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Todd Matthy's Writer's Commentary on Robots Vs Princesses #4

Published Thu, 07 Feb 2019 11:00:10 -0600

Todd Matthy has a Writer's Commentary on Robots Vs Princesses #4, out this week from Dynamite Entertainment, for Bleeding Cool.

It's all come down to this. The event we've been building toward for the past three issues. So much so we got two extra pages to give this the space it needed.

So without further adieu, in one corner the Decimators. The other, the Princesses and Centurions. Pack a lunch, get a Coke, and bring the kids because we're taking a deep dive into Robots vs. Princesses #4.

SPOILER WARNING

Page One: We're going in hard. Zara and Wheeler saving people while fighting Decimators. This page establishes the stakes of the issue and what will happen if Tyrannis wins.

Page Two: Penelope and Gunnar. The prettiest princess and the trigger-happy robot cowboy. I'd really love to write a "buddy movie" starring these two.

Fun Fact: I originally had this scene include Penelope freeing her parents from their cages. Queen Aleta would plead with Penelope to get out of the robot and let Sigurd pilot it. Obviously she refuses and Gunnar tells the Queen he's got Penelope's back and she's a good shot. The Queen faints and Sigurd is left in his cage. Unfortunately, not only was it a detour from the main story but it would also force me to rush crucial scenes to keep the page count.

Page Three-Four: Here we get Clarisse and everybody's introductions out of the way for new readers. The last panel we get to the meat of the issue when Tyrannis calls out Ultimus.

Page Five: I love this page. I love the angle on Tyrannis while he says, "It's time." I also like Artelia's expression. She's staring down the demon that gave her and many Yahiran children nightmares for centuries and she wants to put him down.

Page Six: Here we go: a princess is about to throw herself in the middle of a super robot battle.

Page Seven: Nic outdid himself here. (As he always does.) The sense of motion and momentum plus Sean's well-placed "BOOM!" You really feel the impact of Ultimus' blow as he sends Tyrannis into the mountain. Plus you get a feeling of just how dangerous of a situation Artelia is about to throw herself into.

Page Eight-Nine: With this page I wanted to show that Tyrannis is more than just an evil robot warlord. That he actually has a reason for invading the Capital City and it's that he doesn't want to go back to being a slave. At the same time, he's questioning Ultimus' beliefs. Does Ultimus really have free will or is he just doing what he was programmed to do. A short philosophical discussion in the middle of a robot slugfest, that throws a shade of grey on the Centurion/Decimator conflict until Artelia decides to end the battle herself.

Ultimus is shocked. He's been betrayed not only by his ally but he knows that Artelia has put herself in danger.

Artelia doesn't care. She's out to avenge a wrong that was committed against her kingdom by the robots during the Days of Fire. She's out to deliver justice and nothing will stop her.

Page Ten: Artelia prepares to carry out her sentence; unfortunately, in the time it took to pass judgment, Tyrannis saw an opportunity and took it.

Page Eleven: I couldn't wait to see what Nic did with this scene when I wrote it and he didn't disappoint. It's brutal, especially for an all ages book, but necessary to raise the stakes of the conflict and showcase the brutality of Tyrannis.

Page Twelve: Again, another example of Tyrannis' brutality. I was thinking of Don Bluth's quote about how children can handle anything as long as there is a happy ending. And if you saw some of his movies, they get pretty dark and frightening (Land Before Time anyone? Or when Fievel gets swept out to sea?).

Blood and Ultimus getting impaled and set up for execution, ups the intensity of the struggle. And it looks like all is lost until…

Page Thirteen: Wheeler takes out centuries of frustration. Again I love what Nic did. You feel the weight behind the punches.

Page Fourteen: Unfortunately it doesn't last…choke-slam! Wrestling fans will notice that several finishing maneuvers have shown up over the last couple of pages. Luckily, Zara is there to make the save and the first thing she does is check on Wheeler. It really shows how much she cares about him. Unfortunately for her, she turned her back on Tyrannis.

Pages Fifteen-Sixteen: It had to come down to Zara vs. Tyrannis. The royal sparkplug versus the monstrous robot dictator. I really wrestled with how to stage this and tried several scenarios but ultimately the scenario I went with made the most sense in terms of both the story and the future direction of the characters.

Having Worlorn speak to Zara might look like a "deus ex machina" and I originally thought so, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense, as I will explain later in this commentary.

The first thing I want to say is it does not diminish Zara at all. He doesn't tell her exactly what the "Crown Jewel" is, she has to figure it out, and she does on her own. Then she has actually do it, something Worlorn cannot help her with.

Page Seventeen: Here comes our David vs. Goliath moment but instead of a slingshot, Zara turns to a call back from the last issue with the Princess Animal song. Making it more dramatic, she has to sing her song while Tyrannis is attempting to throw her off like a fly on your shoulder.

Page Eighteen: There it is, the Crown Jewel.

Page Nineteen: BOOM! Splash page. And Tyrannis losing all his limbs can serve a purpose.

Page Twenty: I like this page because you get your first look at the other kingdoms in Harmonia via Tyrannis' limbs. Here they are.

PANEL 1: A village in Wintrus. Queen Aleta's home.

PANEL 2: This is Castillia, Clarisse's home kingdom.

PANEL 3: This is Tanglewylde, Zara's home. And those are her parents, King Randall and Queen Eliza.

PANEL 4: This is Yahira, Artelia's home. And this is her father, King Tutan.

Have I planted seeds for future stories? Hmmmm…

Page Twenty-One: Robot/Princess hug! And we get a debate over what to do about the fallen Tyrannis. So many people have grudges against him that he cannot get a fair trial unless its by his creator, Worlorn, who reached out to Zara.

Page Twenty-Two: The battle is won, both robot and princess have learned new things about the connection between their worlds but after a battle to save the Capital City, sometimes you have to take some time to relax and admire little things like the sky. Peace at last…until you have to explain to the Queen what you want to do.

Page Twenty-Three: This page is self-explanatory but I want to highlight a little detail. Look at Clarisse and what she's drawing. Looks like a girl robot. And since they're debating finding the creator of the robots who spoke to Zara (Worlorn), could this be a hint as to the plot of a sequel? The answer is yes.

The question I always got whenever I mentioned my series is "Will there be a Robot Princess?" or "Is there a girl robot?" And I would always raise my eyebrow and give a "hmmm."

The truth is, I did want to do a female robot in the series and explain robot gender but the more I thought about it, this specific story was not the one to do that with. This story was packed and the concept of robots and gender and how they'd react to the idea could not be done justice within THIS four issue series. But another series, where the Princesses search for Worlorn to not only judge Tyrannis but help them make a female robot, that is a story.

And that is a story I hope to tell.

Still, if I only got one opportunity to tell the story of these characters, I knew I had to put in a reference to a female robot. So I turned to one of my favorite books from childhood.

I loved the Magic School Bus books and one of the things I always liked was that Ms. Frizzle's dress on the last page would be the subject of the next book. So I took that and applied it to my comic. A robot princess and a search of Worlorn are the plot of the next comic but you have to search for the why in the art.

Page Twenty-Four: First, if this were a movie I'd want Rusted Root's "Send Me On Way" playing in this scene. The Centurions and Princesses are off on a new adventure.

I also got to do a Conan homage. I've loved Conan ever since I watched "Conan the Destroyer" on TV with my father and I loved the ending where Conan sat on the throne and the narrator told us that one day he found his own kingdom, "but that is another story." That hit me because it was another version of "and they lived happily ever after." It told me there were more adventures to come before Conan found his "happily ever after."

"But that is another story" told me there were many adventures before that. I wanted that in this book because I have several stories to tell with these characters but I added my own twist.

"And it is past your bed time," was my little twist on the Conan ending. This book is geared toward kids and I want parents to read this book with their children like my parents read to me before bed. And like every kid, I'd want to know what happened to my favorite characters. As a favor to parents, I added "it is past your bedtime" to let their kids know, this story is done. There will be more but you have to wait. But, it'll be worth it.

Going back to Rusted Root, I asked my editor if we could get one of those greeting card chips installed on the last page to play "Send Me On My Way." Putting aside licensing rights, we were too close to print to make it happen. Maybe in the trade.

Thank you all for joining me on this journey. This is my first comic series and it has been a wild ride. I hope these articles gave you a nice look into my writing process. Until next time.