And so we come at last to this, the penultimate episode of The Blasphemous Totem of Aranzool. As I've mentioned before, I drew this comic about ten years ago and serialized it on a different website where, unfortunately, almost no one read it. This time, though, I've gotten several responses from people, real human beings who are reading the story, so I'm glad I dug it out of the closet.
As I drew near the end of this story, I was faced with a problem. Fuzzball and Scuzzball had to, at least in some way, play a role in bringing about the conclusion. Deus ex machina endings are disappointing. But Fuzzball and Scuzzball are largely incompetent. How could they possibly save the day?
I was pleased with this solution. The ritual doesn't work--which means the villain explodes, the totem is ruined, and the city is saved--because Scuzzball took a gem off the totem. But he didn't do it because he was planning ahead, he did it because he's greedy. Thus the protagonists are active yet still not competent. Success!
As I drew near the end of this story, I was faced with a problem. Fuzzball and Scuzzball had to, at least in some way, play a role in bringing about the conclusion. Deus ex machina endings are disappointing. But Fuzzball and Scuzzball are largely incompetent. How could they possibly save the day?
I was pleased with this solution. The ritual doesn't work--which means the villain explodes, the totem is ruined, and the city is saved--because Scuzzball took a gem off the totem. But he didn't do it because he was planning ahead, he did it because he's greedy. Thus the protagonists are active yet still not competent. Success!