I designed Ril’s port outfit to have some slight stylistic similarities to his Bad Goods outfit. In this case, I like that the top has a crossover flap that wraps all the way around the back and clasps onto the front again on the opposite side. It just seemed like a cool look that was a bit different from the norm. Probably not the most practical thing in the world, but then fashion rarely is, I guess.

With Ril’s gun, I like that it’s a bit odd in proportion, with its oversized, thick stubby barrel. I’m not a huge fan of trying to make every weapon look “badass,” so I intentionally try to keep some weapons non-flashy. I was pretty happy with all three rifle sketches, but I ultimately settled on the bottom left one, again because it had the most unusual proportions of the three.

I haven’t decided yet if the pistol on this page is Ril’s signature gun or if it’s just one of many different handguns he’ll carry on different jobs. I imagine him to be a bit of a gun collector, so it would make sense for him to use a wide variety of weapons over the course of the series. I guess we’ll just see how lazy I am during the design phase of the upcoming arcs…

Additional commentary about the outfits can be found in the posting for The Big Snow Job #1, Page 14.

Here we have sketches for the Kaagan-Vas weapon of choice: the firestaff, as described in the Commentary for The Big Snow Job #4, Page 12. Part blaster rifle, part flame thrower, part stabby-stick, and all fun. I knew going in that it would be a really big and cumbersome weapon, but I also like it for that reason as it enhances the bad-assery of the Kaagan-Vas. Basically, it’s a big, heavy, manly weapon that most others wouldn’t even want to try to pick up, let alone carry around into battle.

The idea was for it to be a heavy weapon that you carry low, somewhere around the waist. So it doesn’t have a gun sight and it’s not used for precise shooting like a sniper rifle. It’s more of a beast meant to inflict maximum carnage and firepower, kinda like the big guns used by Vasquez and Drake in Aliens.

The design of it was pretty tough since I wanted the user interface to fit with how it would actually be employed. Basically, some ways of holding it worked well for the rifle/flamethrower aspect, but then felt awkward with the blade slicing and/or thrusting motions. In the end, I think the secondary grip spanning the two barrels perpendicularly seemed to work best since it can be used to shoot, thrust, and slice with the least amount of awkwardness in any of those actions. And the grip also separates the two barrels a bit since you probably don’t want the flamethrower parts and blaster parts right up on each other.

I find it kinda funny that in one of the sketches, I even added a bludgeon to the back end. Because three weapons in one isn’t quite enough. Sure, you can shoot someone, set him on fire, and cut him up. But what if you really want to beat him down too? Well then your weapon is just lacking a little bit.

Anyway, with all that being said and all the thought that went into the design of the thing, you never actually see the KV firestaffs in any real detail in the sequence! Yay! Time well spent.

I while back on The Big Snow Job #3, Pages 14-15, I talked about the Ulon Dosi weapons and how they were partially inspired by the Nimbus III weapons seen in Star Trek V. I figured they’d all be a bit hodgepodge so I wanted to sketch up a few different variations, as seen here.

On this page you’ll also see the bandolier I designed to wrap around the Ulon Dosi head and waist. It has a simple loop holster on the side, and the rifles would just slip into the holsters, resting on the wide collars.

Finally, this page also shows a couple sketches I did for Clem’s knife. I just figured he’d have an extra little weapon on him to distinguish him from the other warriors. And I had it in the script that he pulls a knife on Ril on The Big Snow Job #3, Page 21, so I guess that meant I ought to design one.