The Ruthless: Issue Three tickle comic production preview

[Oblesklk]

Hi all!

Sooo...it's about damn time we had something on our series The Ruthless, eh?

It took two years to release issue #2, and it took about a year to release #3. If these half lives continue, we're hoping to have #4 within 6 months of #3's release. Absurd? Nah, we're planning on it. I have fairly aggressive production schedules that I want to keep up, and that time period sounds about right to me.

So why did it take a year to release #3? Well mostly we had some back and forth on the fate of The Agencies and The Ruthless. Nothing bad, mind you, just trying to figure out who should be doing what.

And the good news is that the same art team that brought you #2 is doing #3 as well. We really like their look ,and to be honest I can't imagine The Ruthless appearing any other way now that they've given Stacia and the gang a strong look. It's a gritty, traditional comic book look that I really dig. It suits the environment well.

I'm going to use this thread in the coming weeks to make various notes on how production is going, and the thought process on some of the story and the action. We're planning on having the issue release sometime in either April or May. I'm not sure when yet.

These first two attachments are of Stacia and Doctor Collins. They were characters pinups we commissioned the team to do after we revamped the web site.

Collins still has her librarian-ish kind of look, even though she's actually a billionaire heiress.

And here is Stacia, looking a bit confident.

 

[Oblesklk]

Since it's been a year since Issue #2's release, it probably isn't a surprise to the readers that The Ruthless is actually Stacia. She fabricated the entire experience of being kidnapped and tickle tortured by the fiend in Issue #1. She is the fiend, a revelation she made to Doctor Collins in Issue #2 and is explored in the story "Origins, Part I" at http://www.the-agencies.com/stacia-story2.html

Now that she made this confession to Doctor Collins, her psychologist, Stacia has felt a huge weight off her shoulders. She now has a partner in crime in her shrink. The two have a bizarre relationship, and that will also be explored as the issues come out.

So where is Issue #3 headed? Stacia (aka The Ruthless) has a plan to create a machine called a Neural Mapper. Because she lacks specific anatomy training and engineering skills, she "recruits" the help of three gifted women at the nearby university. Doctor Collins, although seemingly innocent in all of this, quickly becomes an adept student and invaluable aid to Stacia in gathering the proper talent and ensuring co-operation with them.

Attached is a panel which shows Stacia and Doctor Collins casually discussing the status of the project...building the Neural Mapper.

 

[Oblesklk]

The attached shows kind of a before/after panel at The Ruthless Headquarters. At this point in the story, The Ruthless has successfully gathered her three "helpers" who are, understandably, a bit hesitant to help someone who resorts to kidnapping to accomplish her goals.

As she usually does, Stacia just has a way with people, and can be rather convincing.

On The Ruthless's costume, we're going to be playing with a few designs and see what works best. The suit was created by Stacia out of sheer force of will, and is a miracle of nanotechnology. Each cell in the suit is intelligent and can act on its own or in concert with the rest of the suit. It protects her from harm, and can take any form she wishes. In these early issue, The Ruthless is going to be primarily covered, as Stacia is still somewhat in denial about what she is and what she has to do. However, as the story goes on, she becomes more comfortable with what she really is, and will reveal more of herself in the suit. If she appears before others fully covered, it's her denial mechanism kicking in. After awhile, her actions will truly be second nature to her, and will have little use for such denial theatrics. The one thing that will always be with the costume is the concept of the several eerily pulsing tendrils which adorn the suit.

On the restraining devices in The Ruthless, we really want to explore the fantastic possibilities that a comic book can bring. So what do we mean by that?

Well, Dave came up with a wicked idea for a bondage device that I believe was published in his earlier digital works. It's a machine that simply wouldn't hold up well in a tickling situation except for the most hardcore ticklee. I don't want to spoil too much about it, but I was immediately thrilled at the prospect of including it in this story. With this storyline, we're definitely going to be doing some exploring in some areas that I haven't done personally in other comic lines. I figure with the overall theme and Dave's presence to bounce ideas off of, this comic will be perfect to showcase some truly weird stuff. Don't worry, tickling will always be #1. But that's not to say there isn't room for plenty of fun in addition to tickling.

 

[Oblesklk]

I'm attaching a tiny sample of one of the protagonists on the machine.

It is interesting to note we changed this script about a week before production started. It was changed significantly. It what is now Issue #4, we have some seriously awesome action sequences in the issue, and we had this tiny 1-2 page blurb about how the machine was built. I was never happy with this, and felt it really needed its own story. I also felt like sometimes I just need to relax and tell the story as a good pace instead of rushing so much stuff in an issue.

So I did. And this issue is the result of that. It's basically the gathering of the three people, how the production went, and some of the aftermath. It's a good issue, packed with some stuff that was fun to write (including a scene where we have probably the most stubborn, bitchy, and arrogant character we've ever had in our publications get brought down some pegs). And with Dave's machine, the visuals are just great.

 

[darkharp]

Wow! That looks great!!! I'm excited to read it 😀
Not to mention the art is breathtaking! Fantastic work!!!

 

[cloudgazer2k]

I'm pretty much anticipating the chance to get it. I have the first two issues and I've enjoyed the work put into them.

 

[rajee]

Great preview artwork.

 

[Dave2112]

Hi guys! About time I chimed in here as well, eh? Although I adore the work I do with Agency Publishing as a whole, I have a special kinship with Ruthless. This series has given me the ability to just "let loose" and get creative with the devices and specific torture sequences and really push things over the edge.

I'm psyched to see The Spreader finally show up in this series! I'd actually designed this a while back for possible use in The Agencies, but it fits SO much better in the Ruthless universe. And this is just the beginning, pholks. This series is gearing up to blow past the boundaries of standard tickling comics, and I'm honored to be a part of it.

I have to agree with Obs here...the Ruthless 2 art team was the best choice to continue this series and they continue to blow me away with their ability to bring our twisted dreams to life!

 

[homerpalooza57]

Oh, this looks fantastic. Thank you Oblesklk!

 

[buttontickler05]

I checked out the website that sells these comics and most of them look really good. I just wanna know which ones have the best or most bellybutton tickling in them before I start buying. Could someone list thoes comics if there are any?

 

[Dave2112]

I haven't searched through yet...but I can say that Ruthless 3 should be something you'll enjoy. 😉

 

[buttontickler05]

I haven't searched through yet...but I can say that Ruthless 3 should be something you'll enjoy. 😉

Cool. I'll probably get it then when it's available. Until then, think you can search through the other comics on the site? Only if it's not gonna be at a great cost to you. Maybe you could ask around if it will be costly otherwise. I'd appreciate it.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, I like tickling involving only f. I don't like m, m/f, f/m, m/m, or multi m tickling at all. I probably should have mentioned that earlier. Sorry.

 

[Oblesklk]

I checked out the website that sells these comics and most of them look really good. I just wanna know which ones have the best or most bellybutton tickling in them before I start buying. Could someone list thoes comics if there are any?

Thanks for checking us out!

I had actually wanted to implement a searchable database for our comics that was a lot like this...where you could filter books by release date, cost, body part tickled, who was doing the tickling, whether it was playful, erotic, or torturous, etc. We did this with our Ticklish Teens site years ago, and it was very well received.

Oh well, some day! In the meantime, here are some links to some of our publications that feature either belly or bellybutton tickling. In none of these is it explictly stated, "I'm going to tickle your belly button now" but the artwork and scene definitely implies it.

Without further ado...

Hope this helps!

The Agencies: Issue One has a little bit with Agent Succubus and Agent Peepers.

The Agencies: Issue Six has a bit too with Agent Starlight, but it's M/F tickling (mentioned in case others are interested in the same.

The Agencies: Issue Eleven has a pretty good scene in the middle with Agent Deadline.

The Cyriaan Chronicles: Issue Three has a little bit as well with the princess.

The Cyriaan Chronicles: Issue Four has a bit with Kylie.

The Cyriaan Chronicles: Issue Five has a scene where the Pixie Queen's tummy is tickled, including her belly button.

The Ruthless: Issue One has a belly button tickling scene with Stacia. As to whether the tickler's gender, that one is hard to explain if you haven't read anything about the books. Although The Ruthless appears male, that's really a manifestation of Stacia's dementia. It's not literally male, but it appears as one. Make sense? Didn't think so 🙂

The Ruthless: Issue Two has a scene with Doctor Collins being tickled by The Ruthless, that now appears as a feminine figure (because Stacia is ready to confess that it's really her, so it appears to look more like her).

Yelena: Issue One has implied belly button eroticism at the very end between Yelena and Gretchen. Not a lot of belly button tickling per se though.

Yelena: Issue Two has a little bit when the two girls become a bit naughtier with Kirsta.

 

[buttontickler05]

Thanks for checking us out!

I had actually wanted to implement a searchable database for our comics that was a lot like this...where you could filter books by release date, cost, body part tickled, who was doing the tickling, whether it was playful, erotic, or torturous, etc. We did this with our Ticklish Teens site years ago, and it was very well received.

Oh well, some day! In the meantime, here are some links to some of our publications that feature either belly or bellybutton tickling. In none of these is it explictly stated, "I'm going to tickle your belly button now" but the artwork and scene definitely implies it.

Without further ado...

Hope this helps!

The Agencies: Issue One has a little bit with Agent Succubus and Agent Peepers.

The Agencies: Issue Six has a bit too with Agent Starlight, but it's M/F tickling (mentioned in case others are interested in the same.

The Agencies: Issue Eleven has a pretty good scene in the middle with Agent Deadline.

The Cyriaan Chronicles: Issue Three has a little bit as well with the princess.

The Cyriaan Chronicles: Issue Four has a bit with Kylie.

The Cyriaan Chronicles: Issue Five has a scene where the Pixie Queen's tummy is tickled, including her belly button.

The Ruthless: Issue One has a belly button tickling scene with Stacia. As to whether the tickler's gender, that one is hard to explain if you haven't read anything about the books. Although The Ruthless appears male, that's really a manifestation of Stacia's dementia. It's not literally male, but it appears as one. Make sense? Didn't think so 🙂

The Ruthless: Issue Two has a scene with Doctor Collins being tickled by The Ruthless, that now appears as a feminine figure (because Stacia is ready to confess that it's really her, so it appears to look more like her).

Yelena: Issue One has implied belly button eroticism at the very end between Yelena and Gretchen. Not a lot of belly button tickling per se though.

Yelena: Issue Two has a little bit when the two girls become a bit naughtier with Kirsta.

Wow. Just....wow. That definitely helps. I wasn't expecting this kind of response! Thank you very much! I'll probably get all of these comics.

It seems to me like you have more bellybutton tickling and content in your comics than MTJ Pub, but then MTJ Pub has FAR more comics and other things. So bellybutton content may be about the same for each site.

Anyway, it's good to see that there is another tickling comic vendor other than MTJ Pub. Not saying that I'm unhappy with MTJ Pub, because I've convinced them to have Collin put bellybutton specific tickling in the next issue of "Tammi the Tickle Witch" and TheBandito has revived "Secret Agent Sonya".

Anyway (again), I'll be hoping for more bellybutton tickling and content in your future comics. One thing I'd like to see is the theory I have, be tested. My theory is that outies are more ticklish than innies. I'm basing this theory on the fact that secret agent Sonya's outie is her most ticklish spot. Since the sesitivity of the bellybutton varies from person to person, the only way I see this can be tested is to tickle an innie, then turn it into an outie, and tickle it again. Perhaps you can also think of it as making a bellybutton that's an innie more ticklish by turning it into an outie. In my eyes, this can be tested the best in comics because you don't need string, rubber band, or something else to keep the bellybutton an outie so it can be tickled. I have some ideas how this can be done and implemented into a comic if you're interested.

Thanks again for taking the time to do this comic run down and searching through all thoes comics!

 

[BlackestLily]

The artwork looks awesome!

 

[Oblesklk]

Wow! That looks great!!! I'm excited to read it 😀
Not to mention the art is breathtaking! Fantastic work!!!

Thanks! I love your Annie series, can never have too many redheads out there laughing it up 🙂

I'm pretty much anticipating the chance to get it. I have the first two issues and I've enjoyed the work put into them.

Thanks for that. We're gonna keep putting in a bunch of work into future releases too, to make them both sexy and entertaining.

Great preview artwork.

Thanks rajee!

Hi guys! About time I chimed in here as well, eh? Although I adore the work I do with Agency Publishing as a whole, I have a special kinship with Ruthless. This series has given me the ability to just "let loose" and get creative with the devices and specific torture sequences and really push things over the edge.

I'm psyched to see The Spreader finally show up in this series! I'd actually designed this a while back for possible use in The Agencies, but it fits SO much better in the Ruthless universe. And this is just the beginning, pholks. This series is gearing up to blow past the boundaries of standard tickling comics, and I'm honored to be a part of it.

I have to agree with Obs here...the Ruthless 2 art team was the best choice to continue this series and they continue to blow me away with their ability to bring our twisted dreams to life!

The Ruthless is definitely right up your alley. I would never have put this kind of machine in the books a few years ago. But over time, all things change. Including your humble (and occasionally stubborn) narrator...

Oh, this looks fantastic. Thank you Oblesklk!

Not a problem. More to come. If there's anything in particular you'd like me to post or jabber about, let us know.

The artwork looks awesome!

Thanks PurrBast, I really appreciate the sentiment 🙂 Also love your sig lots.

 

[Oblesklk]

I'm attaching another penciled frame of the three protagonists of the issue. The two gals on the right are the brilliant engineering students kidnapped to help Stacia build her crazy supervillainish machine. The one on the left is a doctor giving her expertise during its construction. This panel is nothing special, it just shows the three of them talking. Possibly even...plotting?

Never a wise move against The Ruthless.

 

[Oblesklk]

Wow. Just....wow. That definitely helps. I wasn't expecting this kind of response! Thank you very much! I'll probably get all of these comics.

It seems to me like you have more bellybutton tickling and content in your comics than MTJ Pub, but then MTJ Pub has FAR more comics and other things. So bellybutton content may be about the same for each site.

Anyway, it's good to see that there is another tickling comic vendor other than MTJ Pub. Not saying that I'm unhappy with MTJ Pub, because I've convinced them to have Collin put bellybutton specific tickling in the next issue of "Tammi the Tickle Witch" and TheBandito has revived "Secret Agent Sonya".

Anyway (again), I'll be hoping for more bellybutton tickling and content in your future comics. One thing I'd like to see is the theory I have, be tested. My theory is that outies are more ticklish than innies. I'm basing this theory on the fact that secret agent Sonya's outie is her most ticklish spot. Since the sesitivity of the bellybutton varies from person to person, the only way I see this can be tested is to tickle an innie, then turn it into an outie, and tickle it again. Perhaps you can also think of it as making a bellybutton that's an innie more ticklish by turning it into an outie. In my eyes, this can be tested the best in comics because you don't need string, rubber band, or something else to keep the bellybutton an outie so it can be tickled. I have some ideas how this can be done and implemented into a comic if you're interested.

Thanks again for taking the time to do this comic run down and searching through all thoes comics!

It's not a problem, man. Glad to do it.

On requests, don't ever be afraid to contact producers and tell us what you want to see. After I searched our catalog, I was a little surprised I didn't have more belly button content in there. Lots of belly tickling, but not necessarily the belly button itself. So you've raised awareness...well done!

It's something I'll be looking to add more. I know Ruthless #3 (in production) has a scene with belly buttons. And while Tickle Magnet #2 (in production) doesn't have any, it would be the perfect environment for that.

 

[TickleFur]

I am now waiting in eeeeeeeaaaager anticipation! The last inssue was insanely hot, and I can hardly wait for more!

 

[buttontickler05]

It's not a problem, man. Glad to do it.

On requests, don't ever be afraid to contact producers and tell us what you want to see. After I searched our catalog, I was a little surprised I didn't have more belly button content in there. Lots of belly tickling, but not necessarily the belly button itself. So you've raised awareness...well done!

It's something I'll be looking to add more. I know Ruthless #3 (in production) has a scene with belly buttons. And while Tickle Magnet #2 (in production) doesn't have any, it would be the perfect environment for that.

I raised awareness for it? Sweet!

I'd love to see more of it, but I won't expect to see an issue of any of the comics with bellybutton content taking up most of it. I know there aren't a lot of people with a love for bellybuttons like me or even an interested in them. Just some spread over all the comics, making sure to include close-ups.

BTW, in "The Ruthless", I found it hard to make out the girl's bellybuttons. There were too many lines and circles on their bellies. Just wanted to point that out as my opinion. Otherwise it's a great series. I can hardly wait for #3.

Thanks for your attention and time!

 

[Oblesklk]

I am now waiting in eeeeeeeaaaager anticipation! The last inssue was insanely hot, and I can hardly wait for more!

Thanks! It's coming somewhat quickly. We got most of the colors taken care of. So now we're just doing some last minute touch ups and getting on the cover/pinup.

I haven't seen the mock-ups for the cover/pinup yet, but the ideas for them are fun, so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how they turn out. They both feature predicament tickling while showcasing that our heroines turned villains are completely right in the head (but when they're wielding ultimate power and a feather, we forgive them).

I raised awareness for it? Sweet!

I'd love to see more of it, but I won't expect to see an issue of any of the comics with bellybutton content taking up most of it. I know there aren't a lot of people with a love for bellybuttons like me or even an interested in them. Just some spread over all the comics, making sure to include close-ups.

BTW, in "The Ruthless", I found it hard to make out the girl's bellybuttons. There were too many lines and circles on their bellies. Just wanted to point that out as my opinion. Otherwise it's a great series. I can hardly wait for #3.

Thanks for your attention and time!

Feedback is always good and I definitely appreciate it. Chances are if you are thinking it, you're not alone. So we'll watch those details.

Glad you're looking forward to #3. It's a fun issue showcasing the first pairing up of Stacia and Doctor Collins in spreading their viciousness to all the ticklish innocents of the world.

 

[Oblesklk]

This is the first issue where we really see Doctor Collins get her freak on.

I don't want to say much more about the setup for this scene. But suffice it to say, if you've read the first Origins story on the website, Doctor Collins is warming up to her true nature in this issue.

Doctor Collins got lit up by Stacia in Issue #2, and now it looks like she's more than willing to return the favor to other unfortunate souls that find themselves in the grasp of The Ruthless.

In this panel, the good doctor is taunting a protagonist here. She states that playing in red zones for too long can have unusual effects on the victim, including temporary states of delusion and hallucination...then casually asks her if she's seeing anything yet.

 

[desdemona]

Very hawt (and hot...). Can't wait to add this to my collection 🙂

 

[b2kword4444]

when's the release date?!?! i get excited every time i see an update to this thread lol

 

[Oblesklk]

Very hawt (and hot...). Can't wait to add this to my collection 🙂

Thanks desdemona! Hopefully you'll fine this newest issue as good as the prior two.

when's the release date?!?! i get excited every time i see an update to this thread lol

We got back a bunch of pages today that had minor adjustments to them for various reasons. Not the least of which were based on timely feedback by buttontickler05. After reading his thoughts, we agreed we've been too neglectful of the beautiful little button and decided to remedy that with this release.

So all the interior pages (except the final page) are finished. We are now waiting for the cover/pinup to be completed, then this one is ready to release!

At this rate, I would guess we'll be ready to release it mid May.

There's also new piccies I'm attaching to this post. This is an extension of the pencils attached to post #2 above. This is a scene at the end of the book, after all the tickle torture has been wreaked upon our fair protagonists. The former heroes (Stacia and Doctor Collins) now turned rogue in the book casually discuss the production of Stacia's machine, the Neural Mapper.

One of the girl geniuses was giving them trouble earlier, but Doctor Collins explains everything has been straightened out.