The Low Roads, Chapter 5 (comic, M/F: full body; various).

[Low_Roads]

Link to Chapter 1: http://www.ticklingforum.com/showthread.php?t=67280
Link to Chapter 6: http://www.ticklingforum.com/showthread.php?p=1300711#post1300711

Tonight, descend a little deeper into Low Roads perdition. Mind your footing... this chapter (30 pages) is designed to tempt you directly into the pit...

Pages 1-5:

[Low_Roads]

Pages 6-10:

[Low_Roads]

Pages 11-15:

[Low_Roads]

Pages 16-20:

[Featherdemon]

Fantastic art Littlebighead! I think you have a real eye for posture and the colour in your work is always strong. I would love to see moew of your stuff!

[Low_Roads]

Pages 21-25:

[Low_Roads]

Thanks a lot, Feathers! :D Very kind words about my figurework (though you'd probably be less complimentary if you ever saw me struggling with my layouts!:p) The color is primarliy printer ink (augmented by colored pencil), which is why it's so intense.

More Mew upcoming!

Final pages, 26-30:

[Mr. Danger]

Excellent work :D I really love the 'epic' feel of the comics, very well done. Can't wait for the next chapter now! :bouncybou

[Low_Roads]

That's a very nice compliment, Mr. Danger! Thank you for using the term "epic"! I have tried to give "The Low Roads" as much grandeur as I can manage (well, on a modest scale, of course... the story is taking place in a single small county, after all!:p) and it's most pleasing to have the effort pay off! I will do my best to have the next chapter ready in a reasonable amount of time!

[munchausen]

Each installment tops the last -- and your story keeps getting deeper and more compelling. I love this stuff!

[DEV]

Brilliant update of the story. The World you use for 'Low Roads' is very imaginative and vivid. Methinks if you appealed to a more mainstream audience, perhaps you may find a good amount of success with it. BTW, I sometimes found the way the people talked a little hard to understand. Something of a difference in dialects I suppose.

[DL Showtime]

Simply wonderful work. Excellent layout and a very interesting story. Great job. =)

[Darth Godflesh]

Hello there
Your artwork wouldn't be out of place on one of the classic "Creepy-eerie" pulp comics of yesterday.
And the plot/writing is a solid effort, it's sad that nowadays in most written media they care less about the hidden details of the lead characters, your work shows a lot of effort behind it
Thanks for your work and for sharing it
Darth Godflesh

Have you organized some kind of portfolio to show your art around?
I think there must be a recognizement for your work
Who knows?
Maybe you could get the perfect job - doing whatever you love

[Low_Roads]

Munchausen, thanks so much for your continuing interest and support! I'm pleased as I can be that the story is proving compelling... being so close to the material, it's often tough for me to tell how well it's moving. By the way, Friedrich von Smutt is an ancerstor of the Baron Munchausen tradition. My mother read me the famous tall tales when I was very young, and I later came to adore the innovative Karl Zeman film interpretation ("The Fabulous Baron Munchausen").

Thank you very much for the nice words, DEV! Tabor County is basically a fantasy version of the Northern California rural landscape I live in. Landmarks are frequently adapted (sometimes lifted wholesale, without alteration) from actual ones, which may account for the vividness. And you're absolutely right about my use of argot! :blush: Such dialogue is fun to write, but if it's impenetrable it's not doing its job. Such colorful dialect is best minimized if favor of clarity, something I should watch... a delicate balancing act, but that's also part of the fun of scripting! :D

Most delighted you're enjoying the comic, DL Showtime! Without an appreciative audience, the storyteller is just talking to himself. You guys give the effort meaning and make it worthwhile!

Thanks a lot, DG! Oh yeah, I fondly remember those wonderful old Warren titles! Some of the best comic artists doing the finest comic artwork ever, just like the earlier EC comics that inspired them! I really appreciate the comparison! As for a portfolio, I'm a bit old and settled nowadays to hunt for a new career (right, early 50s... I'm ancient!) I don't really consider myself a balanced artist anyway... I've never become accomplished at portraiture, for example, the way that community stalwarts Vlad (Celtic Emporer here) or Nessonite have. What you see in The Low Roads is basically all I do. Fortunately, it's sufficient for my needs!

[Darth Vegeta]

ooooh i like it! VERY nice. (: :dogpile:

[Michael2003]

Very exciting!

[Low_Roads]

Very much appreciated, Darth Vegeta! Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks, Michael! I did manage to inject a bit more action into this episode. Sephie needed the exercise!

[rajee]

Thank you Low_Roads for all of your hard work for creating a great comic strip for us. :cool2: :2poke: :)

[Leshii]

Low Roads,

Thank you for continuing to create and share your wonderful work.

[Low_Roads]

My pleasure, Rajee, especially when I can share the results with so many appreciative people! Thanks! :D

Thank you for the kind compliment, Leshii! This is a pretty wonderful community and I'm very happy to be doing my part!

[Darth Godflesh]

I think I remember you saying something about your age (Regarding about gettin' a job) and sadly in this "wear-and-throw*away" botox-fed expression/brain-less society if you ain't young you ain't worth a s&/t!
Anyway at least we here appreciate your effort and consider a highly talented member of our society
About you telling that "that's the only thing you can draw" I honestly understand you, I'm a bit of an artist myself, but guess why I haven't posted nothing (and I think I never will?)
I can't draw a cute/barely proportioned girl to save my a$$!
I can make monsters and were-creatures but girls ain't my strong bit and they're basic material for the tickling scene
Best wishes
Darth Godlfesh

PD
Any chance of one-off shoots of the girl's getting tickled?
I mean, I like the story and all, but more "action" or more detail on it would be appreciated.

[Low_Roads]

Thanks for the encouragement and understanding, DG! At this point, making a profit from my art is less important to me than being a productive member of this community, interacting with company I like. I do interesting work that meets my monetary needs... artwork never needs to be more than my recreation.

I know that the last couple of Low Roads chapters have been prose and exposition heavy (rather light on tickling until the end, and then what's presented tends to be defused). I'll be making up for that soon... chapters 6 and 8 will basically be extended, episode-long torture sessions, similar to the ones presented in chapters 1 and 3. I do have a story I want to tell, but this is a fetish site and that aspect must never be minimized. Balancing the content is my responsibility... perhaps I need to be more vigilant about providing something especially juicy each time.

And if you draw monsters, I'd very much like to see 'em! I'm crazy about monsters! Remember, there's a non-tickling art section in this forum. I've made a contribution there and plan more; while interest is always a bit light, it certainly is an outlet! Please consider it!

[Italian_Touch]

LittleBigHead, your art is always outstanding. I admire your ability of building and developing a full story while focusing on tickling... I always enjoy your updates and keep looking forward for the next chapter.

Maybe, sometimes, I will post something again...
A question: how do oyu make the writes in the baloons? Do you use a computer program for your art? Which one?
All the panels looks so professionally edited...

[Low_Roads]

Thanks Italian Touch! :D I'm most eager to see your next picture! Please don't make us wait too long!

A computer program is indeed employed to create the dialogue fonts. It's called Flexi-sign Pro, software I use in my job as a sign maker (undoubtedly better programs exist for art applications, but I've worked with Flexi-sign Pro for years and am quite comfortable with it. Too, it saves me the money I'd spend for an expensive art program, one I might not even like as well). I also use this program to clean up my line artwork and apply block coloring. It can't be used for shading or highlighting; such subtle details have to be applied with colored pencils. But I prefer that part of the process to be hands-on anyway. Thanks for asking! I always enjoy explaining the process!

[Lucius of music]

it would be cool if there was some sort of mechanical-like bogey, probably mis-spelled it lol

[dreamingthunder]

i don't post very much in any part of this forum but BOY do i EVER get excited when I see you've posted something. Especially from The Low Roads!!!

:xpulcy: :bouncybou :D
:bowing:

[Low_Roads]

That's an intiguing idea, Lucius of music! Yes, I like it very much! I need a wide selection of bogeys (I plan a big bogey dust-up as the story progresses), and there's no reason at all why one of them couldn't be a mechanized robotic tickler! It would certainly supply a pleasing element of variety! Thank you for the suggestion!

Dreamingthunder, thank you! I'm most flattered that you'd write in with encouragement! So glad that you like the Low Roads! I've tried other projects (one-shots and fan art), but this one has proved the most rewarding to create. It's going to be a long series, years before it's complete, and I'll do all I can to keep the story fresh and entertaining!

[Darth Godflesh]

Thanks for your words (and your work)
Hope to catch the next episodes soon

[Low_Roads]

Thanks for your words (and your work)
Hope to catch the next episodes soonThank you! :) I'll keep at it and should have something new soon!

[MyAuntGreta]

I have to say, I love how everyone gets a turn (and hopefully more!) in your comics. Even the zombie, even the store clerk, the school teacher -- EVERYONE. Awesome job, my friend. Great story, great artwork, great tickling. Keep up the diversity in victims, and the great work!

[Low_Roads]

That's most kind of you, MyAuntGreta! Thank you! Indeed, I do intend to maintain plenty of tickle-victim variety, introducing loads of new characters while finding plenty more tactile trouble for the established ones! Having lots of possible targets will allow for cross-cutting, supplying some suspence as to who gets it next! Share the hilarity!

[Lucius of music]

u should make ur own yahoo group so ur comics want get lost in the forum

[Low_Roads]

It's a solid suggestion, Lucius. Thus far, I've been rather lazy about establishing any sort of independent site for this series. Then, I hear all sorts of horror stories concerning Yahoo and fetish material (the number of folks I know who have been "Yah-screwed" is legion). Maintaining another outlet is probably more work than I want to take on right now anyway... keeping up with the TMF and TTC has proved taxing enough. You're right, though: individual art threads do tend to sink quickly (a welcome sign of the forum's creative health, actually). My solution has been to inter-connect the individual Low Roads chapters with links, then provide a master link to Chapter 1 in my signature. Anyone viewing my signature can therefore access each of the chapters in turn. Reason enough for me (if none other was needed) to stay active and visible in the community!

But thanks again for the suggestion! Your interest means quite a lot to me!

[Kiss_cool]

ooooh i like it! VERY nice. (: :dogpile:
when will we see the chapter 6?

[Low_Roads]

Hi Kiss_cool! Thanks so much for your interest! I know it's been a long time between Low Road chapters, and I'm afraid the next one will still be a few months away. I'm deep in the midst of a separate series at the moment, a non-tk story which is nearing completion (If you'd care to see the first 2 chapters, you can find them in TMF's non-tickling art secton. Look for "Spectacles of Doom". The project didn't receive enough interest here to justify continuation, but I've managed to get it up as far as Chapter 14 over at the TTC.)

I haven't forgotten the Low Roads... all the details for Chapter 6 have been mentally worked out. I promise to present it as soon as I possibly can, but that won't be before November at the earliest. Sorry for the delay, and thank you once again for writing!

[FeatheryOctopi]

Love the story line. Great art. Thanks for posting.

[Low_Roads]

Love the story line. Great art. Thanks for posting.And thank you for responding, FeatheryOctopi! I'm very pleased you're enjoying the story! Sorry that progress has been so slow of late ("Spectacles" has consumed much more of my time and effort than I originally anticipated). I'm most anxious to return to Tabor County, and plan to do so as soon as I'm able!

[smilepile]

Hey, Low Roads. I really love your work. And I'm impatently waiting for the next chapter. ...any idea when it might be finished?

Sorry, almost everyone has been asking that but I'm so impatient. :bump:
...and Chrsitmas is coming... maybe you want to make your fans an early christmas present? :2poke: :santasmil

[Low_Roads]

Hi Smilepile and thanks for writing! :D Sorry as I can be that Chapter 6 is taking so long. I got caught up in an entirely separate project which ate up the whole of the summer and fall months, and am just now recommencing work on the Low Roads. The good news is that I'm currently making solid progress on the script (it's almost done, in fact); bad news is that the chapter won't be finished before late January at the earliest. Wish I could have it ready for Christmas... you guys deserve the gift. Please bear with me just a little longer. Once rolling again, I don't plan to work on anything else until the series is completed.

[Floyd]

Looking forward to it! :bump:

[Low_Roads]

Thank you Floyd! Nice to hear from you again! And believe me, after so long a break, I'm more than eager myself to present the next chapter and get the Low Roads back on track!

[isabeau]

*bump...words fail me. i do have to admit to a small error on my part..well not error per se, but it wasn't until this chapter that i realized Mew meant a cat person..lol..Mercy and Persophone are cat people right? sighs..i'm dense...i would love to get into your brain..the creativity and uniqueness, at least to me, is astounding.. i told you i would bump up each chapter as i read them...

[Low_Roads]

*bump...words fail me. i do have to admit to a small error on my part..well not error per se, but it wasn't until this chapter that i realized Mew meant a cat person..lol..Mercy and Persophone are cat people right? sighs..i'm dense...i would love to get into your brain..the creativity and uniqueness, at least to me, is astounding.. i told you i would bump up each chapter as i read them...Actually, it's a kind compliment to me that the "Mew" surname didn't immediately register as feline. I chose it primarily for the alliteration value (cartoon character shorthand!), something that serves only Mercy, of course! And while the Mews are indeed cat folk, it's an aspect of their character that I wanted to fly below the radar (not something that people within the Low Roads world would ever notice. No detailed explanation for why were-cats exist in the same universe as wholly humans will ever be forthcoming... it was meant to be taken as simply another type of ethnic trait). They're not the only ones, either. The goon, Snide, was crafted as a were-frog. A were-dog will be coming up in Chapter 6, and a were-ape further along still. Akira Toriyama's (sp?) Dragon Ball universe served as a model, but examples go as far back as '30s animation (Porky Pig shared his barnyard world with a host of undifferentiated animal and human characters. Think, too of Fox and Cat from Disney's Pinnochio) and likely much further. I may not be the most inventive kid on the block, but I do know where to shop! ;)

[Kalamos]

Actually, it's a kind compliment to me that the "Mew" surname didn't immediately register as feline.

Well, it did to me, when you first featured her in that sci-fi short comic of yours.

Toriyama really comes to mind when thinking of the variety of types and species in your stories.
And Muppets/Sesame Street, with some guys and atmospheres.

Yours feels like a self-enclosed fable-like cosmo, with unpassable woods and wastelands, putting a physical fence from the real, outside world, if any.

I noticed the stark contrast between the night world, with creeps and mutated freaks coming out, and the day time, when only "normal" folks go around, and the town looks almost cosy and safe.

Mercy, as an anthro/werecreature routinely crosses the border between the two worlds, and looks and feels somewhat at home [and at the same time, out of place] anywhere and anytime.

...

Ok, enough rambling.
Be reading you.

[Low_Roads]

Yours feels like a self-enclosed fable-like cosmo, with unpassable woods and wastelands, putting a physical fence from the real, outside world, if any.That's sharp, Kal! (not that I ever expect anything less from you!) A "cloistered" environment was exactly what I was after, reducing the communities within Tabor County to manageable levels (a reader ought to feel as though he could know all the major landmarks and find his way around if he'd been there a couple of weeks). A similar dynamic is at work in "Spectacles of Doom"... Shakespeare has his storms, I have my boundaries (oh god, does that sound conceited!)

I noticed the stark contrast between the night world, with creeps and mutated freaks coming out, and the day time, when only "normal" folks go around, and the town looks almost cosy and safe.Thank you! I had hoped that Fairview would play either way, depending on context (sort of like Lovecraft's Arkham). I'd like to accentuate this creepy contrast even further when the residents of Fairview come under night-time siege... that's a scene for much later on!

Mercy, as an anthro/werecreature routinely crosses the border between the two worlds, and looks and feels somewhat at home [and at the same time, out of place] anywhere and anytime.Now that's really interesting. It isn't anything I consciously intended, but I see your point. Socially (as well as physically), she's a girl without firm allegiance; hence the events at the beginning of Chapter 7. Angie's friendship is her one firm rock... but that too will be tested as events proceed.