I wanted a very specific look for these ships to make them menacing and to make the Kaagan-Vas look recognizable for any future appearances. I always planned for the ships to be prominently marked with the KV symbol, since they’re the kind of people who would want their presence known for psychological impact. I originally also planned to do something with red paint markings all over the ships, but I realized that would be too much like the Reavers in Firefly.
I decided instead to go with heavy use of “black metal” and spiny shapes, neither of which, looking at the page now, seem very pronounced here. But I’ll make them more prominent in any future appearances. I’m not sure just yet if the “black metal” is anything special, but as a visual aesthetic, I just thought it would be cool to have their ships covered with haphazard patches of really dark metal tech. In some places, they might be patches to fix where the ship took damage; in other places, they’d be where the KV added weapons onto the ship.
As for the spines, I thought something with a lot of protruding sharp points would be intimidating, visually. They’re not literally sharp points, since it’s not like they actually use them in a stabbing or puncturing capacity. I figure they’re more like extended guns. It seems like a lot of sci-fi ships these days have weapon arrays that are very “internal” and hidden within the body of the ship, mixed in with sensor arrays and the like. I thought it would be cool to have the KV ships look more like old-time pirate ships, with cannons sticking out all over the place. So the idea is that all the spines are external weapon arrays, still controlled from the inside, of course, but much more visually prominent than on most other ships.
Picking on the small guys, eh? So that’s why everyone hates Kagan-Vas.
But that first panel – wow.
“Black metal” could be Carbodur (TM) for those parts that you really, really want to withstand high energy densities like in your favorite ray gun at “target practice” or those vital sensor arrays that easily gets into enemy fire on typical Mondays – everyone’s an enemy on Mondays. Sold at premium prizes in all Ship Shop’s all over the galaxy, retrofitted over you first Monday cup of coffee.
[As for the external weapons arrays it makes sense that even with advanced technology it’s faster and more precise to swivel the lower mass weapon than the whole ship, not to count the problems for the ship’s acceleration compensators and artificial gravity to keep up during fast maneuvering or that the system is inherently sturdier. (You can fire at full capacity even with your acc-comps and gravity on the fritz.) Internal or fixed weapons are fine compromises in cargo freighters hopefully seldom used defense (though the former takes cargo space), but naval or pirate vessels need the most bang for the buck. So there.]
Love the flashback vibe in the first frame, and those ships are cooool….
I know everyone else is going to love the first panel… But I wanted to point out how great the third panel is. It’s much more subtle, but it’s a great transition from flashback to the present. I dig the storm clouds on the horizon with Bocce in the same pose. I also like how you switched from rounded corners to straight ones, and from 90% black to 100% black. Like I said, subtle, but I really appreciate the details you put into your work.
I wouldnt say little people, who knows how many energy arm people are here, and his father has a Space Rake! Who knows how many pirates one can take down with a space rake.
I have to agree with Gerren.
The first panel sets a real grim tone, but the third panel really stands out.
By having flashback and regular panels on the same page it’s easier to spot the less obvious differences and makes me appreciate the effort that went into it even more.
I like the way you pan from flash back to present. But I wanna know something. Are we ever going to learn ho Bocce got his arm? He seems to have had it for a while.
I’m with Sean here; with the arm thing you _can’t_ shake a leg. The thing has to grow on you. “The larger the mystery the longer the reach”, or something like that.
I like how the smaller ship has some similarities to the Hatchet. It ties in a bit more with that these are modified ships and that the base ship might have been made by the same manufacturer/race as who made the Hatchet.
As for Moose’s comment, regardless of the way this turns out in the canon storyline, I wouldn’t mind Sean making a just for laughs pic with Bocce’s dad devastating the entire fleet with that rake, chopping ships in twain with it, shooting rake beams that would make the Death Star feel inadequate. XD
Ha ha! Space rake! Who knew people would gravitate towards the space rake so much. Maybe Space Rake will have to get its own spinoff series.
As for the panels on this page, I’m really happy with Panel 1, since it came out very close to what I had envisioned in my head, with the backlighting behind the ships and the light spilling out around them in an ominous, blinding, sort of way. And I like the transition panels too. That’s something I really enjoy doing since it’s always fun to find that composition of elements that works for both past and present. I did that throughout the MELTDOWN series I did for Image Comics, transitioning from past to present through similar panel compositions, but those transitions were even more interesting since the artwork in that series was cartoony for the past and gritty for the present, adding a more jarring element to the transitions.
And yes, we will definitely find out how Bocce got his arm. I think it’s a pretty cool origin so I can’t wait to get to it.
Hey, I was a fan of Space Rake before it was even cool!
And you should be duly noted for that. The space rake should be made by something like MooseTech Agriquipment in your honor.
The MooseTech Agriquipment Leaf Dominator Class Nuclear-powered Space Rake.
“Your yard trimmings cannot repel raking-power of that magnitude!” – My Mon Calamari gardner
Ah, Admiral Ackbar quotes are always endlessly entertaining. Especially when paired with mental images of rubbery fingers flopping around while gesturing. Good times!
I really like the design of those merc ships. They kinda remind me of assault/landing shuttles. The externally mounted weapons can be used in strafing runs and to provide suppressing fire while the troops are disembarking.
Thanks, Warsmith Bob! Yeah, I liked the way those ships turned out as well. Glad people like the idea of the external guns. As for the ships themselves, the flashback washout definitely killed the darkness of the hulls, but I’m really looking forward to seeing some KV ships return since I think it will be cool to see them in all their true inky blackness. I find you don’t see black ships in sci-fi much, and maybe when I start drawing it, I’ll find out why, what with them blending into space and all!. Right now, I think that blending will look very cool and ominous. But maybe it will just be a visual disaster. 🙂