New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby begbie_rentonspud » August 3rd, 2012, 5:45 pm

NoneNeeded wrote:
begbie_rentonspud wrote:
msgrey wrote:i am excited for this! the original was well written and beautiful!


I hope the new issue won't disappoint you.

~Begs


I doubt that will happen.

Don't take this as damning by faint praise, but nothing disappoints me more than an unfinished tale.

So I expect you clear that low threshold handily! I definitely like the cover art. Not the usual fare around here. Variety is good.


I totally agree with you on that one. And that's one of the reasons I wanted to take on this comic. And another reason was that I wanted to keep that hand-drawn look that this book originally started with. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the 3D stuff that Finister, TrishBot, MCTek and everyone else puts out but the 2D stuff is welcome change of pace.

Anyways, the time is almost here... Someone call "Europe" and strike up "The Final Countdown". Maybe we can MC TrishBot into doing a wicked cool air guitar solo. :P
See you in the funny pages, everyone.

~Begs
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby Trishbot » August 3rd, 2012, 10:22 pm

Greetings, one and all! It is with great joy and pleasure that I announce that "Sword & Shield" Issue 7 is now available for you all to read in the FREE GALLERY at MCComix.com, featuring the phenomenal artwork of Begbie_Rentonspud!

I know it's been awhile. Where did we last leave off?... Oh yeah!

Ring Mistress triumphant is complete! She has defeated the fabled heroines of both Liberty Grove and Metrobay, stolen her old flame back to her side as her personal lover, and turned these once-noble heroines into guinea pigs for her fiendish experiments. Robot drones, mindless sex slaves, and playful pets are what our heroines have become, and Ring Mistress intends to celebrate her victory in the best way possible! What sexy, sinister celebration does our manic mad scientist have in store? Find out in Sword & Shield issue 7!

See the fun here: http://www.mccomix.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=52308

Thank you everyone for being so patient with me. It's been a long and difficult struggle to keep this comic alive and to give it a veritable rebirth, and none of it would have been possible without your support and Begbie_Rentonspud's generous rise to the occasion.

It's not over yet, though, folks! Let us know what you think of the new art and the new story developments! We've got plenty more in store! Thanks so much, everyone!
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby Sumatra » August 4th, 2012, 6:50 am

Sword & Shield #7 was alright. I loved the artwork. Hated the cats.

The story, after such a long wait seemed bland. Not a lot happened. Would have liked to see Ring Mistress play with more mind control or changing the heroines. Maybe seeing more of what Ring Mistress planned for in Liberty Grove. Or more between her and Clarissa, she only got changed recently.

-Sumatra
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby NoneNeeded » August 4th, 2012, 7:29 am

Sumatra wrote:Sword & Shield #7 was alright. I loved the artwork. Hated the cats.

The story, after such a long wait seemed bland. Not a lot happened. Would have liked to see Ring Mistress play with more mind control or changing the heroines. Maybe seeing more of what Ring Mistress planned for in Liberty Grove. Or more between her and Clarissa, she only got changed recently.

-Sumatra


I pretty much agree.

I really like the art. It seems 'louder' somehow that the previous pages. There was something about the breasts that didn't sit right though. Maybe more observational studies are needed.

On the story: you are right, not much happening. I had been expecting a wrap up final chapter. Looks like this is going to stretch out. I don't mind too much as long as it isn't another 23 months ;)

My only complaint was the the erotic aspect. It seemed to be put in to fill space or fan service. RM's actions seemed out of character from the previous chapters(But a little more like how she later developed). The RoboSlaves seemed to either lose their programs or be going through the motions. I may not be representative but I would have liked a shorter, more dominant orgy scene that focused on RM's controll issues and letting the story move on more. I could well imagine someone calling herself RingMistress to be circled by her slaves telling them just what to do and when.

If this is sounding like a complaint, I don't mean it to be. Or at least not a major or harsh one. I really liked the story as a whole and the art(both old and new).

And as a side note, I am hoping we see a return of RingMistress to MetroBay. Her feelings for Clarissa made her an interestingly amoral character. Not evil or bad, just selfish and indifferent to others. I could see her coming back and helping the Heroines on occasion (to help her lover) and frustrating them at other times (when she has some cool idea she needs to test).
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby begbie_rentonspud » August 4th, 2012, 9:07 am

NoneNeeded wrote:
Sumatra wrote:Sword & Shield #7 was alright. I loved the artwork. Hated the cats.

The story, after such a long wait seemed bland. Not a lot happened. Would have liked to see Ring Mistress play with more mind control or changing the heroines. Maybe seeing more of what Ring Mistress planned for in Liberty Grove. Or more between her and Clarissa, she only got changed recently.

-Sumatra


I pretty much agree.

I really like the art. It seems 'louder' somehow that the previous pages. There was something about the breasts that didn't sit right though. Maybe more observational studies are needed.

On the story: you are right, not much happening. I had been expecting a wrap up final chapter. Looks like this is going to stretch out. I don't mind too much as long as it isn't another 23 months ;)

My only complaint was the the erotic aspect. It seemed to be put in to fill space or fan service. RM's actions seemed out of character from the previous chapters(But a little more like how she later developed). The RoboSlaves seemed to either lose their programs or be going through the motions. I may not be representative but I would have liked a shorter, more dominant orgy scene that focused on RM's controll issues and letting the story move on more. I could well imagine someone calling herself RingMistress to be circled by her slaves telling them just what to do and when.

If this is sounding like a complaint, I don't mean it to be. Or at least not a major or harsh one. I really liked the story as a whole and the art(both old and new).

And as a side note, I am hoping we see a return of RingMistress to MetroBay. Her feelings for Clarissa made her an interestingly amoral character. Not evil or bad, just selfish and indifferent to others. I could see her coming back and helping the Heroines on occasion (to help her lover) and frustrating them at other times (when she has some cool idea she needs to test).


Thanks for the feedback... It helps... A lot! But it seems like no ones been reading my posts. LOL! I did mention that there was going to be another issue. :P Ah well, I've been doing a little bit of press this week and it may have been said it in passing. I read the outline for this and just felt that this needs to really be visually flushed out and there was just no way this could be finished in one issue. And the next issue is going to push... Hard.

As for the 'fan service' thing... You darn tootin'! LOL! While I do love the stories that deal with plot, I also do love the crazy sex scenes. I get a little disappointed or antsy when that doesn't happen. This is an erotic website that deals with mind controlled superheroines into doing some very naughty things, after all. And I saw this issue as Ring Mistress' victory dance. I don't see it as being out of character for Ring Mistress. She's cocky now. Her experiments are working at full efficiency. She just dominated seven of the best superheroines. She got back the love of her life. Life is good for her. The sex scenes, for me, are just integral to the plot... Because you got to have that high before the "crap hits the fan", right? And the mantra going into the next issue is going to be, "Everything to gain, everything to lose."

I'm sorry if this disappointed anyone, but I'm extremely proud of this comic and, luckily, I'm the type of person that always says, "I could do better." And barring out all the behind the scenes stuff, I'm happy I did this. The feedback, so far, is going to help out what I'm drawing out for this next issue.

~Begs

P.S.- Really? There's actually a limit to how many smilies you can put in a message? Amazing...
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby msgrey » August 4th, 2012, 10:37 am

Hello Trishbot! I have some comment and questions for Sword and Shiled #7:

To continue this story after so long was very exciting! evenfor a new reader it was good to continu the story! the artwork is good, i perhaps prefer 3d however, i think your Ringmistress looked much better in 3D!

i will do a full review of the issue later! my critical point is that it was too short :D! also i did not enjoy the sex that much maybe its too use to 3D sex, but i want to see more action! the trio rushing to save their friends is very good! the next issues must have a lot of worry for Ringmistress with them at her door!
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby Trishbot » August 4th, 2012, 10:53 am

Sumatra wrote:Sword & Shield #7 was alright. I loved the artwork. Hated the cats.

Not everyone likes the cats, I'm aware. I felt there was plenty of non-cat action for those that prefer their girls more hairless and fleshy.

Sumatra wrote:The story, after such a long wait seemed bland. Not a lot happened. Would have liked to see Ring Mistress play with more mind control or changing the heroines. Maybe seeing more of what Ring Mistress planned for in Liberty Grove. Or more between her and Clarissa, she only got changed recently.
-Sumatra

I'll take full responsibility for the story. I'm sure after a long wait, some fans may have expected more "action" (as opposed to non-stop kinky mind controlled victory sex), but the overall story is going to flow better once the next installment is out. This is literally the calm before the storm. And it's about to get very stormy. And we'll be seeing more of Ring Mistress using her slaves in different ways soon.

NoneNeeded wrote:I really like the art. It seems 'louder' somehow that the previous pages. There was something about the breasts that didn't sit right though. Maybe more observational studies are needed.

Begbie's skills improved dramatically over the course of doing this comic. As a fellow artist, I know that how things start off aren't always the same level as where they ended, but he clearly improved while working on this. I served as the colorist and I referenced colorful pop-art and chose vibrant colors to help make the story feel more dynamic and lively. I hope it worked.

NoneNeeded wrote:On the story: you are right, not much happening. I had been expecting a wrap up final chapter. Looks like this is going to stretch out. I don't mind too much as long as it isn't another 23 months ;)

It won't "stretch out" much longer. The original plan was for this to be the final issue, but I was asked to remove most of the erotic playtime, which would've left us with a sex-less comic for the last several issues. Begbie wasn't about to stand for that and re-inserted the sex scenes (along with several additional scenes), fully intent on giving Ring Mistress the indulgent mind control orgy of joy and excess she's never yet been shown to have. But with that little detour over with, it's a beeline for the action-packed, fast-paced finale now.

NoneNeeded wrote:My only complaint was the the erotic aspect. It seemed to be put in to fill space or fan service. RM's actions seemed out of character from the previous chapters(But a little more like how she later developed).

That's been one of the biggest struggles for me while I've tried to keep this comic afloat. While I was trying to keep it going, Ring Mistress and her crew went off and kept doing things in other stories with other heroines without allowing this story to come to its natural resolution. As such, her behavior in those later stories shifted a bit from how she began. Even her priorities shifted, and she went from a villain existing to spite Doogan Tinker to a sympathetic wife to someone in cahoots with Von Ick. None of the later was really planned out, so I had to tinker a bit to make her "old" personality try and flow into her "newer" personality. Basically, I hoped that her obtaining happiness here (and the risk of LOSING it) would affect her more in the future, as opposed to her original stance, where she had nothing to lose and everything to prove.

NoneNeeded wrote:The RoboSlaves seemed to either lose their programs or be going through the motions.

It's mainly the latter. None of the RoboSlaves have any semblance of original personality or intelligence left. They have personalities and programs put in their heads and taken away routinely by their new mistress, and this chapter was just yet another "do as I say and enjoy it" response.

NoneNeeded wrote:I may not be representative but I would have liked a shorter, more dominant orgy scene that focused on RM's control issues and letting the story move on more. I could well imagine someone calling herself Ring Mistress to be circled by her slaves telling them just what to do and when.

You'll be getting more of that next issue, have no fear about that. The story is going to move, move, MOVE.

NoneNeeded wrote:If this is sounding like a complaint, I don't mean it to be. Or at least not a major or harsh one. I really liked the story as a whole and the art(both old and new).

While I'm not opposed to universal praise towards my genius, beauty, and skill, constructive criticism is something I thrive on. Nobody gets better by ignoring complaints and critiques, and we've certainly gotten better over the years. My old stuff is almost embarrassing to read now.

NoneNeeded wrote:And as a side note, I am hoping we see a return of RingMistress to MetroBay. Her feelings for Clarissa made her an interestingly amoral character. Not evil or bad, just selfish and indifferent to others. I could see her coming back and helping the Heroines on occasion (to help her lover) and frustrating them at other times (when she has some cool idea she needs to test).

On that, we can agree. I find Ring Mistress to be a fascinating character, one with a huge amount of depth and character flaws, yet the potential to be both foe and ally to pretty much anyone in the city. She is not inherently evil, but she's certainly not good. She's a smart and sexy moral gray zone that has a lot to contribute to the world of Metrobay.

But, alas, that decision is out of my hands. I've pleaded for her return as well, but it's just not going to happen anytime soon. In many ways, this is sort of her swan song farewell, so I hope you enjoy her in this story as much as I have.
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby Trishbot » August 4th, 2012, 10:58 am

msgrey wrote:Hello Trishbot! I have some comment and questions for Sword and Shiled #7:

To continue this story after so long was very exciting! evenfor a new reader it was good to continu the story! the artwork is good, i perhaps prefer 3d however, i think your Ringmistress looked much better in 3D!

i will do a full review of the issue later! my critical point is that it was too short :D! also i did not enjoy the sex that much maybe its too use to 3D sex, but i want to see more action! the trio rushing to save their friends is very good! the next issues must have a lot of worry for Ringmistress with them at her door!

It sure will! Can't wait to hear your full thoughts!
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby Akonkid » August 4th, 2012, 3:08 pm

*slow clap*

Welcome back, Sword and Shield (and Ring Mistress)! I've missed you all so very, very much.

It's great to see Ring Mistress doing what she does best. I'll confess, I'm biased, but the art of my Liberty Grove girls is astoundingly sexy (though the Metrobay ones are no slouches either). It's dynamic and fun, but while all that fun is happening, we see the heroes coming to the rescue.... and I'm not sure whether I'm rooting for the heroines or wishing they'd never find them! I feel very conflicted about their arrival.

Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see how it all goes down, but I'm excited to see it happen.
If she would just do what I asked, I wouldn't need to use mind control!
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby Champ » August 4th, 2012, 3:25 pm

I have been a follower and fan of this series since its creation. :)

I was so loyal that I checked this forum twice a day for a year just for an update.

Now that its finally arrived, all I can say is that it was worth the wait! :)

The artwork is amazing and I love how this first chapter is showing off what Ring Mistress does with all of her slaves at one time. (A fantasy for all evil villains everywhere.)

I am once again soaking in all the action, going over each detail carefully so I can remember how what plays into what, but I am eagerly awaiting the continuation of this story.

For Begbie and Trish, two thumbs up and a bag of candy for you both! You made my day with this! :)
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby dumbtime » August 4th, 2012, 7:19 pm

Akonkid wrote:*slow clap*

Welcome back, Sword and Shield (and Ring Mistress)! I've missed you all so very, very much.



For some reason, I had a Matrix: Revolution flashback after reading that quote.
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby NoneNeeded » August 4th, 2012, 8:24 pm

Trishbot wrote:
NoneNeeded wrote:I really like the art. It seems 'louder' somehow that the previous pages. There was something about the breasts that didn't sit right though. Maybe more observational studies are needed.

Begbie's skills improved dramatically over the course of doing this comic. As a fellow artist, I know that how things start off aren't always the same level as where they ended, but he clearly improved while working on this. I served as the colorist and I referenced colorful pop-art and chose vibrant colors to help make the story feel more dynamic and lively. I hope it worked.


I wasn't complaining. I had only meant to give Bergie an excuse to stare at real, large breasted, naked women for 'professional' reasons. I'm sure you guys would let him expense a couple trips to some Gentleman's Club for Artistic reasons. Right?
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby Uzobono » August 4th, 2012, 10:16 pm

I have to admit I'm a *bit* on the fence about this #7 :p. (Incoming criticism :p )

I liked the artwork, the dialogue and sequencing bothered me a touch...Ring Mistress to me seemed just out of character, during the playful were-cats portion, in S&S, Resort and Prized Displays she seemed a bit more....controlling/dominant?

Which leads me to the second problem :P. I think it's important to separate porn from eroticism, porn =/= eroticism, so like...when the orgy was going on that did very little to push my buttons whereas it would have more than done so if..RM/Clarissa/Kitten (or whoever) made love while their friends blankly watched (maybe Terra could then have requested commentary from the spectators). Seeing slaves "take control and do their own thing" defeats a lot of the mc aspect for me.

So while I *do* like sex in comics, it shouldn't take center stage, as the "mind control" is what's heavily erotic not a mistress fingering a slave for example. For all intents and purposes, lately the "mc" in comics has taken a backseat to the sex, which should be the reverse (in my opinion) where the mc *drives* the sex.

The scene with Megan stands out, I'm personally of the opinion that enslavement would take away that portion of hers to *enjoy* the act so she, and the rest of the heroines, would go through a set of routines, rather than inject their own...lust/desires/like/dislikes into the sex.

Kari's behavior doesn't quite match her personality, she's (in contrast to Sword) the...quiet, rational type, not very possessive/grabby with Megan like she'd call her "Mine!"

I think rather than sex, as the orgy could have been implied anyway, or cut down, we *know* from #6 that Terra is *obviously* going to enjoy her slaves, she already did, but more exposition on...what she'd *do* with them in the long term, or have a bit of back and forth of her taunting them.

*Or* a bit more Clarissa/Terra dialogue, like leading into Resort Tales a bit, mentioning the prospect of marriage, maybe foreshadow the changes she makes to Clarissa in the time between?

Overall, while it's ok, I think after such a long time, doing an issue that's *mostly* sex isn't as strong as heavy exposition, developing Ring Mistress a bit more, and foreshadowing bits of Resort/Prized Displays possibly. Obviously the next issue is focusing on the conflict and maybe(?) RM using her slaves to make her escape, but seeing an interaction between Kari and a (controlled) Megan would be *really* good, and a lot more dialogue about some of *why* RM did what she did (as explaining it to the heroines).

/hides :p
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby Trishbot » August 5th, 2012, 8:38 am

Akonkid wrote:*slow clap*

Welcome back, Sword and Shield (and Ring Mistress)! I've missed you all so very, very much.

It's great to see Ring Mistress doing what she does best. I'll confess, I'm biased, but the art of my Liberty Grove girls is astoundingly sexy (though the Metrobay ones are no slouches either). It's dynamic and fun, but while all that fun is happening, we see the heroes coming to the rescue.... and I'm not sure whether I'm rooting for the heroines or wishing they'd never find them! I feel very conflicted about their arrival.

Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see how it all goes down, but I'm excited to see it happen.

Thanks a lot! And thanks for letting us borrow such sexy characters!

Champ wrote:I have been a follower and fan of this series since its creation.

I was so loyal that I checked this forum twice a day for a year just for an update.

Now that its finally arrived, all I can say is that it was worth the wait!

The artwork is amazing and I love how this first chapter is showing off what Ring Mistress does with all of her slaves at one time. (A fantasy for all evil villains everywhere.)

I am once again soaking in all the action, going over each detail carefully so I can remember how what plays into what, but I am eagerly awaiting the continuation of this story.

For Begbie and Trish, two thumbs up and a bag of candy for you both! You made my day with this!

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sticking with us through all the ups and downs during all this time.

NoneNeeded wrote:I wasn't complaining. I had only meant to give Bergie an excuse to stare at real, large breasted, naked women for 'professional' reasons. I'm sure you guys would let him expense a couple trips to some Gentleman's Club for Artistic reasons. Right?

Oh, I don't think he NEEDS an excuse. In fact, I'm quite sure he's willing to do that all on his own...

Uzobono wrote:I have to admit I'm a *bit* on the fence about this #7 :p. (Incoming criticism)

I liked the artwork, the dialogue and sequencing bothered me a touch...Ring Mistress to me seemed just out of character, during the playful were-cats portion, in S&S, Resort and Prized Displays she seemed a bit more....controlling/dominant?

Begbie explained it a bit above, but our intent with her portrayal in this is not that she's "different" but that this is simply another side of her. She won. She's victorious. She has EVERYTHING she wants and needs and has never faced defeat at this point in her career. When faced with total victory for the first time ever, she lets loose and enjoys herself. She doesn't worry about being "in control" because she has no fear of losing her control. That changes in later stories where her confidence isn't as strong and her desire for dominance and control is stronger due to prior failures.

I realize this was an unavoidable problem, going back to a story whose central villain became pretty much a completely different character than how she was originally written, and I've had to both modify the story to foreshadow her future actions while at the same time trying to ensure she's the same fun-loving mind controller from prior chapters.

Uzobono wrote:Which leads me to the second problem. I think it's important to separate porn from eroticism, porn =/= eroticism, so like...when the orgy was going on that did very little to push my buttons whereas it would have more than done so if..RM/Clarissa/Kitten (or whoever) made love while their friends blankly watched (maybe Terra could then have requested commentary from the spectators). Seeing slaves "take control and do their own thing" defeats a lot of the mc aspect for me.

I 100% agree with you that eroticism =/= porn... But I fully felt working on this that I, in fact, avoided this problem. Yes, the porn is there, but I was fully convinced the MC elements shone through bright and strong and it had FAR more than "just porn" going on. To me, the most erotic parts of this story were the overtly mind control parts, such as Clarissa enjoying her best friend Kitten. Both of them altered so completely and their friendship utterly twisted by Ring Mistress. Neither best friend has even the slightest inkling of rescuing the other. Clarissa instead is overjoyed to be Ring Mistress's lover at the expense of all else, and she's thrilled that her BFF Kitten, who would've fought to the death to save her, is now nothing more than a blissfully happy, mewling sex cat that has JOINED her and would willing offer herself to her whenever she desires.

Or how Liberty Grove's heroines acted in the situation. I'm not sure how familiar you are with them, but the hottest parts to me were dear friends Duality Dame having her way with Kat Krusader (especially given the sexual tension they normally have), making passionate love to one another while Kat Krusader's own daughter, Emerald Tiger, has mindless lesbian sex with Kari's girlfriend a mere few feet away. Mom and daughter both so totally mind controlled and brainwashed that they don't even care that the other is engaged in such naughty, depraved, kinky activities within spitting distance of each other.

To me, that was the heart of this story's eroticism... not the porn. I think a part of the problem is this is the first chapter where Ring Mistress did not enslave someone new and bend them to her will, so maybe the "little details" I was priding myself on got lost and all a few readers could see was blunt and boring sex. To me, the sex was the icing on the cake, but the real tasty bits were how these characters were manipulated and modified by Ring Mistress. She was not so direct in her orders, but their actions amongst those they cared about proved how far she brainwashed them into doing her naughty bidding. They were doing stuff their "normal" selves would NEVER have done.

Uzobono wrote:So while I *do* like sex in comics, it shouldn't take center stage, as the "mind control" is what's heavily erotic not a mistress fingering a slave for example. For all intents and purposes, lately the "mc" in comics has taken a backseat to the sex, which should be the reverse (in my opinion) where the mc *drives* the sex.

As I mentioned before, I'm sorry if my intent was lost, but my intent was entirely that the mind control is what drove the sex scenes. They would never, ever have done any of this on their own accord. They were commanded, got the signal, and did what they did like the mindless little automatons they've become. A character like Megan would have fought to the end before cheating on her girlfriend, and a character like Emerald Tiger is straight as an arrow. Best friends exploring and exploiting each others' bodies, devoted lovers jumping into the arms of total strangers, heroines willfully offering their curvy bodies to their hated enemies... To me, that's where the MC elements shined. It was far from just sex, to me. It was taking these heroines' very core and perverting it into something new, naughty, and nasty. To strip them of their dignity and self-righteousness and leave only the parts of them able to obey and provide pleasure.

Uzobono wrote:The scene with Megan stands out, I'm personally of the opinion that enslavement would take away that portion of hers to *enjoy* the act so she, and the rest of the heroines, would go through a set of routines, rather than inject their own...lust/desires/like/dislikes into the sex.

Ring Mistress, to me, is a bit like Belinda Giolla. She's not really EVIL, and, by most accounts, is actually a rather good mistress. While she always puts her needs front and center, she's not above allowing her minions to experience some of the joy and fulfillment she has. She's ALWAYS been okay with her slaves being allowed to "enjoy" their slavery. I felt she demonstrated that in many of the prior chapters. Kat Krusader certainly was enthusiastically enjoying herself in Chapter 2, Megan was enjoying herself in Chapter 5, and most of the slaves were more than happy to express themselves in Chapter 6.

If this was an earlier chapter, I might agree that Megan could've been kept mindless... but this chapter was all about her victory celebration. She WANTS them to enjoy themselves, but more importantly she wants them to enjoy themselves because SHE is enjoying herself. They're only having fun because their Mistress is, and commanded they do as well. Basically, she's throwing a mind controlled sex party, and who likes going to a party full of dull, unhappy people that don't want to be there?

Uzobono wrote:Kari's behavior doesn't quite match her personality, she's (in contrast to Sword) the...quiet, rational type, not very possessive/grabby with Megan like she'd call her "Mine!"

That was actually completely intentional. In this situation, we have the normally quiet, rational Kari, faced with her first real big test, and we see her growing reckless and overzealous with Megan at stake. They only JUST took their relationship to the next level, and her feelings for her are clouding her judgment.

But on the contrast, we have Mari, the normally hotheaded, go-getter of the two, suddenly getting worried and nervous. She keeps asking Kari if she's ready when in fact she's not sure if SHE is ready. She's suddenly aware of just how big this problem is and how deep they've sunk into it. And her older sister instincts kick in and she becomes protective of Shield, not willing to let her rush in blindly and risk getting hurt or getting into trouble.

This will be explored more next issue, but their actions in this issue are deliberate. They are coming in conflict with their own desires. Can Shield be calm and rational when a loved one is at risk? Can Sword blindly and recklessly rush into battle knowing she's dragging her little sister into danger? Their roles as heroines are coming in conflict with their roles as devoted girlfriend and protective sister.

Uzobono wrote:I think rather than sex, as the orgy could have been implied anyway, or cut down, we *know* from #6 that Terra is *obviously* going to enjoy her slaves, she already did, but more exposition on...what she'd *do* with them in the long term, or have a bit of back and forth of her taunting them.

Maybe we'll disagree, but Ring Mistress isn't exactly the taunting type. She was created with the intent that most of her evil deeds are done simply because she wants to do them, for the sake of science. Unless Ring Mistress has a personal vendetta or grudge against someone else, she could care less. Now, there are exceptions. She would gloat till the cows come home (aka the West Sisters) if Doogan was around to see her victory. She'd gladly taunt in the face of any heroines that defeated her in the past. But, again, this is Ring Mistress's first big mind control adventure. She is undefeated at this point. She's also pretty much unknown. Sword & Shield didn't even know who was committing the crimes until just now. Until this point, she was happy to stay out of the spotlight and let "lesser" villains like Max Indeks play the role of glory hog. She's in it for the science and to prove herself.

And beyond that, I thought I dropped plenty of hints as to what she plans to do with her slaves. Prior issues have shown her setting a few of them up to be sold (as cooks, maids, housewives) while she fully intends to take Clarissa with her, along with her friends. She has no plans of global conquest or city dominance. She is going to retire someplace nice and warm with her lover and her lover's brainwashed best friends-turn-sexpets. She's going to get her "happily-ever-after"... at least, that was her plan.

Uzobono wrote:*Or* a bit more Clarissa/Terra dialogue, like leading into Resort Tales a bit, mentioning the prospect of marriage, maybe foreshadow the changes she makes to Clarissa in the time between?

Next issue. Seriously. :P This wasn't the right issue for that. NEXT issue is where things happen. There was no reason for Ring Mistress to worry about her future in this issue. No reason to worry about changing Clarissa, finding a new secret lair, or any of that. Obviously, the end of this issue shows that her little secret paradise has been compromised... and NEXT issue will explore the ramifications of that. Have some faith on this one.

Uzobono wrote:Overall, while it's ok, I think after such a long time, doing an issue that's *mostly* sex isn't as strong as heavy exposition, developing Ring Mistress a bit more, and foreshadowing bits of Resort/Prized Displays possibly. Obviously the next issue is focusing on the conflict and maybe(?) RM using her slaves to make her escape, but seeing an interaction between Kari and a (controlled) Megan would be *really* good, and a lot more dialogue about some of *why* RM did what she did (as explaining it to the heroines).
/hides

This was a no-win for me. I had dozens of people writing me over the months saying they wouldn't be satisfied unless the new issue was super-hot and had lots of mind controlled women doing naughty things. I had people writing me demanding that I resolve all the plot points immediately and quickly. I was never going to please everyone in just one issue... but the ending is NOT just "one issue". It's going to be two. I feel a big problem is that Resort Tales and Prized Displays are hanging around like a thick stone around this story's neck, which was never the original case, and I now have to please two masters. I'm going to do so, but this story was never intended to foreshadow or lead-in to Resort or Prized Displays. One of the reasons we decided to split the ending into two chapters was because of those new issues. Rather than write the story the way we originally intended, we now have to add in all those new and surprising details that didn't exist in the original drafts. The draft is done, but the scope swelled in size.

But it's frustrating to no end to see all these complaints pop up and I'm pulling my hair out going "All of this is addressed in the next issue! The NEXT issue! It's right there in my outline! I wish they could just SEE!"

But all I can do is say "trust me, your answers are coming... now please enjoy the current issue for what it is; a transitional issue." And it is. It's a transitional issue, between the sex and the action, between the past events and future events, between the original story and the new, modified story, between the old artist and the new artist, and between ultimate victory and inevitable defeat. This was my "comeback" issue, and for that it needed to be fun, it needed to be happy, it needed to be sexy, it needed to be kinky and naughty, it needed to be upbeat, and it needed to be accessible. It'll make the contrasts with the next issue, when taken as a whole, much more glaring and powerful when it occurs.

Trust me.
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Re: New Free Comic! "Sword & Shield"

Postby Uzobono » August 5th, 2012, 9:04 am

Trishbot wrote:But it's frustrating to no end to see all these complaints pop up and I'm pulling my hair out going "All of this is addressed in the next issue! The NEXT issue! It's right there in my outline! I wish they could just SEE!"

But all I can do is say "trust me, your answers are coming... now please enjoy the current issue for what it is; a transitional issue." And it is. It's a transitional issue, between the sex and the action, between the past events and future events, between the original story and the new, modified story, between the old artist and the new artist, and between ultimate victory and inevitable defeat. This was my "comeback" issue, and for that it needed to be fun, it needed to be happy, it needed to be sexy, it needed to be kinky and naughty, it needed to be upbeat, and it needed to be accessible. It'll make the contrasts with the next issue, when taken as a whole, much more glaring and powerful when it occurs.

Trust me.


Early morning post here so it might be a *bit* groggy-ish :P

Oh no don't take it as complaints, a complaint isn't the same as criticism Trish :D. (Like above Sumatra posted "Hated the furries.", that's a complaint...it doesn't really help :p).

It's why I said I'm a bit on the fence, I *am* waiting to fully decide when it's all said and done. These were just my opinions, there was no rationalization needed, whatever the comic is written as is decided by you, not...by majority or council or w/e :p.

On *that* though I think it's important to note that S&S, Clarissa, and Ring Mistress *are* McTek's characters so I think he should weigh in, but it just seemed to *me* personally that they were out of character a lot, for example...(trying to come up with a good one, I swear!)..

If I wrote..Ms. Metrobay and I would of course ask Doctor Robo for how she speaks, what she *wouldn't* say or act like in any circumstance (sans mc of course) so if I had her talking like a 17th century colonial woman to the squad and hitting on every new member, I'm pretty sure it would sound "off". (Granted that's *really* extreme ;P)

It's just my personal kink though for the favor of a slow burn, which I think S&S could have benefited from (like Kari *isn't* just panicky and possessive as she nears Megan, she's been...torn for a while, etc) and I realize that with 2D a slow burn set of comics would take....a long time.
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