Loukas:
In Winter 1152, Saxon discovers the corpse of his mentor and inherits his sword in what was supposed to be a touching emotional moment for the otherwise uncouth redcloak. In my notes for the book, I had the mentor down as "mentor" and no idea what I was going to do with him (even though he appears as a pile of bones to Saxon, we get a flashback of him in life). I did this series of sketches and then did a quick color test while jotting down notes about the mouse Loukas. His name is an obvious homage to someone I consider a storytelling mentor: George Lucas. The rest wrote itself as I drew.
Loukas trivia: Though he has only appeared alive in 2 panels of the comics, he has made it into every year's sketchbook since 2008 and will be in this year's as well.)
Loukas trivia: Though he has only appeared alive in 2 panels of the comics, he has made it into every year's sketchbook since 2008 and will be in this year's as well.)
Fan Art:
From Kubert School student Derek Rodenbeck comes this fanart. Thanks Derek!
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Actually I had been meaning to ask on that point with Loukas, and now seems a good enough time to do so. Did Saxon already know that Loukas was dead? I wasn't sure if the tears were for the discovery that he was, or for suddenly finding him there and being reminded of the past. I'm assuming the former, but I'd be interested to know...
ReplyDeleteI got the impression it was the latter Mayhem.
ReplyDeleteGreat behind the scenes stuff David. Is Loukas going to play a part in the Black Axe series?
*Edit* I corrected the stat on Loukas' appearances...he has been in 2 panels not 1.
ReplyDeleteMayhem: Saxon pretty well knew Loukas was dead...this was jsut 100% proof and a visual confrontation of that fact (and the crushing weight of someone who you saw as an indestructible giant being reduced to a piddly pile of bones)
TwiceBorn: Loukas is seen at the start of Black Axe in a quick flashback, and while I know there will be some more dialogue about him in Black Axe, I don't know if he will be seen much, if at all.
He should be a part of Winter War of 1149 though
You've had a lot of time to plan this...GREAT! More creators out there should put a lot of thought and work into backstory and history for their characters/world. When it comes to character building, you have to make it feel like the character has actually had a life and isn't merely a fictitious creation.
ReplyDeleteI can sympathize as I'm having to work on more backstory for characters in my own work.
Thanks for the answer David. Does this mean then that Saxon took part in the battle of Darkheather in 1149 (he mentions being there eight seasons back) but never knew precisely what happened to Loukas?
ReplyDeleteThere's one panel with a lot of tally marks on the wall, suggesting some of them had been trapped down there for a long time and basically starved to death. Or was that part of the prison level, given it was near the huge pile of bones and the comments in the h/c about what it was?
I guess going back over Winter has given me an inquisitive nature heh.
Hi, I think the compass in the sword was a really fun idea, and I love the little inscription under the cap. Being a sailor, I'm no stranger to "compass error"; pointing to magnetic instead of true north and the tendency of the compass to be influenced by local magnetic fields or objects on the boat, or perhaps a metal sword. I had always wondered how the maker(s) of the sword compensated for the "deviation", as it's called, and the general swinging around such a weapon may be subject too.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, Winter was my favorite so far, and I look forward to many more adventures!
Max: Thanks! My goal is to make this seem a bit more 'real' than it sits on the surface. Sometimes it means writing backwards to fit up to things you already printed and established.
ReplyDeleteMayhem: You are on the right track, but I don't want to get into telling the Winter War story in blog comments...I need to do that properly as a book ;)
phano: Who knows how accurate the compass is...I made it work in my mind taking in 2 factors 1)perhaps the pommel is a non ferrous metal like copper and that is enough of a barrier betwen the needle and the steel blade and or hilt(?) or 2) It'm gonna cheat and figure that if these mice can walk on 2 legs and talk and forge weapons, I don't have to worry about magnetic shielding on a mouse compass ;)
Excellent point! Thank you for the insight, Mr. Petersen. :)
ReplyDelete