Obscure Comic of the Month - The Envoy and the Warrior

Obscure Comic of the Month is a column where I take a look at a comic or series that hasn't really been talked about. This covers independent comics, zines, weird spin-offs, webcomics and more.

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The Envoy and the Warrior by Simon Roy and Linnea Sterte

Contains Spoilers

Way back in my second entry in this revived series of columns I took a look at Simon Roy's Habitat and came away with the feeling that I really wanted to discover more about this strange, seemingly galaxy spanning dark age. In the years since then, Roy has given me exactly what I wanted, with his webcomic Griz Grobus showing us more of these strange and wonderful feudal societies living within the ruins of a half-forgotten high tech civilisation.

It is not, however, Griz Grobus I am here to talk about today, but the short comic The Envoy and the Warrior, which came as a bonus with Grobus' Kickstarter campaign. In my last entry on Habitat I talked about being fascinated by the reawakening of what seemed to be some kind of eldritch star god that got little explanation by the story's closing pages. So fascinated was I that I even did fan art of the creature. So imagine my delight to discover that the short comic itself focusses entirely on these enigmatic beings.

One of Roy's greatest strengths is to leave an element unexplained and allow a certain degree of ambiguity to generate around an aspect of the story. He trusts the audience to pick up on what they're reading. While the origins of the star gods is never fully spelled out, the story heavily hints at their nature as artificial beings. There's a heavy does of Iain M Banks' Culture series in this story, tapping into the idea of artificial intelligences as benevolent, but not benign, custodians of mankind's future.

The story begins with two such gods meeting, approaching first in physical space and appearing as unsettling, and nightmarish looking creatures. They then manifest as more recognisably humanoid once they pass into another plane of existence. A paradise, once again heavily hinted, but never outright confirmed, to be a digital space.

Much like Habitat the artwork is on impeccable form. This time Linnea Sterte creates a mind bending blend of body horror and geometric impossibilities for the forms of the star gods, before drawing us in to the beautiful serene landscapes of the paradise. It's human inhabitants, recognisable but unremarkable, clash with the slight and ethereal gods. Their somewhat subdued facial expressions betray that these creatures are far beyond human, and that their thoughts are likewise alien to ours.

The larger of the two gods is introduced as a former god of war, now tired from violence, having created a paradise to house the souls of those innocents that had previously suffered at their hands long ago. The smaller of the two gods, an envoy, has arrived to ask a favour. Part of humanity is now beginning to crawl out of it's long dark ages and back into the stars, bringing potential weapons of galactic destruction with them.

The old war god, however, has no desire to return to their old ways, no matter how noble the intentions. After the envoy questions their motivations one too many times, the war god seemingly kills them in physical space, and they awake in a humbler body, back within the paradise.

The Envoy and the Warrior is short but it packs a lot of themes behind it's sparse script. This tale is one of guilt and responsibility, of action and reaction. Despite only a few moments passing between them, the two star gods debate their fundamental philosophy, in both what they say, their body language, and ultimately their actions. Does the true pacifist seek to exempt themselves from conflict, or seek to avert it? Are actions of atonement for past sins negated if those sins are repeated once more? How ethical is violent action when it is a reaction to an evil that may not even occur?

As mentioned above, Roy is not a writer that wants to spoon feed you the subtext. As the story ends, it is up to the reader to decide how warranted the war god was in the action they took against the envoy, and if, as lowly mortals, we can even comprehend the stakes of such immortal beings.

Even at only sixteen pages long, The Envoy and The Warrior is equally as fascinating and dynamic as Habitat and Griz Grobus. As mentioned above, Roy is clearly content at showing us snapshots of these worlds and galaxies, allowing the reader to piece the connections together themselves, rather than dump lore and backstory on top of us. It's a great approach and everything I could have hoped for after Habitat. Roy's work continues to impress, and I can't wait to see where he goes with it next.

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Jack Harvey 2023. The Envoy and The Warrior (c) 2023 Simon Roy. Images used under Fair Use.

Precious Resources

Hello folks. It's a fine day to bring you some exciting new material, and this time it's a short, humorous comic about a bunch of gnomes digging far deeper than they ever should have.

Art is by the ever fantastic Kristina Amuan, who previously worked on my Warhammer 40k comic A Conspiracy of Riches. Kristina is absolutely phenomenal at drawing gnomes, so I knew she was the ideal choice for this project, and she didn't disappoint. 

(click to enlarge)

Once again, a massive thanks to Kristina for her work on this, which is always a delight to see. If you want to see more of her work and support her, you can find all the details on her website here.

Elevating the Lowest of Art to Something Grander with I Roved Out In Search of Truth and Love - An Obscure Comic of the Month Special Edition.

 This column normally takes a look at obscure comics. For every every sixth month, instead of taking a look at a comic that nobody talks about, this special edition will take a look at a comic I feel not enough people talk about.

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I Roved Out in Search of Truth and Love by Alexis Flower 2014 - Present

Contains Mild Spoilers and discussion of extremely Not Safe For Work subject matter.

John Carmack once said "Story in a game is like a story in a porn movie. It's expected to be there, but it's not that important," and while this column is neither about video games nor porn movies, I think it's still a pertinent quote to start this discussion with. Today I'll be talking about Alexis Flower's pornographic comic, I Roved Out in Search of Truth and Love.

Yes, you heard me. Pornographic. I'm not going to mince words here. We're not talking about a cheeky romance or tastefully erotic adventure. This isn't Sex Criminals or Sunstone. The sex depicted in Roved is about as graphic as you can get. Pretending the comic is just mildly saucy would be ultimately dishonest.

So let's go back to that John Carmack quote. Is the storyline of Roved merely there to serve as a delivery system for vulgar titillation? No, it is not. However, that isn't a rare thing in and of itself. There is famously a Star Trek The Next Generation porn parody out there that works as a genuinely good TNG episode if you just excise the sex entirely. Well written stories sandwiched between sexual content is not unheard of in the world of adult storytelling, but Roved doesn't fall into that category either.

Alexis Flower has created a rare thing. A first rate story with fantastic characters, dense world building and shocking twists and turns, where the sex drives the plot, not the other way around. While it's world and characters are taken seriously within their own context, the sex is often the cause of, or solution to, various plot complications and obstacles.

And the art is fantastic of course. By god the art is fantastic.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Roved tells the story of Cinder and Maeryll, two reluctant adventurers who just want an easy life. Despite their best efforts, they nonetheless end up drawn into a sprawling quest involving multiple factions fighting over a fallen piece of god. Along the way they end up getting lost, make a lot of enemies, run into figures from their past, and have sex with a lot of people, including each other.

Flower puts a metric tonne of raw charisma into these characters. Cinder and Maeryll are utterly complete personalities, with their own foibles and flaws. They are equal parts funny and tragic, and even when they aren't have having sex with someone, or some-thing, they are still magnetically fun to be around. Watching them bumble their way though an upper class party or try and helplessly survive in the wilderness is just as fun as watching them getting it on.

And get it on they do. This goes back to what I was saying earlier. Unlike many other stories that are intended to titillate, Roved does not rely on slim excuses or 'porn logic' to get the characters naked. A great deal of the plot is often driven by a character's decision to bang another character. Early in the story, Cinder has sex with a magical forest lord, accidentally triggering an ancient ritual that turns him into a frog, and leaves her with a not insignificant problem. Likewise, a great deal of the story involves investigating Maeryll's mysterious curse, that causes bad misfortune whenever she climaxes. Working around, and overcoming these problems, becomes a large part of what moves the story, and removing the sex would scupper it entirely.

What's great about the comic is that even if some of the sexual content is stuff you're not into (and there's big chunks that I'm not into,) there's still a lot of fun and humour to the sex that makes it enjoyable to watch even if you're not titillated by it. This is partly due to the fact that Flower understands that sex is a fundamentally ridiculous concept, which in real life is often clumsy and silly looking. This is depicted in a lot of the sex on show, where characters bash into each other, fall over, get blinded by airborne fluids and fall prey to other such minor misfortunes. There's legitimate raw comedy on display whenever characters choose to bone down.

It's this silliness that puts Roved a cut above a lot of it's contemporaries. There's a warmth and good natured attitude towards the sex that neither sensationalises nor eroticises. Shame and guilt are not words that apply here, at least not as far as the sex is concerned. There's a human quality to the whole thing that just makes it a pleasure to read (and not in that kind of way but also yes in that kind of way.)

Our two adventurers are only part of a wider story however. The world is also filled with a wealth of other characters, both heroic, villainous and in-between. Their stories all intersect in interesting ways, with some seeming to play the long game, a major plot point only blossoming slowly as time goes on. These intersections allow the comic to inject itself with a great deal of opposing tones, from forlorn, blossoming romances, to the ritual and ceremony around dark, horrific and unknowable gods. If you thought the comic was just a shallow parody of fantasy tropes, be prepared to be surprised at how deep this rabbit hole goes.

And ultimately, putting aside all talk of sex and titration, the story is still great in it's own right. This world of warring factions, long forgotten magics, gods unknowable, forces cosmic, conflict costly, riches desired, friendships forged and broken, secrets concealed and mysteries revealed is just fantastic to get lost in. I genuinely want to know what's going to happen next, independent of any of the smutty stuff that happens in the adjacent.

And the art is fantastic too of course. By god the art is fantastic too. Flower's painterly tone is firing on all cylinders at all times. Whether it is a sunrise over a beautiful scenic vista, regiments of tightly formed marching soldiers, grotesque dungeon dwelling monsters, or two characters pounding each other's brains out, every panel is a work of art in it's own right. Flower brings both their characters and fantasy world to life with the same charisma and depth that the writing has, and even if the story wasn't a perfect marriage between great storytelling and graphic smut, it'd be worth recommending just for the art alone anyway.

The comic has nearly completed it's third volume, with no sign of slowing down, nor running out of crazy, wonderful, surprising ideas. It'd be easy to dismiss Flowers work as vulgar, low art, but I disagree. John Carmack was wrong when he said that story wasn't important. We've long had evidence against that in the world of video games. I think Roved is proof that we can reject that notion when it comes to pornography too.

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Jack Harvey 2023. I Roved Out in Search of Truth and Love is (c) Alexis Flower. Images used under Fair Use.

Jack's May Update

 It's a busy year with lots going on but I'll try and be as brief as possible. Big news is coming, so here's what's been going on.

- As usual I'll be guesting on the BatMinute podcast, which is currently discussing Mask of the Phantasm this season. I'm coving minutes at the tail end of the film, so expect me later in the year.

- My short story, The Silent Approach is available to read in full now, but work is still being done by Windlass on some amazing artwork to go with it. Expect updates periodically.

- I'm currently working on a new Warhammer 40k story, with art by Crippled Giraff. I won't give away too much for the moment but expect some Orky goodness.

- A comic I worked on with Kristina is still on the way, and I'm eager to start collaborating with other artists on scripts also, so I'm hoping to hammer out some ideas fairly soon.

- The short comic, One Hell of A Night, with writing by me and art by Sam W, now has print copies that I'll be selling at conventions while they last.

Speaking of conventions:

- I'll be at Newcastle Comic-Con the 18th June. I'll also be at Carlisle Megacon on 19th August. As ever I'll be selling prints and copies of all my books and comics. Always happy to chat.

- Most critically, I'll be at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival on the 29th and 30th September. It's a pretty prestigious event, so you can expect I'll be absolutely bringing my A game, and I'll be hoping to have some additional work in print by that point to get out there to the people.

It's a busy year but I'm eager to keep putting out work and then getting that work out there.

Thanks for reading.

Obscure Comic of the Month - R.D.W: A Tale of Lost Fantasy

Obscure Comic of the Month is a column where I take a look at a comic or series that hasn't really been talked about. This covers independent comics, zines, weird spin-offs, webcomics and more.

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R.D.W: A Tale of Lost Fantasy by Marco Rudy

Contains Mild Spoilers

In his afterword, Marko Rudy explains that R.D.W began life as a pitch to Dark Horse Comics for him to write and illustrate a spin-off series of The Witcher franchise. This, of course, comes as no surprise to anyone with a passing familiarity with The Witcher, either from the books, TV show or video games. Our story begins starring a white haired protagonist, and there is much talk of an ongoing war and an elven uprising. The fist thing that went through my head when reading this comic was; "Ah, clearly this guy really wanted to write a Witcher comic."

If that sounds like a negative, it isn't, although you'd be forgiven for thinking that way. I'm a great lover of stories that started life as an attempt to write a licenced product, before the creator just goes 'fuck it!' and files off the serial number and writes their own. It's this kind of genesis that has created some of the greatest of stories, and I'm always eager to see new ones grow.

If you're a fan of The Witcher there is much to love here. Our protagonist is Astrid, a wandering former soldier of some renown who is now wracked with amnesia and mental damage, unsure if her visions are memories or hallucinations. Half dead and half starved, she nonetheless saves a group of deserters from a monstrous death, who then proceed to debate the merits of helping this clearly unbalanced individual or deserting her.

The comic is relatively short, and moves at a brisk pace given that dialogue is light and the action is swift and over quickly. In his introduction Rudy explains that the comic is not to be rushed, and that each page warrants a slower, more detailed examination. Indeed, the pages are packed with details, particularly the flashbacks and visions that only impart ambiguous information and may require multiple reads to coax out clues about Astrid's past.

The other reason for the comic's short length is, however, more obvious, and that is the quality of the art Rudy puts into it. Each page is a work of art in it's own right, assembled via traditional means, many feel as though they belong hanging framed in a gallery. Rudy has painstakingly assembled each sequence, taking no shortcuts and employing no digital trickery. I imagine Rudy would have made the book longer if he could have done, but the time and care required to bring such details to the page meant that he had to stump for quality over quantity.

Yet what quality it is. Rudy really does bring his all to the protect, rendering all elements of a page with maximum detail, even down to background characters and loose trinkets. From green forests to festering swamps, each brushstroke brings you closer and deeper into this mysterious world. Whether it's the beautifully snow capped peaks of a mountain range, or the berserker blooded kaleidoscope of a psychedelic vision, there's always something fantastic to look at on every page of R.D.W, and Rudy has cut no corners when it comes to executing his vision.

R.D.W is a short but sharp shot of adrenaline injected directly into your eyeballs. Rudy ends the story on a 'To be continued,' committing himself to the unenviable task of continuing the tale with such high effort artwork. Thinking of him toiling away, working on more of those beautiful pages, makes me feel as though he and his exhausted protagonist Astrid may have a lot in common.

R.D.W is a rare thing, and one that could be easily dismissed due to it's short length in this world where the lionisation of 'content' has led us to value quantity more than quality. There's all sorts to discover between it's pages, and deserves to be known as more than The Witcher story Dark Horse wouldn't accept. I don't know how far Marco plans to go with his dark fantasy tale, but I raise a glass to him, because I'm eager to find out.

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Jack Harvey 2023. R.D.W A Tale of Lost Fantasy (c) 2021 Marco Rudy. Images used under Fair Use.

Sea of Spheres - The Silent Approach

 

Welcome folks. We are once again taking a trip to the physics defying Sea of Spheres, where we finally delve into a sky-ship centric story following a motley crew of ambitious pirates as they sail through the skies in search of adventure and fortune.

I'm continued to be blown away by the fantastic artwork by Windlass, and can't wait for you to see more of the artwork created for this story.

Captain Brenda Loggins has lived a long and storied career as one of the pirates of New Wherewithal, and can count her continued survival on caution, nerve and pragmatism. Yet even she is not immune to the tantalising pull of fame and fortune. When she is told of plans to raid a Ratakaran skyberg, one of the titanic mobile vaults of the Sea of Spheres' largest banks, the temptation proves too much.

Propelled into a high steaks, low survival raid against almost impossible odds, Loggins must rely on her unlikely set of allies. Her faithful raid chief Maggie-Anne, her hated rival Captain Daxxon and Ratakaran turncoat Contrammiraglio Babette. The risk is high, but the reward even higher. Can Loggins pull off the raid while preventing her disparate accomplices from killing each other before the adventure is through?

Inspired by pirate epics both current and classic, The Silent Approach explores the idea of freedom and obligation and the tension that exists between these nebulous ideas. You can start reading it here, and it'll update over four parts every Thursday. 

Obscure Comic of the Month - Sagas of the Shield Maiden

Obscure Comic of the Month is a column where I take a look at a comic or series that hasn't really been talked about. This covers independent comics, zines, weird spin-offs, webcomics and more.

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Sagas of the Shield Maiden Volumes 1 and 2 by Asa Wheatley, Daniel Coloma, Kay Baird, Kevin Keane, Michelle Marham, Sammy Ward, Alex Moore, Alex Schlitz, Katie Fleming and Fabi Marquez - 2021

Contains Mild Spoilers

It feels like the last decade or so has almost completely buried us underneath stories of the Viking Era. From Vikings to The Last Kingdom on TV, Valhalla Rising to The Northman in film, Assassins Creed Valhalla to the more recent God of War in video games and Northlanders to Heathen in the world of comics. It can leave a person wondering what there is even left to explore in the stories of this world.

Asa Wheatley's answer to that conundrum, in the form of his comic book anthology, Sagas of the Shield Maiden, is to really not worry too much about it, and simply write from the heart. Which has been a pretty effective strategy so far.

Currently at two volumes, Sagas of the Shield Maiden tackles the titular Shield Maiden as a folkloric figure and tells a series of short stories with loose connectivity. Some stories are action packed, while others are comedic or suspenseful. There is not a long, ongoing plot, and indeed it is completely possible to read the stories in any order and still understand them perfectly.

What Wheatley is doing here is walking in the steps of the folkloric tradition. His comic is not interested in setting up some grand sweeping epic, but instead using it's protagonist to explore a time and a place that can be difficult to parse through the modern lens. In some stories the Shield Maiden is a noble hero standing up for the downtrodden, in others a frightening force of nature, and in others still she is purely mercenary, doing what she does merely to make a living.

Wheatley uses this freedom to tell a whole host of engrossing stories, and because they jump to different tones and perspectives we are never at risk of getting board. As one story finishes, another begins, like expertly crafted courses being served as part of a Michelin star taster menu.

And expertly crafted they are. Wheatley has brought together a veritable dream team of artists who bring their own individual flair to the character, and every story in both volumes is bursting with life. Whether it is a burning village or snow capped peaks, every story has striking visuals that make the comics worth picking up alone.

Each story across both volumes is great, but there are some particular standouts. A Bounty Paid, in which a Jarl's cocky son tries to wrest some form of satisfaction over a perceived insult, is as clever as it is witty. Three Spears of Ravens Blood, in which a lie told quickly escalates into needless bloodshed, is dark and brooding with a sense of weight few stories can manage.

Every story has a strong moment. A dark twist. A surprise turn. A tense stand off. It makes these bite sized tales feel longer and deeper than their page counts would normally allow. There's an economy of storytelling here that, again, draws from the folkloric tradition, and is well suited to be executed within the medium of comics.

Does Sagas of the Shield Maiden run the risk of telling stories that have been told before and been told better? Maybe, but as I've probably made clear Wheatley and his team of expertly selected artists deliver these stories with such a deft of craft and confidence of voice that you're just going to thoroughly enjoy the ride.

With a third volume on the way, I think Sagas of the Shield Maiden is under no risk of becoming a redundancy, and if you've been on the fence, feeling that stories about the Viking world are currently oversaturated, fear not. This comic is well worth your time.

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Jack Harvey 2023. Sagas of the Shield Maiden (c) 2021 Asa Wheatley. Images used under Fair Use.