Soup the Comic Strip by Alun Clewe
Comic strip for February 4 2024.
PANEL ONE: The champion, Maiz, and the necromancer's apprentice, Xaga, stand near Nezhoni the giant rat. CHAMPION: It doesn't feel right to ride while you walk...if you want, I'll walk, and you can sit on the rat. PANEL TWO: Different angle, seeing more of Nezhoni in the field of view. XAGA: Thanks, but “sitting on the rat” doesn't sound all that appealing. NEZHONI: Think how it sounds from MY point of view. PANEL THREE: The champion and Maiz ride Nezhoni down the street while Xaga walks alongside. CHAMPION: So...I'm sorry, Shogodar, was it, or something like that? XAGA: Just call me Xaga. PANEL FOUR: Close on the champion. CHAMPION: So what made you get into necromancy? I mean, it doesn't seem most people would want to devote their lives to dealing with the undead. PANEL FIVE: Rear view of the group. XAGA: Oh, necromancy's not just about conjuring up terrifying undead spirits. That's PART of it, yes, but there's so much more. PANEL SIX: Close on Xaga. XAGA: Necromancy is the magic of the planes. Necromancers can call upon demons and godlings to do their bidding. MAIZ (off panel): Cool! PANEL SEVEN: Side view of the group. XAGA: It's the magic of the mind and will. Necromancers can turn the wills of others toward their own ends. PANEL EIGHT: Close on Xaga. XAGA: And necromancy is the magic of the soul. By the necromancer, the very soul itself can be captured, altered, and transformed. PANEL NINE: The group continues through the town, the champion side-eyeing Xaga uncertainly. PANEL TEN: View looking down on the group from above. CHAMPION: You know, if you just want to stick to conjuring up terrifying undead spirits for now, that would be just fine. XAGA: Actually, I've only summoned a demon once. And that was an accident.
February 4 2024

So did I get any of the things done that I said I was going to try to get done yesterday? Unsurprisingly, not all of them, but perhaps surprisingly, some of them, yes. I finally got a custom 404 page up, though it's very simple and boring right now and I'll make it into something more interesting later. I put in a check so the site doesn't try to show you a comic for a date after the current date or before the comic's start—right now it just redirects to the 404 page when that happens, but later I'll replace that with some (putatively) amusing messages about trying to peer into the future or go to the before times, or something. As for the Cast page... I was thinking of trying to implement that, but honestly right now there are only a few months' worth of strips, so a Cast page is probably unnecessary; it's not like there are old characters from years ago that readers may have forgotten. So for now I've just removed the link to the Cast page, rather than have a link that doesn't go anywhere. I'll reinstate the link when there are enough strips that a Cast page makes sense.

There's still a lot more I want to do with the site, but at least things are sort of getting done...