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Deli is delighted to meet you.

Posted on September 12, 2018 by eczarnik
Finally, “Milhamah” reveals its first main villain, Deli!
Deli is an evil urn held up by a winged humanoid golem.
Don’t expect this Deli to make you a sandwich.
Deli (pronounced duh-LEE) is a member of Bavel’s linguistic imperialism division. He is on a mission to silence the Holy Tongue Society. While the jar and its carrier might appear to be a team, they are one combined being. Only the urn is sentient; the winged humanoid is a muscle-bound puppet that can’t think on its own. Rumors say both entities are thousands of years old. Just like ancient Babylon, the new Bavel Empire obsesses over space and its stars. So Deli represents the water bearer Aquarius. (The Aquarius symbol is on the character’s crown, and the cuneiform version is on its forehead. Ishtar Gate designs inspire the rest of the costume.) One might wonder what Aquarius has to do with the grammar and language themes in “Milhamah.” But it does, as you’ll see! Deli’s root letters are dalet-lamed-yod (דלי), which deals with water extraction. When he undergoes permutation, he has control over life, the tides, doors and more. Watch Deli in action when “Milhamah” Episode 6 is published next week. Stay dry, Shem!

Happy Rosh Hashanah!

Posted on September 9, 2018 by eczarnik
I quickly made this for Rosh Hashanah while experimenting with Clip Studio Paint over the weekend. That program which has great features for comics such as screentones, speed lines and more. You’ll be seeing the results soon in Episode 6. A happy new year to all my Jewish and Hebrew-speaking friends!
Tiqwah stands on apples while holding up honey to celebrate Rosh Hashanah.
The Hebrew text is “Shanah tovah,” which means “a good year.” Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year.

A door is ajar in ‘The Gatecrasher’ (#5)

Posted on September 4, 2018 by eczarnik
Shem’s treasure hunt meets a jarring interruption as an underground vault opens a portal to one of the Bavel Empire’s fabled gates. A surprise guest lurks in the distance — could the gatecrasher truly be a vase with a face?
This is the full four-panel comic of "The Gatecrasher."
You didn’t think it would be that easy. Right, Shem? (Click on the image to magnify.)
This week’s comic was fun to make, and it’ll likely set the stage for the next 10-20 episodes. I focused on punching up the visuals by adding more color and dynamic poses. I also changed the dialogue font to something snappier and more familiar to comic readers.
Plus we spot a teaser of Deli, our first villain from Bavel. (Hope that isn’t too much of a spoiler. But he looks pretty evil, right?)
This week I plan to add the past episodes to a new comics widget on this site, which will make it easier to reference them. I’ll also offer more commentary on the past episodes. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, if you like my work, please subscribe to my comic and social media via the menu toolbar’s links. Share and spread the word!

Take cover! We’re on Twitter

Posted on August 31, 2018 by eczarnik
Tiqwah watches a speech balloon hit the ground beside her.
Let’s hope Twitter will be less dangerous than incoming speech balloons outside the Holy Tongue Society’s base.
In its quest for more eyeballs and readership, “Milhamah: Fighting Words” now has a Twitter account, @MilhamahComic. Feel free to follow me! It makes sense for a comic named after the Hebrew word for “war” to enter the Internet’s verbal free-for-all. However, the plan is to stick squarely to marketing the comic and posting links, not using the account as a soapbox. Still, I appreciate your prayers! Anyway, I’m more than halfway done with comic No. 5 and plan to finish it over the weekend. I’m adding more Photoshop effects and punching up the colors to make the episode more appealing. If I get compliments, I’ll go back to my old episodes and reformat them.

Personalities clash in “High Steaks” (#2)

Posted on August 21, 2018 by eczarnik
Tiqwah invites Shem to dinner. Shem hopes his steak won't be as tough as her odds of keeping promises. Tiqwah's glare scorches Shem, but he taunts with a second pun. Tiqwah gives up, offering extra food in exchange for silence. (See this comic and the others at Tapas or Webtoon, and please subscribe! ) Which has more fiery intensity: Tiqwah’s wrath or Shem’s provocative puns? In the end, Tiqwah pays for her past broken promises, using beef as legal tender. (How did Shem miss that one?) Besides inching the plot past the prologue, the goal of this comic was to highlight a bit of the characters’ personalities and watch them clash. As the Holy Tongue Society’s tactician, Tiqwah likes to think of herself as a long-range planner, though she doesn’t always succeed. As the group’s overall leader, Shem likes control and order, but even he has a silly side. Soon it will be evident that Shem has many sides to him, including those he wants to keep hidden… In the comments below, tell me what you think about the characters and how they might develop. Questions, suggestions and other constructive feedback are welcome!