foxinthestars

Yesterday was kind of a mess and I only got half a page done, but today I did a page and a half and made it up, so now I'm back to being only two pages behind (I'm actually pretty excited; this is the first time I've managed to do any catching up).

To make it easier on myself, I decided to jump the gun and do the promised "next Map Screen," which is three pages long.

Non-CV fans, basically what you need to know is, Hector and Isaac work for Dracula. They're called "Devil Forgemasters," and they make weapons and monsters. I interpreted this as being like Mad Science, which gave rise to the fun game of "how many references and jokes can I cram in among the lab junk" (which I hope none of you mind... ^_~ Yes,

sweet_gardenia, you inspired me!)*.

You can pretty much tell where it's going after the third panel, but the whole scene amuses me...

(It should be "albumen" btw.)

And tomorrow I should have the last page of denouement...

*Note to DW/LJ friends: various things tucked in among the lab equipment are references to other people's Mango comics, so wth, here's a guide to them:

sweet_gardenia did the same thing once which inspired me, and her comic ZUGZWANG was the source for the elephant foot umbrella stand and the owl-topped staff inside it on pg. 2 first panel.

I didn't know how to make it very distinct, but the umbrella stand also contains a pool cue, which is Stick from

pantryofdoom's Nil Points.

Pg. 2 third panel, the creature in the tank is a fairy from

lady_of_entropy's Killing of Dreams.

spartydragon is doing The Odyssey of Llamacorn, whose skull is on the table pg. 1 third panel.

Also on that table:

The doll sitting partially behind a graduated cyllinder is Mojo from Dou Dou Dolls by

kineko

The bottle in the extreme foreground contains

del_chan's Nonsequitur-mobile from Sombulus.

The ferret running in a wheel on the right is Annie from

bob_artist's Demon of the Underground

...And the drinking bird toy isn't from anything, I just put it there on a whim.