Loved the great responses to last Friday’s strip. This is my favorite sequence in this chapter and it looks like it’s yours as well.
It’s a tricky thing, writing a villain. You’ve got to make them a credible threat, but at the same time you’ve got to believe they’re an actual person. You’ve got to humanize them a little or they don’t seem real and, thus, not a threat. But it’s a fine line. You want them to be relatable, but not too relatable. You want them to be monstrous, but not too monstrous or they’re just EEEEVIL and not believable.
I like to think Thrice Evil doesn’t have very many friends. He has followers, but not friends. The idea that, for a moment, he’d found someone–someone he knows very, very well who has every right to be repulsed by him and who knows a thing or two about evil and manipulation himself–and that THAT person would enjoy his company… I imagine that would be a very attractive prospect for him. I think he would like to sit down and have coffee with that person. It’s unexpected, but it’s a very human thing to do.
So, of course he gets a coffee pot smashed over his head.
A NOTE TO OUR PATRONS ON PATREON
Thanks, you guys, for being so supportive of this chapter! To show our gratitude, Marc and I have decided to cook up something extra special and cool–call it a deleted scene from this chapter, if you will–that will be EXCLUSIVE to you, for free.
Still not on the Patreon train? Want to see the deleted scene? There’s still time to sign up!
See you on Wednesday with 680 – “Thrice Evil is Not Pleased”
It’s funny sometimes when you move. Sure you get to meet new people, see new places. But you also have to deal with figuring out the minute differences in social customs, traditions and laws. In this case both those created by sentient beings, and those apparently inherent to the universe.
In the final analysis one finds that there is an extremely large gap between the idea of “Evil can win here” and “I will win here”.
Also, hello again.
That’s something I think a LOT of the people from Earth-Avalon haven’t really picked up on. Sure, things aren’t great on Earth-Abbadon, but until Zurida came back, there really hadn’t been a major threat like Earth-Avalon’s Lodge. Both the villains and heroes had retired (Well,Thrice-Evil had been effectively lobotomized, but hey, eggs and omelets). Most of them had realized that villainy and heroing were thankless and awful.
Evil can win on Earth-Abbadon, but so can Good. On Earth-Avalon, both the heroes and villains are still stuck in a never-ending conflict in which neither one can permanently win. The heroes may have the advantage, but they can’t seem to make it stick. On Earth-Abbadon, practically the only reason that there’s still conflict going on is because of Thrice-Evil’s influence and manipulation.
Jerry? With a sudden surprise double-cross? NOOOOOOOO! Who’da thunk it??
Still a good plan though. Go with what you know.
Like I keep saying, Jerry is no fool. Jerry is on Jerry’s side. Love this.
SO cool. Also, yes, Jerry IS crafty. So my big question is: Having just smashed a carafe on Thrice Evil’s face- while he’s ALONE- what is his next move?
This comic keeps surprising me.
I’m getting used to that.