Snow by Night

Almanac Reference: Pistols

Laurent loses all patience on Chapter 5 Page 22.  To see the pencils for this page, please vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics.

Riddle Week was a lot of fun for us. I enjoy making up these brain teasers and it gives an outlet for my poetic streak. In case you didn’t see the answers on Top Web Comic, here they are. The answer to Monday’s riddle is a caterpillar but we would accept a butterfly. The answer to Tuesday’ s riddle is a ring. The answer to Wednesday’s riddle is a frog. This one stumped a lot of people because of the line “I die every night.” To which I answer, frogs croak in the evening. Ha! puns! The answer to Thursday’s riddle was a ball. And finally, the answer to Friday’s riddle is skin. Thanks for playing with us!

We  have some sales on the Snow by Night Store. Buy three portraits, get the fourth for free. Also, get a Bag o’ Colonial Slang Buttons for $8. And just a quick reminder, Snow by Night is going on holiday from Dec. 24 through Jan. 4. We’ll be posting some holiday-themed sketches during the break, but this is our last week of pages until Jan. 7.

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Reputation, pride, status, glory. All these words are wrapped up in the ideology of Gloire, which is discussed in today’s Almanac entry. We’ve seen gloire raise its head a couple times in this comic. Jassart felt that Snow-by-Night was making him look bad (she was) which hurt his gloire among the other rooks. We saw gloire in all its ugliness in Losing by Winning which drove Vivienne into conflict with Marguerite and cost her family dearly. Gloire is the driving force of many of the great figures of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. It still lives on today when presidents talk about leaving a legacy.

A bit of news. Snow by Night will be taking a brief break over the holidays. We will not be posting pages or Almanac entries from December 24 to January 6 (so we still have all of next week when we are posting). This unintentionally works out to be the 12 Days of Christmas. During this time, we will be posting holiday-themed illustrations. So check back with us during the break to see some merry whimsy. Happy holidays everyone!

And now, our last riddle for the week. I saved one of my favorites for last.

A march to hold back the foreign seas

Yet leaks a thousand salty streams.

Its soil ranges from rich, dark loam

To palest sand by the white sea foam.

Smooth as silk, rough as leather,

Wrinkled as time, soft as heather,

Thin and thick, you can split it in twain;

The ground can mend but the mark remains.

To see the answer, vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comic.

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Snow-by-Night joins the fray in Chapter 5 Page 21. She’s a vicious fighter. Laurent and thugs beware!

And now Wednesday’s riddle. Enjoy!

My home is adrift, and my food is aloft.

I could be a prince, but I die every night.

Here’s Thursday’s riddle:

I have an inside and an outside

but a single corner you’ll never find.

I look the same from every angle

Whether made of wood, cloth, or hind.

To see the solution, please vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics. Brittany added some color (well, penciled) commentary to the draft of this page. You get to see that as well as the riddle solution when you vote. Bonus!

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Did Blaise just bring a manitou to a knife fight? Snow-by-Night arrives to save Blaise and Jassart on Chapter 5 Page 20.

In celebration of the release of The Hobbit, Snow by Night is hosting Riddle Week this week. Each day, I’ll pose a different riddle. To see the answer vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics, where I will post the solution in addition to pencils for the current page.

Monday’s riddle (we’ll start with an easy one).

On overleafs and underhangs,

I crawl upon my belly.

I eat my fill, sleep it off

then fly away in majesty

Tuesday’s riddle.

Halo on a head; ripples in a pond.

Age of a tree, sign of a bond.

I link together and keep apart.

If only you knew where to start!

Vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics to see the solution.

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Hello everyone. This week’s Almanac entry is more slang! It’s been a while since I updated our slang page and I’ve been sneaking in more terms over the past couple chapters. Updates include: Arrête, Bavard, Be in the Moon, Belle, Boggle, Cachet, C’est bon, Crew, Ferme, Greenhorn, Heave, Joual, Make Like the Air, Manitou, Manse, Marque, Quel Dommage, and The Roost.

As you are probably aware, The Hobbit comes out in the U.S. next week. I’m a HUGE Tolkien fan. So in celebration of the release of The Hobbit, Snow by Night will be hosting Riddle Week next week. Every day, I will be posing a riddle for you to puzzle out. Those who guess the riddle get a gold star and an appreciative nod from Cienan (our character who likes riddles the most). Get your thinking caps on, because I have some good ones planned for you.

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Almanac Reference: Ald Baillon

Outnumbered and outflanked, Blaise and Jassart need help. Where, oh where, will they find someone to come to their rescue? Find out in Page 19 of Chapter 5. To see Brittany’s pencils for this page, please vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics.

Also, we’re having our holiday sale in the Snow by Night store. Buy 3 prints get one free, and a bag o’ buttons. These aren’t just any buttons, but a bag of the popular colonial slang buttons. Because sometimes you need to make fun of your friends in 18th century insults, those ninnyhammers.

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Blaise thinks it’s time to make a get away. See his recommendation on how to escape Laurent and the thugs on Page 18 of Chapter 5. To see Brittany’s pencils for this page, please vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics.

Oh, we graduated off the wait list for Katsucon and will be attending the convention in February. This is the largest anime convention in the DC metropolitan area. We were there last year and had a great time.

Also, our good friends over at Tamuran have an Indiegogo (it’s like Kickstarter) campaign. Help support indie comics! Especially the incredibly talented art and storytelling of Eren and Chezhnian.

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This week’s almanac entry is the famous tomahawk. This useful tool is ubiquitous on the colonial frontier. Besides, it’s fun to say. Tomahawk, tomahawk, tomahawk. Also, don’t forget to vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics. Every vote is very appreciated. You can vote daily.

Fun fact I learned while researching Snow by Night — all those tomahawks that the Indians used? They were trade goods. The tribes didn’t forge their own iron (at least not in significant quanities). There were entire forges in France doing nothing but pumping out tomahawk heads for the traders to swap for furs. But wait, you say, tomahawks were everywhere among the tribes. Yes, you’re right. That’s how widespread the fur trade was in North America.

By the way, I ran across an incredible resource for people interested in life in colonial America — The Journal of the Early Americas. If this period interests you, I recommend it.

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