Annotations

Alas, the insidious forces of evil have hijacked this week's comic!

In mythology, a kobold is an ugly spirit of German folklore. The name comes from the German word kobalt or kobold meaning "evil spirit", and is often translated in English as goblin. One type of kobold haunts mines and other underground places. The name of the element cobalt comes from kobold, after the poisonous and troublesome nature of the typical arsenical ores of this metal (cobaltite and smaltite) which polluted other mined elements (such as nickel).

In Dungeons and Dragons, a kobold is a small and weak reptilian biped easily dispatched by even the most incompetent hero.

POTB #10 marks the first instance of a dismemberment: I accidentally broke off one of Vayla's ears. I knew it would happen eventually, even though I do my best to be careful with them. It glued back on easily enough, but I fear the day I break one irrevocably and am forced to resculpt a replacement.

Panel #1 - Another photo of Liberty Bell Mountain from my drive up through the Cascades in Summer 2005.

Panel #2 - No, I didn't rebuild the original Netherdoom entrance. This is another photo I took when I originally made it for POTB #1 and #3. Unfortunately, I'm thinking I may need to use the dungeon entrance again for a future page, and that means rebuilding it! Not something I'm looking forward to. Maybe I'll try some photomanipulation of existing images instead.

Panel #3 - Dundorious and party descend a flight of stairs. I tried some different lighting here with deep shadows. Kamik is virtually invisible, but at least his keg of stout shows up. That's an arm and head from the skeleton included in the Stikfas pirate pack.

Panel #4 - The blue smoky thing is a tabletop mist fountain from Everyday Living, a subsidiary of InterAmerican Products.

Kreex is a customized Stikfas action figure composed of the following:

• Delta Boy head, carved and Sculpey added for skull ridges and forehead.
• Delta Boy chest, Sculpey added for spine ridges.
• Delta Boy upper arms.
• Beta female lower arms.
• Delta Boy hands.
• Beta female lower body with Sculpey tail added.
• Delta Boy upper arms for double thighs.
• K9 police unit dog rear calves.
• K9 police unit dog rear feet.
• MegaBloks blue stone staff.

I ran into some trouble customizing Kreex. While boiling the tail onto the lower body part, I accidentally squished the ball joint while holding it in the pot with plyers. Now the leg doesn't fit too well. So, if you plan on using the boiling option to harden your Sculpey directly onto a Stikfas piece, I suggest you don't squeeze to hard, as the plastic does soften during boiling.

Panel #5 - The chain and torch brackets are from MegaBloks.

Panel #6 - In case you don't recognize it, the kobold is entering the Room of Three Banners through the dragon arch.

Panel #7 - Kreex is laughing malevolently in front of the privies arch, through which Dundorious and his companions exited the room last week.

Panel #9 - Pinkberries are quite tasty.