The layout of these two strips gave me fits for over two weeks.

I had this climax in mind when I began the piga-paka arc two years ago (the challenge at the coronation party) but as time marched inexorably forward, I realized I had no idea how Koz was going to grab Jinjur and haul her up onto his saddle. She's wearing hard shell armor, so he can't grasp her by the back of the shirt, she's low to the ground so snagging her under the arms was...well, I figured he could grab her by the shock collar. That would be a nice touch, the instrument of punishment being used to save her life, right?

Thing is, I could only envision him dragging her over his lap like a seal, from that position. It would have been more comic than dramatic. Howard Hawks would have added a quick buttock-spank, like John Wayne delivered to so many headstrong women in the films he directed (never mind that Jinjur is wearing hard-shell protective pants.)

But I wanted her to be able to search his face with a bewildered expression in her eyes--I mean, here she's been cussing him out and abusing him not only all morning, but FOR YEARS--and he saves her life. He could have looked the other way, and they'd all be free of Jinjur. Hell, he even wanted to shoot her on many occasions, volunteered to assassinate her, in fact.

Why did he save her?

Well, for one thing, Kathy would be upset. If she hadn't cried out in horror, Koz wouldn't have moved. But in spite of his avowed cowardice and apparent laziness and lack of respect, he's got the heart of a hero. That's why he's Sir Vorrior, Bravest Vorthy Companion.

I was also going to put different text into the last panel. He was going to say, "And if anybody is going to kill you, it's going to be me. I got dibs." But my husband felt that would telegraph too much.

So anyway, after making numerous sketches, searching for photos online of men catching women up onto the saddle (there aren't any, BTW) and even making up two figures in Hero Forge to try to figure out how to draw the rescue scene, and how he could catch her, pull her up, and then get her turned around so she was looking at him--and getting incredibly frustrated in the process--I decided, "Screw it!" and just winged it.

Koz can be surprising at times, can't he?

I think they should have gotten married long ago.... Bwahahahahahaha

In actuality, your winging it is pretty darned good.

Vix

YAY KAZ!!!

Incidentally--if anyone wants to see the Hero Forge figures I concocted to help me visualize this scene, you can join my Patreon for a measly dollar! :)

https://www.patreon.com/c/kathy_gar.....llogg_carry_on

Vulnerable Jinjur is oddly...adorable.

I guess I could share with you and your fans that there I endured a similar situation while drawing my Artist and Muse comics. It took me almost a year to plot out the action where Muse is being pursued by two werewolf sisters in her home and decides to avoid her capture by turning herself into an oriental rug.

I'm sure Jinjur will never change but now she's got a life debt hanging over her head. Those are the worst kind of debts to owe someone because it's like waiting for the other shoe to drop. You know it will, but you hope it never does.

Two life debts, actually. Kathy spared her from being executed for treason.

Ah, that's right. I had forgotten about that. If Jinjur ain't careful, she's going to have so many life debts, she won't be able to walk without owing someone a life debt. LOL

Yeah, well, that maneuver didn't half cost him. He only just recently regrew his liver, and although Piga Paka looks to be a rough sport, it certainly doesn't involve slamming into a 200lb sheyeena at a dead gallop and hauling her into your lap.

He's gonna feel that one later.

Funny, when I saw the top strip come up on the site I TOTALLY missed the sub-panel with Koz' outburst, so it was a surrprise when he in the next update came riding to the rescue... doh!

... and if anyone get a snapshot of the last panel, with Jinjur in Koz' lap as the damsel in distress, it would make for excellent blackmail material XD

Yeah--Koz would pay anything to keep that out of the public eye! :D