Snow by Night

Vivienne tries to kill the chimera on page 9 of Engagement on Vineyard Hill. That’s one heckuva hairball. To see Vivienne’s next plan, please vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics.

Julie will be hosting a livestream event on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST. I’ll be around to provide commentary and give some of the writer’s thoughts. Julie will be drawing … probably page 6 of Chapter 10. It’s a great way to see a preview of what is coming in the next chapter and to ask us questions.

EDIT: Bad news, everyone. Julie’s computer fritzed out and it’s in the shop for repairs. We have to reschedule the livestream. I’ll let you know the day and time we Julie is up and running again.

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This week’s Almanac entry is Continental Style. With the approach of the Morantine infantry, it seemed a good time to discuss the standard form of combat in Japethe. A lot of Americans look down on the continental style because of our instruction covering the American Revolution and how it is depicted by Hollywood. I remember my father joking that the colonial revolutionaries won the coin toss because they got to wear blue and hide in the woods while Britain had to wear red and stand in the field.

Put that aside because those are not accurate depictions. The continental style was horrifically effective. A synchronized volley from a line of British regulars was like facing an enormous shotgun that rips apart everything in its path. Until recently, Hollywood couldn’t depict the mayhem and the mutilation of an 18th century battlefield. Soldiers didn’t just blithely slump to the ground. They were spun, dropped, and shattered. And those red coats with their fancy brass buttons that were polished to they gleamed to match the bayonet, were a terror to beyond. Imagine watching a line of red death approaching you in unison. You shoot and you shoot, but they just keep coming. When they get to you, you’re going to die. A bayonet charge by the Redcoats broke armies.

On a less grim note, script and thumbnails for Chapter 10 are done. Julie will be hosting a livestream of a page next Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST.  I’ll be doing color commentary. :-)

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Jacqueline draws the chimera’s ire on page 8 of Engagement on Vineyard Hill. Jacqi is the best rider in the squadron (and in the colony of Aradie). To see what Vivienne thinks of next, please vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics.

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More bad news for Vivienne on page 7 of Engagement on Vineyard Hill. Reinforcements are on the way. Vivienne and the cavaliers have a limited window to destroy the battery. Time is fleeting, Viv, and you don’t know the Time Warp. To see a preview of Wednesday’s page, please vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics.

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Grrroak (the chimera) shows another of his natural abilities on page 6 of Engagement on Vineyard Hill, and another cavalier meets his doom. To see who brings more news for Vivienne, please vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics.

We will not be updating this Wednesday and Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday. I’ve got a lot to be thankful for. Being able to make this comic, working with talented artists like Naty and Julie is another, having a wife that indulges my creative habits, having 5 and a half months with Elise — my sweet little Rosebud, and having a very precocious Charlotte who finds the frogkitty cute.

Happy Turkey Day, everyone!

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This week’s Almanac entry is Chimerae. These creatures of the result of alchemical processes that modify natural creatures. Sometimes it gives them unnatural enhancements. Sometimes it mashes together elements of different creatures. Being a long term D&D player and writer, mad alchemists can explain so much. Owl bears, for example.

We’ve been accepted to Ravencon next April. I’ve heard really good things about this convention, and I’m looking forward to attend.

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GRRRROAK! The chimera emerges from its pen on page 5 of Engagement on Vineyard Hill. Chimera in Corthis are not the creatures of myth or D&D lore. Chimera are unnatural combinations of creatures through the powers of alchemy. This one is an amalgamation of a lion, a frog, and a scorpion. I’ll discuss chimera more in Friday’s almanac entry.

To see another of the chimera’s powers, please vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics.

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The rout continues on Page 4 of Engagement on Vineyard Hill, but the Morantine counter with a chimera. A chimera? What on earth is that? To see the fate of a poor Saronnan cavalier in way over his head, please vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics!

Eren and Kennedy of Tamuran are running a Kickstarter for their Volume 2. It’s a great fantasy adventure comic. I’ve backed it and recommend it.

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