Maybe I’m taking all this carpentry too seriously, but hey – how many comics are there out there that actually show someone repairing stuff like this? I’m always disappointed when artists cheat on these things, or convey that someone is capable at something by just having another character comment that they are good, instead of actually showing that they are good.
Anyway, I’m kind of looking forward to having more speech bubbles on the next page, to cover up that wooden paneling …
It seems I can’t draw at all anymore, and the second panel has a rather strange composition, but I’m not going to whine about that.
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I’ve been following the efforts of the Gaza Aid Fleets over the years. Protesting against the strict embargo that the Israeli government has enforced on Gaza by bringing “forbidden” supplies like medicine, modular homes and cement to Gaza on ships is a sweet idea (and incidentally relates a little bit to the story in Driftwood).
So this morning I woke up to the rather shocking news that the IDF navy has killed at least 10 people on the Gaza Aid Fleet during a raid carried out in international waters. At least 30 people have been injured. Several IDF soldiers were also injured.
So far it is not at all clear how exactly it happened, although Israeli politicians and their right-wing fans abroad are already quick to present the most favourable and still somewhat plausible, though probably not quite true, scenarios in the media. The IDF has been jamming all transmission from the Gaza Aid Fleet, and while the navy boats have embedded journalists with them, they are not allowed to report anything before returning to shore – and what they will report then might not be entirely objective.
I’m not sure Samona has much of a choice whether to help Willie or not – she can’t exactly get anywhere at the moment. Though I guess she could just wait around, pointedly *not* helping, and doing whatever she does in her spare time.
I can see how that wood would take a long time to draw, but it *does* look nice.
… Is it just me, or did that painting change over those two panels?…
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As for the Israel thing – and that is *such* an ‘Israel’ thing to do – there has certainly been doubt cast on the Israeli account by eyewitnesses who said they shot even before they boarded. Who to believe? I couldn’t say. But regardless, a thorough sweep of the vessel by the Israelis turned up no weapons, other than two pistols the protesters had taken from soldiers. All they had were sticks and slingshots (with marbles!). So even in the Israeli scenario, the force used was ludicrously disproportionate.
As some wit on Haaretz newspaper said: “they tried to imitate somali pirates, but without their professionalism”. 😛
Problem with pariah states – like Israel and North Korea – is that they really don’t care what the rest of the world thinks, ’cause they have one big ally that keeps them afloat. Although Israel might well have lost the last of Turkey’s support over this, which may cause them some hurt. But with their political zeitgeist moving so far right and so far from democratic freedoms – hell, they’re even considering ‘anti-criticism’ laws, not to mention non-citizenship for arabs – I can’t see it having a positive effect in Israel any time soon.
There’s actually a hatch in the back of this corridor, through which you can go down into the hold (see here http://kommiekomiks.com/driftwood/?p=324). I’ll show it on the next page – somehow I couldn’t (or didn’t have the presence of mind to) fit it in on this one … Samona was going to go down there to pick up some foodstuffs in order to make lunch. From the hold you can get up in the stern, where the caboose is.
“… Is it just me, or did that painting change over those two panels?…”
Like I said, it seemed like I couldn’t draw at all anymore. :op
Ha, that’s a nice comment about Somali pirates and professionalism …