... And it's back to the Café, with Philidor and his chess mafia. Come back next week to find out what Kempelen's got planned.
Since there isn't a whole lot of trivia to go with this page, and since I didn't include a comics link last week, I'll give you three this week. The first is to a brand-new fantasy webcomic by Ben Avery, called Music of the Spheres. It's just getting started, but hey, there's a dragon on the very first page, so it's bound to be good. Ben's a really nice guy, and you may've already heard about his collaborations with George R. R. Martin and Marvel comics, The Hedge Knight and The Hedge Knight II: The Sworn Sword. If you haven't already checked them out, you totally should; the Song of Ice and Fire books are some of the most engaging fantasy novels I've ever read, and the prequels (sometimes known as "The Dunk and Egg" books) are safe in Ben's capable hands. He also does a series of graphic novels for Zondervan publishing called TimeFlyz and has a couple other series in the works as well. Ben's definitely a guy to keep your eye on, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how his webcomic turns out.
The second and third links are to fellow historical webcomics (there are so few of us out here, we've gotta stick together). Both of these comics are contemporary with the current chapter of Clockwork Game, and each features an opposite viewpoint of the same conflict: the American Revolution. Loyalty and Liberty tells the story from the British side of things -- with cats -- while The Dreamer gives the side of the upstart Colonists -- through the eyes of a high-school girl.
The Dreamer, by Lora Innes, has been ongoing for a while and is up to Chapter 5. The art feels like it's found its footing, the coloring's lovely, and the pacing between the modern and historic plots seems just right.
Loyalty and Liberty, by Tamara 'Meezer' Clarke, only has twenty-five pages up so far, but I've enjoyed what I've seen, and am looking forward to more.
Yay for my fellow history nerds.
Thanks, Jane! I hope the webcomic doesn't disappoint!
I'm enjoying it, though . . . that's part of the battle, right?
~ Ben
It actually is -- finding the enjoyment in all the hard work is part of the challenge! After 50 pages or so, I've finally got enough of my "vocabulary" down that I'm finally able to really enjoy the storytelling a lot more. Of course, this means that I now want to go back and completely redraw the first ten pages or so... must... fight... urges.... too... much... work....