Page 4 – Do you read me, Mike?
I admit, I had my doubts as to whether this page would turn out. But sometimes it’s impossible to tell until it’s done whether a drawing will be any good or not, as an old drawing teacher once told me.
This page isn’t really my favorite, I have to admit, in spite of the gigantic tank, which did turn out pretty well. But it gets the job done. And on time, too!
Note that I upsized the text another 10% for readbility’s sake. Thanks to Jim Francis, creator of Outsider, for the tip on that one. Whoever of you actually read this, please do take the time to check out his work – it’s one of the best-looking webcomics going right now, for my money!
In other news, such as it is, there’s some more stuff in the works here very soon. For my fellow-grognards over at the Ogre forums, I am working on an Ogre mod for the 6-Commando universe and units. This’ll be just graphics, mind you – no rules (so’s not to step on anyone’s toes copyright-wise; vide: the Kwanchai fiasco). But it promises to be pretty cool-looking, anyway. It’s a longer-range project, but the early prototype counters are pretty promising so far, so check back here frequently!
Beyond that, it’s another week down. An old friend of mine once told me that if you can do something for three weeks straight, you can do it indefinitely. And this being week four, it looks pretty straight so far! Stay tuned, now!
Great work on the tank. Is it based on the Mk. I ogre?
Thanks, D. I would be most comfortable calling the Mark I a “spiritual ancestor” rather than a genuine basis. Mike-One-Echo is considerably more powerful in his context than a Mark I is in its milieu – as you’ll see in the story, shortly.
Though I can’t help but admit to a passing resemblance.
That is one fine lookin tank.
Good stuff. I’ve been reading random pages here and there, but the tank stood out to me. I’m trying to do some concept sketches for a tank for a project my friend and I are working on.
Your sense of perspective is really great as well. It’s one of those things that can be a pain to do, but it makes your art all the better for, I think.
Keep it up.
Yeah, Mike is quite a machine. He actually got bigger since I first designed him.
You want some REALLY wild-looking tanks, check out the Maus, Landschiffe and Ratte 1500. Those Germans had some pretty crazy plans way back when.
Thanks for the visit, by the way – like I say, pros are a tough crowd!
Is this tank… Automated and ALIVE?!
What, you never read Keith Laumer’s “Bolo” novels? Now those babies could get big. 🙂
Whoa, is that a supertank?
A sexy, awesome supertank?
With a sentient AI?
I love it!
Great comic. I can teach you much better radio procedures. One example: on a modern battlefield and probably future, no one uses names or rank on the radio. You have call signs that reveal organization and position. There are several reasons for that the main one being casualties will change the names. Positions would then become confusing.
Contact me and we can discuss it.
By the way, I am a retired US Army Infantry Platoon Sergeant.
Thanks, man! Of course I’m always glad to get input! A lot of people have noticed the liberties I take with C3/SIGINT/OPSEC usage in the comic, which I mainly play pretty loose in order to make the story more accessible. You’re totally correct, though – if the comms were being heard by enemy signals units, they’d be able to construct a whole network of enemy unit structures and triangulate command units, which would expose them to all kinds of nastiness like airstrikes, artillery, special forces, etc., and decapitating a major force in the field would seriously ruin their day.
So strictly speaking what they’re doing in the scene is wrong, but it makes it easier to move the story dialogue ahead so the reader gets the idea of the character structure directly. Hopefully, the places where I’ve let things go won’t interfere with your experience with the comic – and of course I’d value the opportunity to discuss the verisimilitude with you, any time – it can only help, of course!
That’s cool looking tank! How many people can fit in there?