Have I shared this? This is a tiny comic book I scrawled a couple of years ago right after I awoke from a weird, cinematic, sci-fi dream. It’s as close to the dream as possible: all the images are straight from the dream, as is, I think, the Mayor’s awesome dialogue on page 2. The dream featured voice-over narration, which I paraphrased as best I could in the narration boxes. As I drew more and more of the comic, and my memory grew more and more hazy, the paraphrasing gets more and more loose. And I forgot all of the events of the dream after page 2! Maybe I was interrupted by a visitor from Porlock.
I’ve used some pieces of this dream in my D&D world. The spiked towers of Setine are based on the walls of Haven. The spikes have also appeared as artillery in my home campaign. I also like the idea of rooks: mobile towers that float over a hostile, Night Land-like continent.
Sorry about the scan – I never bothered to ink it.
Transcript:
PAGE 1
[A busy dock.] Ships have always plied the sea, even when the roads were closed.
[Two men clasp hands. One has a mustache and sideburns, and the other has a beard and a trucker hat.] Food comes from the sea, trade comes from the sea, and bargains are struck on the piers.
[A few stragglers trail a levitating tower, topped by a glowing spike.] Some caravans and rooks travel the roads, but not many.
[A wall and spike-capped tower in the foreground; an ocean dotted with ships in the background.] Many people stay within the great walled cities by the coast – closed to the land but open to the sea. And the greatest of these cities is:
[Overhead shot of a giant city, ringed by an absurdly tall wall with spike-topped towers. In the center of the city, a single great tower opens like a flower.] …HAVEN
PAGE 2 [This is where I started to lose my way.]
[A mug shot of a smiling, mustached mayor.] Page 2 of “Haven” centers on the mayor of Haven.
[The mayor shaking hands with the trucker-hat guy.] He was seen on page 1, shaking hands with that guy with the hat.
[The mayor wheeling a crate.] He is a great mayor and always does manual labor at the docks and has a cheery word for everyone.
MAYOR: Hey Jonas!
[The mayor wincing in pain.] But he also has a sensitive stomach, and is never happy with the food his wife cooks him.
[The mayor railing at a woman with a bowl.] MAYOR: You know I don’t like fatty foods, they give me a stomach ache!
[The mayor continues to rail at the woman.] MAYOR: You know I can’t eat sugars, they make me grumpy!
What adventures lie in store for the mayor?
