How I Killed Your Master: Page 025 to ~046 [Archive]

Martyr

11-16-2009, 04:59 PM

Do you suppose old Wong is pulling a Scheherazade on the guy?

I thought I had a good idea about how 8-bit would play out, way back when I started reading it. I believe I started reading comics when the ogre ambushed Fighter and BM while they were searching for the Cave of No Return.

Suffice it to say, I'm just going kick back and enjoy this one without guessing anything at all.

Rempac

11-16-2009, 07:20 PM

I like how you can see two of Chan Sen's men in the first panel, especially that one guy yawning. For some reason it makes me feel as if the story going to turn into a twisted version of the Princess Bride, except the audience is a bunch of blood thirsty men.

Aerozord

11-18-2009, 11:39 PM

We're "http://www.nuklearpower.com/2009/11/16/how-i-killed-your-master-025/"]back on track after a brief hiatus.

is it just me, or is the link broken for everyone?

Ratmonkey

11-20-2009, 02:03 AM

That last panel is gorgeous. If it was printed as a wall poster, I think I might buy it. I think it might be my favorite single frame of this comic so far.

Tev

11-20-2009, 10:10 AM

Those two are so dead.

Also, what's this about the Five Dragons?

Kurosen

11-20-2009, 10:28 AM

Dun dun dunnnnn is what!

BattyAsHell

11-20-2009, 12:35 PM

What a bunch of suicidal idiots.

Tev

11-20-2009, 01:07 PM

My only hope is that Fei insults them thoroughly during the beating.

Tryxx

11-20-2009, 01:36 PM

My only hope is that Fei insults them thoroughly during the beating.

This. Except I hope that Fei beats one with the other one. That is to say I hope he uses the skinny one as a club.

Ravashak

11-20-2009, 02:16 PM

Heh, not outnumbered, maybe he'll get Wong in with a motivational "Go and distract Ji Bao, I'll kick your ass after you survive and i clean up this mess YOU made.
After that, bring me some tea!"

MSperoni

11-20-2009, 03:06 PM

That last panel is gorgeous. If it was printed as a wall poster, I think I might buy it. I think it might be my favorite single frame of this comic so far.

I could probably cook up a print from the full size original art of it..

Moogleking

11-20-2009, 06:43 PM

I could probably cook up a print from the full size original art of it..

That would be an awesome Desktop I would wholeheartedly use :D

MSperoni

11-21-2009, 12:36 AM

The good thing is that the panel's dimensions are about "wallpaper size".

I wonder if a colored version of that panel would be a good wallpaper if we meet the 500$ monthly goal.

Corel

11-21-2009, 02:14 AM

Someone has seen Darkplace.

Someone is awesome.

If this was 8 Bit Theater I would expect an anti climatic interruption right about now, but seeing as it isn't looks like it's time to rumble!

MSperoni

11-21-2009, 02:23 AM

Brian recommended Dark Place to me and I am now a fan :)

yes indeed it's awesome :D

Sanchez! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6iJRNHUOT4&feature=related)

Krylo

11-21-2009, 02:30 AM

Brian recommended Dark Place to me and I am now a fan :)

yes indeed it's awesome :D

Sanchez! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6iJRNHUOT4&feature=related)

DR. SANCHEZ! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mfl_u-xjOk&NR=1)

Bright_Shadows

11-21-2009, 03:07 PM

So it looks like I'm still right on track. If Fei berates Wong after this and tells him to clean up the mess he caused, I'll have actually nailed this bit completely.

From the old topic:

2. Wong runs off. The attackers are surprised at his speed, etc, and Wong reaches Fei in time to get berated for not fighting the guys and possibly taking too long with his running. Fei beats them to a pulp, then tells Wong to clean up the mess and then keep running.

Guntank

11-21-2009, 05:31 PM

It'd be awesome if it turns out that Xu Li isn't just a rival master: he's also a high-ranked Imperial Courtier and/or Eunuch (or suddenly became one after the current fight --- most Wuxia stories often have Eunuchs or ambitious officials with powerful hidden Martial Arts skills), and Fei's interference would end up having *serious* repercussions as Xu Li memorializes him as a traitor to the Imperial Dynasty.

MSperoni

11-22-2009, 12:17 AM

I think that sounds like an interesting idea. Too bad I'm not the writer :p

Corel

11-22-2009, 12:22 PM

Request with no specific deadline!

Were the names chosen for characters specifically or just because they sounded cool?

If it's the latter could you please give us the characters for them? Silly tonal languages.

Would be much appreciative!

Tev

11-23-2009, 02:38 PM

Yep, Fei's a badass. Though there seems to be a lack of yelling and berating his victims.

11-23-2009, 02:49 PM

Look at Fei's face! It's like he's not even trying. I'm half expecting the next page to be him saying "Right, done my morning exercises, now I'm gonna beat you two- oh, oops." Seriously, the guy looked like he was trying harder when he gave Wong a pasting. Fei's hardcore!

Hetsurin

11-23-2009, 04:47 PM

I bet they're almost done regretting their actions by now.

Loyal

11-23-2009, 04:53 PM

Panel 3: "There's a caterpillar on your face - here, let me get that for you."

MSperoni

11-23-2009, 08:10 PM

I bet they're almost done regretting their actions by now.

They might need just a biiiit more "convincing" before they're ready to do so :D

krossbow7

11-23-2009, 09:38 PM

eh; rather than looking like an awesome martial arts move, that final panel looks more like master fei's just broken his own arm several times.

just saying.

MatadorBID

11-23-2009, 09:46 PM

One reason I'm not an avid comic book reader is that I have trouble following the action. This, on the other hand, is the most well-drawn martial arts still I have ever seen. Thank you so much for showing how it is to be done!

Loyal

11-23-2009, 09:51 PM

eh; rather than looking like an awesome martial arts move, that final panel looks more like master fei's just broken his own arm several times.

just saying.

Dunno what you're talking about. I can easily turn my arm that way, in that position. Just twist at the shoulder.

krossbow7

11-24-2009, 12:03 AM

not with any real force though; the arm would be completely at the edge of its range of motion.

Sithdarth

11-24-2009, 01:02 AM

not with any real force though; the arm would be completely at the edge of its range of motion.

1) If you are using arm and nothing else to generate force then you are doing something wrong.

2) In that particular area there are many soft squishy and painful things that don't need much force. I've actually been nearly knocked out when my Sensei decided to give me a rather light tap in that general area, though maybe a little more into the neck area, to demonstrate the power of knowing weak points.

3) Looks to be more of a grab than a strike possibly followed by a seriously kickass throw.

Also, totally forgot to draw thumbs again. :p

MSperoni

11-24-2009, 01:12 AM

All your points are exactly correct except for the part about me forgetting to draw thumbs! They're just obscured by something (in most cases another part of his hand).

(also I'm not going to say he's setting him up for a "throw" but he's setting him up for SOMETHING -- which will be revealed on Friday :D)

Fifthfiend

11-24-2009, 01:59 AM

On a minor note I think the page would work better if you didn't use the action lines for Fatty McMook's club that you use for Fei's unstopable five-fisted mantis strikes as it would emphasize that Fei is Swiftyblur Unstoppableguy and the other guys may as well be standing still.

Corel

11-27-2009, 02:46 AM

Come on now, Fei isn't even trying. Look how not over the top pissed he is; that's the secret to his strength.

Edit: That and tea, like Popeye.

Kim

11-27-2009, 03:17 AM

I like this page more than the last one. I don't know what it was, but something about the last one irked me somehow. This one though? Totally, totally rad.

Martyr

11-28-2009, 12:40 PM

Come on now, Fei isn't even trying. Look how not over the top pissed he is; that's the secret to his strength.

Edit: That and tea, like Popeye.

But he's still mostly pissed, I think. I mean, his expression is the same the whole time: Displeased.

It's almost funny, but I'd like to see the bald lil guy smile someday.

It's hardly worth being able to kick ass tith 5 Mantis Fists if you can't smile about it later.

Derp

11-28-2009, 06:20 PM

The fight scenes don't look right to me. I'm no artist myself so I can't give detailed criticism, but I'm just not believing the force and motion.

I thought this comic was beautifully executed (and completely awesome) up until this point, so I'm kind of hoping that this is either a.) the artist warming up or b.) a style that will grow on me. I do agree that 28 looks better than 27.

bald lil guy

You mean Fei? I thought he was supposed to be enormous?

A smug smirk at some point wouldn't surprise me. I actually thought he had smiled some after he saw Wong use one of his forms, but looking back now it appears that his visage was just substantially less enraged than one would expect, creating the illusion of smilitude.

MSperoni

11-29-2009, 11:03 PM

I thought this comic was beautifully executed (and completely awesome) up until this point, so I'm kind of hoping that this is either a.) the artist warming up or b.) a style that will grow on me. I do agree that 28 looks better than 27.

Well so far so good with Brian's opinion on the fights.. John hasn't said anything but I generally never hear from him one way or the other. (Though when I do it's always polite!)

Keep in mind it's not over yet, there's a kind of rhythm here. But then again some people don't like certain kinds of things purely on genre no matter how well they're executed.

Hopefully the style will grow on you (or I guess you can skip the subsequent fight scenes :p), because unless I get orders from The Powers That Be to change it up, it's going to be this way. I've drawn a lot of fight scenes, but then again I haven't drawn one in like a year or more, so maybe there's some rust.

Anywho, I'm satisfied w/ the way they look so far. Except I wanted Fei to kick one of the guys in the nuts, but he never does :D

Maybe that'll be for the NEXT fight.

Corel

11-30-2009, 01:57 AM

Just to add from today's comic that it looks much clearer when we can see the face of the punched assilant; in the last few pages it was a great big explosion over where the point of contact was. Personally I prefer seeing their pain and suffering, go voilence go!

Also, shouldn't his face be going the other way from the strike in the last panel? From first glance the movement lines look like Fei's hand is going in a haymaker arc but from the panel before it looks like that it could be exploding as some form of backhand from his mid torso, which would explain why his jaw is going that way!

/nitpicking

MSperoni

11-30-2009, 02:21 AM

Well to my eyes it goes: Fei pulls Jiao's arm down and then punches him in the right side of his face. (that's why his cheek looks all mushed up and his head's moving off like it is).

and you misspelled "violence"! /nitpicking ;) :p

Corel

11-30-2009, 04:47 AM

Ah yes, I can see that now. It's just the motion blur looks like it's coming from the right to the left, making it quite confusing.

Also, voilance is totally a word. Like Feilance.

Mirai Gen

11-30-2009, 04:50 AM

I like it. The way the action flows is nice, and I only have one complaint; the complete lack of a face via special effect on #27. Your art is pretty superb normally but that was like, "Wow, Fei must kick a lot of ass to punch his head off so hard it explodes."

MSperoni

11-30-2009, 04:54 AM

what the heeeeellllllllllllllllll are you talking about, brutha? Who doesn't have a face on page 27?

All of 'em have faces except Bao in panel 3 and that's only cos his head is wrenched really far back since Fei's poppin' him inna face.

Mirai Gen

11-30-2009, 05:05 AM

Is that Bao's face under the punch effect? I can't really tell, possibly cause Bao is such a recent character addition. Is that his bearded jaw?

MSperoni

11-30-2009, 05:09 AM

Yop, that's his scraggly "under beard".

Mirai Gen

11-30-2009, 05:29 AM

Ahhhh, okay, looking at it now it makes sense. I think I just blanked it out cause he's so new and he's got that turtleneck thing going on.

Veho

11-30-2009, 05:38 AM

Except I wanted Fei to kick one of the guys in the nuts, but he never does :D

Maybe that'll be for the NEXT fight.

Maybe he's saving that for Wong. :D

5lizak

11-30-2009, 09:11 AM

All I could think of when I saw "The Master's Rebuke" was Rick James. ^_^

Corel

11-30-2009, 09:20 AM

Maybe he's saving that for Wong. :D

Pretty much what I thought. Could you imagine all those little Wong and Wongettes running around spilling tea all over the place?

Fei really has no choice but to perform a vasectomy, with his foot. Because that is how Fei rolls.

Tev

11-30-2009, 11:48 AM

All I could think of when I saw "The Master's Rebuke" was Rick James. ^_^Yeah, I saw that and though �What a masterfully executed back-hand!�

Veho

11-30-2009, 05:01 PM

Pretty much what I thought. Could you imagine all those little Wong and Wongettes running around spilling tea all over the place?

I certainly don't recall seeing any strapping young bucks defending their wizened old father from his attacker in the "present time" parts of the comic.

tshadowdrag

11-30-2009, 07:04 PM

I certainly don't recall seeing any strapping young bucks defending their wizened old father from his attacker in the "present time" parts of the comic.

Could have outlived them over various ways as masters tend to do so from their pupils time to time.

The fighting style is new to me but worth watching as it's enjoyable and in a sense as there's more of the comic itself, that too has room to grow and could actually mature into something else. It's a major part of the story if you think about it for detail, but I'm sure that much is covered currently.

Btw, looks like Fei had to keep his pimp hand strong, and I do see some training in store for Wong in the near future.

Tev

11-30-2009, 07:09 PM

So after watching some of these fight scenes, I do have to ask: did you guys go through all the fighting styles until you landed on the one that looked the most outrageously arrogant and showed the most distain for its victims and then give that style to Fei? How he manages to remain frowning while executing some of these moves astounds me.

Kurosen

11-30-2009, 08:25 PM

Nope. Fei ended up with Mantis Style 'cause John and I think it's cool and relatively under represented in kung fu media.

Plus it's a good defensive but flashy style to start Wong off with.

The Wandering God

12-01-2009, 03:26 AM

All the really http://tintintwinkling.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/toph.png use mantis style.

MSperoni

12-01-2009, 03:45 AM

This should probably have been in "Behind the Punch" but there were some messages about Fei never changing his expression and that made me think of this one instance where I drew him with a smile in the comic (the only instance outside the comic was this (http://twitpic.com/ib8ad))

I don't know if he'll ever smile again, but I guess time will tell. His expression might change to a grimace or to something more strained if he fights someone who challenges him (like if somehow there was a time-warp and he fought with Chan or Old Wong).

Anyway, this is the only time Fei ever smiled in the comic, on page 8. However, this panel was altered because it made him look too sinister.

Loyal

12-01-2009, 12:39 PM

Suddenly I'm glad Fei never smiles.

Daimo Mac, The Blue Light of Hope

12-01-2009, 12:48 PM

That image would make a hell of a desktop. The simple black and white image is awesome.

Tev

12-01-2009, 01:01 PM

Fei's smile reminds me of Scar from the Lion King.......

MSperoni

12-02-2009, 05:35 AM

The REAL question is:

What will happen first, Fei smiling or Po opening his eyes?

Jindra34

12-02-2009, 06:36 PM

The REAL question is:

What will happen first, Fei smiling or Po opening his eyes?

Probably Po opening his eyes. His character in general is less scary and I think even if Fei did smile most people would go into hiding before he reached a full smile and never see it.

MSperoni

12-02-2009, 06:51 PM

If Fei smiles and no one is around to see it, does it make a grin?

Veho

12-04-2009, 11:57 AM

I'd say it makes it a smug grin, but with Fei, is there really any other kind?

It looks like he's still beating the eyebrow brothers. I thought page 28 would be the end. After what looked like he broke one's arm and stomped the other's head into the ground, I figured the fight would be over. Is Fei drawing out the fight to show off?

I liked the red sound effect. Effective.

Tev

12-04-2009, 12:05 PM

Is the "Striking Hook" just too gruesome to be drawn?

Veho

12-04-2009, 12:15 PM

Judging by the (red) crunch sound the target made, probably.

Green Spanner

12-04-2009, 04:39 PM

I think I might be glad we can't see beyond the right of that final panel.

Nevertheless, great art as always.

rpgdemon

12-04-2009, 05:30 PM

Is it wrong that I assumed that Fei had then turned to hit Wong, after having finished with the others?

yoshi927

12-04-2009, 07:59 PM

Is it wrong that I assumed that Fei had then turned to hit Wong, after having finished with the others?Hmm. It would make sense.

MSperoni

12-04-2009, 09:58 PM

It looks like he's still beating the eyebrow brothers. I thought page 28 would be the end. After what looked like he broke one's arm and stomped the other's head into the ground, I figured the fight would be over. Is Fei drawing out the fight to show off?

I think it only seems like it's long because of the way the comic is updated. He's only been beating them up for around 5 pages. Compared to some other comics that's pretty brief (DBZ for instance :p).

Only 1/6th of the pages have fighting in them, I think for a kung fu comic that's pretty light. And when you go through and read them in succession it doesn't seem that long (to me it seems really short, actually).

Also I may have not drawn it how I meant it, but Fei was supposed to be hitting Jiao in the ulnar-nerve (or the funny bone ;) ) to cause his arm to spasm and drop the sword. I'm not sure if that would really work or not, but it seemed like it would (maybe one's knee would be too large to actually hit that nerve). I also think the sound effect makes it seem like it was being broken, but that wasn't my intention (I don't have a say on the sound effects).

BossMuro

12-04-2009, 10:44 PM

I don't think the problem is necessarily how long the fight is going, so much as that it seems pretty much like a foregone conclusion how it's going to end. There's also the fact that so many of the pages end with what kind of look like should be a fight-ender (the face stomp, the arm thing, the crescent heel to the jaw, and judging by the sound effect, the striking hook)

For all that Wong talks about how efficient Fei is, it almost seems to me like he's intentionally stretching out the fight, either to show off for Wong or because, for some reason or another, he's trying to avoid hurting his opponents too badly.

MSperoni

12-04-2009, 11:16 PM

if anything Mortal Kombat has taught us (aside from how to horrendously botch the pronunciation of Chinese names), it's that you can't use your ultimate finishing move until your opponent(s) are sufficiently damaged.

Arrekusu

12-05-2009, 10:37 AM

See, I was just assuming that this is Fei's main outlet for his anger at this point.

Kalbelgarion

12-05-2009, 09:26 PM

Gee, and I thought Fei was literally beating up the goons for two-and-a-half weeks.

Seems like the kind of thing he would do.

rpgdemon

12-06-2009, 01:34 AM

I think it only seems like it's long because of the way the comic is updated. He's only been beating them up for around 5 pages. Compared to some other comics that's pretty brief (DBZ for instance :p).

I dunno if you wanna base your pacing off of DBZ. ;)

MSperoni

12-06-2009, 04:46 AM

Definitely not. I'd be 50 years old by the time we'd be through with this story.

edit: I might be anyway if a certain someone doesn't give me the script for the next few pages soon! :D

bobfish

12-06-2009, 01:05 PM

Gee, and I thought Fei was literally beating up the goons for two-and-a-half weeks.

Seems like the kind of thing he would do.
He would. And he'd drink his tea the whole time.

Green Spanner

12-07-2009, 10:50 AM

This page is to be used if anybody doubts Fei's badassness.

Loving his action pose at the end there.

Kurosen

12-07-2009, 10:54 AM

This page is to be used if anybody doubts Fei's badassness.
Not to diminish your point, but I just read the whole series so far and it appears that ANY page with Fei can be used to prove his badassness :D

Green Spanner

12-07-2009, 10:55 AM

Not to diminish your point, but I just read the whole series so far and it appears that ANY page with Fei can be used to prove his badassness :D

The whole series was the setup. This was the punchline.

Unless there's something even more badass waiting in the wings...

MSperoni

12-07-2009, 11:04 AM

For the record: NOW the fight is over.

Red King

12-07-2009, 11:08 AM

I absolutely love his facial expression in the second panel. It's like he got so bored kicking their asses, that he just snapped out of a daydream to realize he had to hit them again. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite comics on the internet.

Tev

12-07-2009, 11:30 AM

Actually Fei looks like he either got punched in the gut or has to fart in that second pannel.

Kurosen

12-07-2009, 12:08 PM

More of a sharp intake of breath / a moment of concentration.

MSperoni

12-07-2009, 12:10 PM

He's summonin' up his chi. I was going to put in some lightning bolts or something but I didn't want this to get too DBZ-like..

(then I guess chi does stem from the stomach, right?)

Dracorion

12-07-2009, 12:12 PM

BRUTALITY

Fei wins

Flawless victory

Tev

12-07-2009, 12:14 PM

More of a sharp intake of breath / a moment of concentration.Well after I saw what happened next I pretty much figured that. It was just that my first reaction was "well...crap someone sucker-punched Fei�..either that or someone�s about to get the dreaded �Mantis Miasma� finisher�..�

Corel

12-07-2009, 12:40 PM

I assume between panel's 3 and 5 we don't see the entire form? I'm trying to figure out how he got over there.

Also, I have discovered Fei's true form.
http://imgur.com/UEdcz.png

Tremble and weep. Tremble and weep.

MSperoni

12-07-2009, 12:42 PM

if you could figure it out it wouldn't be "Impossible" would it?

I'm trembling but not weeping.. yet.. :p

Corel

12-07-2009, 12:44 PM

if you could figure it out it wouldn't be "Impossible" would it?

I'm trembling but not weeping.. yet.. :P

Bwhaha, is this going to be a running gag through the entire story until the very end where Wong finishes retelling his life and the General asking "What! What is the impossible form!?", with Wong smiling and saying it's the power of love, or something. Because you should totally do that.

MSperoni

12-07-2009, 12:47 PM

General? Who's a general? General Tso? He's the master of Fist of the Spicy Chicken.

He's working on passing his chicken-fu to his pupil, Colonel Ts'an D'erz.

Veho

12-07-2009, 01:44 PM

Bwhaha, is this going to be a running gag through the entire story until the very end where Wong finishes retelling his life and the General asking "What! What is the impossible form!?"

Old Wong then gets up, crushes everyone in the room (and several adjacent buildings) at once with the "perfected impossible Mantis form" and says, "This."

Meister

12-07-2009, 04:21 PM

So at this point I'm gonna venture a guess that the assassins won't be recurring characters.

Tev

12-07-2009, 04:24 PM

There's a small chance that they aren't quite dead yet....

Kim

12-07-2009, 04:26 PM

Now I'm imagining the song Power of Love playing in this fight scene.

No man. Even better than that. THIS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lsn2tT5yTc&fmt=18)

Veho

12-07-2009, 05:01 PM

So at this point I'm gonna venture a guess that the assassins won't be recurring characters.

There's a small chance that they aren't quite dead yet....

Who knows, maybe Fei left them alive (but badly mangled) so that they could spread the word, warn everyone not to dare mess with Fei. It's hard to make an example of someone if there are no witnesses, other than (*spoken in Fei's voice*) a pudgy little brat who should know better than to speak.

Arrekusu

12-07-2009, 05:06 PM

So when are you gonna kill off Fei to shock us all at how brutal the enemy is?

Knight13

12-07-2009, 08:17 PM

In the next fight, Fei isn't even going to bother beating up his opponent. He'll just grab the poor slob's pinky, say "skadoosh" and flex his own pinky.

BattyAsHell

12-07-2009, 09:10 PM

The fight scenes don't look right to me. I'm no artist myself so I can't give detailed criticism, but I'm just not believing the force and motion.

I thought this comic was beautifully executed (and completely awesome) up until this point, so I'm kind of hoping that this is either a.) the artist warming up or b.) a style that will grow on me. I do agree that 28 looks better than 27.

I kind of liked 29. The details on the blocking, followed by a pretty sweet looking... umm, what's it called.. Kind of like a reverse knife hand, sort of.

Can't think of it. Been too many years since I practiced, I guess.

Looked good, though. And in general, I'm liking the attention to detail.

Any specific analysis of the fight scenes, so we have an idea what you find lacking? Maybe compare it with existing fighting manga like History's Strongest Disciple, or something you'd consider better?

Edit: RIDGE HAND! That's what it looked like Fei used at the end of 29.

BattyAsHell

12-07-2009, 09:12 PM

Anyone else hear "FINISH HIM!" when reading 31?

Red King

12-07-2009, 09:48 PM

I'm not sure if it was even there when I first checked, I was sleepy. But I think the center panel did/would look better without the red FOOM.

Martyr

12-08-2009, 12:16 AM

the foom is important because all this time I was thinking, "whatever. I could do that. If I was there, they'd all be dead and I'd eat the house."

But I can't "Foom."
Certainly not at the same time as I do a pirouette K.O.

And I think that's what's important. If there's no foom, then Fei is nothing more than an angry ballerina.

01d55

12-08-2009, 12:33 AM

Fei definitely looks surprised just before the "FOOM." I assumed he wasn't expecting to use the Final Form.

MSperoni

12-08-2009, 05:59 AM

After reading some above messages, I was thinking that if the problems w/ how I did the fight scene are having to do with the fact I didn't do it enough "like another comic" then I'm not sure I'll be able to address any of those concerns. I'd rather not end up just being a copycat..

I looked around online at History's Strongest Disciple, maybe I was looking at the wrong chapters but I wasn't really all that impressed with how it was done. So if anyone says "be more like it" that's definitely not going to happen (unless the person asking me to do so is Brian).

EDIT: After looking over some better pages, the fights in H'sSD don't look TOO bad in spots..

I kinda wish we were at another fight scene so I could give it another go :)

I'm not sure how I feel about the (red) foom.. I usually don't like hints of color in a black and white comic but then again it adds some strength to the panels.. sooo.. I guess I'm neutral on the matter. Jeff's worked in comics a long time so I trust his judgement.

Odjn

12-08-2009, 06:47 AM

That look? The one he gives right before beating them badly, which looks like constipation?

That is Fei's Death Look. When you see it, he is about to kill you.

MSperoni

12-08-2009, 06:53 AM

When Fei's face is normal, people mention him not having any expression, when he does look tense, people say he looks constipated (which seems to be the typical thing to say, I heard it eleventy million times --that's a lot-- when reading stuff about DBZ back inna day). It's a no win situation unless from now on when Fei fights I angle all the panels so they only show the back of his head or his feet or something..

Or maybe I can just have his mouth gaping wide open and his eyes crossed (only pointing in opposite directions), that way people can say he looks batshit insane. Which would at least be better than constipated!

Example:

Red King

12-08-2009, 10:30 AM

Corel

12-08-2009, 11:32 AM

This should be the face Fei makes everytime he thinks someone isn't looking.

He's probably making that face in the third and last panel.

MSperoni

12-08-2009, 11:34 AM

I have made up for my stupid rendition of Fei in that post by drawing a very ominous/badass pic of him on this page I'm currently working on.

Green Spanner

12-08-2009, 11:50 AM

I have made up for my stupid rendition of Fei in that post by drawing a very ominous/badass pic of him on this page I'm currently working on.

Surely it can't be that hard to make Fei look ominous/badass...

BattyAsHell

12-08-2009, 12:05 PM

After reading some above messages, I was thinking that if the problems w/ how I did the fight scene are having to do with the fact I didn't do it enough "like another comic" then I'm not sure I'll be able to address any of those concerns. I'd rather not end up just being a copycat..

I looked around online at History's Strongest Disciple, maybe I was looking at the wrong chapters but I wasn't really all that impressed with how it was done. So if anyone says "be more like it" that's definitely not going to happen (unless the person asking me to do so is Brian).

Just for the record, there's actually "two" History Strongest Disciples out there. If you're looking on something like Onemanga, the current one of "Histories Strongest Disciple: Kenichi"

The one before that is a completed manga, and kind of rougher around the edges overall.

Anyways, I was just trying to stir up conversation on what, exactly, some find lacking. Your fight scenes look fine by me, and I wouldn't ask you to change them.

MSperoni

12-08-2009, 12:20 PM

Ohhh okay, thanks for clearing that up about H'sSD.. i was wondering why there seemed to be two separate ones. (I was too lazy to look deeper into it).

I'm not sure which one I saw..I may have seen both. I mentioned in the edited post that after my initial reaction I found other pages I liked more that changed my opinion a bit (in terms of the fight scenes, I was relatively "meh" on the rest of it :p) So it could be I saw the "rough" one first and the "better" one later.

I'm glad you think the fight scenes look okay, I think there's a few kinks in them but overall I'm happy w/ the result. I can't wait to do another one :D

Veho

12-09-2009, 09:09 AM

http://i47.tinypic.com/98skfk.gif

The fight scenes in HIKYM remind me of Adam Warren's comics, and hand-to-hand combat scenes there. Detailed blocks, elaborate movement, fast and brutal strikes. You see what's going on while keeping the sense of speed. I can't wait to see the next fight. :)

Green Spanner

12-09-2009, 09:28 AM

Out of curiosity, how much creative control do you have over the fight choreography, Mr. Speroni?

MSperoni

12-09-2009, 09:30 AM

Thanks, I'm glad you mentioned that "you see what's going on".

I try to focus on clarity, maybe that's not the best way of going about it and sometimes people still get confused (then again I think people will be confused by things no matter how clear you think you make them), but that's part of my thinking when I design the pages. I'm glad you're looking forward to the next fight! I don't know who will be involved in it yet, but hopefully we'll get to something soon :)

speaking of the page designs, I ought to update Behind the Punch sometime later today.

As for fight choreography I have almost total control :D Brian just writes "take X amount of pages" in the script and includes some ideas about what should happen and how it should end and the dialog that will probably go into the panels. There's nothing in there that says "Fei then turns and knocks the sword out of Jiao's hands and then does a flip over Bao and kicks him in the face". If something particular needs to happen in the course of the fight, Brian tells me in the script but it's up to me how we get to that point. However, I don't completely ignore input from the team, I always get the layouts looked over before I take any big steps toward finalizing the art.

So in other words if they suck I'm pretty much the one to blame.. but if they're good I'm the one to praise! :)

Sithdarth

12-09-2009, 04:07 PM

So in other words if they suck I'm pretty much the one to blame.. but if they're good I'm the one to praise!

Like all the missing thumbs! :p

(Ok I think I might be treading into dead horse territory with that joke now.)

Grognor

12-10-2009, 06:21 PM

When I have people who are experts actually fighting, it will be different.

You weren't kidding.

Tev

12-11-2009, 11:25 AM

Fei needs to mantis slap Wong's jaw back into place.

Green Spanner

12-11-2009, 01:24 PM

The look on Wong's face in the last panel sums it all up I think.

ArtisticMystic

12-11-2009, 02:08 PM

I've read every page...

Just wanted to give attention to the excellent art...(love the texturized backgrounds, clothing and objects) it really makes the characters stand out. The story is also amazing...

bobfish

12-11-2009, 02:14 PM

I was kinda expecting more bloodstains. Although Fei was probably careful not to make a mess of his robes and home.

Hobo Phoenix

12-11-2009, 04:37 PM

Who are Jia and Yi, his students/sons/whatever?

Tev

12-11-2009, 04:42 PM

Yeah, those are his two boys. My guess is that Wong's going to get a talking to/ass kicking after the kids get taken to town for icecream. Also this may be about the time Fei goes "Well Wong, you're just about worthless but you've shown yourself to be better than my shit-for-brains children. Your training begins after you clean this mess up. If you're lucky, I'll not kill you in the morning."

BattyAsHell

12-11-2009, 05:00 PM

Deck Knight

12-11-2009, 05:00 PM

Unless his two boys got a MASSIVE growth spurt (and became part of Xu Li's cabal, AND learned how to not be terrible at fighting, AND had no knowledge of what Master Fei had done for the last 10 years despite being his sons) in a span of 31 in-comic days, the exact amount of time that has passed since Wong first almost competently blocked an attack and decided to run away, Ji Jao and Yi Bao cannot possibly be Master Fei's sons.

They are hired goons that Master Fei knows from his other exploits.

Tev

12-11-2009, 05:08 PM

Oh, he refered to them by their first names....

I was just thinking of them as Jao and Bao.

EDIT: Wait, so if Po is taking the bodies away, what mess is Wong going to be cleaning up?

Green Spanner

12-11-2009, 05:10 PM

Wait, so if Po is taking the bodies away, what mess is Wong going to be cleaning up?

Probably the blood, teeth and terror-urine.

Kerensky287

12-11-2009, 05:30 PM

Oh, he refered to them by their first names....

I was just thinking of them as Jao and Bao.

EDIT: Wait, so if Po is taking the bodies away, what mess is Wong going to be cleaning up?

Po is taking the Fei children into town. Wong is going to clean up the bodies.

I agree that it's a little confusing, though - I only made the connection when you mentioned the assassins as Jao and Bao. Jia and Yi are not Ji Jao and Ji Bao, so the only pair remaining must be Fei Jia and Fei Yi.

Perhaps if Master Fei had said "Take my sons into town" instead, it would've been clearer - those names haven't been mentioned before to my knowledge.

MSperoni

12-11-2009, 06:17 PM

Yeah, Jia and Yi are Fei's kids. They were named that way for a reason, which might be boring if I got into. It has a connection with Wu Xing though.

Ji Jiao and Ji Bao are the goons, however they were originally named Jiao Zi and Bao Zi, but got changed for some reason. I guess Brian preferred Ji over Zi. I like "Zi" better because Jiaozi are Chinese dumplings and baozi are Chinese meat buns, so it was a kind of joke :p

(in other words, their names were "Jiaozi" and "Baozi" ^_^)

Kurosen

12-11-2009, 06:31 PM

I probably should've just gone with "sons" but we figured they might as well get names that weren't insults.

Loyal

12-11-2009, 10:39 PM

For what it's worth, Fei's now calling Wong by his name instead of merely "the boy".

...not counting the time where he caught Wong about to run away.

minadin

12-11-2009, 11:09 PM

I've been reading 8-bit for years, and I have especially loved recently the addition of HIKYM.

After today's panel I felt compelled to register for the forums just to let you know how much I enjoy the comic.

Love it.

I must say that I especially liked the tree in the top pane of #24, not that the rest of the art isn't also excellent.

I had to make a matrix to keep track of the names, though.

MSperoni

12-12-2009, 09:07 AM

Thanks :D

Chinese names can be confusing sometimes, especially when you're not used to reading them. I remember when I first started reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms I had some slight trouble keeping them straight (but now I know 'em like the back of my hand).

Brian said he'd make a kind of time-line/ character chart, so that should help clear things up if there's any confusion. (Though Sardapedia is also useful).

Corel

12-12-2009, 09:18 AM

(in other words, their names were "Jiaozi" and "Baozi" ^_^)

Bwhaha, you should have kept the punny names.

For the record Jiaozi is the food of the gods.

rpgdemon

12-12-2009, 06:09 PM

Fei's dialogue in the first panel, while I assume would be fitting in a non-two-per-week format, threw me for a loop. I was like, "Hrm? Should there be a comma there somewhere? Oh, did the other dude say something about ten years a few weeks ago? Oh! He did, right!" Just was a bit confusing. Figured I'd give a bit of constructive-ish criticism.

Krylo

12-12-2009, 06:21 PM

For the record Jiaozi is the food of the gods.

They are VERY good, especially with a sauce made up of sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and szechuan sauce. Delicious.

It's been way too long since I've had any...

MSperoni

12-12-2009, 07:01 PM

Bwhaha, you should have kept the punny names.

That's what I said!

Corel

12-13-2009, 03:23 AM

They are VERY good, especially with a sauce made up of sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and szechuan sauce. Delicious.

It's been way too long since I've had any...

I only have to walk for about 30 seconds and I have unlimited access to them for about 30 cents for a dozen.

This is me and dancing around going "Neener-neener-neeener!".

But yeah, making them is also quite a bit of fun.

Also Shanghainese jiaozi are dangerous; it's full of soup so when you attempt to eat them it creates a gigantic mess if you're not too careful.

Krylo

12-13-2009, 03:37 AM

The ones I make are filled with ground pork, scallions, and a few other vegetable items that escape my mind at just this moment.

Absolutely delicious.

MSperoni

12-13-2009, 08:17 AM

I prefer meatbuns/baozi myself (Zhuge Liang is allegedly the one who invented them-- so they have a tie to Romance of the Three Kingdoms) , but i like Chinese dumplings too. I like them fried, but isn't that the Japanese way of doing it?

Green Spanner

12-13-2009, 08:23 AM

I remember when I went to Beijing on a school trip, me and a friend found that the smaller dining area in the hotel we stayed at served more traditional Chinese food.

I tell you, a jiaozi and a mantou on a bed of noodles makes for strangely good breakfast.

MSperoni

12-13-2009, 09:18 AM

Corel

12-13-2009, 10:12 AM

I'd love to eat real Chinese food in China one of these days. I'm not talking about a restaurant in a tourist spot though, but like at some street food type vendor that is "real" China. Only problem is wandering off w/o a guide or a translator would probably not be good.

dangit, now I'm hungry.

It's not too difficult even then. You can find street vender food everywhere, even in tourist hotspots from evening time onwards when people come back from work to eat. Most of the restaraunts even do traditional Chinese food but it's just quite a bit more expensive.

Restaraunts on the outskirts of cities, in towns and villages also tend to do "traditional" food but really the food is pretty much the same but it's much cheaper and some of the smaller outlets may be lacking in high hygeine standards.

Carry a pocket book with you with some phrases and be aware of tones and you're good to go. I know quite a few people who have lived here for years and don't speak a word of Chinese nor do they live in English friendly areas such as Beijing or Shanghai and they are able to get by with ordering everyday things.

Be warned though that Chinese food can do a number on your digestive tract if you're not used to it.

While you're there, order 炒面，古老肉 (or 甜酸猪肉), 头都，土豆炸饺 with 饺子 and be prepared to eat like a king. Print this off and point at these. You can thank me later.

Edit: Also? You could try request from Chinese/Vietnamese/Korean whatever food in the West more traditional food that is off the menu and most places are quite happy to make it if you know what you are asking for.

BattyAsHell

12-14-2009, 11:42 AM

I only have to walk for about 30 seconds and I have unlimited access to them for about 30 cents for a dozen.

This is me and dancing around going "Neener-neener-neeener!".

;_;

Jealous.

There really isn't any good chinese food in Connecticut...

Green Spanner

12-14-2009, 11:54 AM

Holy shit! Fei is practically treating Wong like an actual person!

He's getting soft.

Krylo

12-14-2009, 12:00 PM

"OBVIOUSLY" ...retard.

You know he was thinking it.

BigDemonicBunny

12-14-2009, 01:34 PM

Holy shit! Fei is practically treating Wong like an actual person!

He's getting soft.

So he's only a 9.95 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness now?

Hobo Phoenix

12-14-2009, 01:51 PM

Feng, Fei, ????, ????, ????

Will we learn who the other three are as the story proceeds?

Related: Are there successors in the five dragons? Do people replace ex-dragons?

(I am sooo into this story)

Edit:

Holy shit! Fei is practically treating Wong like an actual person!

He's getting soft.

I picture a "Pai-mei proud of Beatrix" moment in the far future regarding Fei and Wong. ... We need a Fong so we have a Fei Fong Wong trio. (Xenogears reference, you suck if you don't get it).

Tev

12-14-2009, 02:06 PM

So Fei is the Mantis Dragon of the Five Dragons. Now I’ve got this image in my head of a stylized oriental dragon with mantis claws. It strangely resembles a hydralisk…..

Anyway, looks like Wong is about to learn something important.

Kurosen

12-14-2009, 02:09 PM

Feng, Fei, ????, ????, ????
Technically it's Feng and Xian.

Will we learn who the other three are as the story proceeds?
Very likely!

Related: Are there successors in the five dragons? Do people replace ex-dragons?
Kind of yes, kind of no. As Master Fei says, the Five Dragons disbanded so they could walk away with their lives. I personally infer there'd be a "No starting up the band again," clause in that deal.

But maybe now that Xu Li appears to be killing off ex-members the deal is forfeit? Or maybe he's pulling the I'm a Jerk Villain interpretation of "I never said how LONG I'd let you live..."

Who knows!

Hobo Phoenix

12-14-2009, 02:19 PM

Thanks!

One more: Is Wong telling the truth in this story he's telling his would-be assassin? As awesome as The Usual Suspects ending was, I'm not sure I'd care for it here. ... Omissions are okay, they don't count as lies.

Oh, and it took me like 20 minutes to remember who Xian was. Fei Xian.

SEMANTICS! :-P

Kurosen

12-14-2009, 03:37 PM

Old Wong is telling the truth as he knows it.

Krylo

12-14-2009, 03:51 PM

Calling it now: the twist ending is that he's senile.

Tev

12-14-2009, 03:53 PM

Calling it now: the twist ending is that he's senile.Senile men can't properly poison the tea. We've already established that the tea is the key behind the real twist ending!

Martyr

12-14-2009, 03:54 PM

look at Wong's face. He is ratarded. Probably an idiot martial arts savant.
Poor Fei. It looks like he's much better at killing than he is at running a mental hospital.

Krylo

12-14-2009, 03:54 PM

They can if they do it on accident. Like, say, forgetting which tea bag was the deadly poison tea, and which was the delicious green tea.

Tev

12-14-2009, 03:58 PM

Speaking of which, when are we do for another flash-forward? I miss the mushroom warrior teapot.

Hobo Phoenix

12-14-2009, 05:03 PM

Sorry for so many questions, but:

How many pages do you (Brian/John/Matt) estimate HIKYM to be? 100? 500? Is it meant to be an epic or a shorter story?

Just looking for an estimate, not an exact number, because I could see myself following this for as long as I have followed 8BT.

Edit:

Old Wong is telling the truth as he knows it.
Oh God... the twist is that Wong really IS the bad guy, Xu Li was good, but Wong doesn't know it! That'd be intriguing.

Kurosen

12-14-2009, 05:22 PM

We're thinking of the series in terms of trade paperback collections. Right now we're in the first third of the second of six issues.

It'll "end" there but we'll have made enough room in that narrative to tell other stories from throughout Wong's life and the lives of the people he meets for as long as there's interest in the property.

Hobo Phoenix

12-14-2009, 05:26 PM

Niiice. You've got at least one fan who'll be around until the property ends for good. :-)

Tev

12-14-2009, 05:30 PM

So someday we'll get to see the origins of Zao and Bao maybe? Soemthing tells me they had a fun childhood.

Kurosen

12-14-2009, 06:03 PM

Jiao and Bao. Which reminds me, I really need to do the Series Summary / Reader's Guide / Who's Who section.

But, to answer yer question, quite possibly!

MSperoni

12-15-2009, 09:37 AM

The REAL question is:

What will happen first, Fei smiling or Po opening his eyes?

Answer, via page 32:

ArtisticMystic

12-17-2009, 01:14 AM

My favorite character so far is Fei Xian. Chan Sen seems powerful, I'd like to see what he is capable of...(besides breaking doors down) :P Liu Wong obviously turned out alright since he killed Chan Sen's master Xu Li and is currently enjoying a nice cup of hot tea...

MSperoni

12-17-2009, 06:00 PM

Fei's my fave so far too, but that might change once we get to....... :D sorry, can't say :p

ArtisticMystic

12-17-2009, 06:16 PM

Fei's my fave so far too, but that might change once we get to....... :D sorry, can't say :p

LOL! Ah, Suspense is one of the things that keeps us coming back!

KillBill

12-18-2009, 03:03 AM

Nice work on the new page, somebody's settin us up the bomb. That superhero feel's goin on... though one problem I have with super powers is a bullet or a blade takes most heroes out (or would too often in reality)... at least in this case, there are no bullets and they don't even pretend to survive vs enemies with swords and throwing stars because of powers like eye blasts, batarangs and spider webs; they're all Bruce Lees, who possibly could dodge that stuff, so there's a touch more believability there.
If I had to guess I'd guess, Fei, Fei's woman, Wong Sr., Wong Sr.'s woman, some dude, for those pics.
Also, Xu Li must not be human because he was an adult before Wong was born and was Chan's master and Wong's an old man now. Unless it's... how I killed your 100 year old master? (By pulling out his IV tubes?)
In any case, random commentary aside, I normally just read and don't post so I wanted to give props on how it's going

Corel

12-18-2009, 03:30 AM

The plot thickens.

We having the masters representing a specific element now too? Pfft. Fei is so Metal.

KillBill

12-18-2009, 03:41 AM

The plot thickens.

We having the masters representing a specific element now too? Pfft. Fei is so Metal.

Toph will be able to bend him and one other Five Dragon!

Green Spanner

12-18-2009, 03:52 AM

Fei is so Metal.

Quick! Somebody commission Matt to draw Fei with a guitar!

MSperoni

12-18-2009, 09:03 AM

If I had to guess I'd guess, Fei, Fei's woman, Wong Sr., Wong Sr.'s woman, some dude, for those pics.

The first guy is Fei and the second guy is Liu Feng. But the women don't necessarily "belong" to anyone in the chain so you're wrong about that part.

We having the masters representing a specific element now too? Pfft. Fei is so Metal.

Actually Fei is wood.

The Wu Xing connection with them is very loose, essentially just as a kind of organizational thing w/ some light symbolism.. The first girl (my favorite) is "fire" but that doesn't mean she'll be shooting fireballs or anything like that.
It seemed to me a neat/suitable idea to subtly include references to those 5 elements since Brian had made "5 Dragons" and "5 Mantis Fist" . I also figured a group of masters living in ancient China would have to reference some kinda traditional philosophy in their group, it seems to me that the elements are referenced in a lot of stuff in some way (from feng shui to some martial arts like xingyiquan).

But it goes like:

Fei Xian = Wood
Girl 1 = Fire
Liu Feng = Earth
Girl 2 = Metal
Shaolin Monk Guy = Water

Even though I think Metal and Water are Yin elements I didn't wanna assign both women there because I really liked the idea of having a "fire" girl :D

Tryxx

12-18-2009, 09:47 AM

Damn those are some nice portraits. The left most must be Fei, and the middle looks like he's got Wong's smile (and other genetic traits). If I'm correct - holy crap you're talented! (If I'm not that just means I'm stupid.)

Also - hooray for the possibility of XX chromosomes later in the comic!

Kim

12-18-2009, 10:30 AM

Ah, so that's Sauron.

Tev

12-18-2009, 10:53 AM

My only fear: This isn't going to turn into Highlander the animated series where Fei takes the young Wong on some pilgrimage to see the other masters and fight them to gain their knowledge in hopes that after condensing the Five Dragons into one boy he may be able to defeat Xu Li, the shadowy immortal kung-fu master is it?

Also, Young Fei looks about a hundred times less sour than Old Fei.

MSperoni

12-18-2009, 10:56 AM

Also, Young Fei looks about a hundred times less sour than Old Fei.

Makes you wonder what got him so pissed off..

Tev

12-18-2009, 11:00 AM

I only hope we'll find out soon! Probably was some bad tea.

Kurosen

12-18-2009, 11:08 AM

Meister

12-18-2009, 11:44 AM

This is totally and obviously a superhero comic in kung fu skin.

Holy shit awesome!

BattyAsHell

12-18-2009, 12:07 PM

So Wong defeated a guy master Fei and four others like him disbanded over.

Is elder Wong stalling for time, or trying to find a way around slaughtering Chan Sen and his army so his precious teapot doesn't get damaged in the crossfire?

Kurosen

12-18-2009, 12:18 PM

You'll find out...eventually!

MSperoni

12-18-2009, 12:19 PM

This isn't DBZ, threats come from more than just one guy being able to punch harder and yell louder than another.

Xu Li's danger to the group can come from less physical means, like finances, connections, assassin's, etc. Or matters of principle. Could be they disbanded cos they didn't agree on how to deal with him, or maybe he planted some seeds of distrust and they broke up.

Or by the time Wong fights him he's an old man and not as much of a physical threat.

You never know! I don't know yet, actually :) (or DO I? dun dun duun)

In any case, this comic has more angles than just "punchin' hardest = winner" (at least I hope it does :p I'd get pretty bored if it didn't ^_^)

Kurosen

12-18-2009, 12:23 PM

this comic has more angles than just "punchin' hardest = winner"
Of course it does. Kicks are also a concern.

Green Spanner

12-18-2009, 12:26 PM

Of course it does. Kicks are also a concern.

What about headbutts?

ArtisticMystic

12-18-2009, 01:13 PM

The first guy is Fei and the second guy is Liu Feng. But the women don't necessarily "belong" to anyone in the chain so you're wrong about that part.

Actually Fei is wood.

The Wu Xing connection with them is very loose, essentially just as a kind of organizational thing w/ some light symbolism.. The first girl (my favorite) is "fire" but that doesn't mean she'll be shooting fireballs or anything like that.
It seemed to me a neat/suitable idea to subtly include references to those 5 elements since Brian had made "5 Dragons" and "5 Mantis Fist" . I also figured a group of masters living in ancient China would have to reference some kinda traditional philosophy in their group, it seems to me that the elements are referenced in a lot of stuff in some way (from feng shui to some martial arts like xingyiquan).

But it goes like:

Fei Xian = Wood
Girl 1 = Fire
Liu Feng = Earth
Girl 2 = Metal
Shaolin Monk Guy = Water

Even though I think Metal and Water are Yin elements I didn't wanna assign both women there because I really liked the idea of having a "fire" girl :D

So this means they were all literally born in the Year of the Dragon? This is so authentic! So they're all spaced apart by 12 years, since they are the 5 elements...Bruce Lee was born in the year of the Metal Dragon, I believe...

Kurosen

12-18-2009, 01:53 PM

No, like Matt said, it's a loose connection. "Five" just cropped up a lot in the writing and the elemental themes of the Wu Xing roughly aligned with some characters/plots.

bobfish

12-18-2009, 01:57 PM

What about headbutts?
Attacks of attrition.

Ravashak

12-18-2009, 05:44 PM

Makes you wonder what got him so pissed off..My guess is the loss of his hair.

Green Spanner

12-18-2009, 06:28 PM

My guess is the loss of his hair.

Or maybe that he is SURROUNDED BY OAFS!

BattyAsHell

12-18-2009, 07:54 PM

Or maybe that he is SURROUNDED BY OAFS!

"Curse the gods for answering my prayers for a son! At least with a daughter, I could sell her to a brothel and make a fortune to gamble away, instead of watching my entire lifes work wasted on these oafs!"

KillBill

12-18-2009, 09:38 PM

I thought there was Wind as an element somewhere. What'll Aang bend? :P

MSperoni

12-18-2009, 09:56 PM

I haven't researched any of this, but I have some theories as to why "wind" isn't a part of these elements... and it goes... like thiiiiiiis :D >>>

The Chinese Triad gets its name from a triangular symbol they created back in the day. Each point of the triangle represents: Heaven, Earth, and Man.

And I've also read other things in Chinese philosophy/mysticism that separates earth from heaven.

So in any case, I would think "Wind" would be more associated with "Heaven" than "Earth" and therefore not be included w/ the 5 elements of Wu Xing (which are earthly elements).

If there is a person or martial arts style associated with wind or sky, it would be something above these 5 Dragons.

KillBill

12-18-2009, 10:15 PM

You know what, you're right... after that first Elements comment someone made I looked to see what they were
http://www.easytaichi.co.uk/images/five_elements.gif
I thought "wood" said "wind" when I first glanced it. Looks kinda like... "wand" in that blurry mess
Poor Aang! Won't be able to bend there... or breathe... oh, right, he can bend everthing else. He can't complain too much. (Especially since he can't breathe)
J/p, good work on the pages though

Eldezar

12-19-2009, 11:00 AM

My guess is the loss of his hair.

He didn't lose it, it just migrated to his face.

ArtisticMystic

12-19-2009, 07:11 PM

No. "Wind/Air" is associated with the other more well known zodiac/astrology...The wind signs being "Libra, Aquarius and Gemini"...

As far as Chinese zodiac goes, what MSperoni said makes perfect sense imo....

"So in any case, I would think "Wind" would be more associated with "Heaven" than "Earth" and If there is a person or martial arts style associated with wind or sky, it would be something above these 5 Dragons."

BattyAsHell

12-20-2009, 12:18 PM

Yeah, in Chinese I can see wind/air being associated with gods instead of terrestrial elements.

Daimo Mac, The Blue Light of Hope

12-21-2009, 10:23 AM

"I don't know what it's like to hit a man twice."

Greatest line in the comic so far.

Red King

12-21-2009, 12:17 PM

"I don't know what it's like to hit a man twice"

Are you saying there is a man more badass than Fei?

Green Spanner

12-21-2009, 12:45 PM

Gotta agree with Mac and RoyoR here.

Hooray for Feixposition!

Mirai Gen

12-21-2009, 01:30 PM

Yeah, that was awesome.

Tev

12-21-2009, 01:30 PM

Really I like the look of awe on Fei's face when he talks about Wong's dad.

ArtisticMystic

12-21-2009, 01:42 PM

Liu Wong has been learning and will continue to learn Fei Xian's style...but too bad he wasn't able to learn from his own father...perhaps Liu Feng did teach someone in secret so Wong can learn or maybe wrote it down in a scroll or book and hid it somewhere so that Wong might find it...

BattyAsHell

12-21-2009, 02:15 PM

"I don't know what it's like to hit a man twice"

Are you saying there is a man more badass than Fei?

It could only be Bruce Lee, under an assumed name.

Who else would have the "style of no style"?

Veho

12-21-2009, 03:55 PM

"I don't know what it's like to hit a man twice."

Greatest line in the comic so far.

I agree, although I could have sworn I've heard it before, somewhere. (http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showpost.php?p=988258&postcount=636) :whee:

ninjagrover

12-21-2009, 08:51 PM

I agree, although I could have sworn I've heard it before, somewhere. (http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showpost.php?p=988258&postcount=636) :whee:

Hmm, it does sound a little fimilar doesn't it...;)

But if you need a historical figure who was A) awesome at martial arts and B) scary as all hell, Li Shu Wen would fit that bill quite nicely (if indeed that is where the inspiration for that line comes from).

Panthera

12-22-2009, 03:15 PM

I have to say, at first I wasn't too fond of this story, but then I decided to give it another try and read it all in a row instead of just at each update...it's a LOT easier to follow when you read the pages in quick succession, and I'm finding that it's actually pretty awesome.

GrandMasterPlanetEater

12-22-2009, 06:14 PM

All he would say of his style was "I don't know what it's like to hit a man twice."

If he's getting a knockout or kill on every blow, it's not really much of a style that you can hide forms within forms. In fact, it's less of a style, and more of a case for investigation into steroid use. The media will have a field day.

MSperoni

12-22-2009, 06:22 PM

Liu Feng coulda also been a smartass and was just smugly exaggerating :p

Eldezar

12-22-2009, 08:30 PM

If he's getting a knockout or kill on every blow, it's not really much of a style that you can hide forms within forms. In fact, it's less of a style, and more of a case for investigation into steroid use. The media will have a field day.

I kinda took that line as "I have never hit a person with the same technique twice." In that way, at least to me, it shows hiding forms and is slightly more believable than opening the console and entering God Mode.

Krylo

12-22-2009, 08:39 PM

I think you guys are forgetting that he is a martial artist fighting other martial artists, not just some dude goin' around cold clocking other dudes or something.

Hiding forms within forms and never hitting someone twice fit perfectly in this scenario. A pair of skilled and experienced martial artists pairing off will, if they know the other person's style, attempt to read that person's stance and form so that they can better judge what attacks and defenses to expect. If a form is hidden within another form, that means they're expecting one thing, and act accordingly, while what they get is something entirely different that they weren't prepared for at all. This makes it easier to avoid their attacks AND easier to attack them.

Further, if his fighting style was particularly brutal, he may have used this 'they don't know what the fuck I'm doin' to deal say, a crushing blow to the side of someone's knee as his first strike, or to deal a powerful blow to the solar plexus, which would leave all but the toughest fighters down for a few minutes at least, or perhaps to hit the point of the jaw at the correct angle to induce unconsciousness, or maybe catch their extended arm and deal a palm thrust to the back of the elbow shattering that...

Human anatomy being what it is, it doesn't take steroids to knock someone out or completely disable them with a single blow.

Personally when they mentioned that I imagined him using something resembling a mix between Krav Maga and pure 'fuck you' that just left everyone around him with shattered bones within seconds of the battle starting.

ninjagrover

12-24-2009, 09:23 AM

If he's getting a knockout or kill on every blow, it's not really much of a style that you can hide forms within forms. In fact, it's less of a style, and more of a case for investigation into steroid use. The media will have a field day.

Just because a style has powerful attacks doesn't exclude the style having forms. Or having forms that look quite plain to the observer, but are very dynamic internally.

Have a look see at Adam Hsu performing Baji:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OqWUFOtIHc

I know from my study that when he is issuing power in a strike, a LOT of things are happening internally...

MSperoni

12-24-2009, 11:30 AM

.. a LOT of things are happening internally...

That's what goes down w/ me after I eat really spicy food :)

Odjn

12-24-2009, 03:22 PM

Will we have an update tomorrow or is that covered by the week off bit?

MSperoni

12-24-2009, 03:25 PM

Yeah there'll be a Friday update, and then probably not one for awhile after that, I'm not sure how long though. I don't have a script past page 36 so until Brian gets some time to write one, and me the time to draw it, HIKYM might be on a bit of a hiatus.

Kurosen

12-24-2009, 03:28 PM

Yeah, this move has seriously screwed me. No 8-bit for probably two weeks minimum. No time to write a Warbot script. No time to write ahead on HIKYM or Robo. UGH.

Can't wait to be done with this move so I can get back to work.

Geminex

12-25-2009, 06:56 AM

Latest comic was awesome. Finally, we have not only the promise of future combat, but a plot! A grand quest to learn each of the five styles, then combine them to create the ultimate style and face the final boss in the field of battle!

Or something along those lines.

Sithdarth

12-25-2009, 09:36 AM

you will awaken one morning dead

Man these Kung Fu masters are really something if they can wake up dead. XD

BitVyper

12-25-2009, 11:22 AM

Man these Kung Fu masters are really something if they can wake up dead. XD

It's a very unique type of poison that Xu Li uses.

and more of a case for investigation into steroid use

Nah, probably more like really effective targetting and no wasted shots. Like what Krylo said. Pure strength doesn't equal one-hit KOs - using your weight and physics effectively will generally do more for you than muscle power anyway.

ArtisticMystic

12-25-2009, 01:13 PM

The whole page was drawn nicely as usual, but the final panel obviously stands out...well, Wong has an interesting choice...I'm sure some people would prefer the "Wake up dead" option!

JamezBfod

12-25-2009, 02:08 PM

The final panel is Wong making his choice.

GrandMasterPlanetEater

12-26-2009, 04:16 AM

...and more of a case for investigation into steroid use. The media will have a field day.

Nah, probably more like really effective targetting and no wasted shots. Like what Krylo said. Pure strength doesn't equal one-hit KOs - using your weight and physics effectively will generally do more for you than muscle power anyway.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c289/Deciheximal/Joker-ExplainTheJokeSmall.png

Veho

12-26-2009, 04:28 AM

"You may wake up dead tomorrow" :D

And is Fei... smiling in the first panel?

Green Spanner

12-26-2009, 05:08 AM

Ok, Po has opened his eyes and now Fei has smiled.

HIKYM HAS OFFICIALLY JUMPED THE SHARK PEOPLE. SHOW'S OVER.

Eldezar

12-26-2009, 05:17 AM

Ok, Po has opened his eyes and now Fei has smiled.

HIKYM HAS OFFICIALLY JUMPED THE SHARK PEOPLE. SHOW'S OVER.

If this post were a shark, it would have jumped right out of the water and bit your face off. (http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showpost.php?p=997413&postcount=168)

BattyAsHell

12-26-2009, 08:30 PM

Liking where this is going. Wong doesn't just learn from one baddass master, but four of them.

And than he'll become "the other Histories strongest disciple".

I'd kill for a panel of Kenichi and a grown Wong just hanging out, trading horror stories about their masters. :D

Tev

12-27-2009, 07:42 PM

Aw crap I was right....this is becoming HIKYM: Highlander, TAS.

Yet it will most likely still be awesome so I look forward to it.

Odjn

12-27-2009, 08:11 PM

Can we get juicy tidbits since there's no HIKYM tomorrow?

Kurosen

12-27-2009, 08:55 PM

Aw crap I was right....this is becoming HIKYM: Highlander, TAS.
Like I said before, kind of yes and kind of no. Or, I guess that's my answer. Never seen the show in question.

Can we get juicy tidbits since there's no HIKYM tomorrow?
I gotta write pages before I can give tidbits on 'em! And I'm in no state to be writing, sorry to say. Hope to be back to a working environment by Jan 2 or 3.

Odjn

12-28-2009, 03:19 AM

I mean stuff about the world we haven't been told or stuff like dat.

MSperoni

01-31-2010, 10:33 PM

We should be getting a new page tomorrow! The wallpaper recently posted on the front page is a "preview" like Brian said ..which is another way of saying the new pages are in color!

KillBill

01-31-2010, 11:50 PM

Color pages!
Wonder if the early ones will be colored, or if it'll be like Bananas (I call Bonanza that... "dun dun da dun dun da dun dun da dun, baNANAS!") where some are color and some aren't... wait, was that true for Bonanza? Maybe it was true for bananas, I mean, you can't tell. You watch an I Love Lucy and see a banana, it's gray. Or is it grey? Wow I say a lot of random stuff when I've just eaten way too much sugary cereal.
Looks like he's got a small cut on his nose, maybe like a fly with a sword did it. How would you fight a fly with a sword anyway? It could go right for your eye and you couldn't hit it because it was too small. Of course it probably couldn't cut you very deep because fly swords are small. Unless Cloud got turned into a fly, then he'd probably have a big sword still. But Cloud's sword doesn't seem very powerful because he'll cut someone and they'll still be alive. Okay, that's enough sugar-- I mean comments-- for now.

Meister

02-01-2010, 03:59 AM

Wow I say a lot of random stuff when I've just eaten way too much sugary cereal.
Yes you do, please tone down on it. Either the cereal or the random stuff.

MSperoni

02-01-2010, 11:18 AM

We should be getting a new page tomorrow

Mayhaps I spoke to soon?

EDIT: guess not ^_^

Green Spanner

02-01-2010, 12:00 PM

CLIFFHANGER ENDING. THE RESOLUTION WILL PROBABLY INVOLVE PUNCHING.

So have we seen the last of Fei?

Jindra34

02-01-2010, 12:43 PM

Why do I feel his response is going to be somewhere along the lines of "You don't want to get hurt?" Oh and yeah for color!

Corel

02-01-2010, 12:53 PM

So have we seen the last of Fei?

When Wong gets really angry he springs forth a beard and transforms into Fei. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SuperpoweredEvilSide)

...Only in my dreams. :(

JamezBfod

02-01-2010, 01:10 PM

Wong has such a "Ah, I was hoping you'd ask me that." look in the past panel. I love it. It's not smug as much as it is calm confidence. I could just see them in a pile on the ground in the first panel of the next page and it would still be wonderful.

On my second look it seems Wong is glancing at the reader. Was this intentional?

Genji

02-01-2010, 05:05 PM

Color!!!
I can't wait to see how awesome he's become in those 10 short years ... sure hasn't lost his smirk :cool:

GrandMasterPlanetEater

02-01-2010, 05:12 PM

I'm a little disappointed with the flash forward. I expected to see a lot more of his youthful training under his foul-tempered trainer and any others he might learn from.

Kurosen

02-01-2010, 06:10 PM

We have not seen the last of Fei, or Wong's training under him, or his other master(s) between then and now.

Sky Warrior Bob

02-01-2010, 06:14 PM

Aw, but I liked the Black & White. Guess, I'm just weird that way.

SWB

MSperoni

02-01-2010, 07:22 PM

On my second look it seems Wong is glancing at the reader. Was this intentional?

Yeah, I thought it kinda would make him come across as more "playful/upbeat" if that makes sense. I dunno if I'll do it again cos it kinda breaks the 4th wall.. However there are people in front of him so he could be seen as just staring in their general direction and his eyes happen to be meeting the "camera".

JamezBfod

02-01-2010, 11:45 PM

Yeah I picked up on what you were trying to convey I just thought it risked ruining the suspension of disbelief/4th wall, but at least this time I can assume he just happened to be staring at that spot and that is where the camera also happened to be, or viewed from the eyes of a traveling companion who knows Wong's skill level.

I'm so glad you guys got the comic going again!