Warhammer 40K Webcomic

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Author's Notes:

I got the idea for this silly, gender-bender story while rummaging through my miniature collection in preparation for the Chaos Cultists Pass in Review post.

I thought:  What would be the "worst" that could happen to a bunch of evil, vengeful fighters?

While their fate may not be as horrible as their previous lot in the "...grim darkness of the far future..." the story was fun to write.

As to the "behind the scenes" of this webcomic's imagery:

About half of the female figures were from an older line of D&D Miniatures from Wizards of the Coast.  The other half, including the male bartender were another set of pre-painted figures that I can't remember who manufactured them.  Googling the images hasn't helped.

I was also frustrated at attempting to find the source of the "Inquisitor Faustina" images.  I downloaded it from Tumblr years ago, but am unable to relocate it, even when I typed-in the HTML, my search came up with zilch.

Here's what I can tell you about the other products used during the creation of Suitable Servants--

--The badlands scenery is a terrarium backdrop I purchased from PetSmart.
--The ground is represented by Cigar Box Battle Store's Arid Lands Terrain Mat.
--The mysterious Chaos Temple is the Altar of Evil by Pegasus Hobbies, I purchased years ago.

The planet Kalf does exist in the WH40K 'verse.  It's listed as a frontier world in the Calixis Sector that can be found on the inside cover of  Fantasy Flight Games "Only War" WH40K RPG (2012).

A more readable map can be found on the WH40K Fandom Wiki:

I picked this location for a few reasons.  First, the idea of a frontier world brings to mind a planet that's not the usual toxic waste dump, war-torn hell that WH40K games and stories take place on.  Second it's one of the border worlds, so it's close enough to main fighting that was portrayed in Fantasy Flight Games' (FFG) Only War series, without being on the front lines.  But at the same time, close enough for raids and incursions by xenos and heretics.  Finally, it's location fits in with both FFG's WH40K RPG and WH40k/Wrath & Glory's Imperium Nihilus or the Age of the Dark Imperium.

I hope you enjoyed Suitable Servants along with the background material that went into creating it.

Thanks!

Webcomic Chapter 15 Posted

Chapter 15 (pages 438-479) of Breakout from Bongolaan is now available.

For this chapter's theme song I chose Love & Loss, by Two Steps from Hell.

I thought this song, which I found rather quickly, fit the "big reveal" made my one of the characters in this story.

The way I have the rest of the story plotted-out, there's eight chapters left.  However, it seems like nearly all my previous chapters end up multiplying into two or three scenes.  So for now, let's just say there's eight more plot-points to go.

I'm still in the process of learning about my new Nikon CoolPix P530 camera.  I hope to start using it by the time I start taking pictures for Chapter 16.

In the meantime, I  hope you enjoy the latest chapter.

Webcomic Chapter 14 Posted

Chapter 14 (pages 424-437) of Breakout from Bongolaan is now available.

For this chapter's Theme Song, I chose Prepare for the End uploaded by xDarkLegacyx2. I think this tune fits the epic, space opera aspect of Star Wars, while it's steady--almost monotonous--beat, implies impending danger.

I'm now in the process of re-writing Chapter 15, which is giving me some trouble narrative pacing-wise.  Once I'm satisfied this chapter is good enough to post, then it's "back to the drawing board" for the Chapters 16 onwards.  That is, I'll need to snap a batch of new photos.

In the meantime, I've been looking at some webcomic hosting sites to determine which one I'd like to join in order to make a "second home" for Breakout from Bongolaan.

Until then, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter.

Webcomic Chapter 13 Posted

Chapter 13 (pages 383--423) of  Breakout from Bongolaan is now available.

Since I wrote Chapters 12--14 in one fell-swoop, which took me several months to complete, the "only" thing I had to do was some editing on Chapter 13.

For this chapter's theme song, I chose two pieces of music.

Since our heroes are still dealing with the aftermath of the initial attack in a planetary coup, I thought the Coruscant Thug Boss Fight Music from the game Jedi Power Battles, Episode I, fit the overall mood.

And for the last few pages, I felt the "traditional" Imperial March was appropriate for the chapter's finale.

Webcomic Chapter 12 Posted

Chapter 12 (pages 364--382) of Breakout from Bongolaan is now available.

The pace at where I work didn't slow down any since my last chapter posting.

Not only that, but Chapter 12 was originally much longer than it currently is.  As the page length lengthened, I ended up dividing the narrative into more chapters as I found more appropriate stopping points.  So this part of the story grew from Chapter 12 and 13, to Chapter 12--14, and finally to Chapter 12-15.

By the time I reached this point, I decided to quit writing additional material and work on editing and revising.

By the time I was satisfied with most of my recent work, I did some final tweaking of Chapter 12.

My "cunning plan" is to do the similar tweaks to Chapters 13 and 14 within the next couple weeks and then post them.

Which brings me to Chapter 15.  I'm not currently happy with it.  I feel this portion will require some major re-writing, but I'll wait until Chapter 14 is posted before I even start.

In my last webcomic update, I said I'd launch a new format for Breakout from Bongolaan by 4 January 2016.

Well, I'm afraid I have to postpone the launch date.  With the little time I've had to spare, I devoted it all to getting these chapters written.  I'm hoping the delay won't be more than a month.  I appreciate your patience.

For this chapter's theme song, I chose Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

You might think this is an odd choice for a chapter's mood music, especially since Star Wars is and epic  space opera, not a space western, like Firefly.

But I think the song fits for a few reasons.  First, in this chapter Callithea expresses her desire to return to her home planet.  This segways into a hint of what society on Callithea's home world, Tarsus, is like.  Finally, our heroes are essentially planning for a "road trip--IN SPACE," and depending on what list you read, Home ranks anywhere from #13 in Paste Magazine to #1 on BuzzFeed.

Webcomic Chapter 11 Posted

 



I finally managed to get getting Chapter 11 of Breakout from Bongolaan (pages 330--363) posted. 

For this chapter's theme song, I stumbled across a piece of Epic Chase Music by Ross Bugden.

I now have nearly a year's-worth of daily material, which I mentioned as my trigger point in my previous webcomic post.

My life has been busy this year, involving work and family matters, so I haven't devoted any time exploring for new format for this webcomic. 

Now that 2015 is about 2/3rds near it's end, I want to set Monday, 4 January 2016 as the launch date for Breakout from Bongolaan's new format.

In the meantime, I'll be working on Chapter 12.

Thank you for your continued interest and support.

Webcomic Chapter 10 Posted

Breakout from Bongolaan's Chapter 10 has been posted (pages 274-329).

Later this month, I plan to start working on Chapter 11.

I'm still exploring options on a new, webcomic-based format for this story.  But I think I'll wait until I reach, or surpass 365 pages.  Once I accomplish this, I'll have a year's worth of daily material to introduce Breakout from Bongolaan to a new audience.

In the meantime, I'd like to thank the "old audience" for your patience and support.

Chapter 10 is the initial fight scene in the Star Wars RPG (Role Playing Game) adventure this story was based on.  Since it took place in the Presidential Palace's Ballroom, I thought a fitting theme song for this chapter would be--what else?--The Ballroom Blitz by Sweet.

Webcomic Chapter 9 Posted

Breakout from Bongolaan's Chapter 9 is available for viewing (pages 243-273).

While looking for a suitable Soundtrack Interlude for this chapter, I stumbled across the impressive music from Two Steps from Hell.

I felt their song Juggernaut best expresses the relentless advance of the battle droids.

As I start my work on Chapter 10, I'll be exploring new format options for this webcomic.  I've been getting the feeling that using a blog format for this webcomic is becoming unwieldy, if it isn't already.

Normally, webcomics are formatted like Christopher Mills and Gene Gonzales' Perils on Planet X, with the most recent page displayed and an archive section, along with a cast of characters and other interesting side-sections.

I'd like to reformat Breakout from Bongolaan in this way, but I want to do it right--and only once.  So for now, I'll be researching webcomic set-ups and templates.

Webcomic writers usually post 1-3 new pages per week.  Due to the nature of my job, with its rotating shift, I won't  be able to duplicate this kind of schedule.  I'd rather continue my updates in chapter-sized chunks.

Your patience is appreciated and I hope you enjoy the story.

Breakout from Bongolaan Book Trailer II

For the past several weeks I've been working on Chapter 9 of Breakout from Bongolaan, which I hope to post within the next couple of weeks.

During this time I also took a look at Breakout from Bongolaan's "book trailer," and decided some renovation was in order.

After spending more time tweaking it than I originally planned to, I posted it on my YouTube Channel.

Thank you for watching.

Webcomic Status Update

(Image:  Raw footage of palace cantina reshoot scene)

Hey folks!  I know it's been a while, but I haven't forsaken this blog, or my Star Wars campaign and webcomic:  Breakout from Bongolaan.

The past few months have been busy for me: Family members and friends moving to & fro, car issues (which cost money), spouse's new job (earning less money), daughter's new job (earning more money), room re-renovations, and an enormous tax bill (costing even more money).

And then there was last month's Enfilade! convention.  Which despite the frantic call-to-arms for game masters and volunteers prior to the event, managed to go well.  (This year we had record-breaking attendance).

As a result of our annual gathering of gamers, I wanted to clear The Studio decks of the post-convention projects before resuming work on Breakout from Bongolaan.

So far I finished Two convention game reports, a SAGA Tournament report and an 19 page webcomic based on the tournament.  Now, the only non-Bongolaan project remaining is my "Enfilade--The Movie" for YouTube.

Despite having all these irons in the fire, I still managed to conduct a large photo re-shoot three weeks ago, taking over 500 raw photos.  I'm now at the point of story that's actually based on a session of the Star Wars Role Playing Game (SWRPG) I hosted a few years back. 

Even though I have hundreds of photos, even ones I already worked on, I'm not all that crazy about many of the original photos, because of too much game-table clutter and off-table backgrounds.

(Image:  Original palace cantina scene)

So what I'm doing now is retaking photos in a manner that hides all the junk.  To "hide the puppet strings" so to speak.  To help create a semblance of "reality" I've been trolling the internet for images that make for suitable backdrops.  Sometimes, this process alone has absorbed the time I had originally planned for picture taking.

But for now, I have more than enough to get started on Chapter 9, maybe even Chapter 10.  I'm also working on advancing the Redshift campaign as well.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Webcomic Chapter 8 Posted

Chapter 8 (pages 217-242) is now available!

In this chapter, Bunda Akhtar launches the second stage of his coup:  Hunter-Killer Assault Vehicles (HKAVs), like the one pictured above, attack key facilities in Bongolaan's capital, Ratankiri, represented by the map found in Traveller Double Adventure 6: Night of Conquest/Divine Intervention.

I've been using the Star Wars Miniatures throughout this webcomic to represent individual characters.  Now it's time to take a more epic view to illustrate how these events influence the characters' decisions and actions.

For this I used my micro-scale (6mm, 1/285 or 1/300) collection modern and sci-fi armored fighting vehicles.  The modern vehicles are made by GHQ, while the sci-fi ones came from a US distributor of Ground Zero Games.

Meanwhile, the half-a-dozen or so HKAVs in Bunda Akhtar's army are represented by a single Aerial Hunter Killer from the Micro-Machines Terminator 2 Judgement Day Collection#2.  Apparently it's considered very rare among these collectible figures

As to the buildings:  They're another hodgepodge collection from various manufacturers such as, GHQ, Warhammer 40K Epic, Jr Miniatures and even BattleTech.

For this chapter's soundtrack, I chose Lux Aeterna--Requiem for a Dream, which is apparently a popular song used in computer games.  I just listened to this in it's entirety and I feel it provides a dramatic musical representation of the end of the Galactic Alliance's last planetary government.

Webcomic Chapter 7 Posted

Breakout from Bongolaan's Chapter 7 (pages 183-216) has been uploaded. 

The Soundtrack Interlude for this subplot of intrigue and possible betrayal is, Whiskey in the Jar by the heavy metal band Metallica.  

I hear this song regularly at one of the gyms I go to and am always intrigued by the lyrics.  Through a bit of on-line research, I discovered Whiskey in the Jar a lot older than metal music.  It's is an Irish folk song about 17th Century Highwayman betrayed by a woman.  After listening to several versions--from the traditional, sung by the Dubliners; to classic rock by Thin Lizzy and the Grateful Dead--I still like Metallica's the best.  

Which is an odd departure for me, because I'm not a heavy metal fan.  Maybe it has something to do with trying to find a style of music that may fit Sei'do Avari's shady nature and conjuring up a possible back story?

And speaking of back story:  Neela,  the Farghul pictured above was never part of the Star Wars Role Playing adventure this story is based on.  A couple things inspired me to concoct this subplot.

First, was coming up with a plausible explanation for Sei'do, the party's scoundrel, to go along with the group's actions as the story unfolds.  The second source of inspiration came from this photo by Tice Lerner:

This picture is one of many from the Masquerade in the Mansion, held at Roberson Center in my hometown of Binghamton, NY on New Year's Eve. In my over-active imagination, the above image of New York City model Sarah Tilyou and photographer Dillon Utter,  has "conspiracy" written all over it.  Not to mention filling in as the Galactic New Year's Eve party in Bongolaan's Presidential Palace.  The real-life images also covers for my lack of non-combatant figures. 

Finally, Sarah's cat mask then led me to choose the Breela figure from my Star Wars Miniatures collection as Sei'do's former associate.  

And just what kind of associate was Neela?

I'm leaving that open to interpretation.

For now.

Breakout From Bongolaan Webcomic: The Plot So Far...

Well it's been nearly 11 months since I posted Chapter Six of my webcomic Breakout from Bongolaan.   With the exception of my father-in-law passing away, this year-long binge of "Life getting in the way" has been filled with happy occasions.  However I was left with little time to add to the story in terms of both pictures and narrative.

Now, I'm getting ready to--finally--post Chapter Seven!

For those who've been waiting, I appreciate your patience.

For those of you who've wandered off, I hope I can regain your attention.

The story so far weighs-in at 182 pages.  

Because so much time has lapsed between Chapters Six and Seven, I thought I'd include a synopsis as a refresher.  Although for anyone new to the story, I recommend you read webcomic itself:

It is the last day of the year 129 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin, annotated as Stardate 365-129 ABY).  The citizens of the planet Bongolaan are celebrating the Galactic New Year, along with the election of a new president, Zeveg Bharzi.

However, the former president, Bunda Akhtar, has decided he doesn't like being a former president and is planning a comeback coup.  Despite having only two cohorts of battledroids available, Akhtar is confident he'll succeed, because reinforcements are on the way.

After defeating the Galactic Alliance at the Battle of Caamus, the Imperial fleet overran the Core and Mid Worlds and is now sweeping through the Fringe.  One such Imperial task force is now dropping out of hyperspace and is bearing down on Bongolaan.

Meanwhile, four offworlders have gathered at the Presidential Palace Masquerade Ball and are awaiting the arrival of President Bharzi and his entourage.

Cad So Billes:  A Durosian shuttle pilot for the Jedi Support Corps.  He's spent the past year on Bongolaan flying supplies, equipment and personal to various work sites.

Callithea Lockridge: "Calli" is the shy administrative assistant to the Tarsan Ambassador, Fitzroy Heraud.  She's scheduled to leave Bongolaan the next day and return to her homeworld of Tarsus.

Sei'do Avari:  A man of questionable background and reputation, but appears to have considerable technical skills.  Is suspected by Cad of being up to no good, but has been vouched for by Nance Windu.

Nance Windu:  Claims he's not a Jedi, despite being the Jedi-in-charge of the earthquake recovery effort on Bongolaan for the past year.  Unbeknownst to his companions, Nance is haunted by an evil Force Spirit.

By the end of Chapter Six, Calli's comlink conversation with her ambassador was disrupted by interference, assumed to originate from an approaching thunderstorm.  Ambassador Heraud, along with the Twi'lek singer Shiri Blen and her Rodian agent Geelo, are currently on the outskirts of the capital city, Ratankiri, with the presidential motorcade, getting ready to lead New Year's Eve Procession to the Presidential Palace. 

In actuality, the communications disruption is the opening phase of Bunda Akhtar's coup.  

It's about to rain on everyone's parade, but first there's some loose ends to tie up...

Improving Webcomic Images II

It's said that change is the only constant in the universe.  This certainly applies to any creative endeavors.  The published authors I know often talk about how their writing style improves over the course of their careers.

I've been working on my Star Wars webcomic, Breakout from Bongolaan, for over a year now and I hope my writing has improved during this process.  Although after doing a complete review of the chapters so far, 1 through 6, I've already spotted one typo!  And I'm sure there's more...

...anyway, a comic is more than just words.  It's also a visual medium and I continually look for ways to improve on this aspect of it too.  Since I'm no good at drawing, I've relied on taking photographs of my miniatures and model terrain to tell my story.  (I'm not all that great at painting my figures, but that's another issue).  Thanks to a graphic novel workshop during a PNWA (Pacific Northwest Writers Association) Conference a few years ago, I learned this technique is a valid art form known as Fumetti.  

But valid or not, there's definitely room for improvement on my part.  Despite having figures and terrain on-hand I eventually realized I needed some background to give readers a sense of place.  The picture above is my initial depiction of the Bongolaanian Presidential Palace again, as seen in my YouTube book trailer.  

A couple months ago, I stumbled across the site Wallpaper Up and I'm now in the throes of shooting new & improved images, like this...

...which I discussed at length on my Redshift Chronicles Blog a few weeks back.  

One of the programs I've been using is Paint.Net, described as a "poor man's Photoshop," to add various special effects to the photos.  However, while I enjoy taking pictures, and I know photography is an art form in and of itself, I feel my images aren't...well..."artsy" enough.  

Also, despite the size of my Star Wars Miniatures collection, I don't have the variety of models and figures needed to create all the necessary scenes.  So I've turned to real-life photography to fill in these gaps.  But in order to make these images "blend in" with the ones of miniatures, I've used the oil painting function under Paint.Net's artistic effects.  The result is somewhat "Impressionistic", like this image here...

...of the New Year's Eve Masquerade Ball at Roberson Mansion, which helps soften the starkness of a photograph.

And speaking of stark images:  It seems like the imperfections in every picture I've used jump out at me.  Maybe because I'm the director's chair, so to speak; or because I'm a closet perfectionist.  Either way, since I want to create the best possible content for my readers, I've been playing around with the oil painting function a bit more.  

This softens the image and helps hide the imperfections, as in this oil painting version of the Presidential Palace...

...but I also think it blurs the areas I want to draw the readers attention to.  Which is why I haven't used this function on any scenes involving miniatures.

Then, just a few days ago while compiling images for Chapter 7, I found myself idly playing around with Paint.Net's ink sketch function.  I applied it to the Presidential Palace photo and...

...WOW!  

I don't know about you folks, but I really like this style.  It hides the imperfections I'm worried concerned about, and yet the "ink" brings all the objects into a sharp focus.  I just have to fiddle with the black-to-color ratios for the best result.

Best of all:  It makes it look like I actually drew this stuff.

Part of me wanted to hold-off using this technique until I begin work on Book Two of the Redshift Chronicles, but I'm too excited about this to wait any longer.  

So starting with this upcoming chapter (#7), Breakout from Bongolaan, along with the subsequent Redshift Chronicles books, will have a whole new look.

Unless, of course, I find something better...

Improving Webcomic Images

For those of you who've seen my Breakout from Bongolaan book trailer, you may recognize the image above as the Bongolaanian Presidential Palace. 

One of the issues I'm having about posting material on-line, via blogging or writing a web comic, is that as I gain (hopefully) more experience, my old stuff looks--well--old.

For the past several days, intermittently I admit, I've been shooting and assembling pictures for Chapter 7.  Some of the photos I took actually fall under the category of "re shooting," since I've made several backdrops that I'll incorporate into the story.

Here's a glimpse of the final-ish version of the Presidential Palace:

The black & white image I use as the backdrop is of a large storm sweeping over a city.  I'd love to use color, but for large images such as this, it's prohibitively expensive:  $35-$70 a piece versus several dollars/each for b&w.

Another justification for using b&w images for backdrops is the action will be unfolding at night.

Although I do need color backgrounds, for now these will be limited to something I can run off my printer.

One more reason to keep playing the lottery...

Redshiftus Interruptus?

Last weekend, my fiance and I got married.  We've consolidated our lives--now we have to consolidate our households.  So I'll be involved in the process of moving.

I have no intention of abandoning this blog, or halting the current campaign, or the webcomic storyline.  However, by necessity, I will be much slower at providing content until I'm resettled again.

There are currently six chapters available for Breakout from Bongolaan.  Right now, our heroes are relaxing in the Presidential Palace, while an Imperial-sponsored coup attempt is about to unfold. 

This situation is based on a role playing game session I ran a couple of years ago. In game terms, this occurred on the Galactic New Year.

The situation is based on a Star Wars Role Playing Game session I ran a couple of years ago.  I took a slew of photos during and after the game and even added special effects to many of the pictures.

There's just one problem:  I don't like most of them. 

I intend to conduct re-shoots when I get the chance.

 Meanwhile, it is between the 103rd and 104th day of the campaign and the situation on Zenya will continue to unfold.  Posting invasion updates should be quicker for me--the operative word being "should." 

I also have a few non-Redshift projects that have been laying dormant that I may be able to complete during this semi-hiatus.

Thank you for your support--and please don't go away--I'll try to provide timely content as best I can!

Webcomic Chapter 6 Posted

Breakout from Bongolaan's Chapter 6 (pages 147-182) is now available.  The Soundtrack Interlude for this chapter and overall Theme Song for entire graphic novel is, Red Skies by The Fixx.  I had this song in mind when I was developing The Redshift Chronicles.  I thought the lyrics' apocalyptic feel was a near-perfect image of the "...galaxy far, far away..." sliding back into the Dark Side.  (I mentally substituted "stars" for the word "skies").

Chapter 6 is a transition point from the preliminary introductions to the main storyline:  An impending attack and the people caught-up in the chaos. 

The initial Star Wars RPG adventure I ran a couple years ago, was based on Traveller's Night of Conquest.  But instead of two warring factions on one planet, I expanded the scope to include a resurgent Galactic Empire in which the players found themselves on the new front lines.

Webcomic Chapter 5 Posted

After attending the Emerald City Comicon (ECCC) last weekend, I was inspired to resume work on my current webcomic, Breakout from Bongolaan.  Chapter 5 has now been posted (pages 124-146). 

The Soundtrack Interlude I chose for this chapter was Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day.  This was the closest song I could think of with a despairing "footsteps theme."

I plan on posting Chapter 6 next week after doing some final editing. 

Redshift Tales #1

A few months ago, the folks at Comic Life put out a Version 2.  I bought two copies right away and downloaded them to my PC and laptop.  The new version has some cool templates and features, but there is a noticeable learning curve after being so use to the initial version.

I finally found some time to do some serious playing around writing the other day.  As an opening test I wrote this vignette, Tales from The Redshift Chronicles: Carnage in Cortona Park.  (You can also click on Redshift Tales #1 under the Chronicles Pages tab). 

This was based on an actual gaming incident this past summer.  During a session of my Star Wars Role Playing Game (SWRPG), the good guys were chasing a high-powered bad guy through a city park.  One of the players tried to shoot said bad guy, but rolled a "1" on a 20-sided die (d20).  In the d20 game system this is considered a fumble, which can have disastrous, or hilarious consequences, depending on which side you're on.

Fortunately for our hero, the result "only" turned out to be a burned-out powerpack in his weapon.  However, despite being safe from immediate harm, this single malfunction jeopardized the entire team.

I took some liberties with the dialogue, primarily for the sake of space, but I like to think I captured the spirit of the banter that ensued.

I'm not sure if I'll use this new Comic Life version for Breakout from Bongolaan and other full-length graphic novels I plan on writing.  For now, I'll toy around with the program and post vignettes, especially comedic ones, when my muse inspires me.

Webcomic Chapter 4 Posted

Breakout from Bongolaan's Chapter 4 has been posted and can be found on pages 85-123. 

The soundtrack interlude to this chapter is:  When the Levee Breaks, by the ladies of Zepparella.  I thought this tune evoke the sense of danger and despair in the face of an approaching storm. 

I've made a couple of changes to help streamline the process of posting my graphic novels.  The nature of the modifications can be found in the Webcomic Link Page on the Stern Rake Studio site. 

Now that Chapter 4 is available for viewing, it's time for me to add some news briefs and intel summaries on what's transpired recently in the Redshift...