Along with not needing to eat or drink, she doesn’t really breathe does she? I should have realized that when she was hung and it didn’t kill her, but it’s not really obvious in her daily moving around life/death-in-life. Love the fire swirl effects and the drama of his climbing the stairs!
Okay, I am sure I have not picked up on half of what goes on/has gone with her, but did she really accuse someone else of being overly concerned with the past. Really?
I’m pretty sure that her comment is really about JHH, Professor here just was a good target to vent on. I’m surprised by something else, however – all the previous times when Vane’s eyes catched flames she turned into indiscriminate killer that ruthlessly eliminated everything in her way, but this time she seems to actually be able to control herself and just walk away.
Well, clearly something similar to JHH, given both his nearly unharmed status and his ability to manipulate air in a manner similar to JHH’s ability to manipulate fire.
I am having a real hard time following what is going on here. I don’t know what peoples motivations are. I don’t know the stakes. There is no emotional touch stone for story that I can connect with.
It’s just a bunch of people running around shooting at each other and I have no idea what will be the difference if one person wins the conflict over the other. Hell I am not really sure if there is a conflict they could all be just a bunch of jerks that all want the same thing but also can’t get along.
I get that this is in the tradition of a western where the “hero” morality and motivations are questionable, but even in a western there is something you can root to happen even if you can root for the “hero”. Find the gold, rob the train, escape the law, save the farm that sort of thing. Here, I am so lost. Not that I can’t understand the action but I can’t figure out why I should care.
I feel the same way. I’ve been reading NTO for ages, and I LOVE the art, but the plot is still pretty muddy. My understanding is: Vane hates JHH without explanation. JHH is living on the run from her, and seems to have a good heart, but isn’t concerned about collateral damage caused by his escapes. This has created more enemies who also want to kill him, and appears to be a self-perpetuating problem. I’m still not sure if he killed that seamstress, and if he did, he’s clearly not good-hearted, but maybe he just has a soft spot for kids. Until seeing the professor, I thought JHH was some sort of mage/wizard/etc, but now it would appear more that he is an elemental, which perhaps implies less than I first assumed. Vane’s pedigree is a total question mark. So yeah, beyond that, no clue. But I keep reading for the AMAZING art, even if the story doesn’t make sense.
Wow. Some people. Erin should refund your money. Oh wait.
You know you guys said you’ve been reading forever but to me if you’ve read the whole thing it’s pretty clear the whole point is figuring out what their beef is. If you can’t see that I really dunno what you’re still here for. Oh the art. riiiiight.
Um, that’s the entire point of the comic, guys. The story is revealed in small nuggets as chapters go on. It’s the drive to keep reading every update. It’s not all boringly laid out on the table for you in page 1, but slowly slips out chapter by chapter.
So far we know JHH and Vane were romantically involved once. They loved each other quite a bit. Vane was (is still) a bit of a scientist and at sometime she delved into infectious diseases for some reason. JHH wanted to help her and resorted to morally questionable means using other people against their will.
Unfortunately, Vane’s efforts to cure the disease ended up making a worse strain. Not only this, she found out about JHH’s extracurricular activities on her behalf and didn’t appreciate it, causing them to fall out.
Now, somehow Vane is… changed. Perhaps undead? I’m not sure, no one seems to notice she’s different for some reason. JHH probably did that to her to bring her back from the dead because he *still* loves her. Regardless, she chases JHH – seemingly to end him. Meanwhile, JHH appears to have a very definite plan or scheme he’s perpetrating as he seems intent to collect certain items along his flight, presumably for some arcane purpose…
Perhaps to return Vane to full life? Or some other end yet unseen? Who knows, but that’s the intrigue of it all.
Let the storyteller tell her story at her own pace please. She’s actually doing it very well.
Thanks for the counterpoint, Guy & Emanon. Criticism never hurt anyone — and EK & xtipox were critical without being rude — but it’s still super encouraging to me that what I’m doing isn’t lost on everyone; that it’s someone’s cup of tea.
It’s very much reminiscent of another great western, The Dark Tower series. Much in the same vein we’re greeted by the story with little information. Merely “The man in Black fled across the Desert, and the Gunslinger followed.”
You want to turn the page to find out who these characters really are and why they’re doing this! The plot is a mystery that is hinted at with each chapter! In a similar vein, this comic follows that premise as well… the characters move town to town in their enounters for some intriguing reason.
However, NTO separates itself nicely by adding an element of uncertainty in that we don’t actually know who the good/bad guy are or even if either character can really be accurately defined as squarely good or bad, but rather shades of gray.
I’m sure a lot of people are thinking JHH is bad and Vane is good. And while JHH (apparently) has killed prostitutes, he did do it for what he felt was a greater good (if the dialogue is to be trusted). Clearly Vane was infected and love can drive a man to do terrible things. (Also it’s possible they might have had a child who was ill, given JHH’s seeming soft spot for the boy in plague-town.)
Is Vane good? That cannot be answered either. She seemingly feels remorse for making the plague more virulent, yes, but why was she playing with it in the first place? It could be taken that she was infected and just trying to save herself (instead of something more altruistic).
So far if we were judging the characters purely on actions we’ve witnessed, Vane is the more morally dubious (to me anyways). Throughout her chase, she’s stolen, assaulted, threatened, and implied she’d kill others to get her way and man. So far JHH, while a smooth-talking handsome devil really hasn’t done anything so eyebrow-raising as most of that list.
This style of characterization and storytelling is what keeps me checking for updates and my (ten gallon) hat is off to you for pulling it off so well, Erin. If you had just called the game early by laying it all out in chapter one, there’d be no intrigue or reason to keep up with it since it’d feel like you were just dragging out the chase for the sake of adding yet another chapter in the seemingly pointless march to conclusion. Doing it this way, it keeps the story filled by making each leg of the chase important for that one or two tidbits that fleshes out both characters and their story a little bit more.
Yes Vane people whose profession is the study and preservation of ancient knowledge tend to take issue with you destroying the knowledge they’re trying to study and preserve for future generations.
JHH knows how to damage shield.
Along with not needing to eat or drink, she doesn’t really breathe does she? I should have realized that when she was hung and it didn’t kill her, but it’s not really obvious in her daily moving around life/death-in-life.
Love the fire swirl effects and the drama of his climbing the stairs!
not that the lack of air affects Vane in any way…
Okay, I am sure I have not picked up on half of what goes on/has gone with her, but did she really accuse someone else of being overly concerned with the past. Really?
indeed. perhaps kill JHH is the key to her future/moving on with her (un)life?
or she’s just a hypocrite
I think there is a difference between being “overly concerned with the past” and trying to get back at someone for killing you
I’m pretty sure that her comment is really about JHH, Professor here just was a good target to vent on.
I’m surprised by something else, however – all the previous times when Vane’s eyes catched flames she turned into indiscriminate killer that ruthlessly eliminated everything in her way, but this time she seems to actually be able to control herself and just walk away.
…Did Vane just pull a pun on the professor here?
Talking about the professor, damn, what is this guy made of? How is he still alive and conscious?
Well, clearly something similar to JHH, given both his nearly unharmed status and his ability to manipulate air in a manner similar to JHH’s ability to manipulate fire.
I am having a real hard time following what is going on here. I don’t know what peoples motivations are. I don’t know the stakes. There is no emotional touch stone for story that I can connect with.
It’s just a bunch of people running around shooting at each other and I have no idea what will be the difference if one person wins the conflict over the other. Hell I am not really sure if there is a conflict they could all be just a bunch of jerks that all want the same thing but also can’t get along.
I get that this is in the tradition of a western where the “hero” morality and motivations are questionable, but even in a western there is something you can root to happen even if you can root for the “hero”. Find the gold, rob the train, escape the law, save the farm that sort of thing. Here, I am so lost. Not that I can’t understand the action but I can’t figure out why I should care.
I feel the same way. I’ve been reading NTO for ages, and I LOVE the art, but the plot is still pretty muddy. My understanding is: Vane hates JHH without explanation. JHH is living on the run from her, and seems to have a good heart, but isn’t concerned about collateral damage caused by his escapes. This has created more enemies who also want to kill him, and appears to be a self-perpetuating problem. I’m still not sure if he killed that seamstress, and if he did, he’s clearly not good-hearted, but maybe he just has a soft spot for kids. Until seeing the professor, I thought JHH was some sort of mage/wizard/etc, but now it would appear more that he is an elemental, which perhaps implies less than I first assumed. Vane’s pedigree is a total question mark.
So yeah, beyond that, no clue. But I keep reading for the AMAZING art, even if the story doesn’t make sense.
Wow. Some people. Erin should refund your money. Oh wait.
You know you guys said you’ve been reading forever but to me if you’ve read the whole thing it’s pretty clear the whole point is figuring out what their beef is. If you can’t see that I really dunno what you’re still here for. Oh the art. riiiiight.
(๑◕︵◕๑)
But seriously I appreciate your criticism; my pacing and wordless exposition isn’t everyone’s taste.
Um, that’s the entire point of the comic, guys. The story is revealed in small nuggets as chapters go on. It’s the drive to keep reading every update. It’s not all boringly laid out on the table for you in page 1, but slowly slips out chapter by chapter.
So far we know JHH and Vane were romantically involved once. They loved each other quite a bit. Vane was (is still) a bit of a scientist and at sometime she delved into infectious diseases for some reason. JHH wanted to help her and resorted to morally questionable means using other people against their will.
Unfortunately, Vane’s efforts to cure the disease ended up making a worse strain. Not only this, she found out about JHH’s extracurricular activities on her behalf and didn’t appreciate it, causing them to fall out.
Now, somehow Vane is… changed. Perhaps undead? I’m not sure, no one seems to notice she’s different for some reason. JHH probably did that to her to bring her back from the dead because he *still* loves her. Regardless, she chases JHH – seemingly to end him. Meanwhile, JHH appears to have a very definite plan or scheme he’s perpetrating as he seems intent to collect certain items along his flight, presumably for some arcane purpose…
Perhaps to return Vane to full life? Or some other end yet unseen? Who knows, but that’s the intrigue of it all.
Let the storyteller tell her story at her own pace please. She’s actually doing it very well.
Thanks for the counterpoint, Guy & Emanon. Criticism never hurt anyone — and EK & xtipox were critical without being rude — but it’s still super encouraging to me that what I’m doing isn’t lost on everyone; that it’s someone’s cup of tea.
It’s very much reminiscent of another great western, The Dark Tower series. Much in the same vein we’re greeted by the story with little information. Merely “The man in Black fled across the Desert, and the Gunslinger followed.”
You want to turn the page to find out who these characters really are and why they’re doing this! The plot is a mystery that is hinted at with each chapter! In a similar vein, this comic follows that premise as well… the characters move town to town in their enounters for some intriguing reason.
However, NTO separates itself nicely by adding an element of uncertainty in that we don’t actually know who the good/bad guy are or even if either character can really be accurately defined as squarely good or bad, but rather shades of gray.
I’m sure a lot of people are thinking JHH is bad and Vane is good. And while JHH (apparently) has killed prostitutes, he did do it for what he felt was a greater good (if the dialogue is to be trusted). Clearly Vane was infected and love can drive a man to do terrible things. (Also it’s possible they might have had a child who was ill, given JHH’s seeming soft spot for the boy in plague-town.)
Is Vane good? That cannot be answered either. She seemingly feels remorse for making the plague more virulent, yes, but why was she playing with it in the first place? It could be taken that she was infected and just trying to save herself (instead of something more altruistic).
So far if we were judging the characters purely on actions we’ve witnessed, Vane is the more morally dubious (to me anyways). Throughout her chase, she’s stolen, assaulted, threatened, and implied she’d kill others to get her way and man. So far JHH, while a smooth-talking handsome devil really hasn’t done anything so eyebrow-raising as most of that list.
This style of characterization and storytelling is what keeps me checking for updates and my (ten gallon) hat is off to you for pulling it off so well, Erin. If you had just called the game early by laying it all out in chapter one, there’d be no intrigue or reason to keep up with it since it’d feel like you were just dragging out the chase for the sake of adding yet another chapter in the seemingly pointless march to conclusion. Doing it this way, it keeps the story filled by making each leg of the chase important for that one or two tidbits that fleshes out both characters and their story a little bit more.
Kudos.
The woman is playing poker, gentlemen.
Really appreciate the time it took you to lay all that out, Em, as well as your support of my storytelling choices. Eminently obliged.
Yes Vane people whose profession is the study and preservation of ancient knowledge tend to take issue with you destroying the knowledge they’re trying to study and preserve for future generations.