We’re ringing in the new year with a boom here at the PKF, arn’t we?

Remember, this weekend I’ll be updating the site to the new WordPress…so if I’m down, don’t worry, we’ll be back shortly.

Haha, I’m actually really, really happy with this whole comic. You get a chance to see the Director being something other than a whiny little pain in everyone’s ass. Which is nice.

It’s funny, when I first created the Director I actually intended to have him be a relatively nice guy…but he was much more fun to make him an asshole…now he’s starting to peter out a little more. He’s a complicated character to write for. At first he was just a dick with no reason other than he hated Tom and the other agents…but I’ve slowly realized he’s got a very good reason for hating Tom the way he does…so I’ve managed to humanize the ornery old bastard in my mind…

But he’s still angry and easily riled…

It’ll be interesting if I can bring him back from the brink of ‘He’s just an EVIL, EVIL little man’ that I managed to make him into at the end of Book One. It’s a tricky line I have to walk…he’s fiercely loyal to his men and would do anything for them, but he would never endanger the ZPF…he’s in a position of great power and responsibility which has left him with very little in the way of friends or other humanizing aspects of life…

His job’s taken two wives and a daughter…he’s…well…he’s obsessed with making the ZPF all he can make it before he has to retire…it’s quite literally his legacy at this point.

But I don’t want to ramble too much…especially since this chapter reveals a bit more about the man behind the old wooden desk…

Just remember, Eugene respects the Director a great deal…he’s been good to Eugene…but Eugene also knows the Director will do what’s best for the ZPF before he’ll do what’s best for the individuals in the organization (illustrated by his unwillingness to save Adjana at the end of Book One)…So Eugene is both willing and unwilling to go out of his way to help the Director…it’s complicated.

Have I ever told you I sometimes question my sanity for deciding to make The PKF my first foray into the world of Comickery? Because damn…It’s a bitch to keep my head above water sometimes…

And what the HELL is up with his jowls?! Seriously? Why did I stick those on him? Haha…but damned if they don’t look right.

Anyhow…Remember, for the foreseeable future Hunter ALSO updates on Fridays. He swears up a storm, so NSFW.

Good Night and once again, Happy 2009…it’s a trip I’ve made it this far, eh?

-Peace

I’ve been teetering on three different @#$%ing names for MARK for two MONTHS now!! Pat I just wanted something that could be shortened for a ‘boys’ name, so Patricia worked well, but MARK! That little bastard has given me nothing but grief!

@#$%!

But it’s out. You know their names, I can’t take it back now (even though I did take it back with Sam and Hana’s original names…anyone remember those?). But Mark and Pat are good, strong, PKF names, right?

I think so.

Don’t worry, they’ll be retrieving their friends and hunting down those balls of light very soon. Then it’s a nice little ‘travel’ interlude while they search, then it’s to BATTLE! This arc is moving remarkably fast considering how I had originally planned it…maybe I’ll do a special ‘behind the scenes’ of this one after it’s over. This IS the oldest traceable arc in the PKF, I have stories from when I was, like, ten that you can actually follow compared to this arc…it’s weird. Haha.

Be here on Friday for a special appearance of someone you haven’t seen in this comic for…wow…A year and a half? Debate THAT one for a while!! Also, I think on Friday will mark my first ‘real’ blog post ever…I’ve been reading a few books that I need to cram down your throat, don’t worry, they awesome that encases them will go down smooth.

-Peace

The recreation of the scenes from Book One, Chapter Five are from Page 175 and Page 181. I decided to ‘mix’ the vision i Hana’s head because it made more sense to me…good god, look at Sam’s hair! What the @#$% was I thinking?

And I know it seems like I’m referencing Book One more than I should since I tried to ’self contain’ this book, but honestly, all you have to know is that it tried to kill them. Nothing else was really relevant from the last appearance of this critter.

I’m seriously going to have to do a ‘behind the scenes’ after this story arc, because I really have to explain why I decided to bring a bit character back from almost three hundred comics ago. This arc actually had a whole other villain attached to it at the beginning of the comic (and I mean pre-Chapter One, Book One beginning of the comic) but the villain never made any sense to me. It was basically a super advanced giant robot built by Sither to destroy Earth.

But, ‘Sither’s a geneticist’ you say?

Well, there’s my problem with it too. Sither’s the best geneticist in the universe, but he’s not exactly a mechanic.

So about mid way though Book One, Chapter Five I decided that I’d bring back the ‘Unknowns’ (my private name for them) and use them in place of the giant, angry, robot. I didn’t think I’d be bringing back the original Unknown, but I left it open.

It wasn’t until I started the pre-writing for this arc that I decided to include him again…why? Because I suddenly called him ‘Fluffles Wuffles Kuddly Kins’ in my head…and it made me giggle like mad.

And when I start to spontainiously giggle in the middle of my living room with the TV off that can only mean I’ve thought of something made of pure awesome extract. And thus it was including in the comic.

So I brought back Unknown Prime and gave him a middle-aged-crazy-cat-woman as an owner/care giver. Pamm Blinkly is there purly to call Fluffles ‘Fluffles’. Her other purpose us pure fluff (hehe), I assure you.

Also, she’s wearing a Choo-Choo Bear tie, Choo-Choo is the amorphous blob of a cat, from Something Positive (sometimes NSFW), which is one of the fantastic comics I read that isn’t in my Links page.

Which makes her awesome.

More about Fluffles and Blinkly will be explained in the next comic comic or two. Don’t worry, there’s only a little downtime until they strike out and seek out the balls of light (or gems, whatever).

So sit tight. It’s only going to get more fun.

-Peace

First and foremost, remember back a few months ago (when I was still on ComicGen) and I tried to offer downloads for Book One? Well…I finally did it here. In fact I did it a few days ago…so you may have found it already. You’re more than welcome to download all eight chapters from book one. If you feel the need to. Again, it’s right here.

Second, I have a confession to make. I’ve been cheating this comic the last few months. No, I haven’t been stealing art or plot lines (I’m too honest for that crap) but I’ve been…half assing my art. A while ago I started to SKIP a step in the comic process. The layout. The layout involves me drawing blue guiding lines so the characters are more fleshed out before I try to ink them.

I’ve been drawing a basic, loose, design of the charaters. That’s why the art has been fluctuating so much from panel to panel. I’m basically trying to INK without any lines. Now, with my tablet this isn’t a HUGE deal, but it DOES leave things looking both a little flat and slightly ‘off’ every panel. This comic, mid way though, I started using those guides again. The last three panels particularly.

I’ve already done one comic (Friday’s) that’s totally done the RIGHT way and I’m much happier for it. It adds a little more time, but it’s worth it. I mean, why would I spend ANY time on this comic if I’m not spending ENOUGH time on it. Right?

So I’m sorry. Art will start to improve again, because all I’ve been doing is playing it safe…and I can’t get better if I’m playing it safe.

Finally, I was being serious with the title of this one. I really did start to carry gum in High School because people ALWAYS asked me for it. It drove me NUTS so it only made more sense to me to just tote the damn crap around.

I’m glad we’ve got our two new characters finally, they’ve been poking around in my head for ages…if I think about I’ll try to dig up some OLD (early Book One) pictures of Mark and Pat…they’ve changed quite a bit, but not as much as you’d think.

Enjoy the comic and expect Fridays to look even better.

-Peace

A little confrontation between Tom and his ever present mental issue…I won’t tell you how this ends, but I won’t lead you on too much…this fight doesn’t last for very long. Why?

Because I’m saving the REAL fight between Tom and Chris for later in this Book.

This is just a warm up. I’m already planning the real fight…and it’s not due for…well…a long time. Because it will be perfect. So help me god I will make the fight fantastic. But this little one will be fun…and show case just how Chris really fights. After all you didn’t see much when Chris/Tom fought Roto.

And you get a little bit more about Chris’s sudden accumulation of knowledge. Anyone want to start guess yet? You’ll likely understand very soon…It’s revealed towards the end of the next chapter (Well…chapter after that…but the next chapter is really, really short.) but I’m sure a few of you are getting some ideas.

The real question is: Does Chris really understand…or does he just know what his limits are? He knows what’s created him. Why Dis is there. But maybe not why he’s so damned smart. Heh…

Other than that this comic was fun…Proto-Slavic…there’s an obscure one for you. I had actually heard about this language in one of my English classes so I just wanted to make sure that it actually started in Russia. Why Russia? Why Azas Plateau? Why the hell not? I don’t really have a reason for most of the places the Gems are stored…only that they make sense there. Well…Congo is where lightning strikes on the Earth the most. Seriously.

Who says I’m not educational?

-Peace

EDIT: I’ve installed a plugin that makes internal links though the blog. So when ‘Hana’ is typed on a page (not index and not Hana’s info) it links to her bio. However I can’t specify what pages to do this one…which kind of sucks…so the stories are now riddled with links. Which bugs me. Especially when it links words like ‘Information’ for no good reason. I’m looking for a solution. But right now I like this plugin. /EDIT

If you’re wondering  “who the hell is this old dude and why the hell does Hana seem to know him?”, you didn’t read Lost Time, did you? Don’t worry. Here’s all you have to know to ‘get’ this comic:

Jorrin is the ‘watcher’ of Earth and he trained Hana at the request of Ariea. He’s also dead and 800+ years old. But that’s not really that important. Honest. You’re good to go.

I also lied. Omen will be appearing NEXT Hana installment. Sorry. But I suddenly decided to handle this arc differently than I had intended.

I thought I would be hiding most of the information given in this arc until later in the comic (maybe even in this chapter) but I was looking at my plans for the rest of this arc (and the rest of this book) and I realized, with a sinking feeling, that there’s really no BETTER place to include this information. So now is as good a time as any to explain The Keeper Gems and a few other things about Gods and Godkin.

That’s not to say that now wasn’t a good time, I just wasn’t prepared for it…so I kind of scrambled to assemble any important facts that needed to be imparted. I’m going to go back and make sure everything HAS been told before the end of this arc and I might have The Creator say a few words if everything goes according to his plan.

Who knows. I may have the agents fail. It’s not like they’re infallible or something.

I also added ‘Godkin’ to the dictionary, if you’re interested.

Also, you’ve met three Godkins already:
Darasoon, The Creator, and Yaren are all different Godkins.

And as Jorrin says, Omen is a Godkin as well. I had originally thought I’d have two different TYPES of Godkin, making Omen a different type then the rest, but I decided that the differences are negligible and are really just based on ‘why they were created’. Which was just stupid.

If you really want to call them something else: Dara, The Creator and Yaren are all ‘High’ Godkin and Omen is a ‘Lesser’ Godkin. But those aren’t official…yet…I won’t explain the differences, but Dara and the rest are more powerful than Omen is. Omen is just really, really smart.

Finally, I’m opening the floor to questions you might have about Godkin, the Gems and Gods in general. If there’s something you’d like to know, have thought about, or are just scratching your head over, ASK. If I plan to expose is later I won’t answer, but if it’s something I hadn’t thought of I’ll address it in the comic…I likely have an answer, but I may have decided it wasn’t important (Who Dis is, why Chis exists, and will Tom ever free himself of the aforementioned beings are off limits).

I also finished up a short story that will be posted sometime in the near future. So you all have something to look forward to. Or not. Lol

-Peace

I can’t promise that this is going to be the only time someone ask a philosophical question in The PKF, it’s not like this is a vapid, two dimensional attempt at amusement…

Well…maybe a little…

But I’m not frickin’ Garfield over here.

Let’s be honest, the entire subtext of Roto’s character can be summed up as “But for the grace of god(s), there walk I” so it’s not like I haven’t been asking ‘hard’ questions…this is just the first time someone has actually come out and said it. Which is something I usually try to avoid…but to be totally honest this little tangent of musing by Dara serves a duel purpose.

No. I won’t tell you what that second purpose is…but feel free to start guessing. It should begin to become obvious as this arc goes one…The comic’s speeding up…so you’ll know sooner or later, but I like to hear people’s guesses.

And half of Book One was ‘what choices do we make’ and ‘did I just @#$% everything up?’…so I’m aloud to muse dammit!

Anyhoo, I cleaned up Dara’s appearance a little…he’s shaped a little better and his face looks less jankie in close ups. Doesn’t he look so thoughtful in panel seven? Or the weed’s getting to him. Either way.

I’ve gotten one or two questions in my inbox about Godly activities (Or I’m lying to save face) and I’ve taken that into consideration for the rest of this arc. Any other questions? It’s not like there’s a time limit on this…but I’d like to know so when I reexamine the rest of the arc I know what to add.

Be here Monday for a quick disembark from the agents and back to the HOLD and then Wednesday will see Tom, Chis and Skully venturing deeper into the cave.

-Peace

(And yes “But for the grace of God, there walk I” is from Angels with Dirty Faces. Because that’s the way I roll.)

Here’s a little factoid for you; Dis wasn’t supposed to reappear until Book Four of this comic.

So why is he here now? Because he needs to be here…There’s so much of this arc that I’ve only decided to include in the last few weeks…I might as well just SCRAP the layout I had.

Oddly enough there’s fewer pages in the arc now though. Go figure.

Yes, Chris’s soliloquy is the SOLE reason Dis appeared as a skull and not as a dragon or statue or something else entirely. But I suddenly had this vision of Chris holding a skull and delivering the famous lines from Hamlet and this just HAD to happen. I’m not even a fan of Shakespere and this had to happen, lol.

I’m pretty happy with this comic all things considered. There’s a few panels that went a little wonky, but that’s the charm of being a comic artist with no artistic training. heh…

ANYHOW…I was digging though my pages earlier this week and I realized that about two months ago I nearly finished something but never posted it…Long story. But I cleaned it up and you can now find Information on the ‘Minor’ Planets of The PKF. It’s under the Extras/Information Page if you’re looking.

Enjoy.

-Peace

Last week (if you read this blog) I told you that today was going to be back at the HOLD…but I decided I wanted that comic to go up Monday…you’ll get why Monday, but trust me, it works much better.

And if you’re interested that story I was saying was on it’s way is here. Check out ‘Judgment’. It’s a good one, I won’t spoiler the ‘twist’ on the ‘hero’…but you’ll likely guess in about two seconds. Be warned, it’s bloody as hell…but given the hero it fits. Still, it’s a goody.

Anyhow, we’re getting a good look at what’s made Chris into who he is today. He’s not just @#$%ed up. He’s @#$%ed for a reason. I think nearly ten years of isolation and sorrow is enough to break anyone. It’d screw me up anyhow.

Hell, I’d go so far to say that Chris is in better shape than most people would be.

You also get a little idea of just what Dis was doing the whole time he was involved in Tom’s mind. Next Wednesday you’ll get a real twist…A real bombshell. You’ll like it.

I keep saying that Chris is probably one of my favorite characters in the comic, so it’s kind of hard to keep him as evil as he is…but I don’t think Chris would be Chris without the whole ‘homicidal rage’ thing he’s got going. And trust me. If Chris was free he’d start killing folks left and right…but mostly the ones in his way.

I don’t really know what Chris would do if he got free…I mean beside torture and murder Tom. I mean after that. I don’t think he’d really care about conquering the universe…He says he does…but I think he’d get bored after a while and just start tormenting random people.

My favorite character is a murdering psycho who’d only want to torture and torment…I’m not sure what that says about me.

-Peace