Page Commentary No. 95

Psu: Oh man, actual shading returns... this page is a little greyed out though. Still, it's a lively page even at just three panels. I enjoyed making sure that there were signs of life outside of the central adventure this entire chapter. Each of our chapters have a sort of theme that defines them visually different from the other chapter. And this one being set in a planet that's half restaurant/casino just meant I needed to have people everywhere on their own little adventures.

Gunwild: You ever read the first issue of Luke Cage: Power Man? The first page is this kind of big full-page splash with lots of images of it supposed to evoke a place, and it says "OUT OF HARLEM... A HERO!" So ya know, there's like, a blues singer and a cop car and stuff. But one of the other images is a giant pair of dice. Just huge. And I'm glad our comic has also featured a giant pair of dice.

Psu: You talking about the Genndy Tartarskovy one? No wait, that was just "CAGE." Anyway, giant pairs of dice are important in fiction set inside space casinos. One of the fun things about this sequence is trying to imagine just how big and bustling this city is. I've been to the actual Las Vegas Strip once and for all the hype, the thing I remember was that it was a lot smaller than I imagined. Just the length of the thing surprises you with how quickly you can drive through the whole thing.

Gunwild: I've never been! The closest I've done is like, playing Rainbow Six Vegas... but it's a fascinating place. I think this planet is probably technically bigger than Vegas, just because it's probably serving as the top gambling spot for more than one nearby planet. Also, how come you didn't make a casino city inspired by Atlantic City? You live near there! :P

Psu: Because Atlantic City is... with all due respect to the people that live and work there and find a happy home... AC is kind of depressing. It's like Vegas but Sad Vegas. It might've just been my mood at the time but Las Vegas cleaning itself up into a kind of vacation resort town was great. Atlantic City, from my experience, never made that kind of self transformation. And feels like it's got more remnants of mob mentality thrown throughout. And it doesn't have a pyramid!

Gunwild: I think "Why should I let you help me?!" is the most unreasonable thing Maddy has ever said...

Psu: To be fair to Maddy, she's in a bit of an emotional moment right now. When I think about someone accepting help from their enemy, they're also conceding that they "lost." So it would take a moment, even for someone who's often reasonable like Madison to get past that. She's still on a mission! She hasn't given up on that yet.

Gunwild: Well, I know I wrote it that way understanding all of that, intellectually. I'm just sayin' if it were me, I'd be like, "Please pull me up from falling to my death, enemy! I'm very light, since I've already peed myself in fear."