Ok, so, if you know anything about Rice Boy, you know that the character revealed to be the shaman in panel 3 is none other than Little Blue, younger brother to The One Electronic (T.O.E.), one of the most pivotal characters of the entire Rice Boy saga. If you have that knowledge, then you also know that Little Blue was never seen again when he was abducted as a young child (electronic… thingee? Not sure of the descriptor, there). So, how can it be that Little Blue is alive, kickin’, and available to lead heroes to their destination?
Well, I’m sure Heiko, our resident sci-fi expert, has his own theories about his miraculous recovery/rebirth, but the way I see it is this: Daku’s band of misfit explorers travel to alternate worlds in search of… well, things that have yet to be fully explained. So, if they go to alternate universes, doesn’t it stand to reason that those alternate universes would have other alternate universes? So maybe, this Overside that our group is visiting is similar to that of the actual, canonical Rice Boy Overside, but just slightly different? Maybe one that saw Little Blue surviving the abduction? Oh, and where Parod is, sadly, still dead? Poor Parod.
That’s the best thing about science: it explains so much, that you can make up the parts that remain fuzzy and it still sounds feasible. Of course, Heiko would be more than happy to correct me, I’m sure…
He never removed his childhood key. TOE must have removed his own because he knew about the key-remoivng ritual that undoubtedly goes on in the Black Teeth. Blue was too young to know about such things when he was taken to become an Heir of Ridrom.
Oh, and that reminds me, Blue likely survived the abduction in the main universe. So this could still be the main universe, and Blue was resurrected to guide the extradimensional travellers after having died of natural causes at the end of his time as Heir of Ridrom all those centuries ago (TOE lived for about 3000 years, remember).
BiggerJ, THAT is the kind of excitement we are hoping to inspire with this comic! In the case of such a detailed, nuanced, epic tale like Rice Boy, there are so many story elements to consider and little intricacies to keep in mind that to do it complete justice, I’d have to actually be in the brain of Evan Dahm.
Still, to be able to play with the characters and settings that these creators have taken the time and effort to establish is reward enough, but having readers like you along for the ride gives me the fuel to get the next strip locked down so we can concentrate on making great stories that honor the creators and the creations they cherish so much.
Also, any other strips you know just as well as Rice Boy? Fact-checking is a HUGE part of this gig…