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Heh… Denver could snap this jerk in half if he really wanted to, but why bother? The big man just gave him permission to go off alone… with a lot of barbarian women… whose menfolk probably don’t treat them very nicely. Heh heh… Ah ha ha ha ha ha~! 😀
Wait fishing? Awesome, Denver scores the easy job. Yes I know it is more liable to be net fishing and involve cold ankles and yucky hands, however rod fishing also involves cold ankles and yucky hands, and frequently no fish either. As a natural born skiver I commend Denver on his good luck.
Erm, the new name. Do we have a pronunciation guide on that? Is his name pronounced with the German “W” so it sounds like “V”. If it is then he’s just proclaimed he is called The Villain. Which is kinda awesome.
@crypticmirror. You forgot the time of year. With the mountain pass freezing over “fishing” probably means ICE fishing, and considering Denver’s sensitivity to cold, it’s not going to be “easy” by any means.
@Gallstone. Good point, especially considering they’ll have to huddle together in a cramped cabin over a frozen lake with no easy egress. 🙂
Nah, can’t be ice fishing, there is no snow on the ground and the trees in the background are broadleaves and still haven’t leaf-dropped yet. I mean I’m not ruling out some completely insane local weather event that gives rapid cooling (like those flash-freezings in The Day After Tomorrow), but ice-fishing in those conditions which clearly show a lack of cold for the ice to form in those fast running mountain rivers would be odd to say the least. It looks more like chilly autumn than depth of winter.
@Gallstone Sadly I can see this chance wasted by Denver, More likely he will teach the barbarian women Read Write and Feminism. Really Really want to see Denver turn Wyll-line into the first barbarian Astronaut without a space suit. Be funny if he hears some “storys” from the Women and Decides to actually Flip-out. There may be two sides to things but this Village needs to be tort some manors. Funny thought if these Barbarians are truly macho jerks they look and Denver Beets in a Humiliates and Generally makes Wyll-line /Melan Eat dirt in a Official Challenge will that Make Denver the New Wyll-line War Lord ?
As for Fishing Bet Denver will Introduce a New Method he read about.
Well, its either Villain (self-explationatory), or Will-line (there HAS to be some “snow” around…^^) if you ask me.
Both undertones a Chief should not be … interested in, should he? ^^
# Dragondeathlord: How would that be an opportunity wasted? If he starts by teaching them reading and writing, he could teach them about a feeling of self-worth, too, and thus spark a whole resistance movement, with the women passing each other messages in plain sight and the men being none the wiser until the day that they become shackled slaves. :p
To be honest, I actually think that’d be better than some of the other options. Denver is still a maturing dragon, after all. I doubt anyone wants him to sire a brood of half-dragons in a barbarian tribe that focuses on strength and power…
Wyllene may be an a!s, but he may not actually be a bad guy. He protected the princess by telling her to shut up and cook food, a noble activity. He stuck the dragon with an important job with lots of women. Both groups could be a valuable source on important unofficial information.
Sooo… Neils gets to chat with the old guys who likely raided his farm and know what happened to his sister (remembering that Typh and Mel’s father took many things from them, the hints are piling up).
Peone gets to kill the entire tribe with her gawd awful cooking, maybe learning a thing or two about the women of the tribe.
And Tadpole gets to introduce the concept of equal rights to their women. Although I’m actually betting he’ll discover that just because the Barbarian men idealise and picture their women as docile, wanton fools doesn’t mean they aren’t really, crafty, manipulating, deceiving girls who rule the roost behind the scenes.
Melan-Knee (Wyll-Line) is the younger sibling, and to ensure his leadership stays, he sent assassin. However, Typhan-Knee is no longer a threat to leadership position because he’s no longer “male.”
I actually wanted to say this back at the anniversary thingy, but I am happy with the change over of people running the comic. It has honestly been better. It feels like the story is actually going somewhere interesting for once. Drowemos’ writing often felt directionless and nonsensical. How many years of pages did it take before they finally dumped Faden in jail?
I do miss the humor though. Exiern was always more of a spoof on fantasy stories, rather than an actual fantasy story. One of my favorite parts of Exiern was when Tiff was in battle and her clothes were getting destroyed, so she got mad and started yelling at her opponant “go for a vital wound!” The new Exiern doesn’t seem as silly.
I do NOT miss that whole “naked pics in the VIP area” business. I am glad they’ve stopped doing that. I don’t need to see them to enjoy this comic. But it is annoying to suddenly get a new page with obvious censorship pasted onto the image. If nudity was really something they wanted to feature in this comic, they shouldn’t have hidden it in a VIP area. Drawings of nudity is not the same thing as sexual acts. There are plenty of art sites out there that have no issue with showing nude images.
But overall, I am enjoying Exiern a lot more lately, so keep up the good work.
@JMV – Certainly many thanks for the portions of your compliments that can apply to me. Making sure Exiern’s continuation is treated with respect and talent has been very important – one reason I’m not writing! In regards to pacing and humor, I’ll let Chemic address those points if he wishes.
In regards to the censored nudity, I have to say it is not gone and will pop up again. But you’ll see less of it because I’ve been working hard to build Exiern’s income beyond the required insertion of wanton nudity, so it only shows up when truly organic to Chemic’s story. I 100% believe that natural aspects of Humanity should not be ignored, and nudity and sexuality in a comic about a man turned woman can’t (and shouldn’t) be glossed over.
However, regarding censoring on the free site or not, I feel the covering of nudity allows us to explore these mature subjects while also knowing that if a 10 year old finds Exiern they can read it without any bits they shouldn’t see at that age popping up. Placing appropriate nudity in a closed off section that requires something generally only available to adults makes me feel better about Exiern’s availability. And those who REALLY want that material help keep things funded. I know it has had its controversy, but it’s the method I am most comfortable with at the moment, but would welcome a better one if it comes along.
That was a lengthy explanation for a sentiment/comment I generally agree with, ha! Bottom line is, thanks for letting us know what is and isn’t working! I’m always looking to see how things can be improved.
I also wanted say something about the anniversary page. And that is this is one fantastic webcomic and I’ve read allot of webcomics. I’ve come to enjoy exiern for its humor and the artwork. While yes, I wish that people who work on this incredible webcomic don’t have to be afraid of nudity to the point of censoring it. But at the same I don’t think that nudity is so important that the comic needs it to survive.
Really the only thing I would want that comic could improve is more individual character development, someone like tadpole, or Peonie. That and some more updates each week. Preferably a MWF schedule but hey, I’m not in charge.
Wyll-ene, Wyll-enn, Wyll-een,
Ah’m beggin’ you
Please don’t take mah man…
that’s all I’ve had running through my head since I saw the new name.
I figure Faden would approve of my efforts to inflict the rest of the readers with my ear worm.
Korkman said it well. There are other webcomics I read and enjoy each week, but Exiern and one other are the only two that employ nudity in some way. There are plenty of webcomics that manage just fine without using nudity. I believe exiern could easily be one of those. But don’t get me wrong, I am NOT asking you to end the nudity. I just feel an artist should not be afraid to show the image he wants to show.
The other webcomic I keep up on that features nudity is oglaf.com. But they go about it very differently from exiern. There is an “over 18” splash screen at first, but beyond that, they don’t hide their images behind censorship, logins or paid VIP sections. And theirs is much more sexual than what exiern does.
I think if there is one thing that bothers me about the Exiern comic it is the fact that it has always tried to use it’s nude element as a means of making money. It’s hard to explain why, but that just seems like the wrong way to go about it. And clearly it didn’t even work out. I recall plenty of news posts from drowemos complaining about the money situation.
But that’s just food for thought. I don’t have any suggestions for improvements to Exiern, other than to keep doing what you have been doing. Keep giving us regular updates that progress an interesting story, and we will keep coming back.
Honestly, I don’t think there will ever be an answer to the nudity aspect. Some will want it, free or not. Some won’t at all. I don’t think there will ever be an answer where everyone says, “That’s it!” And I just have to accept that.
For now I’m happy to let Chemic tell the quality story he wants, with whatever it contains. That’s the most important thing that I want to make sure keeps showing up.
Actually one thing I am curious about; are you a professional comic artist, or is this just a side hobby? One of the great things abou Exiern is that it is far and beyond all other webcomics in terms of art quality. These pages look good enough to pack into books and sell.
Be a Producer! Your name/title with an optional SFW hyperlink will be posted prominently HERE following the close of the month! You’ll also receive monthly mailings from Exiern’s author, Scott T. Hicken!
I just want Denver to throw him through a house.
Which is Barbarian for “Rectal sphincter.”
Ooh. Another deposit in the Bad Karma account. Two, in fact.
Now i’m hoping Typhan beats up Melan, Melan gets cursed too and learns a lesson in humility or a combination of the two. I’m not picky.
Heh… Denver could snap this jerk in half if he really wanted to, but why bother? The big man just gave him permission to go off alone… with a lot of barbarian women… whose menfolk probably don’t treat them very nicely. Heh heh… Ah ha ha ha ha ha~! 😀
@Gallstone: Oh my goodness. I hadn’t even thought of that. 😀
Wait fishing? Awesome, Denver scores the easy job. Yes I know it is more liable to be net fishing and involve cold ankles and yucky hands, however rod fishing also involves cold ankles and yucky hands, and frequently no fish either. As a natural born skiver I commend Denver on his good luck.
Erm, the new name. Do we have a pronunciation guide on that? Is his name pronounced with the German “W” so it sounds like “V”. If it is then he’s just proclaimed he is called The Villain. Which is kinda awesome.
@crypticmirror. You forgot the time of year. With the mountain pass freezing over “fishing” probably means ICE fishing, and considering Denver’s sensitivity to cold, it’s not going to be “easy” by any means.
@Gallstone. Good point, especially considering they’ll have to huddle together in a cramped cabin over a frozen lake with no easy egress. 🙂
Nah, can’t be ice fishing, there is no snow on the ground and the trees in the background are broadleaves and still haven’t leaf-dropped yet. I mean I’m not ruling out some completely insane local weather event that gives rapid cooling (like those flash-freezings in The Day After Tomorrow), but ice-fishing in those conditions which clearly show a lack of cold for the ice to form in those fast running mountain rivers would be odd to say the least. It looks more like chilly autumn than depth of winter.
@Gallstone Sadly I can see this chance wasted by Denver, More likely he will teach the barbarian women Read Write and Feminism. Really Really want to see Denver turn Wyll-line into the first barbarian Astronaut without a space suit. Be funny if he hears some “storys” from the Women and Decides to actually Flip-out. There may be two sides to things but this Village needs to be tort some manors. Funny thought if these Barbarians are truly macho jerks they look and Denver Beets in a Humiliates and Generally makes Wyll-line /Melan Eat dirt in a Official Challenge will that Make Denver the New Wyll-line War Lord ?
As for Fishing Bet Denver will Introduce a New Method he read about.
@ crypticmirror
I read it as Willene, another feminine sounding name.
Well, its either Villain (self-explationatory), or Will-line (there HAS to be some “snow” around…^^) if you ask me.
Both undertones a Chief should not be … interested in, should he? ^^
Gee, I was trying to move it to Wile E. ….. SUUUPER genius….
His name is now Willene? Does my great-grandmother know some jerk barbarian is running around using her name?
# Dragondeathlord: How would that be an opportunity wasted? If he starts by teaching them reading and writing, he could teach them about a feeling of self-worth, too, and thus spark a whole resistance movement, with the women passing each other messages in plain sight and the men being none the wiser until the day that they become shackled slaves. :p
To be honest, I actually think that’d be better than some of the other options. Denver is still a maturing dragon, after all. I doubt anyone wants him to sire a brood of half-dragons in a barbarian tribe that focuses on strength and power…
Just for the record (as I don’t actually explain it in the comic), Wyll-Line means, “He who restores the honor and right of the clan.”
Wyllene may be an a!s, but he may not actually be a bad guy. He protected the princess by telling her to shut up and cook food, a noble activity. He stuck the dragon with an important job with lots of women. Both groups could be a valuable source on important unofficial information.
Sooo… Neils gets to chat with the old guys who likely raided his farm and know what happened to his sister (remembering that Typh and Mel’s father took many things from them, the hints are piling up).
Peone gets to kill the entire tribe with her gawd awful cooking, maybe learning a thing or two about the women of the tribe.
And Tadpole gets to introduce the concept of equal rights to their women. Although I’m actually betting he’ll discover that just because the Barbarian men idealise and picture their women as docile, wanton fools doesn’t mean they aren’t really, crafty, manipulating, deceiving girls who rule the roost behind the scenes.
Melan-Knee (Wyll-Line) is the younger sibling, and to ensure his leadership stays, he sent assassin. However, Typhan-Knee is no longer a threat to leadership position because he’s no longer “male.”
And here I thought it was pronounced WILL-Line. “Line” sounding very similar to “lie.”
So “Will Lie” means “restore honor and right?” So barbarians are responsible for modern politics? Shame on you, Melan-Knee. MUCH Shame on you!
I actually wanted to say this back at the anniversary thingy, but I am happy with the change over of people running the comic. It has honestly been better. It feels like the story is actually going somewhere interesting for once. Drowemos’ writing often felt directionless and nonsensical. How many years of pages did it take before they finally dumped Faden in jail?
I do miss the humor though. Exiern was always more of a spoof on fantasy stories, rather than an actual fantasy story. One of my favorite parts of Exiern was when Tiff was in battle and her clothes were getting destroyed, so she got mad and started yelling at her opponant “go for a vital wound!” The new Exiern doesn’t seem as silly.
I do NOT miss that whole “naked pics in the VIP area” business. I am glad they’ve stopped doing that. I don’t need to see them to enjoy this comic. But it is annoying to suddenly get a new page with obvious censorship pasted onto the image. If nudity was really something they wanted to feature in this comic, they shouldn’t have hidden it in a VIP area. Drawings of nudity is not the same thing as sexual acts. There are plenty of art sites out there that have no issue with showing nude images.
But overall, I am enjoying Exiern a lot more lately, so keep up the good work.
@JMV – Certainly many thanks for the portions of your compliments that can apply to me. Making sure Exiern’s continuation is treated with respect and talent has been very important – one reason I’m not writing! In regards to pacing and humor, I’ll let Chemic address those points if he wishes.
In regards to the censored nudity, I have to say it is not gone and will pop up again. But you’ll see less of it because I’ve been working hard to build Exiern’s income beyond the required insertion of wanton nudity, so it only shows up when truly organic to Chemic’s story. I 100% believe that natural aspects of Humanity should not be ignored, and nudity and sexuality in a comic about a man turned woman can’t (and shouldn’t) be glossed over.
However, regarding censoring on the free site or not, I feel the covering of nudity allows us to explore these mature subjects while also knowing that if a 10 year old finds Exiern they can read it without any bits they shouldn’t see at that age popping up. Placing appropriate nudity in a closed off section that requires something generally only available to adults makes me feel better about Exiern’s availability. And those who REALLY want that material help keep things funded. I know it has had its controversy, but it’s the method I am most comfortable with at the moment, but would welcome a better one if it comes along.
That was a lengthy explanation for a sentiment/comment I generally agree with, ha! Bottom line is, thanks for letting us know what is and isn’t working! I’m always looking to see how things can be improved.
I also wanted say something about the anniversary page. And that is this is one fantastic webcomic and I’ve read allot of webcomics. I’ve come to enjoy exiern for its humor and the artwork. While yes, I wish that people who work on this incredible webcomic don’t have to be afraid of nudity to the point of censoring it. But at the same I don’t think that nudity is so important that the comic needs it to survive.
Really the only thing I would want that comic could improve is more individual character development, someone like tadpole, or Peonie. That and some more updates each week. Preferably a MWF schedule but hey, I’m not in charge.
@Gallstone Its a wasted Chance At making Dozens of Little Half Dragons! For social Revolution its commendable. As a Male its a Wasted OPPORTUNITY !!
Wyll-ene, Wyll-enn, Wyll-een,
Ah’m beggin’ you
Please don’t take mah man…
that’s all I’ve had running through my head since I saw the new name.
I figure Faden would approve of my efforts to inflict the rest of the readers with my ear worm.
Korkman said it well. There are other webcomics I read and enjoy each week, but Exiern and one other are the only two that employ nudity in some way. There are plenty of webcomics that manage just fine without using nudity. I believe exiern could easily be one of those. But don’t get me wrong, I am NOT asking you to end the nudity. I just feel an artist should not be afraid to show the image he wants to show.
The other webcomic I keep up on that features nudity is oglaf.com. But they go about it very differently from exiern. There is an “over 18” splash screen at first, but beyond that, they don’t hide their images behind censorship, logins or paid VIP sections. And theirs is much more sexual than what exiern does.
I think if there is one thing that bothers me about the Exiern comic it is the fact that it has always tried to use it’s nude element as a means of making money. It’s hard to explain why, but that just seems like the wrong way to go about it. And clearly it didn’t even work out. I recall plenty of news posts from drowemos complaining about the money situation.
But that’s just food for thought. I don’t have any suggestions for improvements to Exiern, other than to keep doing what you have been doing. Keep giving us regular updates that progress an interesting story, and we will keep coming back.
I frickin’ love oglaf.
Honestly, I don’t think there will ever be an answer to the nudity aspect. Some will want it, free or not. Some won’t at all. I don’t think there will ever be an answer where everyone says, “That’s it!” And I just have to accept that.
For now I’m happy to let Chemic tell the quality story he wants, with whatever it contains. That’s the most important thing that I want to make sure keeps showing up.
Actually one thing I am curious about; are you a professional comic artist, or is this just a side hobby? One of the great things abou Exiern is that it is far and beyond all other webcomics in terms of art quality. These pages look good enough to pack into books and sell.
Am I the only one that thought Wyll-line sounds like willing, which if he gets turned into a woman would kind of name him s!!t?