So here’s the second page of Special Training 0, a comic commission I sold a while ago to cover some emergency costs. Like all of my projects right now, this one’s moving a bit slower than I’d like, but I hope y’all are enjoying it so far.
This script for page four is a fairly even hybrid between two that were submitted, I think. There were a couple things I liked in the submitted scripts that didn’t feel right to fit in here, but I think will make sense in page five from where we left off. Monthly Ongoings are four-panel comics, but I kinda split the third panel in two. This was my decision to try and convey more action clearly, and I feel fine justifying it since the shots are so up-close. Hope y’all enjoy.
Another year, another Halloween party here in the Studio. This year’s party felt like it took longer than usual, and I think that might be in part because I tried to fit too much into each panel. Not only does this make the page take longer to get out, but it also makes the figures smaller and maybe even harder to make out, so I’m going to try avoiding that for the Christmas party if I can. I am happy with everything we fit in, though.
There’s a couple characters here we haven’t seen in a while, maybe even some of you didn’t even know some of them were in the Studio. This year I finally got to do something with Carmella Creeper, the undead DJ from the monster cereal line. I always pictured her in charge of the music for these parties, but this year we got to see her. We also got a fun little nod to the Poll Me Closer series, plus I finally got to pair Corey Park with one of the Tom & Jerry witches I introduced last October. We also have a follow-up to the Canute Ask. Of the costume ideas submitted, Link and Zelda just seemed weirdly fitting and also gave me some ideas for how to use them in a scene.
I hope y’all enjoy this year’s party! In spite of it all I’m pretty happy with the final page, and I’m already busy working on Christmas’s!
It feels like I rarely find time to work with Frieza ever since SES ended. I think this Ask is one where a character’s own personality might get in the way of their answer. Frieza’s essentially a raceplay weirdo, and for him part of the joy of Saiya-jin cock is lowering himself to being the cumrag of a race he considers beneath him (nobody ever said Frieza wasn’t problematic). So I think the real thing he likes about lower-class Saiya-jins would just be that they’re even lower down, so he’s sinking further. He wouldn’t really be able to acknowledge that, though, so he just describes them as more “savage” whether or not that’s true. Maybe it actually is for Turles, anyway.
Also, for anyone who’s interested, here’s the Q&A video I did for Subscribers last month:
I don’t know if I see Okarun as someone who specifically goes after aliens the way someone like Dandy does. Obviously his obsession with them is a major part of his character in Dandadan, but I’m not sure how much I see that interest turning into a fetish or whatever (especially considering the majority of interactions he ends up having with aliens throughout the series). I did think it’d be kinda funny to turn that on its head a bit, though, and have an alien eyeing him. I thought one of the bigger, rougher types topping him would be fun and kinda match his energy, so I paired him with a DBZ alien who hasn’t gotten much screentime. This also gives him a little extra something in common with Momo, for anyone who remembers one of her old Asks.
For this one, I kinda thought it’d be cute if Zarbon just earnestly addressed the premise of the question.
I figure it’s gotta be weird for the residents of Universe F to learn of the concept of other genders/sexes. Still, those in the Studio have adapted by now I’m sure, and I thought this Ask might be a fun opportunity for Raditz F to meet a different version of one of her mothers.
When reading this question all I could think about was how many baddies in Dragon Ball (and somewhat in Z) have face turns. Most of Goku’s friend group were early antagonists, albeit not on the level of a Frieza or Cell. Still, I think if anyone would be open to the idea of bad guys becoming friendlier it be the DBZ cast.
I mentioned before that the commission that created “Hot Yoga” was a ten-page commission that ended up split into two five-page comics. This is the second of those comics, inspired by a one-panel moment in the original Special Training. Now, it doesn’t really fit into the series canon for them to both have the Saiyan armor here, since Bulma brought her custom take on the armor for them between Vegeta and Trunks’ time in the chamber and Goku and Gohan’s. We can say that in this timeline she arrived with them a day earlier, ’cause the commissioner really wanted them to both have these blue tights for the opening moments.
I feel like Vegeta’s answer covers most of what I’d usually say here. I don’t feel like this is the same for Goku, but Vegeta’s relationship with both Frieza and Zarbon in the Studio is very much based on a role-reversal of their canon dynamics. Beyond that, I thought it’d be fun to show the contrast between these two while Vegeta answers.