3443 The Lady Kingswords
Well at last, I got the next strip up. And you’ll notice a few things about it. I super-skimped on the bgs and I didn’t bother to shade it.
With my full-time job (and holidays and family and all sorts of things) I simply don’t have the spoons to keep up with it like I did a couple of months ago. Obviously. SO… I have some good news for some of you. I’m going to be going back to my pencil-sketchy style to try to keep up. I’ve been enjoying the inks and I will do them again from time to time when I’ve got the energy and the will. But for now, I’ve made it too much like work. And I’ve got a job.
So I’m really sorry to all my readers, and ESPECIALLY to my patrons, I’ll make an effort to produce again. This long interval with no updates has upset me. Thanks for sticking with me. I’ll try to get back on track now.
-Rich
So I borrowed @jennetalexander’s advance copy of her new book “I Kissed A Girl” and though I am not in any way the target demographic, I really love her writing style and glommed immediately onto one of the two main characters, Noa the horror movie buff. I love her so much that I was inspired to draw this fanart of her, and I’m not even yet halfway through the book. http://www.jennetalexander.com/
Don’t spread yourself too thin. Your friends and fans understand if you need to slow down. Nobody wants you to burn out.
Rich, you never have to apologize to us.
Inks? Pencil sketches? The inks are fun because we get to watch you experiment with a new style and discover new tricks, but they’re not why we come here. We’re here because you are a total mensch who tells great stories and has, over the years, drawn together a crowd who are a pleasure to hang out and chat with, whether or not there’s a new comic that week.
Thanks for everything you do here, but by all the gods, man, do it in whatever way and at whatever pace keeps you and yours happy. We’ll still be here enjoying the story and the company, and we’ll still be excited as hell to see the Big New Project when the time is right.
Yeah, what Mucat said… 🙂
+10000000
Mucat it said it all. 🙂
Full agreement. The new style is fun, but we love your old style too, or we wouldn’t all be here. 🙂 If the new style is meant to be, there will be a time in the future when there is time for you to develop it fully. Until then, you do what makes you most comfortable. It makes us happier when you are more relaxed and happier. If that means more old-style strips, rather then fewer new-style ones, we are fine with that. 😀
Royal Sanction to Kick Butt and Chew Bubble Gum, the dream of all D&D characters.
Now that’s a trio to watch out for.
I wonder what E&D stands for.
Elegrost & Drostardy
while it is unfortunate that you have to abandon this fancy new style of yours I understand what it’s like to spread yourself too thin. your mental health is every bit as important as the art, and I’m sure everyone will support your decision to return to the old style.
I only ask that you please do a nude pinup of Gren and the galls in this new style before you abandon it. I’ve wanted so badly to see my favorite goblin in this new style
Speaking personally quality and quantity of a story will usually trump shear commitment to a particular art style, my eyes are not good enough to make better visuals the thing which would make or break a comic for me, not that my opinion is as useful to you as someone on patreon.
Your comic will still be sorta sketchy, aint like thats all that different from the shaded edge of the alignment chart your wonderfully woven characters typically embody in some way.
Thank you very much. 😀
Thank you for writing and drawing the poet. 🙂
"Lexa Dumas"? I bet she suggested "One for All, and All for One" as the motto of her Kingsword unit.
Rich, you have produced great stories. That is key to enjoyment.
I love both your art styles.
Last but not least, you have to put things in perspective. From our point of view it is just a daily click to see if you have updated. Takes all of 2 seconds of our lives. You have to fit in this webcomic among all your other responsibilities. And I am quite sure that takes much longer than 2 seconds.
Not going anywhere. I can always start over and relive all the wonderful previous adventures.
Everyone else has put it more eloquently but as said–the story is key, and you’ve got a great one here–referring to all your work to date of course, not just this one.
I’m so invested in this stuff now, you could do it stick-figure style, and I’d still follow it.
If it was only a script, with no pictures–I’d still read it.
And, despite early misgivings about Runt–his reasoning is sound. Local law enforcement could easily take offence at having their work questioned. To say nothing of potential local prejudices, etc.
It’s been worth the wait, Rich. You keep doing what you need to.
> If it was only a script, with no pictures–I’d still read it.
Just words? Hey, yeah! We could call it…a koob! Naw, on second thought, it’ll never catch on.
> you could do it stick-figure style, and I’d still follow it.
That’d be an even taller Order.
Rich take it easy, I follow other online comics and two haven’t updated in almost a year, and one has several months between her updates. if you burn out you have a bigger problem than the comic and people then are gonna be worried about you than the comic. enjoy the creation and the story, it’s not a race.
For what it is worth, I loved your pencil/sketchy drawings. It makes the strip stand out. And as others note, the quality of the story is what brings us here–we’ve been following you for the many years that you’ve been posting pencil drawings.
Life happens. Sometimes, it interrupts what we WANT to do with what we NEED to do. When something like this happens, its a good idea to let others know, so they don’t worry too much.
I’m glad o see things are relatively ok, and look forwards to new postings from you, as time permits…
The only constant is change. 😀
You have been completely transparent about what is going on and why so I have no problems as one of your patrons!
I think it’s safe to say that your loyal fans love your work for the story, not the art. It was great that you’ve been able to try a cleaner technique, but it’s not necessary.
I’m just glad you checked in. New jobs can be rough at the start. I’m sending you some extra spoons and a few sporks, just in case.
That which makes creation fun and easy for you is good and welcome. You decide what that is, and we, who call ourselves "your fans," will love that which makes you feel freer and more able to create.
Happy to hear you’re good-busy. Yes, sure, I miss YAFGC updates, but I’ll take "Rich is happy and life goes well for him" over rapid updates, any day!
*Madame* Bloodhand, you little prat?
I believe you mean "Queen Maula."
Also – constabulary. God, I love that word.
t!
Runt: "I’m a king. I can call her anything I want. It’s good to be the king."
Thank you, Mel Brooks.
Yeah, and to be fair, think of the things she calls HIM.
In all seriousness, though, maybe Maula chooses not to use her royal title, to emphasize both Glon’s authority and the fact that any given shitstorm is no longer her problem?
Good point about Maula. When Edward VIII abdicated he was then called the Duke of Windsor.
He got called Duke because there are Rules in England; you can’t have more than one person designated monarch. (they learned this the hard way over the centuries)
I think of Queen in Maula’s case as a lifelong title, the way US presidents still have that designation after they leave office.
Being himself a monarch, I’d want Runt of all people to grant her that respect.
t!
I had to think this one out a bit before answering it. But in my mind, Maula definitely stepped away from the title she never wanted to begin with. She is no longer a Queen. I guess Duchess would fit, but it’s not a title she’s using either. She herself is happy to be just Maula Bloodhand and corrects people who try to call her that. I suspect she made it pretty clear when she crossed into Elegrost to register for the tournament. Probably long before that even, when she was coming over to visit the Greyforts during the holidays.
"Glon is King." she says "And Hogga is Queen. The girls are also queens with Glon. If you’ve got royalty issues to bring up, take it up with them. Leave me out of it."
So Runt is probably in his rights to use an awkward non-royal title for her. And has probably in the past been put in his place for trying to honour her too much.
Edward VIII was Duke of Windsor because he was created Duke of Windsor by George VI. This was presumably partially because George wanted to give Edward a title and partially to keep him out of domestic politics (as a royal duke, he was barred from both the house of commons and the house of lords).
I assume that King Glon could have given Maula a title if he wanted to. I also assume that Maula would have slapped that silly idea right out of his head.
Since Maula didn't hold a title before becoming queen, she has none to fall back on. Since she was a ruling queen, she also doesn't hold a honorary title that she might hold if she had been queen consort to a deceased king.
Runt has his own Dora Milaje… Neat!
Unlike the Dora, the Kingswords are open to all demographics.
The sample shown here is just the way it worked out this time.
t!
Yeah, like t! said. I wonder if they’d all been white men anyone would have noticed.
I just hope you didn’t make the tall one too dark for drawing her facial features, expressions, etc.
They are a lot darker than on my tablet. I’ll readjust her tone a bit the next time I’m going to use this method. In the meantime, I’m going back to pencil sketches, so I’ll have to shade her differently.
Very nice picture of Noa, Rich! I looked at Jennet’s web page, and while I’m not part of the target demographic, either, I’m planning on getting a copy of this book. It looks good.
Ajira’s a captain now, eh? Very fancy! Seems like just yesterday she was giving me fetch quests in the Mage’s Guild and getting her papers stolen by Galbedir.
Fell off the wagon on that one. Or should I say, off the silt-strider.
If you went back to her after getting through the ranks, she’d direct you to some of the best loot in the game.
Let's hope Eddy doesn't go all Richelieu on us. He's way too chaotic for that.
Well that doesn't sound good, I do hope that Runt is just being paranoid rather than having real cause to question the baron's loyalty.
And it's quite peculiar that all three of these guards are dark-skinned, when *everybody* we've previously met from Elegrost was white. Is the King's guard a foreign legion kind of thing, where he wants people without loyalty to any of the barons under him?