Author notes

Ch. 6 Page 20

dragonsong12

on Sept. 23, 2007

Okay, I need you guys to know, I AGONIZED over this choice. You may remember that early-on I mentioned that I didn't initially intend for Bradley to be a full character in TM, he just wouldn't leave! XD But the moment I decided to keep him around I was faced with a very difficult problem.
1)Bradley is an intelligent and observant character who is a lateral thinker. There was NO WAY he wouold not be able to figure it out.
2) Bradley is not one to bow down before threats. Once he had it figured out, he would defenitely try to do something. Not fight - because he's not very physically strong, I think Nareth could take him pretty handily, but he'd never just leave it be.
So then I was faced with the question, once he found out, what the hell was I gonna do with him?!
I have been pondering that question for well over a year now. You can ask the people I know IRL, as I posed it to most of them. "Bradley's gonna find out - what do I do with him?" At one point I had as many as five different options. Whatever you may think, I NEVER discounted the idea of killing him. I love his character, but it was important to do what was best for the story. That was one option, and there was another that was so far out there it seemed completely ridiculous. I took each of the ideas I had and plotted out how that decision would effect the story in the long run, what would I have to change from the original plan, how would it work. I was so divided on the issue that I actually scripted out the entire chapter with a completely different ending *holds up original script* See? But after much thought and much brainstorming and much considering all my options, it just came down to - this is what's right for this story.
Now, if you don't like this choice, that's fine. I'm STILL going back and forth on it myself to be honest…but I just need people to know, this wasn't something I did lightly or on a whim. I do try to consider what's best for the story, and I put a lot of thought into everything I do. (You might be surprised how much this dominates my thoughts.)

After making this choice I was of two minds about it. One the one hand, I LOVE writing dialogue for Bradley. But on the other hand, this presents an interesting challenge. I use dialogue as a crutch, I know I do. I can't always draw things right, so I rely on the dialogue (which I actually think I'm pretty decent with) to say the message. Take that crutch away and it'll force me to learn to draw more expressively. Now I am presented with the challenge of making Bradley just as awesome as he was without using any words. I will have to consider his every pose - expression - and gesture in every scene. He will write from time to time, but I think that's a cheat, so I won't use it often. He'll just have to find other ways to communicate. I have to admit, this challenge intruiges me.

On the art front - I am pleasantly surprised. Nareth looks pretty good for the first time since…well…ever really XD The technique I used for scanning on the last page was nice, but a little too grey, so I pushed it more to the black in this one and am very happy with the results. This is the closest scan I've ever gotten to the original inks. Also, I like drawing Boetheri teeth. I look for excuses to include them XD. The only thing that makes me sad is the eyes in the last panel, but I was feeling odd, and my hand was really shaky when I inked that - so I blame that.

ANYWAY! Long post over. I hope you like the page. Thank you all for reading this comic (don't feel obligated to read the posts XD) and I'll see you next week!