tonycliff
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Horror of Horrors (DD4, Chapter One, Pages 15-19)
🕑 Added 2021-08-20 17:08:56 +0000 UTCIn which our heroine re-encounters thoughts of her most hated nemesis.
I think we've only hinted at this in the past. Maybe the books have mentioned, "oh, DD hates the stuffiness of grand balls and the manners etc. etc." That's all true, but it's dancing that she hates the most. It is counter to her whole entire spirit. You follow the rules, you stay dainty, you move in patterns over the same exact patches of floor. Nothing could suit her less.
This is (in part, at least) an homage to Horatio Hornblower. In Forester's novels, Captain Hornblower doesn't just hate music, he seems to experience it in what I can only guess is the auditory equivalent of dyslexia (the Wikipedia article says, "He is tone-deaf and finds music an incomprehensible irritant (in a scene in Hotspur, he is unable to recognise the British national anthem)." Any mention of music in the novels is accompanied by a note about Hornblower's resultant physical discomfort.
Even though I, myself, happen to love music, I have always enjoyed this character detail. It almost never seems plot-relevant, but it made me like Hornblower more. I wonder if Forester added it in because that's how he felt about music. Certainly, DD's feelings about dancing are, uh, similar to my own.
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A note: I really enjoy this sequence, with her wanting to see the (potential) pirates closer, hoping that if they keep mum about the ship on the horizon, they'll sail right alongside it, followed by the midshipman's horrified reaction. That's the good stuff, right there. It tells us about their characters, it's plot- and motivation-relevant, and it's funny. I feel so lucky when I'm able to catch hard-working moments like that.
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I posted about this project on Twitter under the "#meetthewebcomic" hashtag, and received a lot of very enthusiastic support. Thank you to everyone who spread the word and said nice things—I appreciate it greatly. To readers who have joined this Patreon campaign off the back of that post, welcome! Your patronage is so beneficial to this project, and I look forward to sharing a lot of entertaining work with you.
Okay, back to colouring!
Comments
Rebecca Gage
Truth.
kaitou
I always find my typos by publishing (usually just seconds after hitting the "publish" button). It seems to be the most reliable way of finding them (not the *best* way, though...).
Tony Cliff
(Also, it is safe to assume that if you see what looks like a typo, it's probably a typo. In the typical traditional book making methods, there would be two copy editing passes, and it's surprising how much stuff they don't catch until the *second* pass.)
Tony Cliff
Good catch! I proofread that and everything. Thank you.
kaitou
Looking good. However, first page, panel 4: "suffling" (maybe should be "shuffling")? (I did run across a couple of obsolete meanings for "suffle" but neither meaning fit.)
Schaefges
I got patience! Which is why I'm supporting it now to help that along
Tony Cliff
Fantastic! I, too, always prefer reading things on paper instead of reading on screen. It's more relaxing. BUT it is my duty to warn you: this book is a LONG way from being printed. It's going to take a long time to make and, assuming it is published traditionally, it will take at least another year to hit shelves after it's technically done. I'm not trying to scare you off, but I do want to be transparent about this whole production. I'll elaborate in a separate post.
Schaefges
I've bought all the Delilah books including that b&w apple story - from the post I saw you had a Patreon to get this book out and I joined up, though I am trying to not read the actual pages until it sees print as I am a Luddite in that way ;)
