Page 009: Shadow of Asterius
El Cid on June 3, 2010
First page of the Big Battle Sequence. I should point out, in case it weren't already obvious, that this comic is not meant to be historically accurate. Here we have the Minoans facing off against the Athenians, but that may or may not have ever happened, and also as far as I'm aware the Minoans did not possess a huge coalition-type army with Nubian mercenaries and such. That all came from the Encyclopedia El Cidia. (which is only slightly less reliable than Wikipedia)
This comic is still on hiatus by the way; I just wanted to finish these couple of pages I was working on. Right now, I'm going to focus on finishing Act II of my other comic, which probably still has fifteen to twenty pages left (a number I'm pulling out of thin air), which could take a while at the rate I work. I should be returning to this comic after I'm finished with that.
Mario_Gkatzouli at 4:27AM, Nov. 12, 2020
Some great lighting and characters here too! Great Job. By the way, its History of my country so whatever info you need I will be glad to help you out :)
AmeliaP at 7:40PM, Oct. 27, 2017
When I thought why everybody is naked, I remember that goddamn heat waves in the Mediterranean.
THEBADGER at 4:56AM, Jan. 7, 2017
Very cool!
aelion at 11:48AM, Aug. 5, 2013
Looking forward to seeing more from you El Cid^^
BuddyParaiso at 11:27PM, Jan. 18, 2012
This is awesome...reminds me of 300 or Braveheart.
El Cid at 7:19AM, April 7, 2011
I wasn't intentionally channeling Geiger, but I'm flattered by the comparison. He's a true visionary artist.
Ice 9 at 9:19PM, April 6, 2011
Do you by any chance like the work of H. R. Giger? I mean this comic just some how jumped out at me as reminding me of that.
Blacksword at 5:21AM, March 3, 2011
Man these are my favorite renders from you! I understand why you suspended Knossos but PLEASE man the lighting style that you used in the couple little chat scene was fucking great! she looked INCREDIBELY HOT!! I was expecting some porn action right there. I hope you use the same lightning/skin map settings in the future!
Scythe Massakur at 12:25PM, Jan. 5, 2011
Waiting...
El Cid at 7:17AM, Dec. 11, 2010
Oh, I never gave a status update for this comic, did I? I thought I did! [i]Knossos[/i] has been indefinitely suspended for the foreseeable future, for a lot of reasons, but mainly just because I don't think it's all that original to do yet another story based on Theseus and the Labyrinth. So... I'm going to finish my other comic (hopefully by the end of 2011), and then I'll find something else to work on. In all likelihood, I will not be returning to this project. Whatever my next project is, it may or may not be similar to this, but hopefully it'll be something more original.
houseofmuses at 7:57PM, Oct. 23, 2010
HEY!!! Lazy BUM! Come out with another page! A Deviant Mind #2 is about halfway done, by the way. ;)
houseofmuses at 11:41AM, Sept. 2, 2010
I'm trying to get the nominees together to choreograph and set up our own Drunk Duck version of the Jimmy Fallon/Glee parody video from the Emmy Awards: [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPkDFPmRSqU[/url] PQ me if you are a 2010 Drunk Duck Award nominee and want to be in on this community project! The list from the video is below, and we have plenty of room for extras! Once the casting list from the DD nominees is complete, I'll give you the panel setting and lyrics/script so you can submit your comic panel for the page! I CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU GUYS!!!! LET'S ROLL! Details are at [url]http://www.drunkduck.com/House_of_the_Muses_7/index.php?p=741372[/url]
Stig Hemmer at 6:01AM, July 6, 2010
Why can't we all just be friends?
MrSynnerster at 7:30AM, June 23, 2010
This page is freakin' sweet. I know it took a lot ot put together.
Jessy Dee at 4:26AM, June 11, 2010
wow, i definetly think this is how old war was, naked people, and using as weapons bare hands, and yes, very gory!!!!
houseofmuses at 1:47PM, June 10, 2010
...And yes, it makes the Lesbians scream and run. It's just too much for the average Sapphic soldier. ;)
houseofmuses at 1:46PM, June 10, 2010
Nudity in combat was rather common both with the Greeks, the Vikings and other cultures. A wall of heavily-muscled berserkers charging down on you with swords and erections held high was enough to waver the confidence of most cultured armies.
ghostrunner at 9:58PM, June 5, 2010
the vikings called it "sky clad" and all the best berzerkers did it
Fastmax at 6:25AM, June 5, 2010
I think this scene needs more "killer" details.
El Cid at 5:33AM, June 5, 2010
Greek art often depicted soldiers fighting naked, though that was probably just for artistic purposes. We do know that fighting nude was common among some cultures though, especially the Gauls. It was considered both a sign of bravery and a way to intimidate your enemy. As for this comic, it takes place in the early years of Aegean civilization (think after Conan but before the Trojan War) so I wanted the armies to look a bit primitive, even though technically from a historically accurate standpoint, armor would have already been in common usage by this time in Greece as it was elsewhere. So... the nudity thing is just me taking artistic license.
Scythe Massakur at 3:48AM, June 5, 2010
I was listening to Heather Alexander's "March of Cambreadth" when I pulled this up. It went with it perfectly aside from the bagpipes. And since when do people go into battle naked? Just curious.
ghostrunner at 9:23PM, June 4, 2010
that will teach the guy in panel one to stare
Dark Pascual at 7:45AM, June 4, 2010
This scene kicks even more ass when you look at it while listening NIN's "Just like you Imagined"...
El Cid at 5:09AM, June 4, 2010
Sounds like one hell of a gig!
houseofmuses at 5:06AM, June 4, 2010
Fact is, mercenaries went far and wide over the ancient world, to hire out their sword arms for a nice purse, see distant lands, meet interesting people, and kill them. :)