Okay, quick, before any of you get more neck cramps, follow this link to see the full 2-page image right-side-up!
I forgot about my earlier plan to make all these memory sequences greyed-out until after I posted this week’s page, so you’ll only see that effect in the 2-page image. I wasn’t sure about the word balloon text– the usual theory is the words in a comic should be as legible as possible, so I kept them full black. If you think by doing that I lose too much of the foggy-memory effect, though, or if the contrast is weird, let me know. And if the middle section looks a bit awkward, it’s because I’m trying to account for the gutter (that’s the fold in the centre of a book).
Here’s a bit of trivia to reward you dedicated week-to-week readers (the people who only read the graphic novels will have to pick this up on their own!): Remember way back when we first met Zan in Chapter One, Fusella thought he’d gotten himself fired from TerSA? Well, this little snippet of Zan’s memories here is from the incident she was talking about.
And while I’m at it, I could also point out that Aria’s memory probably goes some way towards explaining what Aria admitted to Darvin back in Chapter Three!
Not to mention page 72, where Vessa mention’s Zan’s incident here.
Poor Aria. Why are the two being reminded of such painful memories?
Memory association, I think. Both were thinking on just how badly this whole excursion has gone, their minds just naturally jumped back to similar bad ends or what are now starting to look like bad choices. For Zan, this appears to be one more screwup in a long line of them, but for Aria, she seems to be following the thought-train of “if I’d just stayed down on the farm (or in this case, the colony)…”
Add in the fact that both are still getting each other’s memories in 3D Surround Sound and, well, you get a mix of both emotional and physical pain. I think they are both going to need the services of a counsellor when all this is over.
They were “last straw” moments for someone in each case…?
Ouch! But looking back at the Chapter One page you linked to, it’s amazing to see how the art has improved! It was always good, but it’s so much smoother and more expressive now!
I totally agree! I really like the shading you use now.
That was my first thought too… you were always good, but you’ve moved into awesome over the years!
I really like the layout of this page. It’s a nice offset of Zan and Aria with their bodies on the ground and the panels with their memories filling in the space around them. Well played!
I like it!
Is suppose if I were trying to wake someone up from drugged/psych state, the surest method would be pain, even a painful memory like these…
The memories where very much moments where those individuals DEFINED who they are going forward… what is the most basic part of you. What will you pull together to survive? IMHO anyway.
Couldn’t you mention the 2 page spread before I read it?
I love the gray out effet for memories, and I don’t think the bubble high contrast is hurting. keep it like that ;P
Oh, the dreaded spread adaptation on a wordpress/comicpress site. I ran into this problem last month with the one spread I put out. Augh. That was painful. Probably not doing that again any time soon.
It makes sense they’re both being reminded of debilitating memories. It seems like the Miesti’s best way to put them down and distract them while they get recaptured.
This is gloriously trippy stuff!
Assuming, of course, that the Miesti are both capable and willing to call up specific memories on demand.
Speaking of extrasolar planets in a real-’verse context for a moment…who else saw the news about Alpha Centauri Bb yesterday?
I think that’s a sign of an encouraging trend! Who knows what they’ll find next?
I didn’t even notice that the text in the speech bubbles was darker than the rest of the panel until I read your comments above. So obviously I don’t think it detracts from the overall effect.
I’m looking at this being the method of control that the aliens use. They pick the worst memories that someone has, and they induce them when they try to run off. Generally, it’s negative re-enforcement against going against the alien’s will.