Secrets of the Death Dragon

I've been meaning to do a followup post to get some more mileage out of all the work I put into that Death Dragon serial, but things have just been too busy!

In the meantime, though, I'll share one little tidbit and point out that the illustrations for Days 18 through 20 (our hero's phantasmagoric journey on Komodo Island) were designed to fit together into a single large-format picture.



Komodo Island isn't anywhere near this lushly forested, of course. You might think of it as an allegorical jungle, a color-keyed extension of the malevolent lizards themselves.

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 21

So as not to spoil the ending, let's hide the final installment behind this clickable link...

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 20

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 19

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 18

Only three days left to go...

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 17

Fun fact: The Komodo airport is actually at Labuan Bajo, on a totally different island.

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 16

Hard to believe I've done sixteen of these daily installments in a row! I don't think I knew what I was getting myself in for, but there's only five more to go, so it's too late for second thoughts now.

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 15

And now, the final week begins...

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 14

Wait, now what's going on?



Meanwhile, thanks to everyone who paid a visit to the SIREN booth during WonderCon! Perhaps you'll be intrigued by Ben Jelter's sneak preview of a hypothetical second volume.

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 13

And check out this awesome Death Dragon fan art by the one and only Ben Jelter! Fantastic!

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 12

So you know how, in a horror movie, there's usually that part where the protagonist goes to the library or the municipal microfiche depository or something, and finally gets around to doing a bunch of research? Well...

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 11

This is starting to feel weirdly metaphorical. I swear the original premise of this series was a simple sight gag!

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 10

And now the stalking has truly begun in earnest.

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 9

Oh my gosh, there's a plot -- and it thickens!



Speaking of which, did anyone notice the Starbucks Bold Pick of the Week? Everything's coming up lizards...

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 8

I think our hero is finally starting to suspect something.

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 7

Running a little late today, but here we go.



And in a very closely related vein, I just saw Michael Buble Being Stalked By A Velociraptor. Looks like this series launched a day after mine, so clearly there's something in the zeitgeist about people being followed around by carnivorous lizards.

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 6

OMG, so much to do! But my commitment to the daily updating of the Death Dragon serial is as tenacious and implacable as the komodo dragon itself.



And thus we have our first eyewitness account, courtesy of an anonymous artist who's probably going to have a hard time explaining this to his parents.

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 5

Digital colors this time, since Ben was taunting me about it. Once again I'm drawing what's right outside my window...



A little bit Coleridge, perhaps. "Because he knows a frightful fiend / Doth close behind him tread"...

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 4

Nice and simple this time...

Blood Bite of the Death Dragon: Day 3

Man, these old markers are really on their last legs. Might be time to go digital with these, or switch to watercolors or something. In the meantime, here's day three!