This particular scene (consisting of this page and the next) was a real challenge to draw, just because it features a single character interacting with a ship through a cockpit window. Most other scenes involve multiple characters, often doing some sort of action, so I can move the “camera” around to get a variety of compositions. In this instance, my options felt very limited.
Normally, my first thought would be to have every panel focus on Ril, either speaking or reacting, since that’s all that’s going on in the scene. But that would feel a bit monotonous. Instead, I decided to cut from Ril in two panels. The first is the one that just shows the console. I don’t know how many shots like this I’ve ever done. Not many. But it does seem to work for a panel where we just hear the transmission coming from the other ship. I do think it’s a pretty common thing to have dialogue over images of static elements in an environment. I just never think to do that sort of thing usually.
The other non-Ril shot is the last panel, which has the conversation superimposed over an exterior shot of the Khoruysa Brimia. But in this case, I wanted to focal point of the ship to be the cockpit in the foreground. So even if it’s not specifically showing Ril, it’s showing where he is, so in a way it still feels like a “Ril shot” as he is interacting with the enemy ship.
Good decisions regarding the panels. Ril’s expression in panel 3 paints the situation clearly.
Perhaps the hostile ship rotating it’s weapons towards the Brimia would empower the rogue space remark.
Poor Ril. They’re basically telling him he has no power here, and they’re going to drop a house on him.
It’s almost certain: our beleaguered hero, Ril must singlehandedly defend the Brimia from invading pirates using ingenuity, his superior knowledge of the ship and presumably his tiny belt buckle knife.
But in what genre will he mount his one man insurrection?
… the slapstick hi-jinks of Home Alone?
… the gung-ho, yippee-ki-yay bravado of Die Hard?
… the cold blooded, merciless stalking of Alien?
Or maybe I’m totally wrong and he’ll immediately give up and the crew will have to use a different ship for the entire rest of the comic.
Ah, you forgot:
… the lie there and play dead strategy of possum!