Hi Xyliacs!
Happy Monday!
I hope everyone is enjoying summer. (Or…winter as the case may be for my pals south of the equator.) I want to thank everyone for still visiting Xylia during this season- Thursday was our best day ever – we had over 10,000 unique visits. Thank you so much!
Thank you too for your donations. We are closing in on the end of the month, and it looks like we’re getting near our $800.00 goal to keep me busy with 2 updates in July! Always remember if you donate, you can get gifts: Nigel’s Opus the tale of Claude as a concert pianist from 1915 chapter 1-4 are all available as separate donation gifts. There is a mini comic and a wallpaper available as well. More items will be coming soon. If you are short on money, no worries! You can help out the cause by downloading my stories on Wowio. Every download sends money our way, and it costs you NOTHING! Currently available are Chapter 1 and 2 of the webcomic Talismen that I worked on with Steven Jones. Xylia will be available soon.
Thank you everyone for sharing your music favorites last week. Lots of different stuff. Lots of stuff I like too! I saw Beatles (my ultimate fave), Coldplay, Green Day, Debussy, Amy Winehouse, Queen, Weezer, Chopin, soundtracks like Spiderman 2…all music I listen to while drawing Xylia… ^_^ You musta known that. But I saw some new stuff too! Apocolyptica was really intriguing! Thanks for sharing that Pengie! Today’s question: what is your favorite traditional fairy tale?
And today’s page… hmmm….more confusing jabber? ^_^ REALLY.
Vote, TWC please! Today’s incentive is a rough sketch of Claudius the Not so Neurotic and his Mighty Mega Corgi…
The Xyliacs Club is always a fun place to be! Please join if you haven’t already!
That’s all for now! Thank you for reading and believing in faeiries.
~B
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:22 am
It’s good to see Dr. Ambrosia again! =D
Ah, I used to read a TON of fairy tails…I’d read different versions of the same one and then I’d go out looking for new tales. I can’t think of any that stand out in my mind at the moment though…
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:30 am
Hello Barb’ ! Nice page !
My favourite fairy tale is a story with the Devil and his grandmother. I don’t know the English title but in French it is : “Le Diable aux trois cheveux d’or”, which means “The Devil with 3 golden hairs”.
But I also like “Snow White and Rose Red”.
Do you know the comic series “Grimm Fairy Tales” and its horrific interpretation of the tales ?
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:51 am
I do love this comic, but I have a very small criticism, if I may.
Reducing the linespacing that far with the text, makes things a bit cramped, and a little hard to read. I usually find that the “auto” setting (if you’re using photoshop to letter your comic) is good, or at least one size above the font size.
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:55 am
great page! and a good question… I love fairy tales. Especially ones where the girl is independent and interesting like in Donkey Skin. I dont most of the names in English though… I like old Italian fairy tales, and I like Jewish tales as well, though their are very hard to understand, nothing is clear or simple and their are not for kids. I like also the tale the little match girl (or whatever the name is in English) because it is more real, and so more sad… But maybe my favorite is called The Egyptian princess and the lotus flower that Erik Carl adapted. as a mystirius ending… love that…
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:56 am
The Little Mermaid
June 23rd, 2008 at 5:21 am
Ooh, favorite fairy tale. tough choice. I say it is a toss up between the Snow Queen, Baba Yaga’s Hut, the Firebird and the Princess and the Pea.
One of my favorite authors, Mercedes Lackey, has written a novel based on the Firebird tale and it is a wonderful retelling. She also has a series of books based on fairy tales called “the 500 kingdom series.” These talk about how much hard work it takes to make the tale turn out happily ever after. Good series.
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:16 am
Not really a fairytale type o’ guy, but this page is just gorgeous. Bravo!
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:50 am
great comic and yay!!!! LIVS BACK!.
favorite traditional fairy tail..Robin Hood most definitely. THAT GUY IS AWESOME!!!
…LIVS BACK!
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:52 am
sorry if i just commented twice my computers a nutjob and it never shows me the comment i just posted.
anyway LIVS BACK
ROBIN HOODS THE BEST..and so far this is too
LIVS BACK!
…
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:20 am
Lovely comic! I’m especially struck with how you did Ambrosia in this page. The facial hair is really well done.
Favourite fairy tale: Beauty and the Beast. Have you ever read any of Robin McKinley’s works? She does a lovely rendition of the fairy tale in ‘Beauty’, and ‘Rose Daughter’ is also very good (and meant for more mature readers).
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:44 am
Thanks everyone! Spikey- thank you for the tip- actually the spacing is two points more than the lettering- Whiz Bang is meant for tight spacing, but I will space it out a bit more. Sometimes when I have a lot of writing and not a lot of room…
Salgor, I wanted to tell you…LIV’S BACK!!! ^_^
Thanks y’all I appreciate the comments greatly. ^_^
~B
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:26 am
I’ve always loved The Snow Queen. Especially the part where she breathes angels! That and the talking caribou, tough choice there…
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:41 am
Sword in the Stone, or those Arthurian tales. I don’t like Disney’s version though
Does Dragonheart count as a fairy tale? Umm…anything involving the Sidhe is pretty cool.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Dr. Ambrosia AND Liv are back?! Sweet!
Favorite fairy tale: like Jannah, Beauty and the Beast. I looooove the Disney movie, and when I finally got around to reading the original tale, I really liked it.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Yay for Dr. Ambrosia!!! (or whatever his real name is, in which case….”Yay for Ian McKellan/Christopher Lee!”)
Fave fairy tale: Hmmm….the REAL Little Mermaid has always been fondly thought of, as well as Emperor’s New Clothes and The Nutcracker. I’d say Alice in Wonderland and Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit/LOTR, but I’m not sure those 3/4 count. Mostly though, when I was that age, I was reading adult books, since my brain was like WHOA smart back then. Well, those and the Choose Your Own Adventure type things. Those books ruled. (Hey, what if there was a Xylia-themed CYOA story, hm? How about it, Barb — workable?)
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Hey Barb! Glad you liked the guys. I love being able to share their uniqueness with people.
I never really was a fairytale kinda girl…usually preferred parables. I tend to dislike the sickeningly sweet and perfect endings that fairytales have. Now tales of Faeries are a whole nother ball game.
Great page!
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Ambrosia! Yeah!
“I never really was a fairytale kinda girl…usually preferred parables. I tend to dislike the sickeningly sweet and perfect endings that fairytales have.â€Â
You might just like this Xylia story then…parablish, or at least allegorical to me. And now sickeningly sweet ending… >:-D mwah. oops. Uh, just kidding? And yes, XYlia is not so much a faerie tale as a tale of faeries…
Brent- not familar with the CYOA thing…must Google…
Kez- but the Arthurian legends- those are REAL, right? ^_^
There was one called Snow White and Rose Red that I always liked. And the Steadfast Tin Soldier. If that’s actually a fairy tale…
~B
June 23rd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Fantastic Update Barb! I loved the flashbacks… but it’s good to see Claudius in the modern world again.
My favorite traditional fairytale would probably have to be Beauty and the Beast, Brothers Grimm style.
Can’t wait for the next update!
-Allora
June 24th, 2008 at 12:19 am
Hey Barb! Since you’ve asked I thought I’d share…
My absolute favorite fairy tale has to be the Pied Piper of Hamilton…. it’s like, the fairy tale I wish I’d written.
June 24th, 2008 at 1:44 am
I wonder if the CYOA type is a kind of “Livre dont vous êtes le héros”… means “Book in which you are the hero”. I read/played books like that when I was younger.
Pengie : if you don’t like happy endings, try the comic series “The Grimm Fairy Tales”. No happy ending, nor happy beginning. Goldy Locks is eaten by the Three Bears, Sleeping Beauty is not saved, etc…
Besides, the real Grimm Fairy Tales don’t often end very well for everyone, do they ?
June 24th, 2008 at 2:56 am
My favorite fairy tales…hmmm…I honestly like all of the grimm fairy tales versions better, maybe im just a dark person. I like the disney happy endings but sometimes its nice to read how the princess doesnt get the guys in the end and has to suffer like the rest of us. ^^ im emo today I know!
Great page, yay liv!
June 24th, 2008 at 5:52 am
I am a huge fan of Russian fairy tales. The Firebird is the earliest one I can recall liking. I also liked Vassilissa the Beautiful (rough translation of the title..XD), The Scarlet Flower (kind of a different version of Beauty and the Beast), and many Grimm fairy tales.
Btw, I came across this comic from The Phoenix Requiem’s ad for it…I’m ridiculously glad I did! I can’t wait to see how it turns out
June 24th, 2008 at 6:26 am
It’s a tie between Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. I’m pretty much in love with all the different versions of those fairy tales, but I have to say that Disney still amazes me with their take on the tales. *I know, I know… Disney Corp. is evil, Walt was a Nazi…* I’ve heard it all… but… well, art is art, and let’s face it… their version of the Beast is just sexy. meow.
June 24th, 2008 at 6:52 am
Marie — Yeah, you got it. They’re books that basically say
“Looking around, you see that the cave has two branches, one going up and to the left, and the other going straight ahead.”
To go up the left branch, turn to page 13
To go straight, turn to page 5
Oh and for modern fairy tales, I strongly recommend to all the comic book FABLES. It takes versions of all the classic characters and puts them in the mythical land of New York City. Course, it doesn’t operate like enchanted did. Here, Prince Charming has slept with Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty; Beast from BATB has to constantly drink some potion to keep his human form; Pinocchio is eternally stuck in the form of a twelve year old boy; and a bunch more variations. It’s great.
June 24th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
While I don’t really like traditional fairy tales, I do like the retelling of them usually. Traditional fairy tales don’t let you connect with the charaters, so I don’t find them nearly as interesting. I like to know how they’re feeling and what they’re thinking.
In the form of retellings, I like them all. Beauty and the Beast, The Goose Girl, and Cinderella are some of my favorites though.
June 24th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Liv! yay! She is, thus far my favorite hands down. I have to admit I’m growing more impressed with the story as weeks pass. Bit confused, but its the interested-confused!
I love fairy tales. And childrens books, read them to this day.
A favorite is hard. Peter and the Wolf was up there. Baba Yaga always was thrilling! Cinderella does hold a special place for me as well (I also have several favorite retellings of it. Everyone should read Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine!)
Thanks for the comics! I do appreciate the work you put in.
June 25th, 2008 at 8:35 am
favorite Fairie Tale is the movie “Ever After” There was just something about Cinderella carrying Prince charming away from the people that wanted to do him in that was just an awesome twist of the damsel in distress thing. I like it when the “princess” figure can take care of herself better than Prince Charming can
Still like the happy ending stuff, but I like it better when all of the characters are strong and more interdependant.
June 25th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Glad Liv is finally back, haven’t commented on your awesome comic I just realized, but I’ve been keeping up on it for a while now, got introduced to it by Phoenix Requiem (a great comic, Inverloch was good too). Thanks for the much more regular updates then Directions of Destiny =P Though I don’t blame him, his poor laptop lol.
Fave Fairy Tale… Probably Robin Hood, I like his Bow and in the cartoons he was a fox and I like foxes lol.
June 27th, 2008 at 7:54 am
I love this story. I find myself checking it over and over again. I wish I could donate. The best I can do is vote every time I’m on the site and visit all of the links. Plus I downloaded everything you had on Wowio since I know you get something for that too.
I especially loved the fan art where Claudius and Jonas (from phoenix requiem) were laying in the snow side by side and comparing wounds. I wish there was still a link to it in the gallery or something.
bug: http://xyliatales.com/06232008, when you hit the > arrow, it says page not found.
June 28th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Hi Kim, First thank you for the kind words on Xylia. I’m sorry the link didn’t work to the pic of Jonas and Claude that Sarah drew. Try this one: http://xyliatales.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=2000576%3ATopic%3A5883
Thank you for reading!! ~B