In the notes to the previous page, I said that I wanted the first page of the chapter to have a certain gravitas (or whatever pages have that's similar to that!) With this page, without losing the sense that the stakes have been raised, I wanted to bring things back down to a more personal level.

Looking in on the Shaman's inert body and Stan's frustration at not being able to contact his daughter was my attempt at doing that while, at the same time, leading us back into the earlier story threads.

Key to the success of this page is Nickel's ability to convey the characters' emotions, not just in their faces (note: there are no close-ups here!) but in their whole body language. Stan is both slumped down in resignation and caught on the edge of his seat as he hears the news; Starflower is round-shouldered and sobbing, while Doug stands stiffly behind her, his arm raised, wanting to give comfort but not quite able to overcome his British reserve enough to actually make physical contact!

Don't forget, you can leave a comment (or ask a question) in the Shades forum!