I'm still seeing only the first strip of "We All Have Issues." Is that as it should be?

-Vincent

Hi Vincent,

It's how it is, but definitely not how it should be. The usual flow from artist to me to Clinton to website is way off kilter at the moment.

Suffice to say that the story does exist and is slowly making its way to you; after this coming Monday, I hope it's seamless.

Best,
Ron

It's been up for a few hours now.

I can't take all the credit for the problems, but I'll definitely take at least 60-70% of it. Hopefully, Ron, Clinton, and I will get our act together soon.

Hope you're enjoying the strip. It's definitely a challenge for me and it's something very different for Trollbabe.

Now off to put finishing touches on #3...

Thanks Clinton!!

The floor is now open to discuss the new story and art! And if you can't already see whether this plot development will impact the bigger picture, I just dunno ...

Best,
Ron

Ahh man...
You're not going to have Retta fall for that creepy smarmy looking spider dude now are you...she seemed like such a nice girl too...

heh, heh

Heh heh yourself! See the last panel in the second strip of "Sex and Death, with Music."

Best,
Ron

Hey,

Back again. The first thing that really struck me was how amazingly perfect the model for Rus is. So what if he has hair? Maybe Rus grew some, or it's just one of those "different artist interpretation" things. Tha's horns differ a bit from artist to artist, and Retta does or doesn't have freckles depending on who draws her. All good with me.

What about that whacky grin! It's totally Rus. Jonathan tells me that Rod's initial depiction of the character inspired him for the photos, and I think he nailed it. I really like writing Rus, because it's hard - he's refreshingly honest, totally amoral, and genuinely divine. A simple character with complex implications for everyone else.

I hope other people enjoy the transition from panel 1 to panel 2 of the first strip as much as I do - seeing Rus "loose" in the second one retroactively accentuates the frustration in the word balloon in the first.

Best,
Ron

I didn't recognize him in the first strip (so thanks for making it explicit at the start of the second) but yeah. His eyebrows too.

-Vincent

Has there been a lack of updates to the current strip, or is that just my computer? I've been seeing the same strip for the past two weeks.

Hiya,

Jonathan Walton is in the process of moving and didn't make his hoped-for deadline of delivering several strips before the real agony started. So we're all in holding pattern now.

Best,
Ron

Gotcha. No problem. Just curious. I can wait.

And just in case anyone missed it (I only noticed this morning--I'm not sure exactly when it was posted), the next installment is up.

Yeah, totally my bad. I'm settled into Nanjing now, though, so we're all cool. I'm going to finish up the rest of the strips this week, so we can have them all out the door and Ron can stop giving me annoyed glances that travel through the center of the earth and jolt me in the seat of my pants.

Oh, and I suppose I should give some model credits at some point, and this is as good a time as any.

The Retta model is Marta Johnson, of the lovely city of Seattle. A former rock climber and rowing enthusiast, Marta currently uses those burly brown arms in the service of the Seattle Opera Company.

The model for Rus and all those cultists in hoods is actually me. I do have a bit too much hair for Rus, but I figured that the spider god could grow some if he decided to. Facial expressions and body language were definitely inspired by Rod's work.

The model for Gwyneth, who you might not have recognized when she showed up in the strip this week, is Elizabeth "Benny" Wheat, currently a sophomore at Oberlin College and the perfect match for the spunky would-be cult matriach. Different hair style and coloring than what Rod chose to do, but I've been going for personality matches instead of strictly visual ones.

Hopefully that makes things clearer.

Strip is totally rockin man! I totally adore Retta's expression in that final frame there ^_^

Oh, and because it's been buggin me.... What colour is her UtiliKilt?!

Hello,

What I like best about the Trollbabe comics is how they make everyone involved stretch their minds and skills a little. Just about every artist has said, "Urh?" and then "I dunno," and then, "OK, I think I can ..." or some similar sequence. After the first strip, even if there are logistic hassles, they really get into it and deliver work well beyond what they thought they could do.

I really like Jonathan's photo-based work. I also like the stuff on his website where he combines stick figures and other neat graphics with the photo cut-outs. In the Issues story, I really like the little "yeah, and?" visual cues like the "To Rus" sign. He's using photos, but photographic respresentation (in the literal sense) is totally not what's going on - we're talking pure iconography.

Jonathan, you mentioned in private email that you noted really distinctive pacing shifts in my scripts, as in skipping over what might be hours or even days of stuff happening between panels, then slowing down to moment to moment, reaction by reaction snail's-pace. You asked whether my GMing was similar.

I think it is. I've never understood or been interested in developing any sense of the integrity of in-game time unless it's an opponent or constraint which serves some other purpose. I'm completely happy to say, "Tell you what, let's just let a few days go by," and then after that spend a whole play-session on a single assignation or debate over cattle-territory.

To me, it's all about conflict. There isn't any conflict when Retta and Rus are dancin' the night away, stumblin' toward the temple to check out the etchings, and then doin' stuff you don't get to watch. So all the strip needs is a quick step-by-step to get it done, maybe with a little characterization (more 1970s dialogue from Rus, e.g.).

Gwyneth shows up? Oh man, that's different: conflict. I'm likin' this character and may find myself writing a whole story just about her, no trollbabes. H'm, same might go for Vanth or Oskar. Interesting thought ...

Best,
Ron