The Master of His Domain announcement and comments

[Tecknophyle]

Turns out Rudy Montrose isn't the only one around with some special talents. Off in the sunny Caribbean a mob boss is going to find out what happens when you aren't prepared to meet what you're really facing.

Master of His Domain Episode 4 is now up in the free gallery. You know those warning I've been giving for the last week? Yeah... But hey, action! Adventure! Women in tiny bikinis!

http://www.mccomix.com/gallery2/main.ph ... emId=50572

[NoneNeeded]

This is shaping up to be a great story.

I agree with some others that the first few did seem to drag a little but I thought it created a good base to continue off of.

I think I will like the new characters but confess that I have no clue where you are headed. That can be fun sometimes. It is no fun when the story if too predictable.

Looking forward to next Friday!

[Tecknophyle]

This is shaping up to be a great story.

I agree with some others that the first few did seem to drag a little but I thought it created a good base to continue off of.

One reason it dragged (as I warned people it would) is because you'll notice I tend more toward show, not tell. I don't have a lot of non-character infodumping in boxes, since I'm viewing this more visually than textually, which means it can take longer to do the same ground as a sentence or two could, but on the other hand I'm practicing conveying information without having to write anything at all, so in some cases it could be shorter than what I'd otherwise have to do.

Examples of what I'm shooting for would be, for instance, page 9 of episode 3, Ginny's reaction in realizing what had happened. I was trying to convey emotion without needing to explicitly state it. Similarly, there's the look Alpha-3 and Alpha-4 give each other in Episode 4 when Tony is ranting. I was shooting for a bemused "Oh, you have no idea what's coming" message, and I'd be interested in knowing how people felt that came across.

The other thing that slowed it down was that I'm dumping backstory and setting. Now, if I were to hypothetically have an image that just consisted of someone talking to a translucent entity and saying "We have a deal", a second image with another person driving away smirking with glowy eyes, and a third image consisting of the first person demonstrating some ridiculous superpower, I shouldn't have to explain what just happened because you've seen it already, which allows me to vastly accelerate what I can show happening.

[Tecknophyle]

Back in the good city of Trevayne, Rudy and Ginny get a start on dealing with their professional problems until a sudden phone call places Rudy into a situation where he questions his own morality. More.

Sounds dramatic, don't it?

Episode 5 of Master of His Domain is now available for viewing at http://www.mccomix.com/gallery2/main.ph ... emId=50904.

Incidentally, feel free to comment. I'm a big boy, I can take it.

[Tecknophyle]

When last we saw Rudy he was feeling pretty down on himself, and unaware that his wife and mother-in-law were secretly his slaves to his will. Will Rudy get over his guilt? A trip to class provides the answer.

Episode 6 of master of His Domain is now up. Hot schoolgirls! Sexy teachers! Mysterious women in the park!

http://www.mccomix.com/gallery2/main.ph ... emId=52298

[kakyo001]

his initial guilt seems to be dealt with... I do wonder what happens once he finds out that he unwillingly enslaved his wife and that she helped him to enslave even more...

I might be wrong but the color of the eyes of the... uhm... "hosts" (bodys taken by aliens) and "clients" (people empowered by the aliens) seem to match... with that said we have at least 2 different aliens on the field and 3 people with powers given by the aliens...

I do wonder what happens if the mob-guys from the fourth installment fight against Ruby and his 'slaves'... they might be able to enslave them or change the bodies of Ruby's slaves but he could undo any damage as he "owns" them anyway
(and for the mob-guys... I hope there's a chance the girl with the purple hair can be saved... living without any personality at all seems to be a cruel fate)

[Tecknophyle]

his initial guilt seems to be dealt with... I do wonder what happens once he finds out that he unwillingly enslaved his wife and that she helped him to enslave even more...

I might be wrong but the color of the eyes of the... uhm... "hosts" (bodys taken by aliens) and "clients" (people empowered by the aliens) seem to match... with that said we have at least 2 different aliens on the field and 3 people with powers given by the aliens...

Good catch. The basic concept is that the iris-glow of people with power is unique to them, reflecting that their power is different. If we ever run into people with identical powers, the glow might be the same. Who's to say? Well, me, but I ain't talking.

I do wonder what happens if the mob-guys from the fourth installment fight against Ruby and his 'slaves'... they might be able to enslave them or change the bodies of Ruby's slaves but he could undo any damage as he "owns" them anyway
(and for the mob-guys... I hope there's a chance the girl with the purple hair can be saved... living without any personality at all seems to be a cruel fate)

Next week, paths start crossing: there's on explicit one, and one kinda-implied.

[thetitan]

A reply for the entire series so far. This is an absolute favorite of mine, excellent 3d rendered pictures, amazing story both the deep story and the story each chapter and with characters that has.....um.... character that goes beyond skin deep. The fact that you are able to get one episode out every week, means that I don't forget half the stuff that happened before and is intrigued to read on.

Thank you very, very, very much for your comic and please keep up the good work.

[Tecknophyle]

Thank you. I strive to please.

[Adon]

First, I must apologize for not commenting earlier, as I am mostly a lurker and most comics here really don't have much for me to say anything about that someone else hasn't already. Plus, I'm an odd duck by MCcomix standards, and my last bit of commentary on a different comic pretty much cemented that.

Anyway, enough rambling, on to commentary. I'm loving this comic. Have from the beginning. The main reason is the characters... as far as I'm concerned, they are the most multidimensional to appear on the site, period. Everyone has layers, and everyone has an agenda. What's both fascinating and disturbing is how much Rudy is being manipulated by people who genuinely seem to believe that they have his best interests at heart. Take this latest issue, and the Godfather analogy. On one hand, it works... Vito Corleone was dignified, kept the damage that his organization dead to a minimum, and actually did his best to give back to the community for all that he was a criminal. His son Michael was indeed someone who didn't want in in the first place, and did end up bitter and alone. But it wasn't just because he was unhappy in his position, which is somewhat conveniently, and I can't help but think deliberately left out. It's that he was, it turns out, far more ruthless and destructive than Vito ever was. It wasn't just that he didn't embrace it like Vito did, it's that in that position he became a complete monster, using it to channel his bitterness. And of course that makes the final comment by Kyoko more relevant... becoming like Michael wouldn't just make him pitiable, it would make him a menace. So is the manipulation justified? It might be, but it's still rather creepy because the manipulators have already decided that it is neccessary. Can't help but feel for the guy, which is itself unique on the site, as male characters tend to be... er, even more one-dimensional than the females, and I've complained before about how as often as not the fact that they're supposedly superheroines seems to be an afterthought much of the time considering how easily and frequently they are enslaved.

Anyway, just my thoughts. Best comic on the site, IMO, with a lot more meat. Erotic without being pure porn. Me likey.

[fiejon]

Technophyle, great hefty comic, a little bit different than the standard fare we see, it's all good though.

I been reading through Uzobono's comics, and I'm getting that same feeling of both of you guys treating mind control as a theme your characters and worlds are afraid of.

Rudy's developed a lot since that first initial chapter, going from shock to acceptance now, and I won't comment too much on that but I got a question.

First I thought that this was a supernatural story, Rudy seemed to have made a deal with the devil yea? Then a alien grabs his wife's mind and it shifts to science fiction, would you say it's both or are we dealing with something in that initial chapter that's just posing as a supernatural being?

[Tecknophyle]

Technophyle, great hefty comic, a little bit different than the standard fare we see, it's all good though.

I been reading through Uzobono's comics, and I'm getting that same feeling of both of you guys treating mind control as a theme your characters and worlds are afraid of.

I can't speak for him, but for myself while I can appreciate the erotic aspects of mind control, I think most people realize that mind control in our, real, world would be pants-shittingly terrifying to contemplate because we know what people in the real world are capable of. We know (at least those of us with self-reflection who have thought about) know what we would do if we had that capability. I have, and the thought about what I might be capable of frightens me. As long as it's safely in the world of fantasy, I can appreciate the fetish, but pull that fantasy world a little closer to ours (which is what I'm going for with this comic) and you can't avoid some of the negative ramifications. If you make the characters have quasi-realistic reactions, then they'd look at it slightly differently then characters living in a comic book universe like Metrobay where being mind controlled and finding yourself having sex with J. Random Person on a regular basis is just something that happens. My approach is, I suppose, a tad closer to horror: having this happen to you can really screw you up.

Mind you, just a tad closer to horror. I have all Jack Chalker's books and he walked the line between titillating and "realistic" as well.

(And I'd point out, this isn't limited to mind-control. We can all cheer Dirty Harry and Rambo, and the entire crew of The Expendables. In real-life, we'd want to be as far away from these lunatics as possible.)

Just as a coincidence, the opening scene of Episode 8 (the images I just finished postwork on a few hours ago) touches on this directly: one character having an emotional breakdown as she contemplates what's happened to her and is happening to others as a result of a mind-controller acting like a mind-controller we'd see as perfectly ordinary and unworthy of special notice if they were in a Metrobay comic. However, the very next scene shows someone (in what I hope is a...arousing I suppose...bit) doing mind control for what the reader would probably say was a good cause. Episode 7 (out this week) has a similar juxtaposition: one character using it for what someone invested in the story could agree with, while the next scene has a bad guy doing it, therefore "evil".

Rudy's developed a lot since that first initial chapter, going from shock to acceptance now, and I won't comment too much on that but I got a question.

First I thought that this was a supernatural story, Rudy seemed to have made a deal with the devil yea? Then a alien grabs his wife's mind and it shifts to science fiction, would you say it's both or are we dealing with something in that initial chapter that's just posing as a supernatural being?

That's an interesting question. Very interesting. Very, very interesting. Yes indeedy, a truly interesting question, ain't it?

The only answer I can give you right at the moment is something that's run through the stories: people (and assorted entities of undefined origin) lie, sometimes for what they perceive are good reasons.

[msgrey]

Hello Technophyle, I have some comment for "The Master of His Domain":

the title we see is foreshadowing no? he will own everything at the end but at what cost?

the powers are confusing, able to manipulate reality? is this not too powerful, there is not too much action for that to be the case then. could we see Rudy become a true monster later?

his wife and her mother, I must say I do not like incest but this was not badly done. I do not think Rudy is one to have sex with wife and mother at once, he also is a moral man.

[Tecknophyle]

I do not think Rudy is one to have sex with wife and mother at once, he also is a moral man.

True, on his own volition. However, as Rudy said, the fantasy that was playing out was one he didn't have control over; he was allowing himself to be a simple animated prop. The psyches of Ginny and Carol were jointly responsible for the fantasy. Not that they necessarily had an incestuous fantasy specifically, but that each was assigned to a role based on their personalities (hidden or overt). You'll note that within the fantasy they were not mother and daughter but (unrelated) student and teacher, and when the fantasy ended they had a look of shock about what happened even though it was established at the end of previous episode that Ginny certainly had no issue with the idea of Carol having sex with Rudy, and she certainly has no problem having sex with her own husband.

The fantasy itself was meant to be an initial look at the deeper personalities of the people Rudy controls (knowingly or not). Carol gets a bit of a highlight in the next two episodes (episodes 7 and 8) and you get to see more of what her personality is like. Episode 9 has a scene (which I'm in the process of doing right now) where the differences between Carol and Ginny in how they relate to Rudy and each other are discussed.

Incidentally, this story arc is a maximum 16 episodes (so we're just under halfway). It may be shaved a bit shorter because I suspect there are some episodes I can abbreviate and combine, but I'll know that better when I get to them.

[Tecknophyle]

In our previous episode, Ginny said she had a plan. Of course, Ginny isn't the only one making plans...

Episode 7 of Master of His Domain is now available for viewing at http://www.mccomix.com/gallery2/main.ph ... emId=51234