D&D comics history part 35 - Shadows of the Vampire (IDW)

   IDW pursues the adventures of Minsc and his mates started in Legends of Baldur's Gate and publishes in 2016 a 5 issues mini-series, part of WotC's Curse of Strahd event, entitled :

Shadows of the Vampire

2016 TPB cover

   As in the previous series Jim Zub is in charge of the writing. The art will be fully done (coloring included) by Nelson Daniel. Neil Uyetake will remain in charge of the lettering and collection design.

   The story starts with our bunch of heroes (Minsc, Boo, Delina, Krydle and Shandie) looking for some mercenary job after their victory on the evil Dragon Cult. The party, still being considered as outlaws by the city guards and therefore keeping a low profile, pays a visit to the Temple of Kelemvor (god of the dead and the dying) which is having some trouble for the last few nights. There, they meet Father Alby, the priest in charge, who asks them to investigate. They'll be joined by Nerys, a female cleric, servant of Kelemvor who's not that glad to have to assist these bunch of faithless mercenaries. During their first camping night surveying the Temple, intruders (skeletons lead by Sangin and his two werevolves accolytes Dron & Utna) will pop in to steal some magic artifact. Then, trying to save Nerys (who's been kidnapped during the assault) and to retrieve the stolen magic items, the full crew -as well as the villains- will all be teleported via some magical myst in the well known Demiplane of Dread : Ravenloft. They end up in Barovia (description and map below), the domain ruled by the uber-famous and redoubted vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich...

 

Map of Barovia (including Shadows of the Vampire's plot locations)

 

Barovia as described in Ravenloft campaign setting : Realm of Terror (p.63-65 - TSR, 1990)

   As expected at the end of Legends of Baldur's Gate, the party is added a cleric. Nerys Kathon is a creation of Jim Zub and Max Dunbar. As for Minsc, Boo and Delina, Nerys will be too added as a playable character in Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms in late 2018. (cf Jim Zub's tweet)

 

Nerys' first appearance (left) & her chara-sheet in Idle Champions (right)

    Regarding the storyline of this mini-series, it's obvious Jim Zub and Nelson Daniel used the Curse of Strahd module (WotC, march 2016), issued during the eponymous event, as their main source of inspiration, and that for both plot's intrigues and illustration designs. Curse of Strahd's adventure is kinda an enhanced and enriched remake of TSR 1983's D&D adventure : Ravenloft (I6) where Barovia was first ever mentioned.

Curse of Strahd - cover art by Ben Oliver (WotC, 2016) & I6 Ravenloft (TSR, 1983)

   Just after their arrival in Ravenloft, our heroes visit a Vistani (local Gypsies) camp where they'll meet a fortune-teller known as Madam Eva (stats below). If not mentioned in the comic, this place is known as the Tser Pool Encampment. And there is no doubt artist N.Daniel respected the map provided in the module to draw it as it's fitting almost perfectly :

Tser Pool Encampment - Art N.Daniel + Curse of Strahd's module map (p.36)

    Madam Eva is there the first named NPC the party encounters. She's a major character in the domain of Barovia as, apart from being a powerful medium and fortune-teller, she appears to be Strahd's half-sister.

Madam Eva as drawn by N.Daniel, with her infos & stats from CoS module (p.233-234)

   Madam Eva will use a Tarokka deck to tell Minsc his future. In 2016, GaleForce Nine issued a Tarokka deck to use with Curse of Strahd (or remotely as some kind of poker via the Prophet's Gambit's rules) and we can see here that Nelson Daniel used the exact same design of the cards (original art by Chuck Lukacs, who worked on many D&D modules as illustrator as well as on Magic : The Gathering cardgame) in the comic :

 Tarokka Deck Box (GF9, 2016) and its cards as used in Shadows of the Vampire

    Leaving the encampment, our adventurers will save another named NPC mentioned in the module, a certain Adrian Martikov who's being attacked by a horde of ghouls. This one will then propose the party to help him guard his wagon full of wine barrels until he reaches his destination, the Wizard of Wines Winery (owned by Davian Martikov, Adrian's suspicious father), where our heroes would be allowed to stay as a reward for their efforts. This subquest is directly inspired by the Special Events proposed in page 180 of Curse of Strahd :

"Wine Delivery" quest

Wizard of Wines Winery - Art by N.Daniel & CoS module map (p.175)

   In the meantime, the villain Sangin is taken back at Ravenloft Castle where Strahd summons the Three Bride to "discipline" him... and there the comparison between the module's illustration of these characters and Daniel's art suffers no doubt at all :

The Three Bride, N.Nelson & Curse of Strahd (p.93) versions

From left to right : Anastrasya Karelova, Ludmilla Vilisevic & Volenta Popofsky

   After that, Sangin will pay a visit to his former comrades at their home, the Werewolf Den. There we'll witness the confrontation of Dron & Utna with their pack leader, Kiril Stoyanovich after the fail of their escaping attempt. As there is an exception to every rule, Kiril is drawn by Daniel as bearded and bald-headed while he has black thick hair in the module's illustration.

Werewolf Den - description and map (Curse of Strahd module, p.201-202)

   Meanwhile our heroes will finally manage to arrive in the town of Vallaki. (Tho, when looking at the map of Barovia, it's very unlikely that they could have reached The Wizard of Wines without passing by Vallaki prior to that, especially considering they departed from the Tser Pool accompanying a carriage that had no means but to follow the road... just sayin' heh... :P)

Town of Vallaki - description and map (Curse of Strahd module, p95, 97)

   There, they will arrive in a middle of a Carnivale which theme of the week is "Parade of Purple" and will encounter the Burgomaster, Baron Vargas Vallakovich. Once again this NPC is directly inspired from the module in his traits :

Baron Vargas - N.Daniel & CoS module illustration (p.105) versions

   And soon, the great villain and ruler of Barovia Strahd von Zarovich will make some badass stylish entrance to finally confront our heroes...

Once a badass, always a badass...

Strahd's description & stats as in CoS module. (p.239-240)

   Strahd's background is vaguely and briefly evocated a fisrt time by Sangin wondering if Tatyana (Federovna) could have been the previous owner of the magic necklace. Tatyana was the betrothed of Strahd's younger brother Sergei von Zarovich (who briefly appears as a ghost at the end of the comic - second evocation of Strahd's past). After Strahd murdered Sergei by jealousy (and in order to gain eternal youth via a ritual of the black arts) on what was to be their wedding day, Tatyana, refusing to succumb to the murderer, threw herself off Castle Ravenloft into the chasm below. These events, which are at the origins of his curse, are told in the 1993 novel I, Strahd : The Memoirs of a Vampire by P.N.Elrod.

I, Strahd - The Memoirs of a Vampire (French cover - Fleuve Noir, 1997)

   Using the most recent Ravenloft materials as bedrock of their work, Jim Zub and Nelson Daniel offer here a great, coherent and, as we saw, very documented story. The more time our adventurers spend in the Demiplane of Dread, the more desperate they become. Ravenloft is a dark gothic setting where hope, faith and good feelings don't belong. Far from the comedy tone of the first series, we're experiencing here the pangs of the tragedy. It's only the second time a comic is set in Ravenloft in the whole D&D comics history (the other one being the short-story The Rigor of the Game from the Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons collection by DDP). And once again it worked like a charm. N.Daniel successfully followed up the work of Max Dunbar, respecting what his predecessor implemented and did great bringing the visual despair this narrative needed.

   Note that, for some reason, the first issue of Shadows of the Vampire as well as the TPB version contain the Tyranny of Dragons short story that was previously released online on WOTC website.

O,..,o

D&D comics history part 34 - Legends of Baldur's Gate (IDW)

   In October 2014, IDW launched a brand new series set in the Forgotten Realms and part of WotC's Tyranny of Dragons event :

Legends of Baldur's Gate

 

2015 TPB cover 

   This 5 issues series -as well as the following ones- will be written by talented author Jim Zub (who worked, among dozens of titles, on Pathfinder and Red Sonja comics by Dynamite) and drawn by artist Max Dunbar with colorists John-Paul Bove & Joana Lafuente. The lettering will be done, as usual or so on these IDW's publications, by Neil Uyetake (who's here also in charge of the collection design). The series will be compiled in a TPB in April 2015.

    The story takes place in the well-known city of Baldur's Gate. First described in Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast (TSR, 1994 - see below), this place of adventures will become more than famous after the release of the eponymous video game by Bioware/Interplay in 1998.

Baldur's Gate PC Big Box (UK version)

 

Baldur's Gate Map (PC Big Box, 1998)

Baldur's Gate as described in Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast (PC game manual version, 1998)

   The link between IDW's comic and the video game is far more consistent than just a place's name as the comics will focus on a character who first appeared in Bioware's RPG. In Legends of Baldur's Gate (subheaded in the first single issues as Tyranny of Dragons), we're following a certain Delina, moon elf wild mage (some particular type of sorcerer) who's looking for his missing twin brother Deniak that she believes being in trouble due to their special bond. Being chased by gargoyles, her unpredicable magic will cause to turn into flesh a statue of Minsc, known as the beloved ranger, former hero of the city. Whether Delina's magic gave life to stone or removed Minsc from a petrification state remains an uncertain aspect of the plot.

 

Beloved Ranger Statue - Dunbar's art & Description as found in Murder in Baldur's Gate (p.13 - WotC, 2013)

   Soon, our 2 heroes (3 would say Minsc...) will be joined in their quest by the rogues duo Krydle the half-elf & Shandie the lightfoot halfling. The party will then have to deal with underground guild, politics, city guards and secret cult to finally achieve their goal in a fun and entertaining chain of events.

 

The full crew (Delina, Krydle, Shandie, Minsc - and Boo)

   One interesting plot point -among others- is that Krydle is the bastard son of Baldur's Gate former hero and actual member of the Parliament Coran - who appeared to be a recruitable companion in the original video game but also in the adventure module Murder in Baldur's Gate where he's a main protagonist as well as the Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard). As for the Beloved Ranger statue, it's obvious this adventure module was an important source of inspiration for the comic's design.

 Coran in Baldur's Gate - Tales of the Sword Coast expansion (Bioware, 1999)

 

 

Coran & Ulder in Legends of Baldur's Gate

 Murder in Baldur's Gate adventure module cover (WOTC, 2013)

 Coran & Ulder's description - Murder in Baldur's Gate module (p.38,39 & 43)

   Minsc, as for him, is originally a pen-and-paper creation of Cameron Tofer (video game producer and progammer) who played this character during Dark Sun sessions held by James Ohlen, lead designer of Bioware's Baldur's Gate. He was incorporated in the video game as a playable companion. He's a human ranger berserker who appeared in the video game storyline as bodyguard of the witch Dynaheir. Badly head-injured in the past, Minsc is a not-so-clever (to say the least...) character who spends his time talking to (and mostly taking advices from...) his hamster familiar Boo, that he claims to be a Miniature Giant Space Hamster. (Tho, this has never been proved and most consider Boo as a simple rodent...). His main purpose in life is to defeat evil everytime he's confronted with...

Minsc vs Evil - Less cogitation, more action... 

   We will note that in the comics, Minsc is stubbornly calling Delina "Neera". Neera was a half-elf wild mage who appeared in the 2012's Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition. Once again the link between the 2 medias is obvious.

 Minsc's character sheet - Baldur's Gate (Bioware, 1998)

   And as an endless ping-pong pass, Minsc, as well as Delina -and other character from the comics to come (but that's another story...)- will be part of the latest D&D video games as 2017 Codename Entertainments' Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms. And in 2018, the single issues of Evil at Baldur's Gate, the 4th adventure of our heroes, will contain exclusive codes to obtain bonuses in the game... This same year, ICOTFR will release a DLC containing an unique skin for Minsc (the Giant Boo costume) in support of their Extra-Life campaign. (All the money acquired by the sales of this special DLC went to the BC Children's Hospital Fundation.)

Minsc & Delina chara-sheets and buyable familiar Boo (Idle Champions of the F.R.)

   

   Note that, if we're not granted with RPG materials yet, each single issue -or so- of Legends of Baldur's Gate will also contains some Max Dunbar's concept art sketches :

  Max Dunbar's concept art sample (TPB release version)

 

   Full of humor and granted with an amazing art, this first adventure of Minsc and his crew is a real success. The party will have more stories to tell in the upcoming years and as of 2019, 3 other comics will be published : Shadows of the Vampire, Frost Giant's Fury and Evil at Baldur's Gate. Once again, IDW did the job and proposed the D&D fans some piece of value as in its form as in its content. Jim Zub did an amazing work on the telling but also in his capacity of integrating existing references and materials, some under raw plot bedrock and other as "simple" winks. Anyway, it's fun, it's pretty, it's accurate... it's just a must-to-read.

O_oV

D&D comics history part 17 - Where Shadows Fall (K&C)

   It's in July 2003, 6 months after their last issue of Black & White, that Kenzer & Company will publish their 4th and -sadly- last mini-series, once again set in Greyhawk and sequel to In the Shadow of Dragons, under the name :

Where Shadows Fall

 

   As indicated on the covers, this will be a 5 issues story, but contrary to the other mini-series, the parts have no title :

#1 (July '03)

#2 (Sep. '03)

#3 (Dec. '03)

#4 (Feb. '04)

#5 (June '04)

   The story is written by the author of the prequel, Jay Donovan and as usual a bunch of artists will work on this :

Carlos Alberto S. Paul : Penciller of parts 1, 2, 4 & 5

Anderson Ricardo : Penciller of part 3

Ricardo Riamonde : Colorist of parts 1 & 2

Salvatore Aiala : Colorist of parts 3* to 5

Matt Haley : Cover pencils of parts 1 to 3, Cover colors of parts 1 & 2

David Hahn : Cover inks of parts 1 & 2

Scott Kester : Cover colors of part 3

Joe & Rob Sharp : Covers of parts 4 & 5

Marcos Schmidt : Lettering of all parts

*credited in part 5 erratum

 

 

 Part 1 - Art by Carlos Alberto, colors by Ricardo Riamonde

   

 Part 3 (left) - Art by A.Ricardo &  Part 5 (right) - Art by C.Alberto (both : colors by S.Aiala)

   We have a really more-than-decent art here. On both pencil & colors we find a series at its maturity. And when we have another penciller in charge of the middle issue, the coloring of S.Aiala do the trick in the transition. The light & shadow effects are very powerful in the first issues while the lines are getting sharper and the colors brighter in the last ones. Marcos Schmidt did a really nice lettering work here (but one nice fumble in last issue... cf pict below) and, doing all parts, gives us a textual coherence all along (which wasn't always the case in the precedent series).

When the great villain suffers of Palilalia... obvious hint of a developed dementia... :P

As well, it seems Jay Donovan took some confidence as he provides a far less boring (yeah, yeah, am a bit harsh here...) and kinda less classic story than he did before. The tone itself is lighter and he managed to get rid of the superfluous chitchat.

   This story takes place in the Phostwood Forest (more details on the 1998 Oerth Journal #8 - p.11 to 17), in the Duchy of Tenh and aside the Bandit Kingdoms, where our 3 heroes (Lucien Cathal, Roarn Stonehearth & Verena Mornbringer) from In the Shadow of Dragons are summoned by Aurric Whitewind to locate and return his daughter, Lumari. This one, in love with a drow named Cerin, and caught in their rendez-vous by her father some months ago ended under a temporal stasis spell to avoid her fleeing with her beloved again. But in order to avoid her to be moved, Cerin ordered his spellcaster (a certain Terannkis) to place a curse upon her. As a result, if she were taken away, all the dead throughout the Phoswoods would rise again within 2 weeks... Cerin having freed his beloved 3 days ago, our heroes (accompanied by the damsel-in-distress' bro, Caddal) have now 12 days left to save the elven people from an undead invasion... while on Cerin's side, his leader, the powerful Abehhan-Vrre is preparing his war against the Phostwood he's lusting for... 

   From the Phostwood to some hideout in the Rift Canyon, passing by the Fellreev Forest (to meet Krysanya the Scryer) and the "hole in the Oerth" town of Luendorn (to meet some old friend), we have here some rescue-the-princess story on a Romeo & Juliet / Troy War background...far more entertaining and funnier than its prequel, Kenzer & Co reached some level here and the quality of the story as well of its art would bear comparison with the upcoming DDP's publications.

 

World of Oerth - Duchy of Tenh, Fellreev Forest & Bandit Kingdoms area

Note that we are granted of an unique piece of RPG material at the beginning of the 4th issue :

   It's kinda sad to think this will be the last mini-series Kenzer & Co will produce under the D&D license as they were getting very good at it, raising the quality from one to the next... I tend to think that these short publications convinced WOTC to persevere in the comics industry. These may be not the most famous D&D comics but K&C really offered their readers a nice insight of the Greyhawk setting and pretty fun tales to read.

O_oV

D&D comics history part 16 - Black & White (K&C)

   Keeping their publication rhythm, and In the Shadow of Dragons ending in May 2002, Kenzer & Company will release, in July 2002, a new series, once again set in Greyhawk, entitled :

Black & White

   The series will be a six parts one as annouced on the covers :

Part 1/6 : Once a Thief... (July '02)

Part 2/6 : New Friends, Old Enemies (Aug. '02)

Part 3/6 : Woodwych (Sep. '02)

Part 4/6 : Lambs to the Slaughter (Oct. '02)

Part 5/6 : The Return (Nov. '02)

Part 6/6 : Coming Home (Jan. '03)

   Story is from Jeff Limke (See the 2002 Interview by CBR's Arune Singh) and here again, even if we're in a white & black comic, a bunch of artists will work on this :

Gregg Paulsen : Penciller of part 1 p.1-14, Cover artist of part 1

Nicholas Nix : Penciller of part 1 p.15-22, Inker of part 1, Cover artist of part 2

(As explained in first issue intro, N. Nix will draw the end of the part 1/6 as G. Paulsen is, for some reason, unable to finish his work on it. And as a preview, there are also some sketches by the artists of the following issues at its end - cf below)

Wilson Roberto de Oliveira Jr. : Penciller of part 2

Rodrigo Pereira : Penciller of parts 3 to 6, Cover artist of part 3

Jorge Correa Jr. : Inker of parts 4 to 6, Cover artist of parts 4 & 5

Renato Guedes : Cover artist of part 4*

Adriano Batista : Cover artist of part 5

Thiago "Grafik" Carvalho : Cover artist of part 6

Tom Martin : Cover colorist of part 1

Scott Kester : Cover colorist of parts 2* to 6

Dreamer Design : Lettering & FX of parts 1 to 3

Martin Barnes : Lettering & FX of part 4

Alan Smythee** : Lettering & FX of parts 5 & 6

*credited in following part's erratum

**Alan Smithee is a pseudonym used to disown a product

 

Part 1/6 - art by G.Paulsen (left) & by N.Nix (right)

  

Upcoming issues #2 & #3 sketches previewed at the end of part 1/6

 

Part 2/6 - art by W.R.Oliveira Jr. (left) & Part 3/6 - art by R.Pereira (right)    

   To say the least, that's some unique piece Kenzer & Co offered us here. The black & white rendering is very interesting in many ways. If forces the reader to take time to decipher the drawing in details and gives a special atmosphere to the story. Tho, and especially on the first two parts, it is sometimes difficult to define who's who due to the absence of colors (meaning there that whatever the pose, distance or even angle of view of a character, colors -of hair, outfit, etc- can be a very good marker of recognition). Rodrigo Pereira did a really great job here as his white & black processing is, in my opinion, a level above the other artists'. But well, even if the roughest without a doubt, I still do appreciate Nicholas Six's part. On the writing, Jeff Limke offered us a very entertaining and intriguing narrative even if some plots find some quick and easy denouement... that's maybe the wrong side of mini-series telling a not-so-short story...

   ...about a an half-elven thief named Tinelith, living in Rel Mord (capital city of the Kingdom of Nyrond), who robbed King Lynwerd's messenger. Having cut the wrong purse and now in possession of unwanted magically sealed scrolls among some jewels and coins from the theocracy of the Pale (more info here), she finds herself tracked by the city guards led by a certain Captain Grakin. With the help of Snibb, the gnome wizard and Benni, the half-orc fighter, the group manage to flee the city. On the road they'll be joined by Bernleough, a traveling cleric. The party will have to face many dangers and wander in many places (not always by their own will...) as the city of Woodwych, the hidden elven city of Stalwart in the Celadon Forest, the city of Beetu or even the feared Gnatmarsh. (cf map below). With a background of politics and royal treasons sprinkled with love and friendship affairs, the whole story is not left out of twists and turns.

 

World of Oerth - Kingdom of Nyrond & City of Rel Mord

   For their 3rd mini-series, Kenzer & Co did great with this uncommon piece. I am just a bit disappointed on the fact we're granted with no RPG material at all... there is just some places description/history here and there within the frames... But well... it is what it is heh. 

   A must-to-read anyway !

O_O

D&D comics history part 15 - Tempest's Gate (K&C)

   As In the Shadow of Dragons was well ongoing, Kenzer & Company launched in december 2001 a second Greyhawk comics series entitled :

Tempest's Gate

   This time each issue is called a "book"... well...
Book One : Born of Fire (Dec. '01)
Book Two : Forged in Tears (Jan. '02)
Book Three : Tempered in Fellowship (Feb. '02)
Book Four : Sheathed in Justice (Mar. '02)

   Story has been written by Sean Smith, and as expected, a bunch of different artists worked on this series as well (Basically a team for the first 2 issues and another one for the last 2) :

Mike (Michael) Lilly : Penciller of books 1 & 2, Cover artist of all books
Travis Walton : Inker of books 1 & 2, Cover colorist/inker of all books
Rich Kelly : Inker of book 1
Bob Wiacek : Inker of book 1
Bill (Alfred O.) Williams : Inker of book 1
Mickey Clausen : Colorist of books 1 & 2, Letterer of book 1
Tony Duncan : Letterer of book 2
Rodrigo Pereira : Penciller/ Inker of books 3 & 4
Nelson (Pereira) Mendonça : Inker of books 3 & 4
Salvatore Aiala : Colorist of books 3 & 4
Ricardo Riamonte : Colorist of books 3 & 4
Marcos Schmidt : Letterer of books 3 & 4

 

 Book Two - Double page (art by M.Lilly)

 

 

Book Three - Double page (art by R.Pereira)

   When we have really fine art in every issue, Mike Lilly & Rodrigo Pereira doing great here, I was kinda shocked by the lack of visual coherence (not talking about the styles here) between the end of Book Two and the beginning of Book Three, especially considering we're in the very same scene (cf pict below... for the more obvious discrepancies). This being said, the comic in its whole is very entertaining. We have here far less chitchat and more action than in their previous mini-series. Tho, imo, they could have done a 5 issues story as some scene are kinda shorten and could have easily been more developed (especially at the end where it's a bit (to say the least...) sloppy in a rush to conclude).

 

And for the quick-change performance, Ladies & Gentlemen...we're welcoming... Aidus !!

   Note here that the assassin in charge of murdering our hero is the famous Zarak from the LJN toys line (who, as Warduke did, travelled from Mystara to Greyhawk a few ago...). FYI, he also appears in The Treasure of Time storybook I reviewed years ago.

  

Zarak - 1983 LJN basic figure (left - picture from my own collection) & stats from D&D modules (right)

   This time the plot takes place in the area of Bissel, near the frontier with Ket, in some outpost called Tempest's Gate (cf map below). The outpost being attacked by Oghs (some local variety of orcs... cf pict below) lead by Flame, a powerful Fire Sorceress taking orders from the evil necromancer Evard (cf info sheet below), the young lieutenant Aidus soon get the charge of the defense as his captain passes away. Helped by the arrival of the hill-man barbarian Urik and his tribe they manage to repel the attackers. Soon joined by the dwarf Hakignm Strongarm, whose people of Kharak Dhul's mining colony have been decimated by the same fiends a few ago, and helped by the imperial advisor and great Ice Wizard Zed-Kraken and some other allies, the gathered party is sent to track the evil menace. Some will have to look back in their past to overcome present's troubles. As said earlier, if some parts could have been expanded, we have here a story rich of elements as the many kinds of monsters/species as well as a great bunch of interesting characters.

 

World of Oerth, March of Bissel and probable location of Tempest's Gate (red dot)

 

Evard info, bio and stats (Dungeon Magazine #107)

   Also note that we are granted with some RPG materials in each issue (tho only a tiny list of Greyhawk references in Book Two) as stats of Aidus (B.3) and his beloved Vail (B.4) as well as the description of Oghs (B.1).

 

Characters and monster stats

   It's a nice piece Kenzer & Co offered us here even if it lacks some rigor here and there... we have some plots without any clue on the whys and wherefores and some villains mentioned without any appearance... wondering here if it wasn't meant to be a longer series at first that ended shorter for some reason... Still, a fun reading anyway.

o_O;