Mastodawn

2something Sep 11, 2025

My reread of Monster Lands comes to an end.
Chapter: Trapmaster
We start with a cover page showing Trapmaster and a trap treasure chest. Othera is back! I missed her. The trap doesn't work, oh gods I love Othera whistling. Hmm, Eren does not immediately take out her rage on the person right next to her? Is she learning?

Othera has arrived at Trapmaster's shop. I love the signs in the background. Ah, the Trapmaster rigged the fishing rod to...eventually wear out, requiring a replacement. Definitely an evil scammer. Hey Trapmaster, it's usually a bad idea to ask someone to do something right after firing them.

Trapmaster's traps now require a subscription, and Eren wasn't paying it. There's retroactive fees! Oh well, Eren can just cut funding to orphanages to pay for it. I love how Exris seems oblivious to why there are so many orphans. Uh oh, the Trapmaster can't be killed by Birdy's fire. What does Necromancer know? Trapmaster is confident Eren won't actually cancel her future purchases. I'm betting Trapmaster doesn't know what Exris and Eren know is happening in four months. But he can sell to Edith, too. Surely Edith has enough information to realize the Trapmaster is a scammer? So either Edith isn't nearly as informed as we've been led to believe, or she has her own trap to screw over Trapmaster. Or maybe she just has so much money that she doesn't care about the subscription fees?

On to the final chapter!

Chapter: Skills
The awesome cover page shows Othera and Nadil, together at last. Nadil has, uh, trapped the skulladins using her reserve force. I like Marcus' grin here: he's finally fighting for good. And his training from Kim is helping!

Nadil faces off with an elite skulladin. Bam! Othera to the rescue. Uh oh, Othera sees Marcus! Nadil puts Marcus in jail. Good to see Alex is Marcus' first concern. Oh heck yeah, Nadil puts Nix in her place. No, Nix, Nadil is not just mad because you were "right." Nix is even slower to learn than Marcus. The resistance has to rest and gather supplies for three days. Our two heroes are going to hang out. Wow, it's taken 300 pages to get here. The "bodyguards" crack me up: yeah, it's hard to be an effective guard when you're dealing with Othera. Giant pumpkin? Also, Bibble has a name! Uh oh, a new challenger has arrived. Nadil to the rescue...and we're done.

And thus, my reread of Monster Land concludes. What's happening in four months? What will Othera and Nadil do to stop it? What sort of evil scheme does Edith have planned for afterwards? How will Trapmaster mess with Eren and Edith? We never find out. Even so, it was really fun to see the journey leading up to the Nadil Othera team-up.

#Webcomics #MonsterLands

2something Sep 10, 2025

It's time for me to reread the longest and most ironically-named chapter in Monster Lands!
Chapter: Filler Story
Clocking in at 90 pages, this chapter brings us back to Nadil and Marcus. Alex and Crimson Sally are also on the cover page. We start with Edith, who has really cool looking gargoyles. Edith has been scrying on Othera, but now she turns her attention to Nadil. Nadil wants to separate from her troups to go rescue the "prisoner" in Emperor Offed's old summer castle (the one that is iced over). The "prisoner" is Crimson Sally. She's taking Nix and Marcus with her. Nadil still doesn't realize Marcus is a fraud. Oh and Marcus insists on taking Alex with him. Way to go protecting your kid brother.

I love Nix's increasing exasperation. Nix, you really ought to hurry up and tell Nadil your urgent information. Nix leaves Nadil (for now). Oh no, Marcus has his evil grin. Edith says she is "always watching over" Nadil, which is a lie. Oh no, Edith tells Nadil that Marcus "sounds quite impressive:" Edit definitely knows Marcus is a fraud.

Now, our hero and fake hero meet the fake prisoner. Marcus demonstrates he has one real skill: getting Alex to go inside. I love Alex's comeback. The door the Destructor broke has healed. But not all the way, there are still visible cracks. Oh right, Nadil has the Exris Receptacle, which she borrowed from a "friend." Marcus thinks stealing it would be worthwhile. Marcus sees the repaired hole in the wall from the Destructor and realizes he shouldn't take credit for this "rescue." So he is learning (a bit.) I love how Nadil is seemingly oblivious to Sally's subtext. Okay, now they all need to explore the palace to find the Exris Receptacle...and the ice cannot be broken by force, allowing Marcus to delay the inevitable reveal.

Marcus has the sense to try to make sure Alex stays with Nadil and away from Marcus. But is that for Alex's protection or to avoid Alex finding out the truth? The castle is gorgeous. Oh right, Alex says his parents died when he was a baby, but Marcus gets mad if you bring it up. Did Marcus cause their deaths? Oh my gods that glare of Nadil as she starts to suspect something. The nicest person getting angry is really fucking scary! She sends Alex to get Marcus.

Just like the Destructor before him, Marcus completely misunderstood what the "reward" was supposed to be. Ah, but he does realize Sally is a monster...oops! Alex saw! I love Alex finally putting Marcus in his place. Marcus can't imagine a hero who actually cares about helping people. Oh somehow I completely forgot about this flashback to Exris killing Marcus' parents (unless Marcus is lying here again.) And Marcus digs himself deeper by trying to blame Alex. Oh yeah and Marcus is gay, confirmed. Oh, right, Edith says the Receptacle can seal Exris away. This entire castle trap just exists to steal the Receptacle to protect Exris.

Now Edit reminds Nadil of the danger of accepting funding from someone with her own agenda. And I love that you can never tell with Marcus whether he is turning over a new leaf or just faking again. He tells Alex things are going to be different. Alex, please learn to be more suspicious of your brother. Oops: Sally was unharmed by the fall! Nadil still lacks any suspicion of Sally.

Surprise! Sally is super strong! And she works for Eren! Alex really did manage to get Marcus to come back and help (or try, in his own ineffective way.) I love the retorts between Marcus and Sally! Sally is like a more evil version of Marcus who can also fight. Yes Marcus, keep verbally thrashing Sally!

Nadil is bi. Sally thinks it's unrealistic for more than one queer person to hang out (guess she doesn't know about Eren and Necromancer?) I love how we went from Nix and Edith complaining that this chapter is filler to Sally complaining it's unrealistically queer. All our antagonists this chapter are annoying readers. Nadil looks genuinely scared as Sally spills the beans about Marcus' deception. And Nadil is still super badass. Oh my Jell the way she threatens Marcus while still giving him another chance is perfect. Nadil is the ultimate paladin leader. Oh, and Edith wants Nadil to rule the Monster Lands.

And here's Nix, again complaining about "filler" despite important character development. Ellie is back and looking for Othera, and...Nix! Why didn't you say this earlier? The world is going to end in four months. If you wanna help the hero, don't hide that from her!

I've always been a sucker for meta-humor. The unlikable characters complaining about filler, wrapped around some really solid juicy character growth, makes this chapter one of the best parts of the series for me. Only thing we're missing is Othera.

The volume ends with some bonus art, as the author assures us "there will be more Othera in the next story." Oh and then there's a bunch of the author's analysis about the characters accompanying poses. Interesting to hear Nadil is the foil for Eren while Marcus is the foil for Exris. Also I really love how Edith's "everyone has a purpose" is turned into something bad. And I wish we got to see more of Kim in the main comic.

Okay, that's the end of the second and last volume. Tomorrow, I'll reread the chapters that haven't been compiled into a book.

#MonsterLands #Webcomics

2something Sep 10, 2025

My reread of Monster Lands continues with the beginning of Volume 2!
The cover page prominently features Nadil, with Edith's sinister glare behind her. Crimson Sally sits at the bottom mischievously. Othera is nowhere to be seen. Next we have the cast page that also reminds us of some events from the previous book.

Chapter: Living the Good Life in Castle Lorry
The cover page has Eren in the middle. I love the pose Kersha is making. Eren kills her first creation to punish it for its failure, then demands Kersha and Necromancer clean it up. Exris has to remind her that Kersha and Necromancer are to be executed today.

Now we have the scene I thought we were at earlier: For all her faults, Kersha knows how to stay alive in Castle Lorry. Oh yeah, and Eren takes credit for releasing Exris prior to Exris killing Offed. Is that true?

Now we get Wally, Eren's latest creation. They're a wall! They need Kersha and Necromancer to carry them! Hmm, Necromancer was able to slide Wally a few inches, which surprises Kersha. Is Necromancer stronger than they let on? Oh yeah and the dragon we've seen Eren riding is called Birdy. I had completely forgotten about that.

Othera can just walk past Wally. Othera defeats several more monsters off-panel, before convincing another monster to give up working for Eren and become good. Oh my Jell I love this meta-snark between Kersha and Necromancer about whether the off-panel stories would be good to read. Eren is winning against the rebels, but she can't be happy because they still hate her.

Four months: Eren knows something big is happening in four months, presumably the same thing Nixtos is concerned about. Eren throws a child-like temper tantrum that really reminds me of shitty adults, before revealing she's really sad Exris can run things well without her.

Wow this chapter is sad given that I keep thinking of the real people in my life who act like Eren. Let's keep moving.

Chapter: The Snowy Summer
Emperor Offed is featured on the cover page. It's another prequel chapter. Emperor Offed has iced over his summer palace, and his son is here to help. The Emperor is sad because he can't make someone else love him. And the Emperor is forcing his son to marry someone the son doesn't love. Uh oh, someone just through out a portrait of the woman who was in Candlewax Cave! So Ellie, the former Empress, was locked in the cave. I wish we got to see more of her before the series ended.

I wonder if Exris notices the similarities between Offed and Eren.

Okay, that's all for today. Next time I will reread "Filler Story," the longest chapter in the series.

#MonsterLands #Webcomics

2something Sep 9, 2025

My reread of Monster Lands continues with the book-exclusive bonus content!
Bonus Story: Nadil: Origins
The chapter cover page shows Nadil in several different poses.
Before continuing, I should mention that if you want to read this chapter yourself, you can get it from the author's Gumroad store here:
https://jamesnelsonart.gumroad.com/
I'm going to spoil the plot for you if you keep reading this ramble.

So this is a prequel chapter. Nadil was a kid when Exris overthrew Offed, making her about the same age as Eren. And she had a celebrity crush on Eren. The beginning of Nadil's rebellion had financial difficulties. Who is this mysterious old woman offering aid to Nadil? How does she know Nadil's name? So now we see why Edith sees potential in Nadil. And Emily, whom I don't remember showing up in the main series, trained Nadil in magic. Nadil is a young idealist who sees good in everyone, and she doesn't realize Edith has her own agenda or that accepting funding from Edith will come with consequences.

Ah, that was a short bonus chapter. Now we get the character sketches. Othera, Eren, Exris, Marcus, Nadil, Nixtos, The Necromancer, Kersha, Emperor Offed, Crimson Sally (this one contains a flat out lie in the commentary to avoid spoiling her reveal in the next book), Adam Yi (the pirate), Barbara (the siren), The Destructor, Kim, Edith, Emily, Eli, and Uxrex the Annihilator (we haven't seen much of her yet). Then there's an FAQ. I like the answer about avoiding negative stereotypes. Honestly the possible bad interpretation of the Necromancer is something that wouldn't have occurred to me without it being pointed out: I think the author did a good job avoiding the issue.

And that's the end of Volume 1. Next time I begin my reread of Volume 2.

#MonsterLands #Webcomics

James Lowell Nelson

I create comics

Gumroad

2something Sep 7, 2025

My reread of Monster Lands continues with the second-longest chapter in the series!
Chapter: Fight
We start with an ominous cover page, with Exris' claws encircling a rickety island and Othera in the center with her back turned to us. Othera goes fishing for her mount: she doesn't need a fishing rod, she just grabs the fish. Now she refuses a request from a villager asking for help fighting a monster? What's that about? Oh right, she feels like her last attempt at heroics got out of control.

Kersha and Necromancer are in big trouble. Not just for failing, but for stealing Her Majesty's ice cream! The Destructor arrives and defeats Kersha and Necromancer. As Exris plans to kill him, Eren decides to recruit the Destructor to fight "the hero." This is our first look at Eren's scrying crystal ball.

Back to Nadil and the RRFGJ. Nixtos has a very particular time frame in which she wants Nadil to fight Eren and Exris, but Nix won't say why. Dangit Nix, TELL THE HERO THE TRUTH! Now the Destructor arrives looking for a fight with the legendary monster slayer Marcus.

Uh oh. Nadil wants to fight the Destructor, but Nix tries to egg Marcus to do it alone. Nix has realized the truth, but Nadil seems completely fooled. Also, Exris, watching, makes note of the candlewax monster's death. I'd forgotten Exris' involvement with that.

Alex still believes in Marcus. I feel so bad for Alex. Nix's evil grin is scary.

Back to Othera, arriving in the town depicted on the cover page. Othera promises a villager not to cause them to get in trouble with Eren. Oops. Marcus sends the Destructor after Othera. Unfortunately for Marcus, that means he gets to keep lying to Nadil and Alex.

The Destructor finds Othera, and she is not in the mood for a fight. Oh and he gets caught in the door.

Oh gods I love this next scene: Kersha knows the only way to stop Eren from killing her. Oh wait, that's not where we are yet: we're at Necromancer doing a bad job talking to Eren.

Back to Othera. Destructor is done waiting: it's fight time! The skulladins don't care about the village getting destroyed, but Othera does, so she leads her opponent away. Othera's words completely destroy the Destructor's entire driving objective. And of course she can still beat him in a fight. Now we get one of my favorite dialogue exchanges in the series. Othera suggests the Destructor can get more glory by fighting people without kill them, and by fighting for a cause instead of just for the sake of fighting. Destructor immediately understands and completely changes his worldview.

Back in town, the skulladins discover that the town is secretly forging armor for Nadil's rebellion! But they can't kill the villagers until after they check on the Destructor. Othera says "Man, I stop beatin' up jerks for a few days and things get worse than ever." Looks like she can't get out of being a hero. Oh right, we need the soldier to get a surprise strike on Othera or else the rest of the fight would be too easy.

Exris is happy, but Eren is sad, because she thought the Destructor was working for her willingly, and now he isn't. The cycle of abuse she's in continues. Will Othera and Nadil be able to break her out of it? I guess that's something we'll never know due to the series' abrupt end.

Othera tells Destructor to pick a better cause to fight for. Ah, the travel pamphlets Othera read make a comeback!

And now Exris' plan comes to fruition: He sent Eren's first monster to kill Othera. Destructor defeats the monster and saves the town: now he has something to fight for and people think he's cool. Destructor stays to defend the town, while Othera picks up the crystal scrying ball, and tells Eren she's joining the RRFGJ. Exris is so angry he destroys the scrying ball.

Next time: the book-exclusive bonus chapter.

#MonsterLands #Webcomics

2something Sep 6, 2025

My reread of Monster Lands continues! Spoliers ahoy.

Chapter: Ship Approaching
We've gone back in time to before Eren took the throne, during the reign of Emperor Offed, the guy who created Exris. Gee, he sure picked a poor name for himself! We have a pirate ship. I don't remember these pirates doing anything later in the story: are they just here to help set up Emperor Offed? The pirates think they have the willpower to resist sirens. Turns out they don't, and they crash their ship into a giant rock. The pirate captain and one of the sirens get married!

In the present, our pirate and siren tell their new crew the moral of the story is to get along with people instead of fight, before immediately deciding to kill everyone on another ship.

That was a fun diversion. Do we see the pirates again in the future? I don't remember, but they help give us the tone of this world, and foreshadow the Emperor.

Chapter: What Happened Back There?
We start with a very busy cover page, showing all major characters so far, with Marcus grabbing on to Nadil's leg for dear life. Just as the villains are about to kill Marcus, Nadil arrives to save the day! Too bad our other hero left: she doesn't get to team up with Nadil until much later. Instead, we get a clear sense of who Nadil is: the charismatic heroic leader of the rebellion. Nadil wipes out the undead chicken, knocks down Kersha, and heals Marcus. But she's merciful and lets both Kersha and Necromancer leave uninjured. She invites Marcus to join *ahem* "The Righteous Resistance Force of Gentleness and Justice!" Marcus agrees, because Nadil can pay him. Where is her funding coming from? And now we learn the first thing that humanizes Marcus: He takes care of his younger brother, Alex. Alex doesn't know about Marcus' scam, but it seems like he suspects. It's so adorable and sad to see Alex trustingly follow Marcus into the resistance.

Chapter: Shadows
Ah, this is the prequel chapter. Emperor Offed tortured Exris as a means of teaching Exris "respect." Exris, uh, Offed the Emperor and raises a young commoner girl named Eren Lorey. Nixtos is watching. Eren believed only Exris and the Emperor's family could do magic, but that was just propaganda. Eren creates her first monster, who is her first royal subject.

Now we reach the sad part of the story. Eren wanted to be a princess to help people, but Exris says the only way he knows to get people to respect her is for her to hurt them. Exris learned "respect" from Emperor Offed, and he doesn't know anything else. It's a cycle of abuse that turns Eren into just as terrible a ruler as Offed was.

Chapter: The Destructor
Now we get a new character: The Destructor. Eren wants to be adored. Othera and Nadil want to help people. Marcus wants fame and money. The Destructor wants a difficult fight against a strong opponent, so that he can become famous as the best fighter. He goes to rescue the "helpless damsel" in the hope she'll fight him. What is the "Exris Receptacle?" It's an ancient artifact of some kind, but what is its connection to Exris? Do we hear of it again? The Destructor doesn't care. Now he's disappointed that he rescued the "helpless damsel" and she just offers him sex instead of a tough battle. This is more fun with the benefit of hindsight, since it turns out this helpless damnsel could offer The Destructor a tough fight if she wanted to.

That's enough for now. Next up: Fight.

#MonsterLands #Webcomics

2something Sep 6, 2025

It's been several years since Monster Lands stopped updating, so today I will begin my full reread. I will be using the ebooks, which contain all but the two most recent chapters. As usual, my reread commentary will contain SPOILERS!

The first volume starts with a cool cover page, showing Othera being badass while the rest of the cast looks from the corner.

Chapter: Wood You Be Nice?
The first chapter is really short, and introduces us to Othera. I'd forgotten how gorgeous the scenery is here. Othera is a cool black woman riding a fantastic mount who helps people in need. In this case, the trees themselves are being jerks to local villagers. Why? The trees are bored, so Othera introduces them to board games. It doesn't work, so Othera cuts the trees all down, and the chapter finishes at a mere 4 pages (not counting the cover).

Despite its short length, this chapter really sets the tone for the rest of the series. We're in a pseudo-medieval fantasy world, which is a little bit silly, and which riffs somewhat on standard fantasy conventions, but not a completely self-aware OOTS-like world. Othera is a badass hero who wants to help people, prefers nonviolent solutions, but is not afraid to kill when necessary. A lot of characters later in the story are morally ambiguous, but Othera is really good and really easy to love.

Onwards to the next chapter!

Chapter: Beware Eren Lorey
We get our first look at Eren Lorey, the villain, and her castle. Eren is the Princess of Darkness, Queen of Calamity, Empress of Annihilation, and shall soon be Ruler of All Realms. She also have a very child-like personality, and needs everyone to constantly suck up to her. Eren rides on a flying skull monster of some sort to negotiate with the rebellious peasants. The villagers want to surrender because they ran out of weapons. Eren doesn't believe them, so she has her monster destroy all the buildings in the village. Oops! Turns out the peasants were really out of weapons, making Eren, in her own words, "look like an idiot." She gets back at the rebels by killing all of them, before ironically remarking "Some people can't be reasoned with."

Right now, Eren seems like a very flat pure villain. I don't remember how long it will be before we start seeing more depth for her. I think my first time through, I expected her to be a pure villain.

Chapter: Listen to Your Fairy
We our introduced to Nixtos, a Navi-like fairy who helps heroes with advice. Except she's an asshole who goes through a lot of heroes. As her latest hero is ambushed by Eren's forces, we get the first namedrop of Exris, Eren's adopted father. Nixtos gives very helpful advice like "if you stab them in the head, they'll die." Uh oh, Nix points out a monster behind the hero, and the hero thinks she's crying wolf. Time for Nixtos to find another hero!

Nixtos is guilty of the greatest crime a fictional character can commit: withholding important information from other main characters who are ostensibly on your side. Going off memory, she waits until very near the end of the series to tell Othera the very important thing. Has she told any of her previous heroes?

Chapter: Marcus Rila
We now arrive at the first "real" chapter of Monster Lands. It clocks in at 42 pages, while the previous three chapters were 12 pages total (not including the cover pages). This chapter is also the first in which some characters from previous chapters reappear.

We start with a cover showing Marcus on a pile of treasure. Othera arrives in the neighboring village, where the villagers are celebrating Marcus Rila, the great hero who cut down the evil trees. Nixtos is with Marcus now.

Now we see Marcus' real goal: he is grifting the villagers, asking for money which he claims he will use to defeat Exris. Othera is not pleased. Oops: Marcus did not let Nix in on his con. Nix wants a contest to see who the real hero is. While not yet stated explicitly, it seems like Othera is more concerned about Marcus scamming innocent villagers than she is about getting glory.

Scene change! Eren learns the villagers are newly motivated to rebel after seeing that a hero cut down the evil trees, but then Eren gets distracted playing with her cute skull dragon pet. I love the rapid oscillation between Eren as an evil tyrant and a cute kid. Now Exris sends Kersha (the goblin princess) and Necromancer (the first time we hear these characters' names) to crush whoever defeated the trees. Kersha and Necromancer have a casual conversation while they ride a monsterish elephant(?) to hunt down the hero, and the author managers to make them both enjoyable to read about right away.

Nadil! The last of the main cast has arrived. Nadil's rebellion could really use another hero in their ranks.

Nix lays out the rules: the people claiming to be heroes must kill a monster in a nearby cave. Marcus really does not know when to admit he messed up, even when he is alone with Othera. Ah right, a villager calls Nix out on her bullshit, and Nix is not having it. Of course, by not caring about whether her "hero" is benevolent, Nix leaves herself vulnerable to picking the fraud.

Othera is a total badass and can easily defeat the first monster, and OH MY JELL I love the way she calls Marcus' bluff and sends him ahead, and then she still offers to help him when he falls.

Scene change back to Kersha and Necromancer. I love the way the elephant(?) looks while sleeping. Oops: Kersha removed all of Necromancer's supplies from their bag!

Othera talks to Marcus about what makes a hero. Macrus apologizes and makes it sound like he's going to try to be better, before doing his evil grin and kicking Othera off the ledge! I remember Marcus learning to be better eventually, but not for awhile. I don't remember how long "awhile" is.

Ah right, we hear that the entire wax cave is one creature, the candles are their eyes, and they realize Marcus is a fraud. Othera's reaction as she climbs out of the pit cracks me up. Nothing can stop Othera's heroing. I love the way the fire spout at the center of the cave looks.

Back to Nix, who is feeding grapes to a giant mount? Nix hints that if both heroes die, it will be "too late." Too late for what? Nix definitely already knows when the world will end, and she isn't sharing it with the heroes.

Othera spits a tiny bit of water into the flame, and the entire thing is destroyed. There was a person trapped inside? I completely forget what this person's deal is. Marcus has not learned. He taunts Othera for caring too much about helping people that she gives Marcus the chance to win. Ah, Marcus tells the villagers that it's impossible for someone to be trapped inside a monster in REAL LIFE, which this is: it's totally not a fantasy.

And here is the moment I was waiting for: Othera tells Marcus he "wins," he's the hero, just as Kersha and Necromancer show up to arrest the hero!

The Necromancer found a way to make undead with Kersha's food: Undead chicken! As Othera leaves town, the author asks a bunch of questions to be answered in the future.

That was fun. I am really glad to be revisiting Monster Lands. Tune in next time for "Ship Approaching."

#Webcomics #MonsterLands

2something Dec 14, 2024