HOPE's parents...

they only appear for a brief moment in one of her flashbacks,
but their identity is one of the many pieces of the puzzle that is HOPE's shattered past...

and that's why i'll keep them anonymous for now...

underwater crime scene...

OMNICORP is involved in running the world. It's net of influence surrounds the globe like a spider's web, and the members of it's board of directors are quite possibly the most powerful people on the planet.
so rest assured that a leak at the site of one of their numerous (illegal) deep see mining operations is nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Officially, everything is under control, and OMNICORP denies any wrongdoing or responsibility - but HOPE and her friends from the MIDGARD initiative are not being discouraged by the corporation's intimidation tactics...

"I say. You do. No questions."

quick sketch of HOPE's sensei Masamuro Hiroshii, to go with the previous material of her in martial arts training poses - obviously inspired by a bunch of such masters, from Rocky's Mickey through Yoda, Mr, Miyagi to Kill Bill's Pai Mei...

Larry, we have to close the beaches!

Cyborgian Carcharias. The great robotic shark!

who would build robo-sharks, and for what purpose?
how did HOPE get into this predicament, and HOW is she gonna get out of it?

i really don't want to say too much about it, just 'cause it'll be too much of a spoiler....

;)

the robot sharks are influenced by hajime sorayama, whose 'sexy robots' became part of pop culture, and whose work i admire from way back when we were all using actual airbrushes

stay tuned....



oh, one thing to note is that HOPE's 'outfit' is a direct homage to honey rider in dr. no, down to the exact same knife on her belt - somehow, in my mind, this makes total sense...

'be like water...'

another pose - this one more close-up:

...and now it's dark!

i changed the splash-page establishing shot from dusk to actual nightime,
because it made more sense story-wise, and also because this way it allows me to show off the crazy hustle and bustle of the megalopolis - before, it just looked too quiet and serene, more like venice than hong kong.
it was a crazy amount of work, though... ;)
oh, and i also took this story's title out of the masthead of the page and made a logo out of it - and although i'm not 100% convinced that THAT's what it's gonna be, i kinda like it and will leave it for now
onward and upward...