My New Fantasy Comic! (Characters, plus a sample chapter!) (Patreon)

Heyyy! So here's the comic chapter I've been working on for the past few weeks. It's not colored, and I realize it starts pretty abruptly, with very little context as to what's going on. But I figured I'd share it with you anyway, because I think it's a fun little introduction to some of the characters and what they're all about.

I suppose I should provide some context, starting with the characters:

Ari 

Ari is a talented, ambitious young gnome who prides herself in her hard work and self-reliance. As a child, her one goal in life is to master gnomish illusion magic and become an accomplished wizard. However, after failing miserably to produce even a single wisp of magic, it becomes apparent that something in her makeup is inherently flawed (because after all, all gnomes are naturally born with an aptitude for magic.)

Dejected and angry, she turns instead to alchemy and the study of nature’s inner workings. When her mother falls ill with a strange and deadly malady that not even magic can cure, Ari takes it upon herself to leave home with hopes of discovering a panacea - not only to cure her mother, but prove to herself and her kin that alchemy is more powerful than magic.  

The companions she is currently saddled with, however, are privy to none of this;  Ari trusts no one, and this includes all three of her incompetent teammates. Vinayak especially rankles her, what with his lazy approach to the illusion magic that she, herself could never quite grasp… But of course she would ever tell him that. 

Vinayak

 Vinayak is an avian wizard with a penchant for whimsy and a woefully lax attitude about his craft. He was “pushed out of the nest”, so to speak, by his no-nonsense bird dad who decided he's not allowed to return to his home on the sky island until he learns to be more responsible. Despite his somewhat militaristic upbringing, Vinayak prefers to avoid physical conflict in favor of ludicrous magical solutions.

Rather than involve himself in fights, he prefers to pass the time by poking fun and playing pranks on his companions with his illusion magic. He’s seemingly never bothered by the rebuffs of Moon Moon, who he's often at odds with, or Ari, who seems constantly irritated by him (although he has no idea why.)

Moon Moon

Moon Moon is a reckless and impulsive lupine shifter who never knows when to quit. When he was born, the stars decided his name - a name that his father felt betrayed great weakness. Slower and clumsier than the rest of his peers, Moon Moon spent his childhood as an outcast among his people. As an adult, Moon Moon decided to take his father’s armor and leave home, determined to become stronger and prove himself worthy to his tribe.

Moon Moon is often the instigator of the group, for better or for worse. His headstrong attitude and poor decision-making skills get him and his companions into a plethora of troublesome situations (usually to Vinayak’s amusement and Ari’s dismay.) He has a special affection for Anvil, whose agreeable nature lends him to be a loyal (albeit at times, reluctant) sidekick.

Anvil is an amiable little cleric who also happens to be a dwarf. His dwarfy village of Dwarfsville (working title), has recently been hit by a horrible, currently unspecified tragedy. Having tragically lost his family and with nowhere else to go, Anvil now wishes to travel across the land to stay with his sibling (although he is having absolutely terrible luck getting there.)

Being a cleric, Anvil is highly devoted to his god, and channels his associated healing magic into caring for his wounded companions. As the kindest and most passive member of the group (almost to a fault), he tries his best to mediate the quarrels between his teammates. They tend to fight quite often, however, and there is little that a kindly dwarf like him can do about that.  


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I won't get into the plot of the comic too much. I'm not entirely sure it's necessary to enjoy the chapter I have written. But essentially, these four end up on a crazy adventure together, during which they discover portals being opened up all across the land, leading to other realms of existence. Furthermore, a mysterious infection seems to be spreading, not only throughout their own world, but throughout these other worlds as well.

AND IT US UP TO THEM (maybe?) TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Or not. It's not really their job, after all. They're just sort of stuck in the middle of things.

But yeah, that's the gist of it. Just assume that, without further context, these guys have been dropped into a very cold, very snowy place and are just sort of trying to deal with the situation currently unfolding.

Hope you enjoy! Will be posting updates on this later, including the first chapter, which I am currently working on!

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Edit: I realize the current images are hard to view in this particular format. Here are the imgur links in order, for slightly easier viewing:

https://i.imgur.com/0xlzrqZ.png

https://i.imgur.com/Erwf921.png

https://i.imgur.com/kuQ37rJ.png

https://i.imgur.com/Md6l9Fu.png

https://i.imgur.com/c7CDjHl.png