Because of MCAF (and work), Crow Time and Namesake will be short updates. Ozma has super long hair, and these little crows are experts!

Here are the details for the festival, for anybody who would like to attend :

https://www.fbdm-mcaf.ca/

Yes! Yes it's the scene from the Oz books where Tip gets changed back to Ozma! I'm so AMPED to draw this!!

If the scene or the characters in it look familiar, this is another point of view of a scene we saw in the Emily Gale chapter. Her twin became Mombi, Mombi held Ozma / Tip prisoner, and now she got caught by Glinda the Good Witch of the South, along with the Glinda guards, that we saw in like....Chapter 8? Wow!

Here are some page references :

https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/stop-right-there -- The Glinda Guards

https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/the-birth-of-mombi

https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/the-messenger

https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/seeing-stars

-- Important bits from Mombi's point of view!

For anybody wondering why Glinda is the Good Witch of the South, and not the Witch of the North, the South is her domain in the Oz books, the iconic 1939 MGM film combined her character with the Good Witch of the North. Book Glinda is a bit more of a wise badass than the northern versions of Glinda we can find in the MGM film or Wicked, but I love all versions of Glinda, personally! I also like that Book Glinda is associated with Red, while alternative Glindas are usually pink. That's so cute.

This is the in-between chapters art for the Calliope handbook. It's a redraw of the last page of chapter 34 (https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/just-fine) with a veneer of the Pepe Silvia meme from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

The next update is going to be the chapter cover for chapter 35!! Woo!

AND THE WHO'S WHO IS COMPLETED!

This was a really nice experience, on top of being a nice recap before we embark on the final arc, it also allowed me to get back to a level of inking quality I was comfortable with.

The next page will be our usual in-between-chapters illustration, followed by the cover of Chapter 35!

This final page resets where we were at :

• Emma lost a bunch of stories while fighting Ina - https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/my-own-power

• Emma almost broke down in consequence - https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/did-her-best

• Both swords were re-absorbed to save here - https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/stab

  & https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/another-stab

• Stabilizing both Emma and Warrick - https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/changed-heart

• The first Namesake offers up a faded muse heart - https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/visitor-2

• And, after listening to Emily Gale's tale and weaving some vorpal wool, the gang finds themselves in Oz, specifically, Elaine and Trinket find themselves also with a version of Ozma that is also very intrigued by all the Goblin market receipts she seems to have : https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/nearby & https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/just-fine

This conversation with Ozma is where chapter 35 will open.

ONE PAGE LEFT!

This page is less character-description-y than the others, and more like a re-iteration of the factions fighting each other for the power within the universe (as described on this page : https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/questions-for-adora-what-factions-are-in-play). But it's also an excuse to show off a few set pieces that feel like characters because of how iconic they are. The tornado, Toto, the yellow brick road, and the Emerald City all appear several times in Namesake without really having lines or being actual characters.

Oz is a place where Ozma, Dorothy and Emma Crewe all felt safe in. While it is their refuge, it's also a location all three of them didn't have complete control over. Ozma is the princess of Oz, but Oz is something her Calliope form set up, and it can be modified by characters such as Mombi. Dorothy felt at home in Oz, to a point where she brought her family over, but the land's immortality magic didn't work on her. Emma feels safe there, but her first and second trip to Oz where accidental, in moments where she lost control of her magic.

Drawing the Emerald City was interesting, because I wanted to draw it in a way that made it seem like a real city, but also in a way where it mixed the round rooftops designs of the W. W. Denslow illustrations with the iconic spires of the MGM movie without looking like I drew a bunch of butts and upside down test tubes. I think I finally mastered a look I liked in the Emily Gale chapter, my third time illustrating the city!

I recently watched a video about folks adapting the Wizard of Oz movie for the Vegas Sphere that briefly talks about how weird extending the Emerald City and backgrounds to fit the Sphere made everything look off, and it reminded me of the process I went through to draw the Emerald city, so I wanted to talk about it! I also gave Oz a lot of rolling hills and little woods, so it would look really different to Dorothy if she got used to Kansas fields. Kansas is pretty gorgeous, as is a lot of the natural American landscape, so it's probably harder to impress Dorothy than we assume.

Here is the video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgEmsKtdsRs

Two pages left in this recap!

Beacons and Cheshires are everywhere in the Namesake universe! We drew a poster of all the Cheshire breeds a long time ago (I still love it!)

Here are a few of my favorite scenes with the cats and the beacons!

• Whisper loves Travis https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/a-little-whisper

• Alice and the Cheshire fam illustration https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/the-aliceversary

• Two Christmas stories revolve around cheshire cats, the first with alice and the second with Nose : https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/alice-and-the-cats-part-1 and https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/frost-part-4

• Jasper' death https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/alice-vs-vanessa

• Chester's death https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/when-there39s-ink-there39s-

• https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/booooored Whisper in Travis' office before the Baba Yaga hut causes havoc.

• https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/disappear Whisper vaguely remembers shadows.

• https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/kitten-in-a-basket Whisper has the power to be a conduit for the founder.

• Whisper wakes up again after being the Founder for a while. https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/who-me

• https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/safe-now Inkbell pops out of a beacon!

• https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/inkbell Inkbell's stylish introduction.

• https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/human-person Inkbell is made of shade, figuratively and literally.

• https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/clipboard-murderer Beacons in the Calliope storage.

• https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/heading-back Beacons reaction to Emma becoming the full key when she is about to kick shadow ass.

• https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/beacon Beacons still being lit despite a shadow casting darkness on a whole world.

• https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/beacon-browsing Alice Lidell at an auction with a special beacon. Bonus appearance of Henry Jekyll pre-One era.

• https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/subtle-and-different The memory of past timeline Emma escaping the beacon storage

Only 3 pages left to the recap!!!! Hell yeah!

The inking on this page is a little rough. The Who's Who has been a nice way to get back into drawing all the characters again, but I can't help but feel a bit like my inking just isn't as smooth as it used to be. That being said, I feel my expression game got really strong! I think my art is just changing, but it's a tough thing to process.

This page contains one of my favorite characters to draw (and to have on screen) THE SPIRIT (or the ghost)! She's definitely more of a mechanism than a person, since she's basically all the tumultuous emotions archives inside Emma's page pile brain, but she is so fun and menacing. I love all her scenes.

The spirit

• That time she gave Emma the sword. https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/an-exchange-of-lives

• That time she decided to fight One (she lost) https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/bring-it-on

• After she lost she decided to drag Emma back into her brain. https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/youre-done

• And then sulk a lot. https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/never-satisified

Dro & the Domovoi

• The Domovoi and Dro got an intro page in the original Calliope Handbook https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/calliope-handbook-local-spirits

• Dro likes to dote on our Alice : https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/the-welcome-mat

• He was a constant companion to Alice Liddell : https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/not-enough-fighters

• He was there when she died : https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/into-the-mists

• And when she met a past edition of the seven Emmas : https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/summon-the-writers

• He's pretty knowledgeable too. https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/beneath-your-feet

• The Domovoi were used by Wendy to prove to Ben he's got a lot to offer to the team! https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/you39re-hired

Suzan, Nandita and Mags - While they are mostly background characters, Suzan has huge important in Alice Purcell's backstory, and Nandita helps Warrick when he gets to Calliope.

• Meeting adult Suzan : https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/a-chip-off-the-old-writing-block

• Meeting kid Suzan: https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/just-alice

• Selva meeting Mags and the magic users : https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/never-again -- this is also Nandita's opening scene!

Jason Crawford! He's the only namesake so far from Greek mythology, to match the Calliope Founder, who is inspired by the myth of Orpheus.

• We mostly see him negociating with the Writers: https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/elevator-music

• And even One, eventually : https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/unexpected-guests

• But he's not above being a badass when shadows invade : https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/the-argonaut

• And he's even ready to take on the Original Namesake! https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/visitor-2

Man, I love the Ozites so much! I do think Agha is my favorite Oz character after the twins. She's always been a character I loved drawing. The top panel here is really inspired by the cover for Chapter 4, but it's a bit hard to see when the text is on it.

Here's a few best scenes of the Ozites as a refresher!

Anlise (and Renge) :

• Dorothy procedures! https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/not-over-yet

• Betrayal! https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/reverence

• Vine battle. https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/glow

• Vine Battle 2, this time with a big monster. https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/blink

Agha:

• Getting saved by Emma https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/purse

• Agha saving Hercilia https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/taking-care-of-it

• Agha accompanied Warrick on an apology tour. https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/warrick39s-southern-limit

• When Agha returns to the story as the Wizard of Oz https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/old-friends

Hercilia:

• Shoe Hercilia attacks https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/poking-at-vines

• Threatening shoe Hercilia https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/how-dare-we-forget-you-hercilia

• More shoe superpowers fighting a shadow https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/there-they-go

• Look who is human now! https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/hey-there-that39s-

• Hercilia taking Emma to her hero's mural when she returns to Oz https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/the-mural

• Hercilia delivering the news that Ozma woke up to the gang https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/status-update

Jinjur:

• Insulting Warrick while she lives in the West Castle https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/jinjur39s-point

• Her leading her army is attacking the vine-infested Emerald City https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/a-reason-to-revolt

• We saw her one last time when Ozma re-shielded Oz from the greater world. https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/something39s-happening

Scarecrow

• He's so nice! https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/a-most-excellent-solution

• He loves his nephew! https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/in-plain-sight

• His last scene... https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/so-it-begins

  
  

We are back to a part of the story that is pretty well remembered. I love the twins so much. Their relationship really is one of the best parts of the story. This section is essentially the Chapter 7 flashback.

https://www.namesakecomic.com/comic/chapter-7-cover-redraw

I still adore the cover redraw AND the original.

I miss you, Tin man.

Here is the blank version, as usual.

Happy holidays to one and all from Isa and Meg! Isa unfortunately has a holiday flu, so Meg stepped in with today's update! Please enjoy her festive Christmas tree.

We wish you joy and hope you are spending time with those you love doing the things that you enjoy. Thank you all for your support of our comics this year. You have made a serious difference in our lives, and we appreciate every one of you. Crow Time will be back on January 12, and Namesake will be back on January 15.