scene is stunning. On character design, I only hope Frigg continues to look nothing like any face I’ve seen before.
Heh, word magic. Brilliant.
Now that you mention it, he looks a bit like the Philosoraptor…
Well, I have to say, I was pretty pensieve about the thought of a new artist. This page though… I laughed. It’s perfect! The attention to detail is stunning. The character design carried over beautifully. The savage races look as amusing as they do threatening.
Thank you, John, for taking over, and doing such a wonderful job of it.
I withdraw the concerns I raised in the last week.
You, Sir John, rock.
Thank you, thank you all. I’m thrilled to be here, and honored to be taking over in the place of Erica. As it’s been said before, I’m not Erica, and I’m not likely to become so, but I’ll try my best t give you all the best art I can.
You sir, need a gravatar. How am i to know you are a person of import lest you draw yourself in some caricature-type way?
Second.
um… how do I do that, exactly. I’m still new at this computer thing.
gravatar.com, and follow the instructions!
Me? *runs off with stolen thunder*
the creators page needs updating too.
I think syr’s expression is pretty good. Like she is talking down to a bunch of petulant children.
Also byron is more badass looking now.
I was sad Erica was leaving. I like new artist tho.
lol @ word magic
Welcome, John!
I share the concerns others expressed – to me the facial expressions are a bit jarring. They seem intentionally flat. At a cursory glance, everybody but Bandit in panel 2 just seems…not all there.
However.
That second panel is the ONLY thing I can see ‘off’ about the heroes’ expressions. Bandit and Byron in panel four are so perfect I’ve actually scrolled up several times while writing this just so I can look at it again. And in doing so, I’ve hit upon what the difference is that is jarring me so much.
Erika’s style was more like a painting – less defined, looser. Everything in your style, John, is much more strongly defined. Lines are harder, angles are sharper. Overall it’s more like a cartoon, and no, that is not at all meant as a negative. It is NOT bad, it’s simply different.
That background is fantastic: I’m only now (on the fifth or so look-over) realizing that the houses in the background are shanty-style, cobbled-together ramshackle affairs. Which suggests a LOT about the possible situation here.
As for that sky, if you put that together with ink rather than taking it from a photo somewhere I might cry: I’ve taken landscape sunrise pictures over the ocean that weren’t that lovely.
If the detail you have put into this page is any indication of your skill, then I am ecstatic to see what comes next. Such as my opinion counts, being simply a fan and hardly an artist myself.
Welcome again. We’re all quite happy to have you, I think.
Thank you. Glad to be here.
I am amazed that no one has pointed out the little joke about the ambassador-designate’s name. Also, I have to say I really like the new artist’s work (and attention to detail!), so bravo, welcome to the comic, and we hope to see your work for a long time to come.
Oh gawd, I just noticed the ambassador’s name.
Word Magic? XD Had to remember this for my next game of pen & paper! Also, i like the style of the new artist. Very.
Now, Questiontime: is it me or are there more details on the characters now? I never recognised the blue jumpsuit-thingie Frigg wearing under her armor before. And i am very curious with waht Gravedust has to handle. A balrog-like über-monster maybe?^^
John.
Sir. You have exceeded my expectations.
Not that I had any real RIGHT to carry expectations. :-)
Excellent work, sir. Absolutely gorgeous.
Grateful to have you here, friend!
—Xan
Thank you, Xandyr. That’s very nice of you.
I just want to say that while I’m totally okay with the art style the way it is. I miss that textured overlay that Erica used. Is there anyway that could be re-incorporated?
Though now that I look back through, I’m wondering if the texture is there, but simply isn’t as noticeable due to there being so much more detail to everything.
If a texture is being used, perhaps the opacity for it could be turned up a tad, or perhaps a more obvious texture could be used?
I actually only came across this webcomic about a week ago and read through the whole story in one sitting, so I was a little disappointed to find out that I got here just in time to miss the old artist. Fortunately the new artist definitely has the qualifications to be handling this.
I personally think this is excellent and Id like to see any of you complianing nutcases TRY to do better.
Horde symbol on the pondering goblin in panel 3, in case anyone hasn’t noticed (: