The Dreadful

[pizuz]

Actually, from what I remember of Matt's script, it was supposed to be more formal than Quentin Tarantino, so I went with that.

I didn't catch the lack of the umlaut myself when I got the page though. I blame... the size and stuff.

I can imagine such intentions, but no native German author would write like that, even if it were meant to be formal ;) Some lines simply sound like being run through Google Translate :D

[A Zarkin' Frood]

Ahem, I'm pretty sure I'm the native German who translated those lines.

[rpgdemon]

Does that mean we get to all start mocking your english now?

[Melfice]

I'm not sure who I'd like to be less right now.
IG for the insult, or pizuz for the foot that must be jammed so far up his mouth right now.

[Meister]

I would have gone with "zu deinem eigenen Hinterhalt" but I just found out Doppelspiel is an existing German word. So that works.

Panel 4 does sound a little off, though; how about "Ich erschieße einfach alle / ich werde einfach alle erschießen und hinterher sehen, wen ich hintergangen habe" ("wem ich in den Rücken gefallen bin" would also work and flow a bit more naturally, I think). And I'd add a "Nein" in the last panel, second bubble, to emphasize the immediate dismissal of his first thought ("Nein, wenn ich es mir recht überlege"; "nein, eigentlich" would be more concise).

(hope I'm not stepping on your toes here, IG, I'm just very interested in translation. :))

[A Zarkin' Frood]

No offense taken. In translation there always are more than just one option. In fact, I always criticize other people's translations myself because I'd do certain things differently.

As for the doppel-/dreifachspiel I had to look that up myself, apparently it's rather outdated, which shouldn't be much of a problem in a fantasy wild west setting. I pretty much just looked for a way to preserve the double and triple-crossing given in the script without stretching it too much.

Your other points are valid too, When translating I tend to stick with the original tense, even when it's not necessary.

Does that mean we get to all start mocking your english now?

English is spelled with a capital letter. My intuition also tells me that "we all get to" sounds more right, though I can't say "get to all" is entirely wrong fo sho.


I also did not intend to jam my foot anywhere.

[rpgdemon]

English is spelled with a capital letter. My intuition also tells me that "we all get to" sounds more right, though I can't say "get to all" is entirely wrong fo sho.

Well, I'm not saying that -I- speak English well, heck, half of my sentences are formed by wondering how I can most blatantly restructure the English language, while still being technically maybe correct.

[pizuz]

Hoppla ;) No, sorry, that wasn't my intention. Nicht im Geringsten...

Anyway, if you insist on formal speech, I'd write "War das ein Donnern?" or "...ein Gewitter?" (she might refer to a thunderstorm here) and "sondern eher nach... Explosionen". Also "Oder spielst du etwa ein dreifaches Spiel?".

And now I'll shut up.

[rpgdemon]

Nope, you're not allowed. You are going to chill with us and continue posting indefinitely.

[Meister]

Yeah, something like "Ein Gewitter? Nein, eigentlich klang das nicht nach Donner..." would work a little better than having "Donner" there twice. Good call.

Well, I'm not saying that -I- speak English well, heck, half of my sentences are formed by wondering how I can most blatantly restructure the English language, while still being technically maybe correct.
I just throw darts at a dictionary and hope cantaloupe the best.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

And now I'll shut up.

Alternatively, you could not do that. Because it was certainly not my intention to shut you up.

[MSperoni]

I don't speak/read German, so I just have to take IG at his word. Since he's a native German speaker living in Germany, I don't think my trust is all that misplaced.

It's interesting how much debate there can be over this though :) I guess German is a complicated language.

Also, how inaccurate can Erin's dialog be if two people who don't speak German natively (Melfice here and someone in another forum on another site) are able to translate it and get the meaning of it pretty much exactly right?

[Meister]

It's perfectly accurate actually, no reason to worry there. In fact I'm comfortable saying it's better than many commercial translations you get here, especially in comics. Just there are still points where it's noticably a translation rather than native-sounding speech. :)

[MSperoni]

I'm kinda wanting to put Erin in more pages now :D

She'll be in it again, but it was gonna be awhile. I'll have to figure out a way to have her do some more stuff here in a few pages. I'm not sure what though :P

[Melfice]

You could make another one of those advertisements, this one starring Erin. ;)

[MSperoni]

What would she sell? Hmm..

[Melfice]

What would she sell? Hmm..

Top-quality automatic handguns. German-made?
Alternatively, because it's so horribly and deliciously wrong, top-quality sauerkraut. Because it helps he concentrate when firing a sniper rifle...?

[MSperoni]

Maybe it's an advert for a translation book and it makes fun of the inevitable controversy that comes w/ translations? :D

[pizuz]

I'd love to see the others trying to talk to Erin in some broken way. Maybe just throw in some Babelfish German translations while Erin herself talks „real“ German ^^

Anyone remember the game „Curse of the Chocolate Fountain“?

[MSperoni]

I actually just had an idea for it, and was gonna type it up here in the forums, but I think I might just do it and surprise ya all with it :D

It's sorta that..but kind of the opposite :D

[Melfice]

Wait... Burke lays eggs?
There's more wrong with that dwarf than we first thought!



(Yes, yes. He meant the grenades. Hush.)

[Hatake Kakashi]

PROTIP: AIM THE GUN!

The awesome lines keep coming.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

That's better than the Protip that started all Protips.

Reference (http://ohinternet.com/PROTIP)

[MSperoni]

Hah, that's a pretty funny Protip though :D


In any case, if you haven't noticed yet, Page 21 (http://www.nuklearpower.com/dreadful/) has been updated! Burke shoots a lot, explosions happen, Kit runs around, fun times for all!

Now the comic is old enough to drink :D (Kit should be happy)

[phil_]

So, your abandoned son was at the top of the page, and it made me think, "We need a The Dreadful" NPF banner, what with it being an actual comic with updates and stuff.

You guys get on that.

[MSperoni]

I'd draw a special NPF banner picture of Kit if I knew it would be put up there (and who to send it to when I was done with it, and what the dimensions should be).

But I suppose if someone finds a picture in the comic to make a forum banner out of, go for it! I'd love to see Kit pop up there occasionally :)

[MSperoni]

A goofy panel from an upcoming page. There are no spoilers, though I'm not gonna explain the context of the panel (cos that would involve some spoilers!) :D

The link (http://twitpic.com/4wwzfr)

[Melfice]

Ohoho!
The titular Dreadful it to be revealed next page! Cannot wait to see what it is!

Unless you do a horrible cop-out and do a flash-forward. Which would be horrible.

[BigDemonicBunny]

Is there something wrong with me if that last frame made me want to laugh manically?

[MSperoni]

Page 22! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/dreadful/)

What could "The Dreadful" be?? (aside from the title of the comic)

[Kerensky287]

Has Burke said a single thing yet that wasn't completely batshit?

...How does the guy maintain a posse that big? (Especially when you include the fact that he's probably blown up several of them by now)

[BigDemonicBunny]

Has Burke said a single thing yet that wasn't completely batshit?

...How does the guy maintain a posse that big? (Especially when you include the fact that he's probably blown up several of them by now)

He's basically a cult leader. I mean, how crazy is he compared to some of the weirder sects out there?

[MSperoni]

...How does the guy maintain a posse that big?

It's a mystery! (to all of you at the moment)

[ChaoticBrain]

It's a mystery! (to all of you at the moment)

Really? I think it's pretty obvious. Given that he's pretty much immortal (although it'll soon turn out to be mostly immortal when this "The Dreadful" thing unfolds), he can threaten the loved ones of his men with impunity, and force them to do his bidding.

You'll see, once Kit manages to off him, they'll immediately run off to be with their families again.

...Well, they may or may not decide to thank Kit by filling her full of bullets first.

[Kerensky287]

I just discovered that the last few pages roll together beautifully if you have Yell Dead Cell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkhJjbimL5E) playing in the background. Burke is such an MGS2 villain.

"The eggs I lay hatch PAIN!" *grenade* *grenade*

"I am a bolt of lightning in a lightning bolt factory!" *grenade* *grenade*

*open menu, eat ration*

*lean out, shoot cruddy pistol*

"You have only succeeded in increasing my supply of arrows!" *grenade reload*

"This is MY soup..."

*special attack* "AND FORTUNE IS MY SPOON!"

[MSperoni]

I won't lie and tell you that Burke's use of a grenade launcher doesn't have anything to do with Metal Gear :D

Because it does :P

I had been playing Metal Gear Solid 4 (working on getting the "Big Boss" emblem: which I managed to do) and one of my most favorite weapons is the grenade launcher you get from Raging Raven. So I was kinda partial to it and wanted to have someone use one :)

The weapon was a bit anachronistic though, so I gave it to a dwarf. Because anachronistic tech is explained by: The dwarves did it.

I'm wondering if I should make a joke about it being "I.D" tagged. So only Burke can use it. Like it's "important dwarf" tagged.

[Kerensky287]

I'm wondering if I should make a joke about it being "I.D" tagged. So only Burke can use it. Like it's "important dwarf" tagged.

Absolutely. Abso-fuckin'-lutely.

Though I'm not sure what would be funnier - if Burke claimed it was ID-tagged and then someone else used it successfully (throwing him into fits, or perhaps convincing him that the other person was, in fact, an important dwarf in disguise), or if he claimed it was ID-tagged and he was somehow RIGHT.

[ChaoticBrain]

Funny:
Though I'm not sure what would be funnier - if Burke claimed it was ID-tagged and then someone else used it successfully (throwing him into fits, or perhaps convincing him that the other person was, in fact, an important dwarf in disguise)

Not funny:
or if he claimed it was ID-tagged and he was somehow RIGHT.

[Kerensky287]

THEY ARE IN THE WILD WEST

HOW THE SHIT DO YOU ID-TAG SOMETHING

[MSperoni]

DARPA faeries?

[MSperoni]

It's the dreadful! Page 23! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/dreadful/)

[Melfice]

If that doesn't end up being a HUGE hand-cannon that fires lasers, I'm totally demanding a refund.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

And now I wonder how the Dreadful turn out to work.

[MSperoni]

It shoots hard.

[Kerensky287]

Kit better get that thing ID-tagged and quick-like or she's in for a world of trouble with the popos.

[Hatake Kakashi]

So she gets to summon unholy weapons?

Hmm. I wonder how her sheet would be rolled. [/dork]

[Mr.Bookworm]

Tiefling Fast Hero 3/Gunslinger 10, since d20 Modern probably works best for this.

If you do it in D&D, probably a Swashbuckler 4/Rogue X with the Daring Outlaw feat.

In either case, the Dreadful is a minor artifact.

[Guntank]

"Dreadful Shinken is over 2000 years old --- a Dwarf like you can never hope to master it."

Somehow I kept picturing Kit saying that when she kills Burke with it. ;)

[MSperoni]

.. the Dreadful is a minor artifact.

What is a "major" artifact, exactly?

[TDK]

An example of a minor artifact would be a Deck of Many Things. A major artifact would be something like the Hand of Vecna.

[MSperoni]

Don't play any DnD so those things are a mystery to me as well, I'm afraid :(

I guess I should have asked something like: How much power does an artifact need to cease being 'minor' and become 'major' ?

[Bard The 5th LW]

She probably got the gun from her dad or something. Because until proven otherwise, I'm assuming she's the Western antichrist. The apocalypse couldn't be in better hands.

[TDK]

Don't play any DnD so those things are a mystery to me as well, I'm afraid :(

I guess I should have asked something like: How much power does an artifact need to cease being 'minor' and become 'major' ?

Its fairly arbitrary, but as a general rule, a major artifact is an utterly unique object of usually World Changing Power (many of them are items belonging to or coming from gods), whereas minor artifacts are not necessarily unique but still quite powerful and beyond the creating ability of normal mortal magic.

[ChaoticBrain]

So a sword forged by the very gods would be a minor artifact, while an ancient doomsday device would be a major artifact?

[Mr.Bookworm]

So a sword forged by the very gods would be a minor artifact, while an ancient doomsday device would be a major artifact?

Depends. Could the gods make another one just like it? Could someone dig up the doomsday device and replicate it?

[TDK]

There's nothing to say that the gods CAN'T make another of a major artifact. Just that there IS only one. And there being more than one wouldn't necessarily disqualify it. Its mainly a power thing.

Mortals can actually make minor artifacts. Craft Artifact is an epic feat, IIRC. Allows for minor artifacts. They're expensive as all fuck though.

[Melfice]

Can I just chime in with, yes, there's dwarves and elves and demons.

No, this does not automatically qualify the comic as Dungeons and Dragons or similar roleplaying games, but in the Wild West.

Let's all just shut up about minor and major artefacts, and watch Kit shoot at Burke with some sort of demon gun?

[MSperoni]

The Dreadful isn't DnD, but there's a bit of DnD influence there. I really like reading DnD stuff, like the monster manuals, etc. I also like playing the DnD based videogames like Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. I haven't really played a good DnD tabletop game with anyone, but I've always sorta.. "tuned in" off and on throughout the years :)

When we were all doing the initial brainstorming in Gamepad Dojo's Chatroom (http://www.gamepad-dojo.com/forum/index.php), I asked a lot of questions about DnD from the DnD players there (like Bookie, for instance). Plus when Liz was created we used dice rolls, stats, and character class charts from DnD to build her with.

Tho the DnD influence only goes so far, and I'm not out to copy it exactly and I'm not gonna restrict myself to DnD class/monster "rules". Sometimes the reason why I look up the DnD use of the spell/weapon/creature is so I can make sure I do it differently.

Soo...yeah... that's why I was curious about the difference between a major and minor artifact. Knowing that might be useful someday :D

Also, since Bookie is on GPD-chat, he knows a bit more about The Dreadful than other people. Now that I kind of know what a minor artifact is, I think I know why he said the Dreadful was one. (We've talked about it a lot in GPDchat, how it works, etc). I'm not gonna go into details cos it would be a spoiler.

There are lots of spoilers dropped on GPDchat though, most of the people who helped me with the initial planning of the comic know a lot about what's going to happen down the road. They're being kind enough not to spill the beans though.

'Course, nothing is set in stone.

[Mr.Bookworm]

If anyone's curious, Liz was rolled as a Human Scout. With a Con of 6, hence where her design comes from.

If Matt had rolled two higher, she could have been pulling mindblades out of her ass instead of shooting people.

[MSperoni]

Her name used to be "Sicky" as well :D

I kinda miss calling her Sicky, but I'm okay with Elizabeth/Liz.

We pretty much rolled everything about Liz. Even her gender. I even rolled a d4 to determine how many people Kit would encounter in that shack. It rolled a "1" :D

So... the entire story from page 6 or 7 on is based around Liz, who was generated randomly :D Ohhhhh that's totally NOT how you're supposed to write stories!

But, once she was generated, it was up to me to make something out of her. I also only did that because at the time I was totally stuck on what to do and needed something to get me out of my writer's block :P

Burke owes a bit of himself to dice rolls, but not as much as Liz does. I'll probably end up rolling for more characters later though, for some reason I find it really fun :D

Also at the time I didn't intend for Liz to be around this long. In the first ideas her and Kit were gonna get in a fight and Kit was gonna shoot her :P Buuut, I started liking her so I kept her around ^_^


"Dreadful Shinken is over 2000 years old --- a Dwarf like you can never hope to master it."

Somehow I kept picturing Kit saying that when she kills Burke with it. ;)


What's that a reference to, btw? :)

[rpgdemon]

What is a "major" artifact, exactly?

This.

http://www.mspaintadventures.com/sweetbroandhellajeff/?cid=027.jpg

[Kerensky287]

What's that a reference to, btw? :)

An anime known as Fist of the North Star. It isn't your typical "protagonist overcoming the odds through strength of character" type thing, it's more of a "Kenshiro faces impossible odds and wins by literally punching people until they explode."

"Hokuto no Shinken is over 2000 years old. A fool like you could never hope to master it."

...I'm like, 80% sure that's the quote and source. If I'm wrong then I retract my statement in advance but I don't feel like researching it right now.

[MSperoni]

Ahhh, Fist of the North Star. I saw an anime of that a long time ago, but I didn't remember too much about it.

There was a game that came out recently.. I had an interest because it was done in the same fashion as the Dynasty Warriors games, but I heard not too good things about it (from fellow DW fans) so I didn't play it.

[GeneralBeDe]

The thing that immediately jumped into my head after reading page 24 was entirely WoW related, and I felt so strongly about it that I made an account to post this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klm2Q7xu_d4

[Melfice]

Well, whaddayaknow?

It DOES fire lasers.

[MelodionxXx]

Really enjoying The Dreadful, best comic here since the heartbreaking demise of 8bit. Love the style and the quality of the art which is just amazing and the scripting is fab too, wry and clever.

I'm also impressed that you resisted her shouting Hadoken!

M

[MSperoni]

Kamehameha!...or something... Page 24! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/dreadful/)

The thing that immediately jumped into my head after reading page 24 was entirely WoW related..

I've always wanted to play WoW, but never got around to it :(


It DOES fire lasers.

Arcane Layzuh Beamz! I kinda think if it were in color the blast would sorta be reddish and angry looking. Sorta like the arcane beams in Magicka.



Really enjoying The Dreadful, best comic here since the heartbreaking demise of 8bit.

Thanks! :D

[ChaoticBrain]

"...DOWN!!"

[Kerensky287]

...

...If he manages to knit himself back together after that... I will be super happy

[BigDemonicBunny]

http://www.pureanimegallery.com/d/2626-2/vash-the-stampede-5-avatar.gif: So that's where my gun went? And here I thought I left under the bed or something.
So hey girl. You want to sit down, drink a soda and discuss the size of our respective bounties or something?

http://home.fuse.net/Sweikata/MikeMidTerm/Meryl.gif: *SMACK* You don't ask a girl something like that you pervert!

http://www.pureanimegallery.com/d/2626-2/vash-the-stampede-5-avatar.gif: What did I do now? I just thought that since she and I are both in the gunslinging business we could talk shop or something? And I do have a 60 billion double dollar bounty on my head you know.


(It did remind me of Trigun with the whole revolver of doom thing)

[MSperoni]

...

...If he manages to knit himself back together after that... I will be super happy


We'll see!....we'll see... OR WILL WE??? DUN DUN DUUUUUN

It's a fantasy, so the possibilities are almost endless!


...It did remind me of Trigun

Another anime I haven't seen :(

[A Zarkin' Frood]

Both Bookie and I told you to watch it. Why wont you listen to us?

[Melfice]

I'm gonna second that endorsement.
Trigun is really good.

[MSperoni]

I do bad enough when it comes to ripping off things I haven't seen. How unoriginal would The Dreadful be if I actually WATCHED some of 'em!

I might try to pick up the Trigun manga sometime tho. I've been studying manga lately, in my quest to try to learn to draw faster. It would probably be useful.

[BigDemonicBunny]

It's not sufficiently similar to be a rip-off. It was just an attempt to be funny on my part.
Anyway. Fantasy/Sci-fi westerns are sufficiently rife with tropes that it's impossible to not stumble over them.

I do hope someone explains at some point why Kit isn't using that gun of hers as a weapon of first resort (even if the explanation is something as simple as "too long build up time").

[Donomni]

I assume it's due to how plain destructive it is. It went through Burke like nothing, so if it was really a default weapon, the amount of property damage would be... well, dreadful!

*Ba dum psh*

[Melfice]

THAT EXPLAINS NOTHING!
I demand more exposition on bulletproof Burke! :(

EDIT: Talkin' 'bout page 25, of course.

[MSperoni]

Page 25! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/dreadful/)

Looks like Liz is up to bat! (in the game...of DEATH...yeah)

[ChaoticBrain]

"You shot him without knowin', and knowin's not gonna make him less dead."

I don't know if you meant for her to say "NOT knowin ain't gonna make him less dead," as in 'He's dead, you did your job, I ain't gotta explain shit. Problem? *lolitrollu*'

But right now, it comes off as 'If I told you, you would instantly regret killing him, so I won't tell you anything.'

[TDK]

She is saying "You didn't need to know the source of his power to kill him, and he is not going to be less dead if you discover the source, so I'm not telling you."

Also: Kit seems...taller.

[Kerensky287]

Deadly side effect of using The Dreadful: It increases your bone mass, meaning that each time you fire it you get one step closer to crushing yourself under your own weight.

On the plus side, intelligent use will make you a basketball star.

(I didn't notice a height difference but maybe that's just me.)

[MSperoni]

Perspectively speaking Kit is about the same height. She might not look as petite on this page, I dunno. Maybe I drew her legs longer proportionately or something.

And TDK's interpretation of the dialog was a correct one. Although it's slightly different than what I would interpret it, but it's close enough.

Liz speaks pretty directly :)

"You shot him without knowing.." this is true. Kit shot someone she knew nothing about.

"And knowing isn't going to make him less dead." Which is also true. Kit may learn his backstory in great detail, but he's still dead. So it doesn't really matter. At least not to Liz. Why would it matter to Kit? I guess there's a lot of interpretations. Maybe she's just curious. Maybe she wants to further justify her killing of him. I dunno! (or do I? :D )

I don't really wanna sit here tho and explain everything :) I'll leave it up to forum discussions ^_^ (though I might put in my two cents if I think I should :D)

[Krylo]

...What happened to the rest of Burke's posse?

Did the giant laser kill them all?

[Melfice]

I'm assuming they've gone into hiding nearby, and now Liz is up to bat for the clean-up.

[eyeonus]

I find "The Dreadful" to be a very disappointing comic. I'd rather watch TriGun again.

[Kim]

I find "The Dreadful" to be a very disappointing comic. I'd rather watch TriGun again.

...But it's not at all like Trigun, except for "Wild West-ish setting" which isn't even that much like Trigun's....

[Edogaa]

I kind of like it so far, though I found the vast majority of the Dwarfs lines irritating, or at the very least his final words irritating. *shrugs*

[Kerensky287]

I find "The Dreadful" to be a very disappointing comic. I'd rather watch TriGun again.

Maybe you'd like to give some actual criticism instead of just saying "This sucks, I'm going to do something else"?

Everyone's entitled to their own opinions, but I like it, a lot of other people like it, and the only thing you're doing by calling it "disappointing" is pissing all of those people off.

If you think it's disappointing, suggest ways to improve it.

[MSperoni]

If you think it's disappointing, suggest ways to improve it.

Yeah feel free. Tho I'm not quite sure I'll listen. Especially if they're just useless gripes and not actually constructive. For example: "I hate this comic because a girl is the main character." That kind of thing will be 100% ignored by me.

Due to the rate I need to make pages + the other stuff I have to do I kind of have to go with my gut a lot of the time. I'm just going with what I like. Flying by the seat of my pants, so to speak. Maybe if I also wasn't drawing it I could focus more on tweaking things. Then again, I can't really tweak it to suit EVERYONE. I don't have the time, plus that's impossible.

(also I'm relatively inexperienced to this whole "writing" business. There are bound to be a few kinks a long the way, though hopefully I'll get better.)

So I guess if you don't like it then don't read it, or just wait awhile and check back again to see if it's improved to your taste any.

And if you'd prefer to watch Trigun again then...just go watch Trigun again? *shrugs*. I've never seen Trigun so I can't offer any input/counter points.

I found the vast majority of the Dwarfs lines irritating, or at the very least his final words irritating. *shrugs*

Well he's dead now. And will NEVER SPEAK AGAIN! (unless I revive him somehow)

[Molotovich]

Zombee Burke to the rescueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[MSperoni]

It's possible! Though maybe not weird enough. Maybe Zombie Ninja Burke? Or Zombie Alien Burke? Alien Ninja Burke?

[Kim]

Steampunk cyborg Burke... from the future.

[Edogaa]

Zombee Burke to the rescueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

(unless I revive him somehow)

It's possible! Though maybe not weird enough. Maybe Zombie Ninja Burke? Or Zombie Alien Burke? Alien Ninja Burke?





I will end you. :|

[MSperoni]

I will end you. :|


See, now I wanna bring him back :D


I should have a NPF poll..

[TDK]

Steampunk cyborg Burke... from the future.

Noncon I don't think you understand steampunk. :I

[MSperoni]

Burke rebuilt out of future alien technology which is visually based on the steampunk aesthetic.

I actually think I want Burke taken over by a brain alien space marine who resurrects him and symbiotes w/ his body TMNT Krang style. The brain alien space marine would then use Rob Liefeld tech. Like lasers fired from platinum rectangle guns. A Pump-action shotgun laser.

[Donomni]

Noncon I don't think you understand steampunk. :I

Well, Burke certainly doesn't, and since when do things like logic and actual definitions matter to him?

In other words, I agree with NonCon's logic that Burke has no logic.

[MSperoni]

Burke has no logic.

Brain alien space marine bionic hybrid! 'Nuff Said!

[Melfice]

Brain alien space marine bionic hybrid! 'Nuff Said!

I thought that was how he already was!
Hence his - up until The Dreadful's appearance anyway - imperviousness to harm.

[Kim]

He was immune to harm because of his beard. They up the fuck out of your AC.

Dreadful requires a will save.

[MSperoni]

It's a beard of resistance to normal weapons. The Dreadful is a magical weapon/minor artifact.

It's a +1 Beard of Fortune. It also increases your gold rate by 5%, hence how he could afford a gang.

(that's all a joke btw, except for the part about the dreadful being a magical weapon)

[MSperoni]

Page 26! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/dreadful/)

And that's how Liz cleans up. She cleans up fast.

Big thanks to Molotovich (http://www.nuklearforums.com/member.php?u=38493) for help with the Spanish!

Now I'm sure you all want a translation...... :D

(note: Liz doesn't speak Spanish fluently. So when you attempt to translate, keep that in mind.)

[Kerensky287]

"Liz? What just happened?"

"Change of plans, asswipes."

BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG

(Yes, I'm aware "muchachos" means friends and not asswipes. I find it funnier this way.)

[Loyal]

Heh. I had kinda forgotten there were other people at that camp. Burke kinda stole the show. :P

Not that there are any now.

[MSperoni]

"Liz? What just happened?"

"Change of plans, asswipes."



That translation is a fine one! Except the "asswipes" part. I dunno how you'd say that in Spanish, actually :P

[ElCone1979]

"L-Liz? What happened here?"
"Plans Changed, boys"

But if it was "Change of Plans, boys" then it would read "Cambio de Planes, muchachos"

I think there her error is that she said "Cambiar" (meaning to change) instrea of "Cambian" (meaning change)

Since you already stated that she is not fluent in Spanish I would assume that it was intentional. :D

Edit: "Asswipes" would be something like "Toallitas de Culo" or "Toallas de Culo" in a literal sense, but in an insult sense, would be more like "Limpia culos"

[MSperoni]

Since you already stated that she is not fluent in Spanish I would assume that it was intentional. :D


It was actually :) Originally she spoke the line more fluently, but Molotovich came up with the idea that it should be changed to something less fluent, so he wrote that for her to say instead. ^_^

[BigDemonicBunny]

I like the vague reference (to my very non-sequiteur mind) to Cambions, half-fiend offspring (if this was Forgotten realms and Kit was a thiefling her father or mother might have been a cambion).

[MSperoni]

I have no idea what "Cambions" are (at first I read that as "Cambodians"). What was the vague reference? I'm curious what it was :)

[Mr.Bookworm]

I have no idea what "Cambions" are (at first I read that as "Cambodians"). What was the vague reference? I'm curious what it was :)

Half-devils with a mortal mother. They're a Forgotten Realms (a D&D setting) thing. Look like this. (http://images.wikia.com/forgottenrealms/images/3/37/Cambion_-_Anne_Stokes.jpg)

[BigDemonicBunny]

Cambion has its roots in the spanish word for change.
The Forgotten Realms version (And the Planescape version) is a half-fiend. Usually Featuring horns, a tail and ruddy skin (basically Kit except more bestial/demonic).

It's just my mind however. It's not working quite right they say.

[MSperoni]

Ohh, I see.

Liz saying "cambiar" wasn't intended as a reference to Cambions, it's just a coincidence :)

[eyeonus]

It's boring. the characters are completely uninteresting, the plot leaves no desire to know what happens next, the dichotomy is appallingly unintelligent....

For example, the sudden reveal that those two are sisters. It's never explained how a human and a (half?) demon are sisters, but then again, I just don't give a crap. And what is she, anyway? Gun for hire? Sharpshooter on a quest to discover her origin? Some random low-life? Screw the character building, let's just go straight for the plot-hole ridden action and hope nobody notices.

Oh yes, and as for the Trigun reference: a story about an inhuman main character in a wild west setting with a mystic gun that only appears in times of great need and does massive damage. Ring any bells?

[Bard The 5th LW]

For example, the sudden reveal that those two are sisters.

Where did it EVER say this? Seriously, when?

And what is she, anyway? Gun for hire? Sharpshooter on a quest to discover her origin? Some random low-life? Screw the character building, let's just go straight for the plot-hole ridden action and hope nobody notices.

She's trying to track down the people who shot her in the first panel. That was rather explicit.

Oh yes, and as for the Trigun reference: a story about an inhuman main character in a wild west setting with a mystic gun that only appears in times of great need and does massive damage. Ring any bells?

I don't think you can accuse a creator of referencing or copying off another series when they have never watched that series.

[eyeonus]

Where did it EVER say this? Seriously, when?

My mistake. She was talking about her sister. http://www.nuklearpower.com/2011/03/25/the-dreadful-010/

She's trying to track down the people who shot her in the first panel. That was rather explicit.

When?

I don't think you can accuse a creator of referencing or copying off another series when they have never watched that series.

I made the reference.

[Mr.Bookworm]

When?

http://www.nuklearpower.com/2011/03/...-dreadful-010/

I made the reference.

Wait, so you referenced Trigun, so Matt is being unoriginal? Seriously, what?

[Bard The 5th LW]

When?

http://www.nuklearpower.com/2011/02/28/the-dreadful-003/

http://www.nuklearpower.com/2011/03/04/the-dreadful-004/

At the start, she was shot by members of a gang she used to be a member of. Most likely the boss Jeanne. She is trying to track down the boss for revenge, and probably a pardon of some sort. Her sister's safety may also be a factor.

I made the reference.

Then I fail to see the relevance.

[eyeonus]

Wait, so you referenced Trigun, so Matt is being unoriginal? Seriously, what?

No. Why don't you read the post where I made the reference before going any further.

[eyeonus]

Then I fail to see the relevance.

They are both "a story about an inhuman main character in a wild west setting with a mystic gun that only appears in times of great need and does massive damage."

[Mr.Bookworm]

No. Why don't you read the post where I made the reference before going any further.

I would respond to your point in a through and respectful manner if your point made any damn sense.

It's kind of hard to rip-off or reference something that you've never watched.

EDIT: Like, I'm not trying to be insulting, I just genuinely have zero idea what your point here is.

[eyeonus]

I would respond to your point in a through and respectful manner if your point made any damn sense.

It's kind of hard to rip-off or reference something that you've never watched.

EDIT: Like, I'm not trying to be insulting, I just genuinely have zero idea what your point here is.

1: I said post, not point.

2: I never said anyone was ripping off anything.

[synkr0nized]

Is this an argument? I can't tell, but in any case it just seems to me that the intention behind what you posted my have been misinterpreted.


In any case, the posts reminded me to check up on Dreadful again. Cigarette girl's expressions continue to be great.

E: Like you could just make panels of her even without dialogue and I'd enjoy it.

[Kim]

eyeonus' point is that Dreadful is like Trigun but Trigun's better so he's just gonna watch Trigun instead of reading Dreadful.

Saying Dreadful is like Trigun is pretty dumb though. The way in which the comparison is made treats Trigun as much more original than it actually is, at least in terms of the traits Dreadful has in common with it. You could just as easily compare the gun to a bankai in Bleach or some nifty power ability thing in any other shounen series ever. Trigun is an anime set in an old west world. The Dreadful is heavily reminiscent of anime and is set in an old west world. That's as far as a really valid comparison goes.

Not to mention, eyeonus really oversimplifies things to make his point. With his methodology, I could compare the Dreadful to Inuyasha, too. Probably more stuff were I so inclined.

The stuff eyeonus complains about is all a bit silly, because his complaints read as though he's not actually reading the comic. When the bulk of your complaints are answered by reading the dialogue, that says something.

Literally all that's been contributed from eyeonus is "It's boring, I don't know what's going on, and it's like Trigun." If you think it's boring, that's fine. You're welcome to say as much, though people aren't likely to really engage with you on it. However, you don't explain yourself well when your complaints are full of holes and you're making shitty comparisons.

[MSperoni]

However, you don't explain yourself well when your complaints are full of holes and you're making shitty comparisons.

"This comic is dumb, but I didn't really read it. Furthermore, it's not ripping off an anime I think is better."

Yeah? Okay.

I don't really feel I need to change the way I'm doing anything based on these criticisms, since they don't seem to be really based on anything. It seems more that the person saying them has some weird beef with The Dreadful or me for some reason.

So, when are we going to see another issue of this? This being the only decent comic on here, I'm rather disappointed at it's sudden lack of updates.

That quote is from the "Behind the Punch" thread. Maybe eyeonus is mad cos HIKYM hasn't been updated? Sorry, but it's a little immature to take it out on The Dreadful, especially since there is nothing I can do about it.

(also lol: "sudden" lack of updates. HIKYM hasn't been updated since like.. January?)

I do appreciate all the peeps coming to The Dreadful's defense however, it's nice to see! Thanks :D

[Meister]

Yeah, I'm not sure the Trigun comparison holds much water. Trigun's setting and story is heavily inspired by the classic wild west setting but it's really more of a science fiction setting with wild west elements, whereas The Dreadful strikes me more as an overt Wild West setting with fantasy elements. Guns are also a major element of wild west stories so the majority of wild west stories that feature fantasy elements will probably include some sort of magic gun as a specialized variant of the general magic weapon trope by default, especially if it's inspired by D&D or just Western fantasy in general where magic weapons tend to be a big deal. You gotta have guns or it's not wild west, and you gotta have people need guns and not just be able to shoot magic lasers from their eyes or it's not particularly wild west either; at the same time you gotta have something that shoots magic lasers or it's also not much in the fantastic department.

[MSperoni]

Also, neither The Dreadful nor Trigun are the only Western comics that ever existed.

"Kid Cold Outlaw" "Two Gun Kid" "Ghost Rider" (the original) etc. Those are just three by Marvel, and I know there are a TON more than that. There are plenty of other comics people could wrongly claim The Dreadful is ripping off.

[rpgdemon]

"Kid Cold Outlaw" "Two Gun Kid" "Ghost Rider" (the original) etc.

He just gave us his sources. Matt is ripping off these two comics I've never heard of and Ghost Rider that I've never read. What a hack.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

He's ripping off his imagination! Quick, sue him before he does it again!

[ChaoticBrain]

Speaking of lawsuits...

"This comic is dumb, but I didn't really read it. Furthermore, it's not ripping off an anime I think is better."

This accurate summary, along with his low post count, is enough evidence for me to charge eyeonus with one count of trolling. Now we just need Fenris to convict and sentence him.

[Kim]

So when does Sesshomaru show up?

[BigDemonicBunny]

I've have spawned a monster. :(

[Meister]

This accurate summary, along with his low post count, is enough evidence for me to charge eyeonus with one count of trolling. Now we just need Fenris to convict and sentence him.
You don't get to make that call. If you think someone's trolling, report the post so we can have a look at it, and leave it alone otherwise. Neither Fenris or anyone else is a punishment lackey you can call upon whenever you don't like a post. And for the love of everything do not call people out on their post count ever.

[ChaoticBrain]

You don't get to make that call. If you think someone's trolling, report the post so we can have a look at it, and leave it alone otherwise. Neither Fenris or anyone else is a punishment lackey you can call upon whenever you don't like a post. And for the love of everything do not call people out on their post count ever.

Yes sir sorry sir. ._.

[Mr.Bookworm]

So when does Sesshomaru show up?

http://www.csh.rit.edu/~grahams/images/Jeremy%20Piven%20-%20Get%20the%20Fuck%20Out.gif

Yes sir sorry sir. ._.

I believe Meister likes to be called "daddy" but don't quote me on that.

[Melfice]

I believe Meister likes to be called "daddy" but don't quote me on that.

Preferably "Mein Führer" in normal circumstances, but when he gets all official red-text, "daddy" is the norm, yes.

I am horrible, I know.

[rpgdemon]

don't quote me on that.

I believe Meister likes to be called "daddy"I believe Meister likes to be called "daddy"I believe Meister likes to be called "daddy"I believe Meister likes to be called "daddy"I believe Meister likes to be called "daddy"I believe Meister likes to be called "daddy"I believe Meister likes to be called "daddy"

.

[Mr.Bookworm]

rpgdemon's mom slept with a moose

true story

.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm218/timbenj/sportacus-getout.gif

so howabout that there dreadful

[MSperoni]

Okay so I'm supposed to make a comic about Liz calling Meister "Daddy" and getting Fenris to stop a troll that probably isn't a troll, but more like a disgruntled gnome. Then some guy in a blue tracksuit with a mustache will be pointing at the guy from Entourage, then some character named Seshomaru from what I'm guessing is an anime that I haven't seen and therefore will obviously rip off entirely will show up and save the day by slaying the gnome and getting into a dance-off with Meister, Fenris, Blue Tracksuit, and the guy from Entourage. NonCon, Melfice and Bookie will be judges, and ChaoticBrain will be the Emcee and Demonic Buddy the special guest host. rpgdemon will be the referee. Synk will be in charge of lighting to make everything red, and IG will tell us all how to say it in German. Liz will stand around and smoke.

Then Kit will show up, win the dance-off, then shoot everyone with her magical gun, and it will be like Trigun.

Note: I looked at a Trigun manga today while I was in a bookstore and I can say that, based on a brief flip-through, that it is NOT like The Dreadful. Not in art, or story-telling, or in anything I could tell at a glance. It is a "Western" inspired comic, but that's as far as the comparison goes. It looked like Trigun took place in a desert world. That would be like, fantasy Sonora? Arizona? Nevada? The Dreadful so far takes place in a fantasy America. Which is to say it is more than just a desert (I'm thinking currently they're in fantasy Texas, but I've always imagined Kit as being from a fantasy Southern Illinois/Kentucky/Southeast Missouri area -- where I live). Besides, Glasses Guy's (don't know his name) magic gun is a different kind of gun than Kit's. His looks to be an oversized Colt SAA whereas Kit's is a dragoon.

So I don't wanna hear anymore about this Dreadful <==> Trigun crap. It's not even close, from what I can tell from my ultra brief glance. So if you mention The Dreadful is like Trigun, I'll just assume you're doing it to annoy me, due to your being a jerkface (and probably ugly).

(But if you say The Dreadful is like Trigun in a good way, and as a result you are a fan of The Dreadful, I won't mind it as much. You might be wrong in the comparison, but if you like The Dreadful you are neither ugly nor a jerkface. It's magical how that works.)

[Mr.Bookworm]

Matt, stop arting this dreadful Dreadful thing and How I Killed Your Crock of Shit, and get working on your new masterpiece, right now.

But, yeah, Trigun is not similar to the Dreadful, outside of some very, very broad generalizations. It's sci-fi, for one thing. You're correct that it takes place on another planet. Oh, and the main characters are more-or-less 180º from each other, besides both being good with guns and not human.

[MSperoni]

... getting into a dance-off..

I changed my mind.

getting into a line dance-off.

Line dancing! Country Western style! Kit and all them doing a line dance to "Achey Breaky Heart".

JUST LIKE TRIGUN.

Matt, stop arting this dreadful Dreadful thing and How I Killed Your Crock of Shit, and get working on your new masterpiece, right now.

ahhh how funny would that be if I actually did?

[A Zarkin' Frood]

I just hope you really make that comic.

[synkr0nized]

and make sure to put Liz in it

[MSperoni]

Page 27! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/dreadful/)

What could Liz be up to? What is the deal with that ring? Am I ripping off Lord of the Rings now? Will my shameless plagiarism never end?!

[Kim]

Am I ripping off Lord of the Rings now?

Yes.

[MSperoni]

:(

[GrandMasterPlanetEater]

Burke's going to need a donut shaped coffin.

I wouldn't use that ring anyway. It obviously drives you bonkers.

Edit: Lord of the rings needs to be ripped off and rewritten. I mean, have you ever read the book? It's like running sandpaper-covered razors over your eyeballs.

[Mr.Bookworm]

The Macguffin! Thar she blows!

[Hatake Kakashi]

Given that the ring didn't make Burke invisible, I'd have to say no.

Unless of course Kit was one of the Nazgul. If that's the case, he was proper fucked from the start.

[Kerensky287]

Probably a ring of regeneration.

Liz needs it desperately to cure her lung cancer and regrow her mouth.

[Alanim]

Probably a ring of regeneration.

Liz needs it desperately to cure her lung cancer and regrow her mouth.

Or a "Ring of Invulnerability" which gives 5 DR/Magic. It makes sense since normal bullets are not magic, but "The Dreadful" is.

[MSperoni]

Not a bad guess!

[Melfice]

Not a bad guess!

Translation: "That doesn't sound half bad. I think I'll plagiarize that."

;)

[MSperoni]

Exactly. My Secret of Writing: Just base pages off reader extrapolation.

That's why there are days between updates! I need to give you all enough time to write my stories for me.

If that fails, I just copy off Trigun.



EDIT: In case there's some confusion: all the above was a joke.

[Krylo]

In case there's some confusion: all the above was a joke.

Is that one of those 'it's funny because it's true' jokes?

[MSperoni]

Or Yes?

[rpgdemon]

We should have all seen this coming, after he blatantly copied that amazing artist's work for the advertisement page.

[GrandMasterPlanetEater]

Exactly. My Secret of Writing: Just base pages off reader extrapolation.

That's why there are days between updates! I need to give you all enough time to write my stories for me.

I thought Brian had a patent on that?

[Krylo]

They have a slightly different approach. While Brian did the opposite of whatever is speculated, Matt just plays it straight.

Brian's patent didn't cover that.

[Fifthfiend]

Exactly. My Secret of Writing: Just base pages off reader extrapolation.

That's why there are days between updates! I need to give you all enough time to write my stories for me.

If that fails, I just copy off Trigun.



EDIT: In case there's some confusion: all the above was a joke.

TRIGUN'S NOT A JOKE >:[

[Mr.Bookworm]

IT IS WHEN MATT'S WRITING IT

[Fifthfiend]

Or any time Vash fails to kill his genocidally sociopathic brother! So actually pretty much always.

[MSperoni]

Or any time Vash fails to kill his genocidally sociopathic brother! So actually pretty much always.

"Or any time Kit fails to kill her genocidally sociopathic sister!"

Looks like I just wrote another chapter of The Dreadful!

Writing sure is easy. I don't understand why they pay Brian the big bucks for it..

[rpgdemon]

It's because he has mastered the art of the buddy cop.

[Mr.Bookworm]

Writing sure is easy. I don't understand why they pay Brian the big bucks for it..

Let me put it this way: Brian eats a lot of Tic-Tacs for a reason.

[MSperoni]

Page 28! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/dreadful/)

Liz and Kit are outlaws/gunslingers. They can't be bothered with knowing how ranches work. Or the terminology of ranch-life. At least they know what a cow is..

[GrandMasterPlanetEater]

Look, in the cave, it's Snuffleupagus! Aw, all the gunfire made him scared.

[Mr.Bookworm]

Goddammit Liz, don't point out the plot holes.

[Hatake Kakashi]

We already know The Dreadful runs on love. You totally ripped Bryan off there.

[EVILNess]

I feel like there was some dialog missing in this last comic. They go from talking about The Dreadful to Liz saying something about Burke making lots of stuff up and cow shit? I dunno, I feel like there was a question that Kit forgot to ask.

[MSperoni]

Kit says "What's this about you bringing fresh horses" in order to rapidly change the subject about how the Dreadful works. She does this because I don't really know how the dreadful works yet, and I thought it would be funny for Kit to dismiss Liz's inquiry outright rather than attempting to explain it (would that be considered "meta"?). Kit's comment about the "fresh horses" is a reference to Burke mentioning previously that Liz was coming to bring him and his gang fresh horses. Kit is curious about such a bit of information and so inquires to Liz. Liz replies that Burke is an idiot and gets things confused. Or, since he's crazy, he will just make "shit" up. This word "shit" prompts Kit to make a reference about a smell lingering in the area, and that they should have their conversation somewhere else. Kit's comment makes Liz, who works around the premises of a ranch, and is around cows, to wonder if it is perhaps a pile of cow shit they are smelling. This comment prompts Kit to ask the question about Liz's actual job on the ranch. And so on.

It's kinda frustrating to have to explain it this way. Especially since I didn't really do anything except list what was already in the panels. I may have overdone it, but I didn't know what else to do. I wanted to make it as clear as possible, but it sorta sucked the life right out of the page (a reason I just decided to put it into "swap tags"). Is it really that confusing? I mean, maybe I just suck at writing dialog... :P That's certainly possible.

I don't know what else I could do to simplify it any more. This isn't exactly Cormac McCarthy or Shakespeare dialog here.. But if it were "See Spot Run" I think it wouldn't be very good either..I'll just keep working at it, I guess :)

[Melfice]

Matt, just utilize your one true strength when it comes to dialogue.

Steal it from other sources and adapt it lightly for the comic.

(Okay, that horse has just officially been beaten to death, sent to the glue factory, rendered into glue and then beaten on some more.)

Honestly speaking, the conversation flowed a bit weirdly, but I didn't feel there was stuff missing. It was just... really ad hoc, even for a conversation where somebody's drastically trying to change the direction of the conversation.

Still, I've read worse dialogue in professional print, so...

[MSperoni]

It was just... really ad hoc..

Seems to me that's how a lot of chats/conversations are though. Especially when you're talking w/ someone like Kit... Cos if you noticed she was the one who kept jumping around subjects..

Maybe the Dreadful's dialog is just written in a style people aren't used to. I've read books/short stories with similar dialog styles, and I prefer them over the classic "smooth" dialog. I think having it flow perfectly where everyone takes turns speaking and always sticks flawlessly to the conversation at hand reads and feels really unnatural. It makes dialog read like a legal transcript or a bad RPG.

That kinda thing might work better in a book though, I dunno. I'm happy w/ the way I'm doing it even though it could probably use some refinement. It's probably not wise for me to have tried a "not normal" approach w/o building up some experience first, but.. meh. Much like video games, I always prefer setting the difficulty on "hard" :)

But the dialog can't be totally random and spontaneous.. Kit smelled something funny and spoke what was on her mind. This will pan out in the course of a few pages, so it's not ENTIRELY pointless.

[Melfice]

It's probably more natural, yeah.
It's just weird when you're seeing it used in comics. ;)

Just keep going with it. People'll get used to it.

[MSperoni]

Page 29! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/dreadful/) Where Kit investigates oddly shaped tracks leading into the cave and continues questioning Liz. She is quite a little detective. Or maybe she just has the curiosity of an over-caffeinated 10 year old...




Just keep going with it. People'll get used to it.

I'm sure once I practice more with the style I'll get better. I mean, I'm only 30 pages in and I never entered this business aiming to establish myself as a writer.. Though I like doing it and making up stories so I'd hope I'd get better. The bulk of, or all of, my comic creation training was focused on drawing. I really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to writing :D I just kinda feel it out.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Minotaur?

[MSperoni]

All will be revealed on page 30! :D

[ChaoticBrain]

On this page, the dialogue doesn't bother me, since it seems to only be there just to illustrate that they're chatting about kinda-semi-important-to-them-but-not-to-us stuff. The only important thing is that they noticed the tracks, and they're following them into the cave.

[GrandMasterPlanetEater]

The "do you smell something" thing should eventually have a point to it. A clue, perhaps to whatever is in the cave. Otherwise it's just a distracting red herring.

[Kerensky287]

The "do you smell something" thing should eventually have a point to it. A clue, perhaps to whatever is in the cave. Otherwise it's just a distracting red herring.

Pretty sure it does, considering the glowy eyes in the cave. And the tracks.

For the record, I liked the dialog everyone's discussing. Kit doesn't want to talk about The Dreadful, and that could be for a multitude of reasons - so she changes the subject. Then she notices a godawful smell, and that interrupts her again. Simple.

...Do you really not know how The Dreadful works yet? I mean, I can imagine that her not wanting to talk about it would have something to do with a malevolent secret or harsh downside to its use, and she probably doesn't trust Liz enough to let her know that she has anything but an omnipotent laserbeam at her beck and call.

[MSperoni]

I have some ideas as to how the dreadful works, but I'm still mulling things over. I also think Kit may not be fully aware of how it works either. After all it's not like it comes w/ an instruction manual and no one's really taught her anything. Maybe she'll get her a teacher later :)

Though even if Kit did know its strengths and weaknesses, she probably wouldn't tell Liz that much. If anything. It'd be a lot better for Kit if Liz thought she could use it at any time.

[mistwolf]

Cutest. Couple. Ever.

I only skimmed the first few dozen pages, but lemme say, I love the comic exactly as it is. Both the wordier comics and the less verbose ones. I am dying to know more about the world, but I am loving the ride!!!

And I say again: Cutest couple EVER!

[MSperoni]

Cutest. Couple. Ever.

Kit and Liz? :D

[The SSB Intern]

I can dig it.

[TDK]

Does anyone else find all these just-joined-no-other-posts people providing either extremely positive or extremely negative feedback to be odd?

I'm on to you, Speroni!

[MSperoni]

Anything pairing Liz and Kit at this point in the story would be a slashfic :D

(I've been told that when someone writes a fanfic of your stuff you've reached a new level of famousness ^_^)

Canonically speaking I haven't thought of a romantic subplot for The Dreadful :P That's not to say there won't be one though. I'm not gonna rule out anything.


I'm on to you, Speroni!

I'm far too busy and not nearly petty enough (yet) to make mock accounts. If I was gonna write extremely negative or extremely positive stuff about my own work I'd just do what I've been doing and use my normal account.

[mistwolf]

Well, I am a little odd. I admit that! But I can't write slashfic at the best of times. I am used to sitting in the corner with my odd pairing flag and waving it feebly. :)

[GrandMasterPlanetEater]

Oh, those are tracks? Makes sense. I thought it was some dirt scars left from the battle, but I couldn't figure out exactly what.

D'oh. I just figured out who the guy in the cave is. It's Gollum. He wants his ring back!

[MSperoni]

Yeah, tracks. They're not drawn very well though. I'm fixing it and sending an updated version of page 29 to Brian. It, like the updated version of page 007, might take awhile to display on the site though.

I guess this is one luxury of having a webcomic, you can make edits :)

[greed]

Ahahaha Angus 6:19. Preacher minotaur is pretty hilarious.

[Donomni]

Just don't ask him about the Moosades: He doesn't like talking about Sir Loin.

I curd go on.

[MSperoni]

Page 30 (http://www.nuklearpower.com/dreadful/)!

Yup, it's a minotaur. Or in The Dreadful terms, a "brahman". Also: a preacher :)

Boozloaf might end up being the "white mage" of the group but I'm not 100% sure on that one.

[ChaoticBrain]

Aurox?

Oh God, we're in Spira! Hide yo' kids! Hide yo' wife! Hide yo' husband! Sin's razin' everybody out there!

[MSperoni]

Aurox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs) :D

[ChaoticBrain]

Aurox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs) :D

Actually, I knew that, but I couldn't resist making that joke.

[MSperoni]

Is there a summoned monster thing in FFX named Aurox? I remember there being an Auron in it, but that was a guy, not a monster or a cow. I haven't played FFX in forever and I only played it thru once so I don't remember much about it.

[Melfice]

There was a Blitzball team called the Aurochs.
It's the team Wakka played in, and which Tidus joined.

[EVILNess]

I think that is the first time that Liz has removed her cigarette from her mouth.

Also, do you have any plans in going into why Kit hates Liz? Is it just a personality clash or have they had altercations?

[MSperoni]

There was a Blitzball team called the Aurochs.
It's the team Wakka played in, and which Tidus joined.

Ohhh.. That one TOTALLY went over my head! :D




Also, do you have any plans in going into why Kit hates Liz? Is it just a personality clash or have they had altercations?

Kit and Liz's relationship is one of those things where they work well together, but when they're idle the cracks appear and they start to fall apart. There are a few instances coming up where it should (hopefully) seem more evident. I don't know if they're necessarily enemies, or even rivals. It might be more accurate to describe 'em as a pair of coworkers who just don't get along. :P

Kit also is the kind of person who speaks in occasional hyperbole and gets worked up fast. She's also a big talker. Like if she says "I hate that person" she might not literally hate them. I guess you'll just have to see as the story goes :D

[GrandMasterPlanetEater]

"You heard the mysterious voice in the cave. Wait.. what the shit?"

I literally facepalmed. Good in a Warner Bros cartoon. Bad here.

Also, while I'm being a negative Nelly, you've inherited Brian's bad habit of bastardizing ellipsis. Three dots. Sometimes four if you're feeling like a rebel. Never two.

[MSperoni]

Didn't realize there was any kinda "dot rule" for ellipsis.


I dunno what to say about the humor, or lack of it (in your opinion). I thought it was funny :P

If you are bothered by the jokes then the next few pages might not be something you'd wanna read.

[GrandMasterPlanetEater]

Negative Nelly has learnified friends: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ellipsis.aspx

[Krylo]

I proper ellipsis is, ". . ." Single spaced between each dot. There should also be a single space before the beginning of the ellipsis. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis#In_English)

Grammar!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OclttfJrUI8/TadZ5DOfzLI/AAAAAAAABSg/T2ZWxEMF72Q/s1600/the_more_you_know.jpg

Edit: Bah, ninjas.

[MSperoni]

Hmm.. well I don't really care, but I guess if there's a right way to do it I'll try to do it that way from now on :P

Seems awfully nitpicky really..

[Krylo]

To be fair, I'm pretty sure the only people that use ellipses correctly are editors and people with editors....

[Kerensky287]

The thing about using 2 periods in ellipses is that it looks like it could be a typo..

[MSperoni]

Maybe I'll just keep my periods as they are and be a rebel to you stuffy nitpicky grammarians! *shakes fist*

Who decides this kinda thing is a rule? Some professors sitting around at a table reading comics? One suddenly goes "I think we need to do something. Those sequential periods the way they are just won't do at all!" *all laugh and smoke their pipes*

It seems to me like this is one of those rules no one noticed or cared about till someone pointed out it was a rule. Art/writing seems to be full of things like that. I generally refuse to follow them unless I feel I ought to. It seems like a pointless waste of creative energy :P

Anyway, it seems like a pretty insignificant rule that'd be hard for me to remember. I wouldn't expect me to do it. At least not consistently.

[rpgdemon]

How is an ellipsis hard to remember? It's three dots. Always has been, always will be.

Spelling the word ellipsis, sure, that's hard to remember. The three dots, not so much.

[MSperoni]

I've never actually heard there was a rule till the other day here on NPF. Why didn't anyone point it out earlier?

It's not hard to remember, but since I've never known there was a rule and it seems so insignificant it might be hard to check myself to make sure I do it "right".

Maybe Brian and I are part of a radical new movement of "two periods". Much like Cormac McCarthy chooses to not use quotations marks in his dialog, we choose to only use two periods.

So..

There..

Jerkfaces..

[EVILNess]

Speroni is such a rebel.

[MSperoni]

I'm cutting edge. Avant Garde. I squeeze my toothpaste tube in the middle and I have been known to wear white after Labor Day.

[Krylo]

I'm cutting edge. Avant Garde. I squeeze my toothpaste tube in the middle and I have been known to wear white after Labor Day.

http://images.easyart.com/i/prints/rw/lg/3/3/Celebrity-Image-James-Dean--Trailer--332084.jpg

[MSperoni]

That's me in a nutshell, only with far less raw nerdy sex appeal.

[ChaoticBrain]

The thing about using 2 periods in ellipses is that it looks like it could be a typo..

There's this game called "Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter". Aside from its sub-par translation to English, every ellipsis in the dialogue (and I mean EVERY ellipsis) is two dots. >.<

[Nikose Tyris]

...I'm kind of interested in seeing the pencils for these- like, the pre-production stuff. Is that something that could possibly happen?

[shiney]

So..

There..

Jerkfaces..

Speaking of periods!!

[MSperoni]

...I'm kind of interested in seeing the pencils for these- like, the pre-production stuff. Is that something that could possibly happen?

Naw. The Dreadful is 100% digitally done, so there's no penciling to it :)

[rpgdemon]

Do you do sketching beforehand though, then clean up the linework? Save the sketchings! :P

[MSperoni]

No sketchings, at least not the kind using pencil on paper :)

I save quite a bit of money and space by keeping things digital. I dunno how much I was spending on pens, paper, pencils, gas to drive to the art store, etc. It was definitely something I had to budget, and I'm glad I don't have to worry about it anymore :)

When I went to purely digital I was able to get rid of my drawing desk, which freed up a lot of space in my room. Plus there are no longer papers cluttered everywhere. I also think of it as kind of "environmentally" better since I'm not constantly having to buy paper.

I only went purely digital recently, around HIKYM page 36. Before that I was drawing it conventionally. It was a hassle for me because I'm the type of person who hates spending money and hates wasting things, so I'd always stretch out my supplies as far as they would go and then some. I'd be working with things that I should have thrown away, which would occasionally cause the work to suffer.. With digital though, nothing is wasted cos there's nothing actually to waste! (except time)

I have more control w/ a pencil, but it's a small price to pay for the money I've saved and the space I've freed up :)

[rpgdemon]

What I mean is, there is some sketched state, be it digitally or not, right?

[MSperoni]

Ohh.. yeah. I always do an under-drawing on every page. I'm still stuck in non-digital terminology, so I call this stage the "Pencils" (even though they aren't done in pencils).

I never completely remove the "pencils", because I like the grungy look it gives the pages. One thing about some digital works is that they sometimes look too.. uhh.. digital :P Like the lines are too perfect or something. I don't like that look, it seems kinda sterile to me. I try to avoid that by leaving my under-drawing on the page (just faded a bit). I dunno if that works to achieve the effect I want, but I think it does, so I'm stickin' to it :D (I think some people may think it looks sloppy, but that's also kind of the idea).

I could probably manage to post a few samples of the under-drawing though.

[Nikose Tyris]

I'd be really excited to see those. :3

[MSperoni]

Page 31! (http://www.nuklearpower.com/dreadful/)

Black Mage being on this page was a sort of... meta joke? I did this page back when people were teasing me about how I was copying off everything. I had Kit in that gesture, then realized BM did it too, so I put the little guy in there just to save everyone the trouble of calling me out on it :D

[Kim]

hrrrrrnnnnnngggghhhh hurts so good

I actually think the page would be better without the sprite, though.

[Loyal]

Yeah, it does seem a little forced... Good page otherwise, though.

[MSperoni]

If the Dreadful "goes to print" or whatever I'll erase it. It's mainly a joke that ONLY works in the context of NPF.

[Melfice]

Could you ask Brian, or whoever does the backend, to have the comic switch when you mouse over it?

Like, no mouse over the image means you get the regular comic and with the mouse hovering over the image means you get the NPF special.

I really didn't notice until my attention was drawn to it anyway, but it could be a solution... alternatively, just have a separate link to the Black Mage comic. Whatev's.

[MSperoni]

That sounds like an awful lot of work for a person who is as busy as he is lazy.

[GrandMasterPlanetEater]

Yeah, it does seem a little forced... Good page otherwise, though.

Well hold on now. How do you know that Black Mage isn't actually standing in the background of that shot? You saw how powerful that shot from the Dreadful was. It could bring in all sorts of opportunists looking to get their hands on it.

[MSperoni]

Black Mage and Kit might make for an interesting team. Tho Black Mage and Liz might get along better.

[GrandMasterPlanetEater]

Black Mage and Kit might make for an interesting team. Tho Black Mage and Liz might get along better.

Picture it: Final Fantasy style battle: Kit (Fighter), Liz (Thief), Boozloaf (White Mage), Black Mage (Black Mage).

Intro opponent: "I, Burke, shall knock you all down!"

[Donomni]

Oh god, the puns.

THE DREADFULLY DELICIOUSLY BAD PUNS

You continue to make me like this comic, Matt.

[MSperoni]

Picture it: Final Fantasy style battle: Kit (Fighter), Liz (Thief), Boozloaf (White Mage), Black Mage (Black Mage).

Intro opponent: "I, Burke, shall knock you all down!"


I've actually thought of something like that. Since it's fantasy based, and influenced by DnD, I try to figure out what class the character would be. I don't really know DnD classes very well outside the very basic ones though.

Kit I peg as a thief/black mage/fighter (I guess maybe like whatever the reverse of a Paladin is..)

Liz I think of as a Ranger.

Boozloaf as the White Mage or a Cleric..

Rado I think of as the fighter, but he's kinda sketchy since he's not been in it very much. There will be a character introduced later named Charsi that will be the obvious fighter though (she actually has a melee weapon).

[GrandMasterPlanetEater]

I've actually thought of something like that. Since it's fantasy based, and influenced by DnD, I try to figure out what class the character would be. I don't really know DnD classes very well outside the very basic ones though.

Kit I peg as a thief/black mage/fighter (I guess maybe like whatever the reverse of a Paladin is..)

Dark Knight. Cecil is this class in Final Fantasy 4j/2e.

Come to think of it, this type of scene would make an interesting YouTube promo for TD. Would probably take more work than it's worth, though.

[Gitman]

Kit I peg as a thief/black mage/fighter (I guess maybe like whatever the reverse of a Paladin is..)

Well, in DnD terms, the anti-paladin is a Blackguard. Kit really doesn't fit the archetype though. Blackguards must have made friendly contact with an evil outsider (Demon, Devil, etc. - I guess Kit's probably got that part covered) and they must have an evil alignment. They're typically evil knights-errant of evil gods doing evil deeds of evilness.

I see her as more of an Arcane Trickster - a prestige class that combines Rogue skills and sneak-attacks with spellcasting.

[MSperoni]

I see her as more of an Arcane Trickster - a prestige class that combines Rogue skills and sneak-attacks with spellcasting.

That'd work. Kit isn't really evil, so a Blackguard wouldn't work too well for her. I looked online and it said the alignment for this class is "any nonlawful" which works for her too.

Before The Dreadful, there was another story I was working on which was a pure fantasy, Kit was in it, and was a thief, and Charsi was in it, and was a berserker.

I've always liked thief characters, but I also occasionally like the simplicity of a tank :D I've never been much into spellcasters cos there is too much for me to keep track of..

This is from what little I've played of DnD rule based RPGs though. I've not played an actual game of DnD, I just know what little I know from games like Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights :)

I'd reveal what class I think Jeanne's is, but I think that would be too much of a spoiler :D

[mistwolf]

The puns hurt so good.

Also, where can I get a copy of Lesperado?

[MSperoni]

Wherever ye olde pornographies are solde!

I read somewhere there actually were porn pictures made during the U.S Civil War time, so it's actually not all that anachronistic :D (though I dunno about movies)...

[mistwolf]

Alas, most girl/girl porn is terrible, but I might make an exception for girls with horns and tails.

I probably need psychological help for that, but meh, at this point, in for a penny in for a pound with insanity. ;)

[BigDemonicBunny]

You know, I wonder if there actually is any cheesy porn title left in the world that hasn't already been used. Because there is a Lesborado porn movie, although I'm fairly sure it doesn't have a western theme.

[mistwolf]

You know, I wonder if there actually is any cheesy porn title left in the world that hasn't already been used. Because there is a Lesborado porn movie, although I'm fairly sure it doesn't have a western theme.

That sounds like blatant false advertising.

[Melfice]

This absolutely sounds like it's pulling this thread in the wrong direction.

[MSperoni]

Gotta talk about something till the next page is posted, I guess :P

[A Zarkin' Frood]

I hope you will elaborate on the concept of Lesborado in the future.

[MSperoni]

That might be up to the fans to do, like CoM:CoL only w/ The Dreadful.

[The SSB Intern]

Burke's body will be a prominent player in that story.

[mistwolf]

Burke's body will be a prominent player in that story.

That is one of the most distressing things I've considered. Isn't porn corny enough without him?

[Kerensky287]

That is one of the most distressing things I've considered. Isn't porn corny enough without him?

It's not the cornyness aspect.

His is simply the only hole large enough to allow for entry without catastrophic tearing.

[mistwolf]

OK, I think I am blind now. We need a new topic, stat!

Will the 'Taur be joining them in whatever endeavor it is they have going? I hope so, he has a lovely sense of humor (They all do! Grim jokes and puns, hurrah!) and I like 'Taurs. :)

[phil_]

I kinda preferred how cow-like he looked in his first panel. His eyes changed and now he's... not handsome, but less cow-like. Ugly was more interesting, aesthetically, in my humble opinion.

[rpgdemon]

I kinda preferred how cow-like he looked in his first panel. His eyes changed and now he's... not handsome, but less cow-like. Ugly was more interesting, aesthetically, in my humble opinion.

Pretty sure that's a different character.

Edit: I am stupid and thought they went to a town of Minotaurs.