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Page 1

1. A high tech city built on a spiral mountain of machinery and junk. Floating drones, construction robots and trains pile on top of each other. At The mountain’s base, the metal is rusty and broken down. As you go up the mountain, the neighborhoods look nicer, ending in a pristine white tower at the peak. Caption reads "Makh City! Poorest in New Kemet!"

2. A line up of silhouettes of several powerful looking cyborgs. Some have multiple limbs, some have exotic weapons. There is one in the center with flowing hair and a fluttering overcoat. Caption reads "A land served, and dominated by, the Mecha-Medj."

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>>155006285
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Page 2

1. At an unknown battlefield a Mecha-Medj shoots a laser arrow through a robot. A Data Screen reads "Rank B: End Robo-Rampage. $10,000." Caption says "To make their fortune, they accomplish The greatest feats!"

2. At an office, A Mecha-Medj hacks into a holographic display with their four robot arms. Data screen reads "Rank A: Access Genebank. $90,000." Caption says "The greater The challenge, The greater The fame!"

3.A Mecha-Medj stands in a dark alley holding a high tech sword. They are surrounded by dead bodies. Data screen reads "Rank S: Harvest ten brainstems. $99,999." Caption reads "Or The infamy!"

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>>155006309
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Page 3
1. A Mecha-Medj with laser tentacles fights a giant sludge monster in a Makh City slum. Data screen reads "Rank A: Stop The Toxadon: $80,000." Caption reads "The dangerous Makh City is home to some of The most powerful Mecha-Medj in The world..."
2. Caption says "...And Sho." We see Sho, a redhaired dreadlocked Black Upper Egyptian nonbinary person, sleeping in a messy cheap bed in a small room. The Toxadon fight is visible through their window. On their nightstand, a smart phone beeps and projects a data screen. Data screen says "Rank F: Water my plants: $5."

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>mr mxyzptlk is the key to all of this

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>>155006480
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Page 4
1. Morning in Makh City. Sho waters vegetables in a small garden. The plants are potted in old robot parts. Ms Abba, an old woman who uses a worn down spider-legged wheelchair, smiles at Sho. Data screen reads “ Rank F: Water my plants: $5. Bank Account: $15+.”Sho says “Taters look great Ms Abba. I’ll bring more of that mulch tomorrow.” Ms Abba replies “You won’t be too busy?”
2. Sho mows a neighbor’s lawn with a home made push mower made out of scrap. They sweat under the high noon sun. Sho’s voiceover says “Don’t worry. It’s no sweat.” Data Screen says “ Rank F. Mow my lawn. $10. Bank Account $25+”
3. Sunset. A filthy Sho cleans out a stable made from scrap metal. A happy customer looks on. The animals are mutated livestock. Data Screen Says “Rank F: Clean my stables: 30$. Bank Account: $55+”
4. Night. Sho walks through the street and notices a poor Black child sitting and staring at a vending machine.
5. Sho clicks buttons on the vending machine.
6. Sho smiles and gives the child a box labeled “Food Pack.” Data Screen says “Bank Account 5$-”

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>>155006595
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Page 5

1. A tired, sweaty and filthy Sho sees a small mulch store in the distance. A smiling shopkeep waves in the window.
2. Sir Reginald Kane, The caped silhouette from page 1, kicks a giant robot straight through the front door of the shop. Kane’s navy blue longcoat with gold buttons , called IMPERIAL BLUE, floats in the air like wings, alongside his long shining blond hair. Kane is a white man with blue eyes. Sho is caught in the impact.

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>>155006619
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Page 6

1. Kane stands in front of The wreckage of the shop, posing like he’s on a magazine cover. Floating camera drones take pictures of him. Data Screen Says "Rank A: Take down Skullcrusher: $90,000. Bank Account:$999,999,999+" The Drone says "BEHOLD, SIR REGINALD KANE! DEFENDER OF The CITY! CHERISH THIS DAY, PEASANTS! FOR YOU ARE GRACED WITH HIS GLORY!"
2. Panel 2 is drawn to be crushed underneath panel 1. A bleeding Sho reaches through the rubble of the shop towards the unconscious shopkeeper, Mx Issa. Sho says "Mx Issa!"

very good artwork by the way.
can you share tips for inking? Or your instrumentation? Any brushes do you use?

Thank you in advance, best wishes.

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>>155006634
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Page 7

1. Kane poses in front of The wreckage of The shop, his back turned to The damage. Fans and camera drones surround him and take pictures. Kane says "You’re welcome, you’re welcome. Autographs are $50 each. Selfies $1000." Off panel, Sho yells from beneath the rubble: "Reach for my hand!"
2. Kane says to the crowd "The KaneCo Merch store will be selling half off bottle cozies with exclusive commemorative art of this epic showd-" He then is cut off by Sho yelling "PLEASE WAKE UP!"
3. Kane turns his head with an angry and annoyed face.
4. Kane walks towards Sho holding his coat in one arm.
5. He swings the coat outward, knocking the rubble off Sho.

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>>155006661
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Page 8.
1. Sho instantly starts digging through the rubble with their bare hands, saying "Thank you! Please, you have to help me!"
2. Dirt from the rubble hits Kane.
3. Kane with a look of disgust sees the crowd and drones taking pictures of his soiled face.
4. Kane grabs Sho saying "Have to?"
5. Kane flies up with Sho using his coat as wings. Sho screams.

>>155006638
Glad you like it, those would eb questions for Jon the penciller and inker, though Lex, our colorist talks about his process in this interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCt6bIxHQ-w&t=5s

I'll save your question for when we do an q&a or an interview and show it to Jon

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>>155006781
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Page 9

1. A flying Kane holds Sho above Makh City. He says "LOOK AT IT! This is what I've built! I don’t HAVE to do anything. Every day I choose to save you ungrateful brats from yourselves is a blessing!"
2. Kane holds Sho over a polluted lake filled with scrap and robot parts. He says "Demon’s Lake. The leftovers of what happens when you peasants don’t have your betters watching out for you."
3. Kane pulls Sho's face close to his and says "You wanted help?"
4. Kane drops Sho over the lake and says "Enjoy the lesson."

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>>155006852
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Page 10
1. Sho sinks down into Demon's Lake. They are surrounded by scrap, junk and old robots.

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>>155006874
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Page 11

1. Close up of Sho laying at the bottom of The lake with closed eyes.
2. Sho flashes back and thinks of Mx Issa buried under rubble
3. Sho's eyes open with a look of determination
4. Sho flashes back and thinks of the poor kid smiling while holding the food back Sho bought.
5. Sho starts climbing up an underwater mountain of metal and garbage. Their hand brushes up against something that glows red.
6. Close up up a glowing red eye opening.

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>>155006906
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Page 12.
1. Kane lands back in front of the crowd from earlier outside the ruined Mulch Store.
2. Kane says "Now that The riffraff's been handled, who wants The first interview?"
3. The crowd with Shocked faces, looks at something glowing red off panel.
4. Kane has his back turned toward the red light.
5. Kane turns around and looks shocked.
6. A massive beam of red energy is shooting out of Demon's Lake.

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>>155007203
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Page 13

1. Sho in the air with their right hand replaced with DEMONHAND, a large red robotic arm with a glowing eye in its palm.

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>>155007241
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Page 14
1. Demonhand changes size and stretches outward, dragging Sho along. Sho is shocked. Demonhand says "Wielder! I taste The passion in your blood. Show me your enemies so we may slay them!"
2. Demonhand swings from rooftop to rooftop with Sho being pulled along. Sho says "What? No. No slaying. I just need to help Mx Isa."
3. Sho and Demonhand land in front of the mulch store. Demonhand says "I sense a faint heartbeat. This is The weakling you wish to save?" Sho replied "Mx Isa always sells for cheap, even if they barely make a living. They're stronger than anyone here."
4. Demonhand lifts the rubble off of Mx Issa and says "Then they shall ne liberated!" Reginald looks on with irritation.

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>>155007369
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Page 15

1. In front of the mulch store, Kane strikes at Sho with one of Imperial Blue's sleeves and Demonhand blocks The blow. Kane yells "Brat!"
2. Demonhand perks up and says "Yes. Finally the enemy appears"
3. Demonhand lunges forward and says "We shall feast on your blood!" Sho holds Demonhand back and says "No! No bloodfeasting!"
4. Reginald angrily looks at Sho struggling with Demonhand. Reginald thinks "The Legendary Demonhand, it shouldn't even exist! And this punk is playing with it like a toy!"

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>>155007423
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Page 16
1. Close up on Demonhand . Behind them shows a flashback a red tinged background shows someone in cybernetic demonic armor standing over a battlefield of destroyed enemies. Demonhand says "I don't understand. I am The ultimate weapon, my wielder used me crush thousands."
2. In front of the mulch store, Kane fires the buttons of his coat at Sho like bullets. He yells "BUTTON BARRAGE!" Demonhand stretches to a rooftop and pulls Sho out of the way.
3. Sho says to Demonhand " I don't want to crush anyone. I just want to help people."
4. Demonhand says to Sho "Very well. As long as I am your hand, no harm will come to those around you. Feed me your desire, and I shall take the form of salvation."

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>>155007456
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Page 17

1. Sho stands on the rooftop with a determined look. Demonhand is balled into a fist. Demonhand's knuckles have transformed into large versions of barbershop clippers. Demonhand announces "MODE CLIP."
2. Reginald shoots the sleeves of his coat out at Sho and Demonhand like cannons. Sho jumps off the rooftop with Demonhand pulled back.
3.Demonhand buzzes through Imperial Blue's sleeves, shredding them.

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>>155007515
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Page 18
1. In the middle of the ruined mulch store, Sho cradles Mx Issa in their arms and says "I gotcha."
2. Kane kneels on the ground holding back tears as he stares at his exposed arms and shredded sleeves. The crowd surrounds him and the drones take pictures.
3. In a dark office, a white man with glasses stares at a tv screen showing drone footage of Kane. "KaneCo" logos are on The TVs. The man says "So... the Demonhand has returned."
4. Back at the ruined store, Sho carried Mx Issa. The white man's voice over says "Let the Great Game Begin"

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>>155007683
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Page 19

1. At Sunrise, at Miss Abba's house, she squints while looking off-panel.
2. Sho arrives carrying a bag of mulch with Demonhand Data screen says "Rank F" Deliver Mulch" Bank account 50$

What is this?

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Page 20

1. Sho and Demonhand are mulching Ms Abba's garden as Ms Abba looks on. Sho says to Demonhand "Mx Issa owes The hospital a lot of money. And they need to rebuild their store. I need to help."
2. Demonhand speaks to Sho and says "My last wielder was The greatest Mecha-Medj on The planet. With me at your side, untold riches will be yours."
3. Sho and Demonhand's voice sound out over the Makh City landscape. Sho says "Sounds like a plan, partner. Now could you help me with this manure please?" Demonhand replies "The Great Demonhand does not shovel turds !!!"


_____
And that's issue 1 folks. Thank you for reading, and if you've been here long enough thank you for being part of the community that led to this comic existing.

Future updates can be found on demonhand.the-comic.org a kickstarter is coming in September to fund the second issue.

Now onto to annotations!

>>155007715
The first issue of Demonhand, a comic I co-created and write.
>>155006285
New Makh City is named for mḫꜣ, the Egyptian verb for Balance as well as "mach" (as in high speed or version) and Mech, the highlight the high tech theme.
The establishing shot of New Makh as a mountain with a hightech peak was inspired by how Paulo Siquiera drew Supertown in the Multiversity guidebook.
>>155006309
The Mecha-medj were named for the mḏꜣ.j, a term that came to mean police or desert rangers.
The set up of high tech warriors doing jobs for money was inspired by Illuminated's toxic park, though its a trope of cyberpunk in general. The idea of ranks was borrowed from Naruto's mission system.
>>155006480
Sho being a humble and peaceful person of the people only takes cheap simple gigs. I also love the idea of neighborhood chores being in the same system as monster fights and high tech assasinations.
>>155006595
Jon actually went off script for this page because the original ayout was a bit confusing to him. Tip for comic writers, treat your script as a "shooting script" a rough draft to be worked on, especially if it wasn't drawn in concert with the art team.

>>155008271
Not bad
Pretty good work with both art and writing
Actually interested in seeing this.

Continue for a good 20 chapter on a decent regular basis and this can be something

>>155006619
Kane's flowing blond hair was inspired by Lionwhyte from Brutal Legend. His coat, Imperial Blue was based on British Empire officer coats.
>>155006634
This page was made to look like a magazine cover where Kane got the front page. The drone's dialogue is a mix of Ebony Maw's Thanos glazing from Infinity War and Grant Morrison's silver age style bombastic dialogue.
If you look you can see Sho's panel is being literally crushed underneath Kane's panel.

>>155006661
Kane being an aristocratic arrogant antagonist in a battle manga story takes cues from Seto Kaiba and Prince Vegeta. The Blue color scheme from the British Empire theme makes him fit more in with that archetype.
>>155007369
Demonhand has similarities with other "living weapon" characters. There is a bit of Khaki Da from Blue Beetle in that you have a livign weapon whose more violent than the host. There is a bit of Babo from MAR as well with the flashbacks to a more brutal past wielder and a sense of arrogance. Having a humble pacifist and an egotistical killing machine team up in the odd couple at the heart of the story.
>>155007456
Calling your attacks is a battle manga classic trope.
>>155007515
As are transformations. We'll see more Demonhand modes as the series goes on.

Demonhand is inspired by manga, but it goes beyond the artstyle and tropes. Much manga is written with a four act story structure called (in Japan) Kishōtenketsu .

For Demonhand it looks like:

>>155006285
>Ki: The 1/8
Establishing the characters and the setting. In this case the nature of the Mecha-Medj

>>155006480
>Sho: 4/8
A series of events with escalating tension . In this case Sho going through various odd jobs and having the struggles with Kane

>>155007203
>Ten: 2/8
A shift in the nature of the story. It could be a plot twist a setting change or a POV shift. Here its where Demonhand is introduced.

>>155007515
>Ketsu: 1/8
You connect the intital elements of the story from Ki and Sho with the shift of Ten. In this case, Sho beats Kane with the power of Demonhand.
>>155008515
Thanks! I'm glad you like it. The current plan for the entire run is 64 issues that average around 16 pages each. It's done in multiples of 8 (8 issues to a volume) so that each issue has its own Kishotenketsu stricture, that in turn fits into the structure of the volume that in turn fits into the structure of the entire series.

>>155009190
How frequent would the Issues be released?

>>155009444
Aiming for every three to four weeks in bursts of 8 issue at a time. Vol 1 is designed to come out one after another (depending on how well the kickstarter goes) and then a break, then vol 2 will comes out one after another and so on.

I don't get it, but have a bump.

>>155010814
Appreciate it anon! What didn't you get?

>>155011852
I didn't read it.