God dammit. The first thing I thought when I was the new page was "Nurse Joy!". And then I realized Matt had already spoiled it.

It could happen! You never know. I will be finished working on Chapter Six by the end of this week and then I'll think about it. I'm seven weeks ahead of schedule, so I have time.

I haven't decided what I want to do for the Between Chapter Bonus yet. I was thinking of doing another wallpaper or two, but I don't know. I might just go for another advert that I do myself. Whatever I do, I want it to be relatively short. Maybe just take the space of a single update, because Chapter Six ends in such a way that I really want to get into Chapter 7 as soon as possible. I don't know if I want to take a week away from the story like I did the last few times.

Wait.
 

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait.

Are ghosts... born that way...?

*runs and hides*

(But seriously, is there some necromancy-type-magic thing that makes them, or are they just born with the propensity to become ghosts, or... what's the method of making them, you know, ghosts? And more importantly: do zombies have ghosts?)

Well, I'd say a ghost in The Dreadful is like a ghost in any other fantasy type setting. Meaning there's no single explanation for their origin or purpose.

Probably safe to assume that this ghost has been created by whatever the "standard process" of ghost creation is. She's kind of cute, so at least undeath hasn't made her look all horrible and haggard.

At least in her case becoming a ghost is better than becoming a zombie.

Page 141!

Don't argue with Mister Shelby's maid. Knowing this comic, she's probably a Battle Maid or something :D

(also, Shelby says something somewhat critical. It doesn't look like Kit is in a very safe place right now...)

Has she ever been?

Is Shelby's Maid related to Mercy Graves?

Possibly. I think of her as maid/bodyguard.

I'll have to put her in the comic more in the future. She doesn't even have a name yet (though I keep leaning toward "Anna")

Damn, she's tall. Anna is a nice maid name, she also kinda looks like a "Bridget," or a fancy two-namer person, like... "Heatherlynn," lol.

Kind of a bummer to see that Poe is actually working for Jeanne, as well. I was really hoping Liz was exaggerating when she said that to Kit. Ah well, makes for more dramatic tension, which makes for better story.

"Heather" isn't a bad name. Maybe there could be a bunch of them. All graduates of Battle Maid University.

Except I just realized that if I have one named Anna and one named Heather that'd be names of two girls I had crushes on in High School... Maybe I'll just name them all after girls I had crushes on and TOTALLY NOT BE CREEPY.

(though they are pretty names).

Poe's relationship with Kit and Jeanne is...something that'll have to be explored later.

I think what's more alarming, or at least should be if you're in Kit's boots, is that Erin is with Jeanne. Right now. And they're going to where Kit is.

Ooh, that Erin. I do wonder if Jeanne knows that Erin is undead and has a, ahem, passenger. Can't wait to find out. :)

You should know more Tuesday!

So Erin made it back to Jeanne alright?

Wait, why in the hell would Erin/Ith want to go back to Jeanne?

For the good dental plan obviously :P

true enough, Jeanne probably rips out enough teeth...

I'm sure there's probably some security benefit that comes with working for Jeanne. Like, she probably won't kill you...right away.

I dunno man. See, the way I see it is, it's much easier for Jeanne to kill you if you're right there. I've never met anybody who could kill me from more than 100 miles away. (And I don't intend to)

Page 142!

Uh oh.

EDIT: Just was brought to my attention there is a typo on panel two. Ah well, I suppose one typo every 142 pages isn't too bad :P

Weren't there typos all the time in 8-bit? :D

Ahaha, i bet Jeanne likes Erin better the way she is now. :D

It's like two gang-members for the price of one!

Well. Cold Sniper+Sadistic faery mage = Good times. Even if they happen to inhabit the same body.

I like how Erin's horse is noticeably frightened by Jeanne's horse, while Jeanne's horse doesn't even give a care about anything.

Like having pupils. It's too evil to give a damn about those things.

It takes after its rider :D

Jeanne's a Clydesdale?

She's built like one.

I've been wondering for a awhile, but what type of devkin is Jeanne? She's got no horns and no tail from what I can tell. Is it possible for humans and devkin to breed or do some devkin just not have horns?

Jeanne is actually an unspecified race, not a devikin :)

She's kind of a dull green/grey color. I'm going to do a picture of her soon that I'll color so people can get an idea what she would look like (in color).

Huh, I always thought of Jeanne as a witch. The only two reasons being that 1. the green skin and 2. Kit hating spell casters.

Well, we haven't actually seen Jeanne do anything yet, so time will tell!

So that is in fact a Clydesdale she's riding?

I dunno if it is that breed specifically, but it has the anatomical characteristics of a Clydesdale (except for the fact it doesn't have pupils).

Oh, Matt, I meant to point this out yesterday but there's a typo in panel #2.

"So if you don't mind, will you say here while we go take a look?"

Yeah, I noticed that shortly after I saw it posted. I tried getting an updated version posted, but unfortunately the site is terrible about actually making the change.

For example, I made a change to page 32 like probably a year ago and the site STILL isn't displaying it >_<

I have no idea why that is. But, I guess we'll all just have to live with the typo :P

(if the comic ever gets printed I will have the typo fixed, for sure)

I could tell it was a draught horse, but didn't know if it was (the Dreadfulverse equivalent of) a Clydesdale or a Shire. They look very similar. Thanks for the clarification!

Page 143!

Don't you make him use the wu shu!

Judging from Poe's expression I think she thinks she's being scammed.

I have a suspicion she's right.

Oh, for fuck's sake, Luke. (hurr, unintentional pun)

Now all that remains to be seen is just how bad she's going to kick his ass for this.

Is there a psychological term for a desire to be humiliated by devikins?

If there is, Luke has it.

You know, for a total ponce with a sex drive great enough to get him into all kinds of hilariously awkward situations, that Lucas isn't so unlovable.

Lucas not too bright is he.

He's lucky this is Poe and not Kit!

What are you talking about? This paragon of virtue is clearly protecting the pink lady from an amorous cyclops who didn't memorise his lines, the idiot!

Lucas, best character or BEST best character?

Rather than going back and telling his sister why he's not at work and why he didn't come home the night previous he's in town hitting on girls.

I think she MIGHT kill him.


(I also realized Page 118 was the last time we saw Boozloaf. Dangit, I need to start making pages faster, and get to posting them faster. Or I need to stop leaving characters behind for so long. Maybe I need to do all three of these things...Like, where's Liz! :( )

I wish Kit was there. Then we could rename this chapter "Chapter 6: Kit shoots retarded people in the face".

Although I guess Dreadful could turn into some sort of Knights of Cydonia-like "Kung fu&Revolvers western" I really don't think Lucas is the one to take it in that direction :)

Well, Kit's dreadful blast is like a kamehameha (a horrible version of one) so I guess it could eventually turn into Dreadfulball Z.

Page 144!

I don't think Lucas is as "in" with Poe as he probably thinks he is...

He's definitely not as far in as he wants to be!

Hey now! It's not that kind of comic....yet.

(I'm not desperate enough for attention at the moment)

I was hoping there would be a subtle clue in Poe's dialouge with Lucas that would tip whether or not she's really working with Jeanne or just kind of stuck with her, but you're keeping it under wraps very well. Nice one, Speroni.

She didn't seem to actually care that Jeanne was going to, presumably, murder Kit, other than that she wasn't told. Her response to that was of someone disappointed about being left out of something as opposed to someone worried about their sister being killed.

Unless Poe doesn't know that Kit is where Jeanne is going, and Jeanne didn't tell her anything precisely because she knew Poe would object to it.

So yeah she's disappointed on missing out on something, but she probably doesn't know that it's some sister murdering.

That is, if Jeanne even knows Kit is at Dobb's place.

I'm kind of assuming they know what The Dreadful does, because, you know, they rolled with Kit for quite awhile and you'd have to be kinda dense to not figure out there's always zombie/demon outbreaks after she uses it.

Ergo: Zombie Outbreak -> Poe and Jeanne are both interested in it -> Jeanne goes after lead.

Conclusion, Jeanne is huntin' pinkies (though probably doesn't know Kit is there at the time, true).

Also, there's a pretty good indication that Poe was gonna tell Jeanne about Kit on that page "About zombies and. . . other things. . ."

Well, it sounds like Jeanne doesn't know Kit is actually AT Dobb's, because she would be going off a lead given to her by the Sheriff, and Lucas just said he left the part about the "pinky gunslinger" out. Also, If poe's spider sense didn't go off about the zombies when they were initially mentioned, my guess is that this zombie thing is something new or never seen before sideeffect of Kits power.

Seems like it's only Poe who knows that Kit is the one responsible/involved.

Wait, Poe and Kit are twin sisters? Fraternal or identical because they don't look the same to me. Maybe it's Poe's longer hair that's throwing me off.

Well, face-wise I draw them exactly the same, though their bodies are a little different. Kit is a lot more muscular due to all the physical labor/shootin' dudes she's done in her life. Also they carry themselves differently. Kit has a more "take charge" presence and Poe is more reserved.

So these things plus Poe's hairstyle might make them look more different than they do. Also it's hard to draw someone look exactly the same in every panel (it's a lot easier using a manga-style though). I don't think even Kit looks the same in every panel.

Hang it, is it really established that the zombies at Doc's place have anything to do with the Dreadful? I suppose Occam's Razor suggests so; but I didn't recognize any of them as being from Burke's gang, and the ones Erin ran into weren't yelling "blood" and having tentacles come out their mouths. Though they all appear to have the throat lump. So did Burke's zombies go breed more zombies, or did the Burke spider do it, or are they from some previous Dreadful incident, or is there some different zombie source?

It's a mystery!

I'm trying to avoid having an extended period of exposition where I flat out tell everyone what's going on, because I don't like that kind thing. I'm trying to let things develop gradually.

The problem is there are a lot of other things that need to develop too, so it sometimes takes awhile for me to get back to one plot thread. Add to that the fact the comic only updates twice a week and it's really slow...

I'm thinking I may start updating three times a week, since I've been getting into a routine of doing 3-4 pages a week and am going to start shooting for five.

Double Page!

Pages 145 and 146!

Lucas "immediately fleeing in terror" out the back entrance sorta conflicts with the tale he told in the bar...For some reason I believe the Ghost Nurse more than him...

Let me just make sure I have the time frame right here...

Kit's breakfast and subsequent visit to Doc's was later the same morning as the abortive attack on the cabin, right?

So Lucas, who was supposedly out "drinkin' with his idiot friends" the night before was in fact somehow (how?) caught up in the cabin attack; after he helped Aurox bury the dead gunslinger, he rode off. Some hours later Kit and Aurox headed in the same direction (presumably more slowly since Aurox was on foot). After breakfast Kit went to Doc's place and found the remains of the zombie attack.

By Lucas's account the zombie attack occurred after the cabin incident, so it was that morning. Presumably Lucas arrived at Doc Dobbs's place, the zombies attacked, Lucas ran for it, told the Sheriff about it (but not about the cabin), and then went to the bar and told Bunny, and later Poe, the whole story. Sheriff told Jeanne and she headed for the cabin. All of which took place before Kit arrived or while she was there.

Is that right?

I think that's right... I'm pretty sure everything I have going down in the comic will work in the time-frame I give it.

The only thing you got wrong is that it's Boozloaf, not Aurox :)

Oh duh. I knew that.

Best way of finding illusionary walls.

Also. It seems like we now know what Kit used her gunslinging skills for (mostly) while she ran with the Jeanne gang.
Bankrobberies.

Took me a bit to notice the first instance of the rifle, this page. Maybe a something a bit more to highlight it against the background would help?

It's a little too late for edits, I'm afraid :( (though it IS showing "stay" and not "say" now...That's a surprise!)

Page 147!

I think if Kit knew where Lucas was she wouldn't wish him well...

Page 148!

Will Kit let things be, or pick a fight with Jeanne?

I can't tell if she's angry or terrified. The eyebrows say angry, the eyes say terrified.
If it's angry+terrified you've succeeded perfectly.

Hmm.. does angry/terrified fall into "OMFG"?

yeah, I'm thinking she's more surprised or can't believe her dumb luck that Jeanne is right in front of her.

Oh Kit, don't be a hero. Liz said you were dumb enough to try, but just please don't. You had hard enough time against Erin last time you saw her, and that was BEFORE she was hopped up on fairy magic. Now Jeanne is here too, and everything Liz has said suggests you can't take her alone.

Not a straight "OMFG" (the eyebrows arc strangely for that, those are definitely angry or at least annoyed eyebrows).

If that's what you were going for, I'd say you captured it.

It is a bit like the look people get in that Springer moment where you know you are going to meet the woman your husband has been cheating with, and it turns out to be someone you know pretty well. It was sort of nice to see a familiar face you didn't expect... then you remembered what got you to this point in the first place. Oh, and then you want to kill them... but the camera is still rolling...

I guess that depends on what Jeanne is capable of. Thus far we've seen no real indication of why people fear her the way they do (demon horse notwithstanding). Part of good storytelling means making sure your audience understands why characters think and feel they way they do without actually coming right out and saying it. You let context do all that for you.

You can see the terror/anger in Kit's eyes, but while we all know why she's angry with Jeanne (what with being shot in the back and all) we have no real context for why she would be terrified. Not yet anyway.

Also, I thought I was imagining things, but are Jeanne's thighs really that muscular? Woman's built like a brick house. Not that I'm complaining mind you.

Well Jeanne surrounds herself with crazy dangerous people like Kit, Liz, and Erin and she was the leader. That definitely implies she's very powerful herself.

Page 149!

Kit...changes her mind?

Or...is it something else?

This week we're doing three pages! Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!

Jeanne sure is buff.

Yes. Yes she is. :D

I was reading back through from the beginning and I first want to say, I definitely like how you draw Kit now than before.

But also, I am not convinced the Dreadful was responsible for Burke. I am not saying it is not possible, but the scenes where Kit reacts to Burke's transformation could easily be a reaction to being sensitive to the supernatural. It seems clear that Kit didn't really grow up around other demons and doesn't know the full extent of her power.

More details regarding the zombies n' stuff will come to light relatively soon. :)

I plan to get a bit more into them in Chapter 7. I feel I've kinda let that plot thread hang too much. I also need to get back to Liz, and ... there's just a LOT of stuff!

I need to draw faster, dangit.