Does it qualify as a Rickroll if the link is labeled Rick Astley, you expect to see the video of Never Gonna Give you up but instead get greeted by the classic "not available in your country" notice? Or do we call that a Youtube?

A Tuberoll?

Who wants to bet it's Rado... or what's left of him?

I'm not a fan of the new art, but it is growing on me. Some of the individual frames have been really good, and almost have me convinced.

At any rate, the comic is great, I'm glad I have free access to an interesting story that someone is putting good time and energy into, and anyone who is seriously going to complain under those circumstances has some issues. Thanks for the entertainment!

iO9 did an article about The Dreadful :D Link

The article makes the comic sound so well put together! I read that and I'm like "Wow, my comic actually sounds pretty good!" :)

Normally I just think it's a big mess :P

EDIT: Though... Based on that picture of a dragoon with a pentagram on it, I may wanna alter the dreadful's appearance slightly. I didn't realize there was another western with a gun like that in it. However, a western with a dragoon isn't exactly uncommon (True Grit, Seraphim Falls, etc..), so I dunno if it's necessary...hmm...

Well, no accounting for taste, I guess.

The centaur I expected. The other two, not so much.

Page 67

Jeanne is a pleasant person.

Nooooooooooooooookay.

I thought at least one of those characters would last much longer than he did.

I should probably quit killing characters. Though I guess this particular incident is more about characterization on Jeanne's part.

I don't think you need to quit killing characters . I don't think doing that is something writers should shy away from if it's how they want to write the story.

By the way:

Called it! Partially.


That's true. After all, I didn't just kill them spontaneously...though I think some people might feel that I did. More explanationI wanted Jeanne to do what she did and I needed her to do it to characters who were lightly established. I didn't feel the incident would have worked with characters totally unfamiliar to the readers. Yet I couldn't have it happen to characters who were TOO familiar...(not yet anyway..)

Yep! It shows that Jeanne is a nice person who shares Kit's views, as she killed off Muttonchops, a member of Kit's hit list.

And Rado probably broke a leg, so then Jeanne had to shoot him. Just like Kit.

And what better way to get back at Liz, who Kit hates, than to kill her employer? No more money for her!

So yeah. Kit looks much better with her hat back on. 100% better.

Poor centaur guy, we barely knew ye

Ya know, if I didn't know any better, I'd swear that Jeanne were some sorta Man-hating jerk!

Wait, is... is...
is McGrath Mr. T?

Cause, I mean, that totally looks like Mr. T impaled there. Though Jeanne took his Mohawk as a trophy.

Page 68!

Kit needs a horse...

Liz could also use a new hat.

Oh lord was Kit actually riding the horse guy? Thats hilarious.

...in so many ways. :rolleyes:

Not a fan of it either - it's really just the lips for me. They stick out too much. Still love the story though, look forward to it.

I think one of the hardest parts about creating any sort of universe has got to be taking the time to invest yourself in the creation of a person you know won't last long enough to be explored. Sometimes you can keep them Nameless/Faceless and make the process easier, but not always. I would look at the ability to 'pull the trigger', so to speak, as a sign of creative maturity, and a devotion to the original intent of the story.

I wish other series had this problem. I grow incredibly weary of being constantly subjected to people who do not die when they are killed.

Edit: I AM A GOOMBA THIS IS HILARIOUS

Page 69!

Liz decides to make good on something she had planned to do with Burke.

Looking back at the old comic you linked, the change in art, though subtle, looks way better than how the comic looked back then.

That's what I've been saying all along! :)

The people do seem to fit in better with the landscape.

Damn it! Where the frag's that dislike button?!

Ohhhh? A little identity confusion for the new comic, mm? I suspect a bit of something interesting in the next episode.

God forbid, a few pages of setup. In a comic that is most likely supposed to be read in chunks. Let's all boycott this comic until we get at least one pair of clearly visible tits and gunfights or whatever qualifies as interesting for you on every page.

On a more serious note: Nothing against tits and gunfights, but there's a time and place for those.

This recent page made me realize that the thing that the thing that was most off-putting about the new art was the fact that kit's horns were in front of her hair, but for now, the hat seems to hide that fact.

Page 70!

(though it seems like most everyone knows already).

I was a little busy yesterday so I didn't get around to checking the site till just now :D

I think I watched the Shrek movies one too many times, because my first thought on seeing the new girl was "She's an ogre", followed by "Sup, Fiona".

I'm not sure how I'd draw ogres in The Dreadful. I haven't gotten much into the monsters yet. I've drawn a troll for an upcoming Advertisement, but that's really it so far.

I should probably get into that stuff, because it seems like the kinda thing people wanna see. I guess I've focused more on building a narrative and working with the characters I have instead of dumping monster after monster on everyone.

But with as fast paced and immediate as the internet world seems to be, I sometimes feel like this comic is moving far too slowly. Though I think a lot of it has to do with me struggling to get used to this whole idea of writing (I haven't done it much). Hopefully it hasn't been too boring. :)

Nah, don't worry about it. For one, you aren't a robot.

Your pace seems good, anyways. No need to rush and shove characters in for the hell of it. Adding lots of characters at once is never a smart idea, anyways.

It took the Light Warriors two years to get past the first dungeon. I'm pretty sure this crowd won't have a problem with the pace of The Dreadful.

Its pace of updates, not pace of the plot. 8-bit theatre pretty much always updated several times a week.

It's Page 71!

Liz pulls a fast one....though this guy seems like relatively easy pickings.

Or a pair of horns.

Advertisement!

Kit needs to keep her lips in good condition!

I'm suprised companies haven't tapped in the raw potential of webcomic artists more often.
If they did, people would actually pay attention to their products, the comic is stuck in my head and i dont even use lipstick!

Oh they tried. Old comics often had commercials in them. Usually narm-worthy and really really bad.

Like commercials for Hostess Cupcakes and such. Those are the inspiration for what I'm doing in The Dreadful :)

Like there would be one where Spider-man would distract the Lizard with a twinkie and capture him. I should have a comic where Kit is up against some sorta... dark lord of the abyss and she beats it with a candy bar.

I go back and forth with The Dreadful. Sometimes I want it really serious with a continuous story and other times I want it to be goofy with a bunch of disjointed mini-comics (like each story is only 4-5 pages long).

I wish I had started with the latter and then built up to a continuous plot, but I can't really do that now. I'd think jumping around too much would be confusing to new readers.

Maybe I could convince Brian to open up another Dreadful section of the site where I could put those. Like have the main comic be Kit, and then the other section be for mini stories like that (either featuring Kit or other characters, like El Sabueso or Liz). I could maybe have guest-writers or artists for those too.

Out of curiosity, did this one come up because of all us fruit-loops complaining about the lips in the new art style?:D

Pretty much, yeah :)

All I could think of as I read this comic was "Touche, Speroni. Touche."

Page 72!

Liz likes the monies.

Unfortunately, working together ALSO means that it'll be hard to actually keep the money.

Yeah. Kit's not exactly fallen in with the most altruistic of partners here. :)

Page 73!

Looks like their partnership is already experiencing some problems...That was fast!

you should likely draw all the teeth that would be visible when someones mouth is open. It looks alot better and not like she only has 12 teeth.

Also, that mouth expression at the end seems somewhat unrealistic. because your mouth doesn't really make that shape when you yell that phrase.

Besides that good page.

Actually you should NEVER draw each individual tooth. Artistic Technique RamblingIf someone told you that: ignore them. It looks hideous from a design standpoint. There are too many lines crammed into a small space, and it creates a focal point you do NOT want. It's also superfluous detail, the same reason why people don't draw individual eyelashes. It's enough to suggest them unless there is some weird reason not to, or you are very up close where the focus is on the teeth. Fangs are a small exception, because their nature is pronounced and they're generally meant to be noticed (you also really can't "suggest" fangs). I sometimes will draw individual teeth, but only on "ugly" characters, and even then I won't draw them all. You can find this advice in many "How to Draw People" books. Also just look through comics, it's very rare you see someone with each individual tooth drawn. And from the standpoint of a colorist (which I also am) it can be a bit of a hassle. In some cases it's best to let the coloring do the work, and if you got a bunch of little lines all in a small space like that it can make things look a bit smudged once the color is laid down. It also clashes with the open area around it (creating that unwanted focal point again).

That's a lot of tooth-talk! But I wanted to spend some time discussing it because it's a cartooning technique, and I figured the advice might be helpful to any artists who might be reading this thread :D . (I actually know a thing or two about drawing, you know? -- and I also like talking art-technique, especially when it comes to relatively "little" things).

As for the mouth position..eh...it seems okay to me. I suppose I could have improved on it though. It's hard to get it perfect because I sometimes will alter dialog AFTER I've drawn the panel. I think it's enough to have Kit "yelling" because that's what she's doing. A lot of times in panels it's about the "expression" and not the literalness of it. Though I guess if you can do both that's good, but it's not always possible (especially if the artist and writer are two different people).

I understand the not drawing each individual teeth, that wasn't exactly my point though, I was saying with the way her mouth is open her molars would atleast be semi-visible but they don't exist in the drawing, making the bottom left of the mouth have a form of awkwardness where they end. This might be a bit hard to do though(I'm not much of a artist, but I do enjoy the works.)

Long story short:If possible, placement of molars where they would be visible would be a nice artistic touch.
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/742/teethi.png
See?


Also you make a really good point with the expressions, lol.

The troll is one instance where I actually drew each tooth :)

but he's ugly, so it works.

I see what you mean though. I guess I just pretended as if her tongue was covering up her molars.

Re: How the mouth's open: I figure, it just needs to show she's yelling, and that does fit the position your mouth would be for "You", anyways, roughly. It's not like animation where you can see that the words don't line up with the mouth.

I generally try to have the character's mouth in a position that is close to what they're saying, but sometimes after I'm done drawing a page I'll end up changing the dialog two or three different times. It's tricky to get it perfect unless I want to draw a panel over and over again. However it is just enough to show them "yelling", so I don't dwell on it if it's off.

Though I think Kit's mouth being like it is would be close to the position for "Got".

Nothing wrong with the occasional kung fu dub.

Page 74!

Liz finally pushes it too far with Kit...

Well, this little argument would have looked pretty silly in the old art style.

Yeah.

Scenes like this are one of the reasons I changed it. Kit just can't look really pissed when she's cutesy anime.

Since I'm now the mouth guy, can I just say good job with all the art. All of it works awesomely. Also her back teeth are drawn, sha-wing.

Good chapter. This is why the new art style is better, you can put alot more facial detail.

Yay :D

You should change your thingie from "Goomba" to "Mouth Guy" :)

Agree with other posts. Though the original style had lots of appealing aspects, the recent panels show a much wider range of facial expression. Also the style of Kit with her hat has stabilized in very nice ways. The jaw angle with the stripes, and the relating of the hat/horns to the rest of the face really works well. Also, the variety of ways you are drawing her nose really help the expression.

Thanks :D Glad the new style is growing on people (I've had a few more comments about it on other sites).

There's an upcoming scene that I think will further prove why the change was necessary. I'm not gonna spoil anything, but I think you'll know it when you see it.

Do you have any non spoilery art of Poe laying around in the new art style? I've been wondering what she looks like in the new style for a while.

If we got to wait til she shows back up, then that's fine too.

Nope, I'm afraid I don't have any pics of Poe in the new style yet. I could make one I suppose :)

Though I guess she'd look pretty much like Kit, except with a different hair style, outfit and a different "vibe" to her. Like the Luigi to Kit's Mario.

I still haven't decided on whether or not to make them identical twins or just have them look really alike. That woman confused Kit with Poe, so they can't look too different.

Sigh. Once again RSS says there's a new Dreadful up... and when I go to http://www.nuklearpower.com/2011/11/...l-075-and-076/ I just get a broken image icon. Again.

Yeah it's broken for me too. The site is such a tease!

It'll be up soon. Usually within about 15 mins of when Brian posts the page.

Double Sized Update!

Was this a good decision, or have they screwed themselves because they couldn't get along?

They're so gay for each other. They just don't know it yet. KitxLiz: too obvious to be OTP but that doesn't mean it can't be hot.

I make everyone as gay for each other as possible just for the fanfic writers.

No need to be so generous, the fan fic writer have plenty of tricks to make it work even if the characters aren't actually gay for each other.

They'd have to be gay for each other, there's not a single good looking dude in this comic.

A terrible oversight! Speroni, I demand sexy dudeservice this instant!

Boozloaf doesn't do anything for you? You even got to see him with no shirt on that one time.

vvEdit: Oh god, what have I done?...

Yeah, even I felt some moovements down below when I saw that sexy son of a cow.

You could say that the sight of that marvelous beefcake gave you a Moo Mesa in your pants.

Don't worry! I plan on having some non-ugly dudes in it eventually. I just haven't got to 'em yet. :)

Or maybe I plan on having a bunch of sexy lady characters and then introduce a rather everyman character they're all in love with for some weird reason. Like Tenchi Muyo. The character's name will be... Mark Moroni and he'll be a misunderstood writer/artist...Yeah... Totes not an author stand in.

I'd post in this thread more, but I can only say I'm enjoying the comic so much.
 

I approve of this.

Silly phil, it doesn't entirely work if there isn't another sexy hunk for him to potentially make out with!

I mean, he's a prime package of meat. Grade A, even. But he would still require some fella to show tenderizing care... and sloppy mak3outs.

Boozy is a total beefcake.