T w e n t y S i d e d

My original plan for DMotR was to just run a few strips. I had a small story arc planned, which was going to end in Amon Hen somewhere around strip 25 or so. I actually had all 25 done by the time I had strip 14 up. At this point I realized I wanted to keep making them, but my story was “finished”. So, I started inserting strips into the original arc. I eventually doubled the number of strips they spent in Moria. After that I added several strips in Lothlorien, which they skipped in my original arc. Finally I scrapped my original ending for the series and decided to tackle all three movies.

Below is the strip where they skipped Lothlorien. You might notice that I actually cut this joke up and recycled bits of it elsewhere. I had a blurb to go with this comic about how players always skip the most detailed stuff you’ve prepared and head for the blank areas of the map. I held onto that blurb for another 80 strips – about half a year – before I managed to work it in at the end of strip 100.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DMotR Deleted Scenes 2:
Original Lothlorien Strip”

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

As I worked on the comic, I got better at using the software, better at finding good screencaps, and better at laying things out with clarity and comedic timing. After a while I began to cringe when I looked back at my earlier attempts. Eventually I went back and re-cut some of those early comics and started replacing them.

This was a very unpopular move. Most people charged me with “pulling a Lucas”, which I realized was true. Someone (Roxysteve, I think) pointed out how you can see the comic improve over time, and that inserting sexy new ones in with the early strips ruined this effect. I relented, and stopped messing with the early strips, although I did leave the new version of strip #1 in place.

Below is the original version of the first strip. Normally I reduce comics to 600 pixels wide so that it works with the site layout, but I’ve left this one its original size.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DMotR Deleted Scenes 1:
Original Comic #1″

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DM of the Rings CXLIV:
The Long-Expected Parting”

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.