I am so proud of this strip. As Don pointed out to me, it’s a game changer for someone (Read the strip first, so I don’t give anything away. 
) I’m proud of the art, the writing, and Don’s wonderful coloring. (We discussed it and we’re gonna have Bill, Frank and Gypsy stand out in a “muted” tone within the flashback… Don will be re-coloring the past few strips to coincide) …Forgive the tardiness, but we spent some serious time making sure this was PERFECT to present. To present it in a lesser state would be a disservice to its impact. I can’t wait to hear what you have to say! And holy sakes… wait t’til you see what’s coming in this tale.
P.S. There are a lot of references to the existing Legend of Bill MAP in this one, and coming strips. The new LoB site is days from release, and with it, we will be offering the MAP I made for the first comic book ONLINE, right HERE at the new LegendofBill.com, for you to follow the path of Bill, Frank and the rest.
Next Episode: Thursday, June 3rd! Sketchblog updates daily!
I echo Frank’s sentiments in the last panel. Bravo!
When I saw this was going to be a game changer for someone.. And I saw the 1st part I went… “Oh my ! Frank’s father/mother was killed by Vorik/Dark Underlord” (Why do I always root for the sidekick ?). And I was going – ok – THIS is going to get messy !
Then I read further and thought..
Holly Sh…, This is going to get messy alright!
I Just luv it !
And I see Don picked the idea of having our heroes in color (albeit a little pastel or is it me?) in the Sepia imaginary world – lovely!
ivan – Actually they’re “partially desaturated”, which now as I type this makes them sound like a food additive
LOL at Frank! Great colors, Don!
You know of this woman, yeh right, don’t ask stupid questions!
Vasheeva, young daughter of king Arnon!?
What’s that Frank, you said holy sh…….fill in the blank
Ahem..
Just realized a few things :
- In my previous statement, David did state about the off-muted colors.. I was in such a hurry to give my impression on it that it didn’t even read the captions !
- Did our fav Gipsy get a breast implant – in her imagination that is (or is it mine)? it seems to me that she is quite a bit more endowed than she was before…
And finally.. Where did Gnome go ? I can’t believe he wouldn’t find a way to sneak in the mind projection enchantment – considering how good he is at sneaking in even the oddest places I’d find this more than appropriate.. But then again – maybe he’d just be a distraction now – with LOB going into some real serious business.
Ok, where is the gnome? I’ve started looking at this kind of like finding the ‘bunny’ on the cover. The plot is great and I love the story but I keep missing the gnome, am I blind?
I don’t think so. I love this strip… but hide the gnome to keep me looking even more.
Thank you, team! I’m so glad you like the strip! Man, wait ’til you see what’s coming… and be sure to click “Previous” under the strip… Don went back and colored B, F and G with the muted sepia level for consistency… ENJOY!
P.S. The Gnome: Hm… where is that lil’ booger? Guess we’ll have to find out…
Maybe he wasn’t around back then…this IS a flashback…right, Dave?
BTW: THIS STRIP IS RATED TV-14 FOR ADULT LANGUAGE..SORTA.
HOLY SH|*THUD*
oww, my speech bubble ran into a wall..
let me try that again, HOLY SH|*THUD*
Um.. whatever Frank said!
Dude! Dudes!! WOW! The artwork, the coloring scheme, the plotline!
Just … WOW! A major turning point in LoB as a story and as a strip.
*applause*applause*applause*
The young maiden Vasheeva is heartbreaking. One of the early sketchbook fragments you posted of her (back on 19 May, entry #51) … she has very much that same look of vulnerability. It’s going to be difficult to see her as truly and purely evil from now on. And, even more heartbreaking if she actually is.
I want to be Gypsy’s manservant, apprentice, slave, personal gnome ,,,whatever she’ll take!
8-)~
Thank you! 3Xp4T – YES. You nailed it. It’s been hard to write this about her. As silly as that sounds. it reveals (and will reveal SO much more) about her things that completely change her… and endear her far more. Or not… we shall see…
KHAAAAAAAN!!!!
Oops…wrong movie, wrong motive:
FRAAAAAAAAANK!!!!!!
*(sponsored by the Committee Against Really Egegrious Oxymorons)*
Yeah, just how DID Vasheeva make her figure less curvaceous and the Gypsy’s more so? Maybe you need to stop slaving over the midnight quill so much…you’re both going blind…
What heartbreak, as has been said, about Vasheeva and Vorik both.
Oh Shakespeare!
What? we all know it’s what frank was going to say!
Oh Shakespeare!
What? we all know it’s what frank was going to say!
Holy…sheep? Shoe? Shyster?
Absolutely wonderful artwork.
Wow. o_o Developments are flying hard and fast, here. So… where’s the chilly godmother?
I guess that, in story telling, the story would be much aided when one cares about the lives of the characters. It can be so hard to develop knowledge about story-telling, these days. Great to have something to learn by ><
This reader agrees, without reservation, that this is a great strip, indeed.
These are wonderful comments. Thank you, everyone.
The Legend of Bill grows deeper when the characters grow deeper, to me. 
Niiiice. Love the flashbacks, dude.
The Gypsy chick is MAD HOT!!!!!!!
AWESOME! Nuff Said!
LOL, “Holy Sh–”!
Vorick seems to resemble the main character from Dragon’s Lair. Don’t know if that was intentional or not but it was the first thing I thought of when I saw that first panel.
-Chris
By the way, love the way the king looks in panel 2. Awesome pose. “And I anoint you and also give you my blessing to marry my daughter and also invoke the powers of awesome king-i-tude…”
I think the muted tones are absolutely stunning here. Great work dude!
Bet ya the king is the gnome put under a spell by Vorik and Vasheeva
David, this is the best strip so far in my opinion, and I believe other people agree because of the number of comments you have! The coloring really adds to the plot.
@J.D.: Aw… you read my mind! Quit It!
Don’t you mean the GNOME is the KING put under a spell by Vorik and Vasheeva?
Now THERE’s a plot idea for ya, David…
Thank you for the great comments!
And wow, J.D, Insectoid, Johanan… LoB definitely has some in-tune readers… hm… we shall see what happens!
I think almost everyone get this but… Holy Sh….! I totally agree with Frank.
LOL
So now we have Princess Gina/Vasheeva being chased by Sir Pepe Lepew, and Vasheeva/Princess Gina being chased by the dark Underlord, and the next Dragonburger being chased by Bill and Frank(who are being skulked by a gnome). Did I miss anyone?
@samsonguy – Remember that Princess Gina(Vasheeva) is also chasing Bill, and don’t forget about the crazy bar wench, we probably haven’t seen the last of her either.
I’m not sure if it was intentional but in panel two we see Frank standing in front of the gypsy’s dress. I swear, it looks she’s wearing one of those pink skirts from the 50s with a felt, blue poodle print.
Guys I love the story line and the coloring choices. They really make the comic pop! Oh if only I had this kind of talent. If ever you need a voice for Vasheeva….I humbly volunteer.