Due to some technical problems with DAZ Studio, Dragon Hunt will not be updating this week. I’ll work out the bugs and be sure to post an update next week. Thanks for your patience!
Monthly Archives: May 2012
Dragon Hunt’s Chapter 3 Content Warning
This post is a follow up for anyone curious about the warning I posted at the beginning of my third chapter on Dragon Hunt. I’ll present it as a question-answer format. If you have additional questions, I’ll be happy to answer them as well. Just post them as comments.
Q: So, what’s this warning about?
A: It’s a content warning. It’s there to warn the reader that Chapter 3 of Dragon Hunt contains use of alcohol. One of the settings is a tavern called “The Tipsy Pixie” and one of the new characters introduced in this chapter has an obvious drinking problem which results in a massive bar tab for this character and eventually causes the character to pass out at an inopportune time.
Q: Why do we need a warning? I mean, it’s fantasy and taverns are a fact of life. Besides, look at all the other stuff out there on Comic Genesis?
A: If you’re asking this question, then obviously the warning is not intended for you. You probably don’t care one way or another about the use of alcohol in fantasies, you accept it as a part of the setting, and that’s fine. It is a realistic part of a medieval fantasy world (in the Middle Ages, the tavern was an important community center and alcoholic beverages were some of the few safe drinks because they couldn’t spread water-borne diseases). However, I made a commitment to keep my comic “family friendly” and some people may consider the inclusion of alcohol a violation of that promise. I do not intend it that way, but it’s my duty to warn such readers about potentially offensive material. As for what goes on around Comic Genesis, that’s not my concern. If I were to borrow my standards from my neighbors, I’m sad to say my comic would descend into the gutter. No, I mean to set and follow a higher standard with Dragon Hunt.
Q: Are you promoting drinking?
A: No, not at all. I myself have never used alcohol (though I am over the legal drinking age), and I do not plan to. While I personally believe, as a Christian, that alcohol is may be consumed in a responsible and right manner, I also know that this type of consumption is not common in our culture today. Most commonly today, alcohol is consumed for drunkenness, which I believe is something the Bible condemns. I do not want to put myself in a place where I might sin nor do I want to run the risk of setting a bad example, so I personally refrain from alcohol. This, of course, raises the question of the use of alcohol in my comic. In Chapter Three, a character gets very drunk, causing a number of problems for the main cast (which, like all things in the comic, are played for laughs). Do I mean to portray this action as right? Certainly not, no more than I mean to portray King Charles appalling apathy as a leader and father as good or right. Do I mean to portray it as harmless and funny (because it is played for laughs)? No, again. I play pretty much everything in the comic for laughs, but in doing so, I don’t mean to rob it of all seriousness. In all seriousness, King Charles is a horrible ruler and a worse father, and in all seriousness the character who gets drunk is wrong and irresponsible to do so. However, the main goal of the comic is not to moralize but to entertain.
Q: Couldn’t you write this chapter some other way?
A: Possibly. However, I believe that the way it is written is the best way. If you have some alternative suggestions, please submit them and I’ll consider them.
Q: I like your comic, but I just can’t stand the use of alcohol. Will I have to stop reading now?
A: No, not at all! I appreciate your loyal readership and, if you find yourself asking this question, seriously, contact me via email at aaduwall@rams.colostate.edu, and let me know. I will try to find an alternate way to present the chapter, if that’s the case. However, if that’s not possible rest assured that the references to alcohol are fleeting. They’re slotted to appear on pages 4, 5, 10, and 11. Without these pages, things might seem to jump around a bit, but you should have no trouble continuing to follow the comic. The fourth chapter will not contain any alcohol use.
Q: When are they going to catch that dragon?
A: Wouldn’t you like to know! They’re getting closer, but there are many crazy antics to go before they even meet the dragon again. Hopefully, you will enjoy them as much as I do.
Fan Fiction: Bill meets Charlie the Unicorn, by Katie
This is the first time I’ve ever had my work used in somebody else’s fan fiction, which makes me rather happy and proud of it. This piece was written by my good friend Katie who envisioned it while asking, “What if William Von Vaughn de Capitcha le Bonificat McMallimut Thompson Leighton the XXII, Jr. met Charlie the Unicorn?” It is every bit as disturbingly funny as the original Charlie the Unicorn videos on Youtube (if you haven’t seen them, I suggest you do, but only if you don’t value your sanity–sanity is overrated anyway). This story is written in the form of a script. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Morning in a nondescript cartoon rendered meadow, a grumpy white unicorn is asleep. Two smaller companions trot over and start jumping on him.
High Pitched Voice Unicorn (HPVU) 1: CHARLIE! CHARLIE!
HPVU 2: Wake up Charlie!!!!
Charlie: Gah what do you two want? Would you STOP JUMPING on where my now nonexistent kidney was???????
HPVU 1: We’re going to a forest, Charlie!!! Where there are dragons and castles and fellow talking unicorns!!!
HPVU 2: Yeah, Charlie! Come with us!
Charlie: Ok, I’ll come, but only because you two will get progressively more annoying the longer I wait.
1&2: YAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!! They begin to sing as the three of them trot along. In the forest the mighty forest the dragon sleeps tonight!! WaOOOOOOOOOOO –
Charlie: STOP!!!!! Why must you two ALWAYS SING??????????????
HPVU 1: Don’t be a hater, Charlie! It adds to the scene and could be potential foreshadowing!
HPVU 2: Yeah, foreshadowing, Charlie!
Charlie: Ok, FINE!!!!!
1 & 2: YAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!! IN THE FOREST THE MIGHTY FOREST THE DRAGON SLEEPS TONIIIIIIIIIIGHT!
Woooooosh! …. THUNK!!!!!!!
Charlie lets out a bloodcurdling scream as a sword narrowly misses his head and embeds itself in a tree. A young woman in armor loads an arrow onto a bow and stares at Charlie.
Charlie: Oh crap, who are you? Katniss Everdeen???
Bill the Unicorn: I believe my fairest virgin princess was too scared to introduce herself properly. This is Princess Lia.
Charlie: Oh, great. And who are you supposed to be? Hans Solo?
Bill the Unicorn: Oh, heavens no, my name is William Von Vaughn de Capitcha le Bonificat McMallimut Thompson Leighton the XXII, Jr. But you may call me Bill. I am accompanying the virgin princess in her quest to slay the dragon.
SLAP!
Lia: Don’t you DARE refer to me as Virgin Princess when you introduce me ever again!
Bill: Yes, dear.
Charlie: Oh ok. Well, that explains a lot. Uh…. yeah. Nice to meet you both. Good luck. Bye.
He starts to walk away.
HPVU 1: Charlie! Wait!
HPVU 2: Yeah, wait, Charlie! You must help them in this quest!
Charlie: Aaaaw, not right now guys, I really need to get home.
HPVU 1: For what? You just sit around at home, Charlie!
HPVU 2: Yeah, Charlie!
Charlie: Exactly! I just would like some peace and quiet.
HPVU: But the only way out is for you to help Princess Lia and Bill the Unicorn slay the dragon!
Charlie: What???? Aaaaw, CRAP! Don’t tell me that you two knew that all along!
The two start singing again
Oh Charlie, you must slay the dragon with the Princess!
You and Bill and Lia!
You must slay the dragon with the …
Charlie: STOP SINGING! Ok, Ok, I’ll do it!
He starts walking when he hears a roar. A giant dragon swoops down and there’s an EPIC BATTLE! Charlie gets knocked upside the head andBill and Lia dissapear somehow. Charlie wakes up laying near the now dead dragon.
Charlie: Guys? Guys? Hello? Seriously, where did you two go?
HPVU 1: Look in the lake, Charlie!
HPVU 2: Yeah, the lake!
Charlie: Guys, there’s NO LAKE!
HPVU 1: Look in the pool of dragonish bodily fluids!
HPVU: Bodily fluids, Charlie!
Charlie: Greeeeaaat. He looks in and screams as he sees a coronal cross-section of his head. Where his frontal lobe should be are the heads of his companions. Oooooh, CRAP, you guys invaded my BRAIN!!!!!!!
THE END! 🙂
Why Dragon Hunt Didn’t Post Last Week (And Why It Will Post The Next Two Mondays For Sure!)
If you checked out my web comic, Dragon Hunt, as I suggested last time, you may have noticed that, despite every page saying that the comic updates on Mondays, on Monday, May 7th, no update appeared. Why is this? Well, it’s because the creator of said comic sometimes fails to inform all of his files of his changing plans. See, the format for posting anything on Comic Genesis requires that you name the file with the date you want it to appear in the format yyyymmdd.jpg. Well, I did that…and then I decided to start updating Mondays instead of Saturdays…and then I forgot to change the date accordingly. Thus, the file is out there on the internet, but the automated server has specific instructions not to release it until time-travel reverts the date to Saturday, May 5th, 2012. I wouldn’t hold your breath if I were you.
My apologies for this slip up. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again. In the meantime, never worry, the comic you were supposed to see last Monday will be appearing this Monday. And the post for next Monday (the Chapter 3 cover!) is already done. I hope you’re looking forward to the beginning of chapter 3 as much as I am!
Thanks for reading! Comments welcome!
Changes to “Dragon Hunt”
If you haven’t read my web comic Dragon Hunt by now, you should. Seriously. As the creator, I personally think it’s hilarious and my friends assure me that it’s true. In brief, its the story of a stereotypical fairy tale situation gone awry. A dragon kidnaps the queen, the king summons the knights of the realm, and promises the hand of the princess in marriage to the one who can kill the dragon and bring back its head. But when Princess Lia finds out about her father’s little arrangement, she’s none to thrilled. To thwart the arranged marriage, Lia and a hornless unicorn nicknamed “Bill” set out to slay the dragon first. Their departure sets up a mad scramble as the local mysterious peasant and his teenage daughter remember that they’ve been paid a handsome sum by the ruler of a rival kingdom to keep Lia around King Charles on her 21st birthday (for purposes not yet revealed). The teenage girl, Julie, has already blown the money on clothes, so while she tries to track the Princess down, her father alerts King Charles that the Princess is missing so he can send out a search party of his own. The only one available for such a party turns out to be a narcissistic monster-hunting ranger who accepts the assignment because, well, it’s the off-season.
Some memorable moments include:
- Queen Gertrude’s horrible opera concert is cut short when she is scooped up by a dragon and flown away into the sunset. Everyone cheers.
- Princess Lia finds out about the arranged marriage from a bunch of knights hitting on her as they head out to slay the dragon. Cue the furious exclamation.
- As a baby, Lia is found on the castle steps with a threatening note.
- King Charles explains how naps are a royal prerogative and rationality isn’t.
- A unicorn attacks.
- A unicorn wears a skirt…more or less.
- Lia and Bill learn the hard way why you shouldn’t play with swords indoors (this is how Bill becomes a hornless unicorn).
- A man is hug-tackled by a ninja.
There will be more to come, I promise. On a totally unrelated note, I just realized my comic does not yet pass the “Bechdel Test”. While I have three named female characters (and more to come), they have yet to talk with each other, or even meet for that matter. The next chapter includes at least two plot-relevant conversations though, and by the end of the fourth chapter I plan to have a whole gaggle of female characters yammering at each other–if they can avoid killing each other first, that is.
Anyway, there are some improvements coming to Dragon Hunt. Previously, I’ve updated on Saturdays, but this has always meant I had to have my comic uploaded by Friday at midnight…and with all the things that go on in a week there was just too much opportunity for delay. Now, I’ve changed the update schedule to Monday, and this week I had my comic uploaded three days early. I’ve also connected the webcomic’s site to this blog, so that comic readers can drop by here to see what I’m up to and comment if they wish.
Starship Dragon 