> This was a fun series to do, but I don't think I'll post about every issue for the following Zed comic. {{champion:238}} "Do not deny me."

It does contain flashback _scenes_ as typical comic readers and most league players don’t actually know who Zed is, why he fights, or even why he and Shen have beef. (The boards users’ knowledge level is much higher than the average joes—actually most league players knowledge of lore comes **only** from VO) Like the Lux comic, the Zed comic starts in the recent past, but will begin advancing the timeline around its midpoint. But even in this recent past, for the people that already know Zed, Shen, and Jhin’s lores there’s a lot of new stuff you will discover.

I think Riven discovered Noxus wasn't really a meritocracy. What it professes to be and believe in and its behavior don't always line up. Believing in strength and merit based advancement has to be _balanced_ (hint) with a level playing field and honorable conduct.

If u see a face. Is that his real face?

Yeah but also no. To clarify. I didn't mean it would wrap up in one more chapter of prose. Only that the story would be followed up on and that, that color story was intentionally left incomplete— because that kinda was the point of it. (Jhin is a psyco-killer on the loose.) Damn, 4-step you’re an expert though. You find all these deep backgrounds quotes.

I was the narrative designer for Jhin, I wrote that story, I was his VO writer and director.... Aaand I’m the writer of the new marvel ZED comic. So I can probably answer your question... Buuuut i’m not gonna!!! (hah!) The Zed comic is, not surprisingly, hyper-focused on Zed. But I will say Zed, Kayn, Akali, Shen, Jovn Tau, and Jhin are all on the cover... And it’s coming soon. I will say there’s a couple of big misdirections in that old Jhin story. I’m not gonna say what —but that story is gonna go down... and not in the way you might think. P.S. Getting rito attention is usually pretty simple. 1. Post on the forums (or reddit but u need a lot more upvotes to rise above the noise there) 2. Be polite and concise. Few people are gonna take time out of their day to be ranted at or read ninety pages. 3. Get enough votes/views to get on the “hot”level so we notice the post. (its actually a pretty small number.) 4. Hope that somebody actually has an answer. (Sometimes things are in flight and we don’t know or can’t comment... kinda like now)

This is close and weird matchup. My 2cents. It's worth mentioning Zed was a Kinkou a sort of spirit world/ paranormal police-- and his master was a renown demon-hunter and ghost-hunter. So my money is on Zed. He has the know-how and experience for this sort of problem.

Jax goes commando.

Well yeah! But that’s a skin.

This hasn’t been explored in detail but the assumption was always they have a pantheon, with various islands favoring various gods. Obviously as a region of islands, the sea god (Nagakaborous) is pretty important universally. Bilge is a city, originally of refugees. Bilgewater-ians and outsiders aren't allowed on other islands and generally avoid the rest of the island. Though there are exceptions - esp as the islands had historic ties to Icathia, Ixtal and some other southern empires.

So the island she lives on is a theocracy, but other islands have separate governments. Buhru is like Vatican city for the cult of Nagakaborous. There are even other gods. (And thus other fashions) “Buhru” is often used as a shorthand for any island where Nagakaborous is the primary religion. This is to say yes there is styles, but it varies a fair amount and relates in some ways more to ixtal fashions. Because unlike most valoran places- the buhru have cultural ties to that civilization.

Actually the outfit Illaoi's wears in game was never meant to represent her ceremonial outfits or her everyday wear back home. This is an outfit she chose for Bilgewater, a city which her people think of as something between a filthy ghetto and a refugee camp. I doubt she has a “dress” per say— more likely a sarongs, loincloths, and other unisex garments for everyday wear depending on the weather. Ceremonial clothes are often made for the various events and holidays (and often destroyed after).

Okay. I think I get what your asking. Yeah, speaking from my perspective. Akali (and Zed before her) leaving the Kinkou order isn't cut and dry. On the one hand people were dying, on the other they are a supposed to be dedicated to something higher than a dispute between mortals.

I'm not sure I understand your question. But yes hopefully we will be showing more of what the Kinkou do and conflicts they are involved in.

I'm not sure I would put "the big three" above the other spirit gods. Let's just say those gods' avatars have been more active, more recently in the parts of the world we've collectively been looking at... currently. ( wow, that was a mouthful) Also your big three forgets about _Kindred_ {{champion:203}} (which has many forms but the in-game one is almost assuredly the southern Freljordian depiction of that spirit.) {{sticker:slayer-jinx-wink}}

"balance of good an evil" . Actually this is not exactly the balance they/we are talking about now. (It might have been in old lore). There is an acceptance of duality and that good and evil are codependent on each other. But generally these characters are talking about: the Balance of elements; the Balance of emotions; And esp the Balance between the magical and physical. Ionia is a land blessed, and cursed by an abundance of spirit magic. Often we describe this as the borders between the material realm and spirit realm are weak here-- esp in the forests and highlands. And magic is a dangerous thing. In moderation it can make your village's life better. More food, less disease, longer lives, better ping speeds (okay maybe not that one). But it also can be fickle and deadly. And overusing or allowing to it to overrun an area, or having it interact with your emotions, invites unwanted guests, consequences, and changes. And in its pure form or when very strong it is lethal to us. (or so changing as to transform us into something we wouldn't recognize (see Ivern, brand, that odd shaped owl which screams outside my window, etc..)). Some magic is good. But you have to be careful. Now The Vastaya (Like Rakan and Xayah) and other magical creatures need magic to survive-- in way like we need oxygen or water. It's naturally a part of them-- they are made in part of it. So the restriction of it, harvesting of it, damning (as in holding back) of it-- restricts them. Imagine if an alien race appeared on our planet and set up cities around the globe and fields and farms... and in those large swathes of land they greatly restricted the amount of oxygen or began claiming and storing large areas of the fresh water we needed. We might attack them... and we have nukes. So these magical creatures, places, and stranger things can be helpful or dangerous-- but you have to be careful not to over restrict magic or overuse magic-- to avoid attracting dangerous creatures and unwanted magical effects.

Where’s the fun in that?!

Actually he’s about 3 to 4 years older than Zed, and zed is about 34-35 currently.

Is The Volibear seen in that story what the ursine have lost themselves to? And if you can kill the most powerful avatar of a god... Does that kill that god? Does killing a vessel-- free other vessels? Avatars, gods, and demigods oh my! {{sticker:zombie-brand-mindblown}}

Nice job! I love most of the acting choices. Can’t wait for the next one. {{sticker:slayer-pantheon-popcorn}}

I like it. Its not exactly my cup of tea, but I think its probably the best "magical girl" show. (even though the magical girls in this case are ponies)

I love Rucka's stuff. prob my . favorite american comic writer.

Homosexuality probably isn’t taboo in the freljord. Unless it affects your obligations— and roles. But probably gender norms are pretty severely enforced. (Though what they consider “normal” is very far from what we would recognize). I think the relationships between the various oathbound are kinda up in the air. Sometimes brotherhood and a tight bond other times drama and fighting. I dont think these bonds are taken lightly and thus aren't done without a fair amount input and discussion. It would be poor leadership to force someone on the group. But its important to keep in mind they have very different idea of marriage than we do. It’s about protection instead of property. So probably unit cohesion and battle synergy is a marriage consideration too. You might “marry” someone because love them, but more often you are marrying them because you think they are strong and will protect your children—you might especially marry someone because you already have different lover/spouse and are looking for a way to secure your current children's position. I think several if not most of Grena’s oathbound never slept with her— maybe they were single, maybe they had families (which would make those kids “kin of kin” and thus a part of grena’s family/retainers. Maybe they married her to cement the peace between tribes. And I think Grena married Yriel because he was a natural leader and a strong warrior. He completed the unit because he was older, experienced, and got along well with the other men. Then seeing him lead, working with him, Grena fell for him. Hopefully the complexity is all something we can see Sejuani and Ashe struggling with in the future. Because i will say— in my proposed timeline. Tryndamere is not the first man ashe asked to “marry” her.

that's probably store by store. I would hit their online stock list.

Well my real name is Odin. So I kinda feel like I've been hyper-aware of all the shitty version of norse myths and that sort of germanic gothic fantasy my whole life... and largely disappointed by how it was approached by media. (Thor: Ragnarok being the first I've liked) But also as an American, I was interested in finding a way to make those myths more universal-- so even prior to working on it I was always looking for (and finding) parallels to-and-with Native American cultures, northern asian cultures, and norse cultures. **But probably a much, much more important factor was when I started at riot no cared about the Freljord. ** A lot of the chief mucky-mucks thought it was kinda a dumpster fire-- and didn't care about it. So unlike Noxus or Demacia, I knew if I did some work in the freljord I wouldn't have to go thru ninety layers of approvals and feedback. So I might actually get to do something cool and unique. Actually, a lot if not most, of the work I've done in riot were in the places our IP that our leadership didn't like, places that didn't previously exist, or characters leadership didn't have strong opinions on how everything should be. ( Illaoi from buhru in bilgewater, Freljord, the vastaya, mythical creatures of legend, a ninja's dead dad etc...)

I read manga as a kid and teen, (I'm old, so it was kinda the first wave-- i.e. when Akira, Appleseed, Ranma 1/2 etc first landed) , but didn't really get into American comics till art school. My college roommate (Chris Walton a concept artist-- his stuff is good check it out) was horrified that I hadn't read Dark Knight, Sin City, Xmen, etc.. He literally put a pile of Hellboy books on my bed and told me he couldn't live with me if I didn't read them. I did. Then bought my own copies (and later some BPRDS) After that, I kept up with comics, buying mostly Dark Horse and Image ..in addition to manga purchases. I was never an every Wednesday guy, but I went to the comic shop once a month and bought stuff. However, I think my buying reached it's peak when i was working on_ The Walking Dead_ TV show and the first version of Bendis's _Powers_ (The FX version never aired. The Sony one you can download-- i didn't have anything to do with). Because I ended up talking to Kirkman and Bendis about comics writing during those shows-- I never thought I was gonna work in comics-- but I was trying to understand where they were coming from and how to better work with them. Their viewpoints really helped me understand of the medium's artistic language and made me appreciate American comics more. (I think my taste in terms of pacing and storytelling still leans towards manga though) So I was probably going to comic store every Saturday during that period of my life. But my wife then having a baby cut it completely out for a couple years... I was too busy being tired. And my wife (who also reads them) was too tired to read them, let alone have fun convos about them. Fast forward 5 years and I started going to the shops again (a little before I started writing Ashe) because my daughter was older.... and she loves, loves, loves the Avatar and My Little Pony books. So now I'm going almost every other week. I usually buy a floppy or two for me plus a trade or graphic novel and then a graphic novel and couple floppies for her. sorry. -long answer

Thank you so much. I was a super weird transition from TV scripts. I def have things I would have done differently --mostly regarding pacing. (but also more pages for Yriel) . I learn some stuff on this book which will hopefully make me a better comix writer on the next.

Hells yeah.

Thanks for reminding everyone Ice! If I can make a request. For you (and everyone reading who bought the book from Amazon) please consider giving it a review. (Metrics are a thing!) . Please Please do the reviews, 'cause I really want to make make book 2!! There's not really a sticker for me begging... maybe this is closest? {{sticker:sg-soraka}} Thanx!

> [{quoted}](name=The Iceborn,realm=EUNE,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=waZyGtNY,comment-id=00010000,timestamp=2019-05-15T11:30:35.868+0000) > > I believe that the physical edition is only available in english. However you can purchase the issues individually in many other languages on comicology, kindle, amazon. Look at the thread linked for more details. Yeah, I think the non-english versions will be released as they are translated and printed. (At least that was the strategy last I heard).

Ended shortly before I posted.

Wow, this is like a thesis. Can't comment on a lot of stuff as "things" are in motion.{{sticker:slayer-pantheon-popcorn}} But very cool, and well thought out.

Demi is half, though my memory of latin is a bit rusty. Most of the greek depictions assume a god is the parent (though sex in the normal sense, frequently does not happen). I do not assume a god is the “parent” in our IP, at least not in the common use of that word. {{sticker:slayer-jinx-wink}}

Nice! I love that you were able to break it down into all of the editions. (They just exist in my mind as a confused jumble)

I don't remember them all off the top of my head. But "Macbeth" and "Richard the III" were both big inspirations too. Also certainly Trumbo's "Johnny get your gun" influenced this-- though I'm not the biggest fan of that book.

Thank you so much d00mface! And yes you are right on the money. (Even spotting how I carefully worded the description of Aatrox's previous form.) When we were just staring on Aatrox, the main narrative pillar was "The Devil." So I absolutely looked at how that archetype was used previously-- and I absolutely did re-examine "Paradise Lost." And yep, the goal with this sort of character is to both deliver the archetype that people clearly connect with, and also hopefully find a way to make this incarnation, unique from the various characters that inspired it FYI: We usually aim to have a minimum of 3 to 5 reference characters that we can use to define the archetype's core traits in early production and to keep us from attached to a single point of reference. {{sticker:slayer-jinx-wink}}

Also yeahs... the best way to purchase the comic is physical book from your local shop. Most comics are sold at local shops, and are selected by the retailer to showcase, carry. So buying a book there raises awareness of the books potential to that retailer. (Also they will probably flip thru your copy and might just choose to carry the book because they like it.) Also Thanx for the shoutout/reminder for everyone, Iceborn!

I assume so. That team is spinning up.

I can't speak to the Lux comic. I donno where they are with it. I've only seen snippets. But you can probably apply the same math that was used for Ashe (plus 1 issue) to figure out it's release date. (I mean Marvel's schedules are pretty locked.) Ashe is still due for release on the day we mentioned previously. (mid may I believe) Sadly, I don't know what's in the book, and I haven't seen it. The exact insides are decided by our editors without the authors feedback (I guess?) Zed is spinning up production soon... and I'm not allowed to say much about him. I can say he has 6 scripts done, and first script is locked (I.e. ready for the artist). This is probably because we are in a place where the team doesn't have much to report... yet. (Heck. I don't even know the answers)

So “standard military training” is probably a misnomer. Iceborn are raised to be warriors. They aren’t trained in a military boot camp or college. They are trained by their family and begin learning as soon as they can hold a weapon. This is a society that relies on warriors and raiding to survive.

Lol thanx. Yeah what mean is Sejuani and her scarthanes WILL know and employ battlefield tactics. Flanking manuevers, tarpits, refused flanks, feints, deceptive cavalry moves, shieldwalls, etc... this is part if being an iceborn. They are effectively professional warriors specially trained in small unit guerrilla tactics against monsters and foes with superior numbers. But even more so imagine thinking a 500 man shielwall will protect your center— then a single iceborn breaks apart your battleline with a blast of ice— before a dozen ursine slam into the now disrupted formation for cleanup. In an open field, Darius wins. But Sejuani will avoid that. She is brutal and approaches raiding as a job. She will try to starve your army, lead it into trsps and then bring death.

This is neat! Sadly, i can’t really comment on this. As obviously discovering the “truth” of the freljord’s past is a part of exploring the current story’s themes. (What is destiny? does it exist? How does your past create you and the future). But why is Lissandra the way she is? What does she really want? What was the old empire? Who was Avarosa? Etc.. these are the right questions.

Cool! Three things to consider: Under weaknesses-> you have number 3 -> army structure. I would argue that while Ashe and Sejuani aren’t at the political-strategic level of Swain and Nasus. They have other gifts Tactically Sejuani is super strong. By age 15 Sejuani is shown planning a surprise attack to wipe out another tribe. This is before she grew up. She’s cunning, risk taking, and unpredictable. If your looking for a leader that might pull off some Hannibal, Gengis Khan, or Patton type tactis — she’s your girl. I’m not saying she’d obviously best Darius, Jarvan, or Irelia— but I would bet on her doing something they werent expecting or even thought was possible. Ashe on the other hand has that rarer gift of true leadership. People are drawn to her and she brings out the best in her top advisors and warriors. People are willing to die for her because they believe and trust in her. Thus her advisors and top people really are doing their best work because she brings out the best in them. While Swain and Lissandra’s top people probably work out of fear and politics. Finally Lissandra is a wild card for Ashe and Sejuani and the whole equation. If your talking about a war between nations — who is Lissandra gonna help? I.e. Swain attacked Ashe? I’d bet on Lissandra helping Ashe — and that is super dangerous for everyone. Lissy can probably match Swain strategically. She’s not a long term ally — but any plan that he has she might counter or inform Ashe of his actions. (As long as it doesn’t infer with her goals) she might even try and curry favor or plant agents in Sejuani’s tribe by countering Swain. ( Also what are Lissy’s Real, Real goals? People should be approaching the new bio’s differently. They are an overview. We are intentionally not over- revealing. —did the bio show who Udyr was or why he was powerful? — you get that from stories. A bio can’t really convey grit, heart, intelligence or emotional struggle viscerally.)

Flawless.

1) Yes it is the helmet of the Warmother for the Winter's Claw. It was previously her mother's. 2) Now_ that_ is a story! ( Oh boy, is Sejuani a badass!) But.... Sorry. No spoilers.

1. Well the working title of the next book is "Oathfather" so seeing the details of that relationship will be part of it. 2. Yeah. But also Sejuani is fulfilling the traditional role expected of her as a leader. Grena was pretty cool with her bloodsworn too. More than anything else she is expected to be the leader and mother of war for this tribe. She's not expected to be nice. She's expected to have a plan and have the grit to see it through. But more importantly her coolness to them is supposed to hint at her closeness to Udyr. She values him ABOVE her bloodsworn. No one is closer or more dear to her in the Winter's Claw than Udyr. (maybe not even Bristle). Hopefully we will get to see how he has earned this trust in later stories. 3. Sejuani's rant, I think touched on how she felt pretty overtly. She loves Ashe like a sister, but she also resents and envies her. She resents that Ashe had an easy life (compared to her) and a mother that loved and protected her. When I think of the cruelty that Sejuani is capable of it comes from that pain-- that hole in her heart. She grew up tough, hungry, and mistreated. She's seen her tribe, really her extended family, _literally_ starving, beaten down, and dying. What if you were forced to live your whole life in that sort of desolation? And then you strolled into a beautiful valley in Demacia and saw an easy, comfortable, safe, bucolic life. Wouldn't you feel like you had been cheated? That your family had been cheated? And this is where Sejuani's heart hardens. She's gonna take that valley and then, in spite, want to punish those Demacian villagers. Because she's angry and hurt inside, Sejuani wants them to know the desolation and fear that she and her people had to survive.

Generally riot has _managers_ (Product Owners) make all strategic choices. It doesn't have _craft experts _(people like me) make those calls. _Sometimes_ we (craft experts) are asked to pitch ideas. (i.e. Who should a comic star? How does magic work etc...) Sometimes not. But we don't make the call. Or even the call of what we should be working on or pitching too. With casting a book, Larger choices by Product Owners are generally discussed with _Leaders_ (managers of managers). And casting a book (like Ashe or Lux) would fall into those discussions-- after a pitch was created. I would like to be more involved directing the overall story strategy. But I'm not a manager and I'm not a fan of office politics, which seems to be the largest requirement. So maybe it wouldn't be worth it for me. (Ah behind the scenes in the the _glamorous_ world of writing for a living!) For this comic, I was given the task of working on an Ashe origin story. I didn't choose her. But, when I decided that I wanted to show her with Sejuani-- I pitched that. That direction was okay'd. And that then later allowed me to explore Sejuani and Grena as having some sort of relationship both in the real world and within Ashe's heart.

1. "Fate" is one of the main themes of this comic, and Imho the freljord as a faction. Because the faction's earliest narrative depiction was of 3 sisters destined to fight each other. So I wove it more directly into the worldbuilding here. This is a warrior society that believes in fate and oracles etc... What is fate? Is your destiny your own? Or are we all cursed to follow some predetermined path? This is a theme hopefully all of the freljordian characters will express in different ways. 2. They died as babies. 3. I've basically assumed having magically gifted children is difficult-- in a society that probably already suffers from high infant mortality. But it hasn't been fully fleshed out at this time. 4. Honestly, I don't think about age in numbers. They are teens. They were tweens. Previously they were kids. They would be in the same grade. Exact numbers only create problems for other writers conforming to a specific timeline. So I prefer to leave wiggle room. 5. Hopefully all of the characters here are at least in some ways likeable and sympathetic. I tend to view "evil" as weakness and as a blindspot to your own selfishness. So no, I think Kalkia is very different from Ashe. She lacks Ashe's capacity for hope and as a visionary. Ashe's strongest moment for me in this comic is where she fights Sejuani-- but then reveals her deep empathy and understanding of her rival. That, in my opinion, is why she is worthy leader and hero. She cares about people. She understands feelings. But she doesn't let those feelings cloud her own moral choices. Back to: Kalkia. Ultimately, as a father, I'm not sure if I can forgive Kalkia for abandoning Sejuani to a situation she knew would be bad-- but I understand she was deeply unhappy, felt trapped, and has ultimately done the best she was capable of. She is not meant to be good or bad.... unfortunately she is tragic. 6. see 4 7. no spoilers. 8. Sejuani gets into a lot of fights. With the people in her tribe, with the Frost Priests, with her mom, and with her grandma. She's troubled. I viewed the scar as indicator of that part of her personality. Perhaps somewhere we'll examine the exact incident-- but at this point its not needed.

They are carrying dark ice. (Color is a bit weird -true)