Battlepug - Moll

I want you to picture  if you will the saga of Conan the Barbarian.  A story of revenge, of sorcery, and of great deeds set during a time when wearing shirts was out of fashion.  A story of a man who forged himself into a weapon of vengeance under the chains of slavery and whose only weapons against the horrors and injustices of the world are his strong sword arm and his keen battle instinct.

Now imagine that the thing that destroyed the main characters village and killed his mother was a giant baby seal, the people who enslaved him are Santa and his elves, and the warrior's most faithful companion and steed is a pug the size of a horse.  Now you have a pretty good idea what you're getting yourself into when reading Battlepug: an irreverent homage to everything Robert E. Howard that simultaneously takes the piss out of the entire genre while being a pretty good example of how this kind of story should be written. (first comic)

Moll

Moll is the narrator of the series, which is told as a story to entertain the two talking lap dogs who occupy the castle tower with her.  What her connection to "the warrior" is and why she's in a tower with two talking dogs is a mystery for most of the series.

Linkage (NSFW:)

http://battlepug.com/comic/2011/2/21/the-warrior-and-the-battlepug
http://battlepug.com/comic/2012/7/30/old-fashioned-buttkickin
http://battlepug.com/comic/2013/4/30/less-rocks-more-talk
http://battlepug.com/comic/2014/7/30/im-ridin-a-pug

The Hunters of Salamanstra - Kessah

Edit:  Oi, how'd you get archived?  Scoot!  Back out into the world!


Across the kingdom of Salamanstra mysterious Black Gates have begun to open, unleashing hellish creatures by the score.  To combat this threat guilds of "Hunters" were formed, skilled men and women trained to fight the monsters no-one else could hope to face.  However even the best efforts of the bravest hunters is proving not enough to stem this nightmarish tide and the chances of humanity's survival are far from certain... (first page)

Kessah

Kessah is a young girl who always wanted to be a hunter but was strictly by her older sister to even consider it.  Much to Kessah's shock she's told that her sister was herself was a hunter and that she has has fallen while trying to seal one of the Black Gates on her own.  Now Kessah seeks to finally become a hunter herself and to perhaps find out why her sister forbade her from following the same path as her.

How rude!  Don't some people know it's impolite to throw daggers in a girl's room?

Linkage:

http://salamanstra.keenspot.com/d/20140707.html

http://salamanstra.keenspot.com/d/20140716.html

http://salamanstra.keenspot.com/d/20140723.html

http://salamanstra.keenspot.com/d/20140825.html

http://salamanstra.keenspot.com/d/20140829.html

http://salamanstra.keenspot.com/d/20140926.html

The Phoenix Requiem - Anya

Hooo!  This is a dark one!  The Phoenix Requiem is story set in a Victorian inspired setting where magic is real, or at least used to be.  Ever since the spirits worshiped by man where mysteriously sealed away the Age of Magic has become a distant memory.  Science has now replaced mystism and mankind has moved on.

One winter day a mysterious gentleman stumbles onto the outskirts of the small town Esk with two gunshot wounds in his chest.  While he is nursed back to health, the town is soon set upon by a flesh eating plague as well as the vengeful shades of the dead.  What the man's exact connection to these events are is unknown, but it is clear that is the key to either the town's destruction or its salvation.

Written by the same author that did Inverloch, The Phoenix Requiem is a definite read for those who like horror and/or Victorian styles. (first page)

Anya Katsukova 

Anya is a nurse studying under the town doctor and the one who nurses the mysterious man back to health.  While she is initially skeptical of the mystic and believes that everything has a scientific explanation, she soon finds herself right smack in the middle of events that will strain all sense of reason to their limits.

Linkage:

http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=213

http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=214

http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=243

http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=244

http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=245

http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=248

http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=356

http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=357

http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=358

http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=486

http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=488

Nerf Now!! - Angela, Anne-Marie, and Crystal Maiden

There are many webcomics out there about gaming, but there's only one drawn by a Brazilian with a fondness for genderbending and smut.  At least, I think there is.  Could be interesting if there was another.

Nerf Now!! was originally a spoof series about Team Fortress 2, but now covers a wide variety of games.  The general focus of the series is lampooning topical video game news/releases/updates, along with whatever else the author feels like drawing at the time.  Usually this will involve one or more cute female characters and if it's a game without a female characters, one will be provided via gender bending.  Because that's what the author generally feels like drawing.

There really isn't a consistent "main character" of Nerf Now with the exception of the author avatar, but he's a man size sentient purple tentacle so he doesn't really count for this blog.  However there are a number of lovely female characters that rotate through the series, so we'll be covering a few this update. (first comic)

Angela

Angela, a.k.a. "Engie," is the female version of the Engineer from Team Fortress 2.  She knows her way around a wrench and can use it as both a construction tool and combat weapon in equal favor.  After awhile she becomes one of the first host/main characters of the series along with the author insert character, Jo the Tentacle.  And yes, a girl and a tentacle can live under the same house without "that" happening.  Probably anyway...

Wait 'till you see her reaction to the ending.

"Draw me like one of your webcomic girls."

Engie along with Alek, the female version of the Heavy from TF2.

Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie is the female version of the Spy from TF2 and later becomes one of the main characters along with Alek (the female Heavy), Morgan (the female Demoman), and Jane (the female Soldier.)  Anne-Marie is what one might call an "attention whore" and has no problems tweaking her persona or indulging in shameless fanservice in order to gain subscribers.

Crystal Maiden

Crystal Maiden is a character from the video game series DOTA 2 who makes a few appearances in Nerf Now!!  In the comic she's portrayed as outgoing and maternal (due to her role as a "support" class in DOTA 2) and she gets a couple of barefoot moments.

Too poor to even afford boots.  It's a DOTA thing apparently.

Linkage (mild NSFW):
http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/706
http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/799
http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/940
http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/1212
http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/1266
http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/1300/

Artist's DA:
http://jopereira.deviantart.com/art/Suddenly-286094079
http://jopereira.deviantart.com/art/Just-Engie-372853551

Drowtales: Path to Power - An'jhali

Mmmm, how to describe the odd duck of a webcomic that is Drowtales: Path to Power?  In a sentence: a subscription based fantasy society building macro RPG webcomic with a story determined by vote.

Confused yet?  Allow me to elaborate.

Path to Power revolved around the story of a clan of subterranean dark elves, or drow, driven from their home by invaders.  Only roughly one tenth of the city's population managed to escape being slaughtered and those that lived were forced to flee into the bowels of the huge underground cavern system that makes up their world.  And that's only the prologue.

During Path to Power's initial run, each reader could play the role of a member of the clan Tei'kaliath that would be drawn as background and/or secondary character by the artist.  At its height there were over three hundred named characters and each week votes would be cast to determine what direction the story would take.  The comic completed its run in early 2014 and the series was archived.  It can still be read from start to finish here:  (first comics)

An'jhali

An'jhali is the leader of the Tei'kaliath drow and the main character of Path to Power.  The last surviving member of the old city's royal family, she was the youngest daughter of the old queen and far down the line of succession.  Now she finds herself inexplicably as ruler, a mantle she never thought she'd have to take up.  The responsibility of leading a her rag tag group of survivors weights heavily on her although she takes her responsibility to them very seriously.

Sometimes you got to the start the day off with a little brooding.

The clan desires a swimsuit contest! An'jhali wonders about her clan sometimes.

One upside to being clan leader though is the occasional bit of pampering.  Case in point:

Linkage:

http://www.drowtales.com/~pathtopower/archive_leader/20070909c01p012.jpg

http://www.drowtales.com/~pathtopower/archive_leader/20071120c01p021.jpg

http://www.drowtales.com/~pathtopower/archive_leader/20080113c01p028.jpg

http://www.drowtales.com/~pathtopower/archive_leader/20080921c01p064.jpg

http://www.drowtales.com/~pathtopower/archive_leader/20090612c01day55.jpg

http://www.drowtales.com/~pathtopower/archive_leader/20090703c01day58.jpg

(mini-review) Eerie Cuties - Brooke

Brooke

Brooke is melusine (basically a snake person) friend/classmate of Nina's.  One of her favorite past times is to tease Nina's older sister Layla, much to Layla's chagrin.  During a sleepover we get to see her barefoot for the first and so far only time.

(mini-review) Earthsong - Willow

Willow

Willow is the main character and latest arrival to sentient world of Earthsong, the land where all mythological have their origins.  For much of the story it is unknown what Willow's race is and or where she comes from, making her a curious and potentially dangerous factor in the war being waged between Earthsong and the twisted, half dead planet known as Beluosus.

(mini-review) Olympus Overdrive - Zeus

Zeus

Yep.  That Zeus.  When the gods compete in a magical tournament to determine the new ruler of the gods, they were all given new bodies to fit in on earth.  Zeus' new body is slightly more feminine than most people are used to.

I'm not dead yet

I'm feelin' better!  Well for the most part anyway.

A few things:
1. Yes, I am indeed alive.  Whatever the hell laid me out with coughing fits for most of the month has finally passed with no permanent effects.  I think.

2.  No it was not ebola.  People keep asking that and the question's getting a bit worn thin.

3.  The next person to even coughs near me: a pox on ye.  A pox on ye and ye entire family.  And yes, I realize there is a certain irony in wishing a pox on a sick person.

Now as for the this blog, I'm afraid to say that updates are going to continue to be sparse for a couple weeks.  With this illness I've not only fallen behind on this blog but on school work as well, and my focus right now is catching up on my classes.  Even though the idea of going an entire month without updating galls me beyond belief, the fact of the matter is that life has thrown a wrench into my plans for the site.

A double pox upon anyone who coughs near me again.  Seriously, I will INVENT new cuss words if I get sick again.

Of course there is an alternative.  I have a number of mini-updates ready that I could post to fill the space until I can get regular updates up and going again.  These "minis" would have less material than conventional updates (only 1 to 3 images) and likely wouldn't have a full review.  In short it would be a few weeks of filler, but it'd still be something I could post rather than leave the blog totally inactive until February.

Thanks for sticking with this niche of a blog and belated happy new year.

-Hfar

Can't update. Sick as a dog.

Hurts to type.  More news when head clears up.