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I have a weird xenophobic way to look at demi-human and other humanoid races of fiction and fantasy, often with spite and disinterest. This comic makes a lot of conflicting emotions surface and it has been a joy to accompany it’s work throughout the chapters. Icari specially, even with his unpolished beliefs, has proven to be a capable individual, very intelligent and resourceful not to mention his courage.
Keep the great work, Jordan, can hardly wait to see the development of chapter 5.
Thanks Bavette! Honestly, I feel similar. I think that’s one of the reasons I wanted to take the genre on. It’s under-explored to me. I hope that by the end of the book your emotions about it are no longer conflicting. 🙂
I have a lot of love for Icari too. I think he’s a really complex character and there is so much room for him to grow. He’s definitely going to be a very different person by the end.
I love these comics. I have read all the episodes so far. I watched them and really love them. Even now if I feel low I watch or read one of these and feel better then. Thanks for such wonderful comics.
Wow White! Thank you so much! That means a lot. I hope you’re getting by with just the chapters I have right now.
Any prediction as to when you’ll have Chapter 5 out?
It’s been a rough couple weeks at the office. I haven’t gotten nearly as much done as I’d like. I’ll probably need the month of May to get caught up and hopefully by June I’ll start posting again. I’ll let you know.
I have read all the episodes and love them a lot. All the 4 Episodes are just mind blowing and really cool. waiting for the next episode eagerly. Please update it as soon as possible.
Thanks Cooper! I’m working away on pre-production right now. There are a lot of concepts I have to flesh out. Don’t worry, I’m working as diligently as I can.
I am reminded of a piece of hominid fiction I read once a long time ago, where Neanderthals were incapable of lying, and even the concept was entirely foreign to them. Or, come to think of it, maybe it was the mosasaurs in the West of Eden series. Anyway; a different system of cognitive foundations might easily result it some concepts which are obvious to one species being interpreted completely differently to another. The point is: Icari’s gambit might be a lot riskier than he thought, but not on the side of the H. sapiens, despite them being portrayed as generally both more dangerous and prone to violent/militaristic acts than H. neanderthalensis.
I don’t think the author intends on taking this path, but just in case, I’m going to read through the whole thing again to try to find an instance of a Neanderthal lying, because I just can’t think of any examples at all off the top of my head. And any excuse to re-read the whole thing is always a good thing!
Hey Pen,
It’s a great point. I don’t want to give anything away but I do believe you’re right. There’s never a point in the story where the Tree People have been dishonest. However, they have been pretty skeptical of Icari’s story and they have used a lot of critical thinking and debate in the story, so I don’t think the concept is lost to them. If anything, I think it will be more a cultural difference rather then biological. Either way, Icari is playing in dangerous waters.
I’m curious to know what you think after you read through it again.
I believe that I saw the “unable to lie” concept in Jaen Auel’s series “Earth’s Children” .. Her Neanderthals- the Other’s – depended on all the nuances of gesture and body language to convey meaning, the 90% of communication that is non-verbal.
Very cool. I’m going to have to read that series. I’m way behind on my reading.
*In reply to jordan*
How does that work then? Are you going pretty with the flow, writing it as it goes?
Or would the third book be an epilogue of some sorts?
(Just so you know, at this time the reply system is all wonky. I tried to reply to my comment but that just resulted in your reply stretching over the new comment box, not allowing me to submit my reply.)
That’s bizarre. I’ll see what I can do about fixing that issue.
As far as a 3rd book. I have a vague idea for it. Books 1 and 2 are pretty much set in stone. If Hominids doesn’t pick up a larger audience I’ll probably forgo that 3rd book.
Great art, Great story, Great characters. You’ve got the three Gs so far, it’s all I can ASC for. *chuckle*
I love your comic, I’m looking forward to the rest, and maybe, one day, I’ll have the money to buy a print…
Thanks Opal! I do my best to be GGG! I’m glad you’re enjoying the book. I’m working away on Chapter 5 as we speak.
I’m intrigued to see how the Neanderthals respond to what has just happened. Icari is on shaky ground. I hope his little show doesn’t develop unfortunate complications and distrust…
You’re doing a great job telling this story, jordan.
How many chapters are we in for?
Thanks Luminous! Book 1 is going to be 6 chapters in total so only 2 more to go. Then I’m planning a 2nd book that will also be 6 chapters. Unless things go really well then I think I’ll have a 3rd book in me too.
Congratulations on 4 chapters, brother! Very cool accomplishment… Can’t wait for Chapter 5.
Thanks brother! Me too! Production starts now.
Love these comics. I have read all the episodes and love them a lot. They are just mind blowing and really cool. I always wait for the next episode eagerly. Waiting for the next update.
Thanks Rogers! I really appreciate it.
Ooo, nice save, Icari, and now you’ve given yourself their trust plus plenty of time to formulate a nice plan.
Plus: holy shit that’s his father. Yeah.
Icari’s a pretty potent liar. Sometimes it’s hard for me to tell if he’s being genuine or not. Is he speaking the truth in that last panel? Does he care/respect for his dad? (is that a plot point or will jordan openly discuss it?)
It’s a good question. I think with a lot of complicated father/son relationships, both emotions come through. He probably wants his fathers approval but at the same time, his father didn’t hesitate giving the order to kill him only a page before. That’s got to mess you up.
We’ll just have to see how that plays out. I’m excited about their relationship in the story and you’ll see a lot more of this new character.
I don’t mean to nitpick but at one point Icari says “I’ve always been a good son. Quite, submissive, …” I think it should be ‘quiet’. But otherwise, excellent per usual. Haven’t said anything before now but I’ve been following Hominids for months. Love it!
Thanks for the edit Selbin! It’s nice to have readers willing to give feedback, especially since we don’t have professional editors. Glad you left a comment and enjoy the series.
Icari sure can think of a solution to save his friends rather quickly. Hope they can see that it is the only way they’ll get out of this alive. Though being forced to be “live-stoke” would make anyone mad.
Definitely. He did have the whole battle to either join in or come up with a plan…but who knows, maybe it was his plan all along.
Woah, woah, wait a minute there.
You’re saying you deceived them and were kidnap SNO and trips-a-lot but you don’t want them to kill unimportant-looking-neanderthal? (I believe that’s what you’re calling them)
You better have a good plan in mind, Icari, for so far it’s not adding up..
Trips a Lot, haha. That’s awesome.
Seems like the human is calling his bluff too. Not sure I’d do much better under the threat of death either.
Whoaah, shit just hit the fan. Sno looks positively feral in that last panel. You’ve got me on tenterhooks! Can’t wait for next week!
Thanks Polaris! A lot is going to be happening in chapter 5. I can’t wait!
I read this and liked it very much. Its totally cool. Waiting for the next update. I wil purchase these books. They seem to be very interesting.
Thanks Morris! I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Welcome to the ranks of the Hominerds!
Ah, shit man! Keyli?
We’re killing off supporting character #1?
B-but… but he was my favorite… :,(
Fear not my friend.
Damn… poor Keyli got messed up… 🙁
He’s got a hard path in front of him.
is it just me, or did Pixar completely rip off Hominids off in that new movie?
I think it was Dreamworks, but I was curious about that. I haven’t seen it yet. Anyone else see it?
It has a similar look to it, but by all the trailers and reviews its not like this comic. The Croods has nothing like the species conflict here and its basically Fiddler on the Roof’s ‘we can’t befriend the outsiders’ with a bunch of nice visuals and jokes referencing today’s technology. It’s about a family coming together or something, but I guess I wouldn’t know.
Sounds family friendly, which is cool. I’ll chalk it up to the same genre.
After posting, I find I forgot to put a question mark at end of one of my sentences! I am such a goof. 😛
I like your hypothesis John. I’m not going to say either way though.
I forgot about that movie. It been so long since I’ve seen it. That said, thinking back on it, I’m reminded of it too. I plan on doing a bit more with it and think it’ll be really fun to show the consequences of having a shattered moon, because they would be huge!
haha, don’t worry about it. I do that stuff all the time.
The Shattered moon at the beginning of chapter four reminds me of the 2002 “Time Machine” film. Does it mean that this story takes place in a Post apocalyptic future (and there are many other clues that support this) or did you put it there because it looks cool. I’d go with ether one.
….
This better not be one of those ‘kill half of the entire cast’ moments…
Plus, there’s something strange about this comment system. The ‘website’ section is really huge and allows indented paragraphs. Yet the ‘comment’ section is really small and if you press ‘Enter’ it submits your comment.
I inferred that the two were mixed… let’s see if I’m right…
Ah, I figured it out… it’s just that, unlike most sites, the descriptions of each sections are BELOW the text boxes… that’s rather confusing for newcomers, would you agree?
Thanks for calling that to my attention. It’s a good point.
As for killing off characters, all I’ll say is these Neanderthals are pretty tough. You’ll just have to wait and see.
LOL, Basse is way too prone to getting stabbed XD
not that I’m complaining since he’s kind of a dick >>
Haha, it’s true. I think it might be a running theme. Just gotta brutalize the guy.
So we just witnessed the first arms advance since atalatl’s?
They’re still using the atalatls, they just found their moment….finally
woww it fantastic view. It was really awesome.I just can’t wait for next update session. I read all previous chaps and were, mind blowing!
So are these different populations different species, races of the same species, or just tribes of the same race? As a science teacher, I get very particular when people abuse this term. Members of different species can not interbreed to produce viable offspring; usually it has to do with the ways the chromosomes line up, but there are other factors as well.
Subspecies do not usually breed, but when they do, they can produce offspring, but the children generally can not reproduce. Lions and Tigers are subspecies; they produce offspring (Ligers and Tigons) but the males are infertile.
Races are just populations of the same species that generally have been isolated long enough so that some specific characteristics have become prevalent in one of the populations. This can be shown in humans with lighter skin colour as people moved north out of Africa which meant that we could more easily survive the harsh winters (lighter skin produces more vitamin D) along with other adaptations.
It has been implied that Icari may have gotten one of the ladies of the Tree People pregnant. That is a clear indicator that the Mountain People and the Tree People are at least the same species. They share enough visual similarities that I will claim that they are probably the same race as well. The greatest appearance difference is with the two albinos, who might be a different race, but sure appear to be the same species.
I agree that it is frustrating when people confuse terms such as species, subspecies, race, etc. and am always careful to ensure that my own students do not muddy the definitions through careless use.
However, I cannot help but point out that individuals of two different species are perfectly able to produce viable offspring in many cases (mules being the most famous), who are typically (but again not always) infertile. Further, lions and tigers are members of different species (Pantera leo and Panthera tigris, respectively), not subspecies, and just like horses and donkeys, their rare hybrid offspring are almost always infertile.
Subspecies within a species can interbreed, generally with less fertility than members of the same subspecies, and typically produce offspring with reduced fertility. Sterile offspring are possible but not the norm as for interspecies hybrids.
I was under the assumption that Icari was H. sapiens whilst the tree people were H. neanderthalensis, based on the artist’s careful (and much admired) attention to physiological details. Based on the definition of species, the fact that Icari seems to have impregnated a neanderthal does not at all mean they are the same species; the foetus may be a sterile hybrid. Or, possibly, the story is occurring whilst the two species are still separating, and they are somewhere in the grey area between separate species and subspecies: their offspring has a non-trivial chance of developing normally and being fertile.
There is of course a chance that despite the careful depictions of morphologies, the writer intends the humans and tree people to be merely separate races, but based on the implied long isolation of the two groups and the large number of accumulated physiological differences, this seems unlikely. I particularly enjoy the many differences between the other hominids seen thus far, and look forward to more. Oh man, I am such a hominid junkie that I virtually worship this comic.
David, thank you for the insightful and awesome science post! Despite the fact that this a pretty fantasy based fictional environment, I do my best to try and get a lot of science right. I care very much about the differentiation between species and the like. So much so I’d change my story to better fit the science if I’ve missed something. I am a bit of a laymen so it can definitely be the case.
I was going to have a lengthier rebuttal but Pen^3 articulated better then I can. The Tree People are indeed Neanderthals. The storyline of Icari getting Zona pregnant came about after reading several articles suggesting that Homo sapiens have about 4% Neanderthal DNA. I thought this couldn’t be since we are different species like you were saying, so no offspring. But the DNA is in us so we must have bred.
I really love the discussion and would be very interested to hear more. My knowledge of science only goes so far.
Pen^3, I’m glad you love the comic so much. I knew there would be an audience for this genre!
At the end of the day, we’re all Hominids right? http://www.geekosystem.com/human-neanderthal-offspring/
When I noticed you missed a week, I figured you had a good reason. This isn’t a good reason. It’s a GREAT reason. This is one of the best one week off comic I’ve ever seen. Looks like the mountain people are out in force. Nice use of the atlatl there, usually just see guys throwing them by hand.
Thanks! I’m glad you noticed the Altalt. The first time I saw them I definitely wanted to use them. They’re so cool! This is really the first we see a big battle between the two species so I wanted it to be pretty explosive. I’m glad you like it! I’ll be back on track here on out.
new page is AWWWEEESOOOOME.
Thanks brohirium!
Yay! I can finally comment! thank you! ♥
You guys are are doing awesome work! When I get paid next, I’m buying your books. Fantastic page. Leaves me with so many questions. Love it!
Thanks Jande! I’m glad you can comment on here now too!
Hey! you fixed the replybox!
Btw , This last image had to hurt making it, Think I’ll make a personal wallpaper of it, this sucker deserves it.
Thanks so much. It was definitely a beast to take on but also lots of fun. You can see why I missed last weeks update.
And yes, finally fixed the comment issues! Comment away Firefoxers!
This page is awesome.
New page is awesome!
Thanks! Just wait until next week!
icari DOES have a point….
We were all thinking it right!?! It’s funny, that was a last minute rewrite. It kept nagging me as to why they’d bring Clumsy along. I figured if it was bothering me its bothering everyone else too. I’m actually pretty happy with the answer.
Great storyline! I’m enjoying the characters as well as the art. I can envision an extensive set of adventures for everyone involved — very cool! Keep up the good work.
BTW, I’ve had trouble trying to leave a comment with Firefox 18.0.2. Can’t write in the name and email lines though the comment box is active. Works fine with Chrome, though.
Bill, thanks so much! I would love to be able to do an episodic series highlighting all the characters and their adventures. Maybe someday if I’m able to do this full time.
Sorry about the Firefox issue. I’ve been trying figure it out. I know a few people have had that problem. I’ll let everyone know when it’s fixed.
Looooove this work! It’s incredible! Such a well-thought-out plot, so much detail in the pages!
Thanks so much DeColuvj! That means a lot. I’m glad you found the site! Things are just getting started.
I have read this so far and really loved it. The new look is great and attractive. As mentioned in other posts, the goofy expression is really funny. I cannot wait to read the next chapter.
Thanks Brianna! That is really sweet of you to say. I really try and pay attention to facial expressions and reactions.
Wow, it’s almost like Icari was thrown forward in time by the look of that place.
A worthy theory is all I can say.
And the plot thickens…
Thank you jordan for this awesome comics, bookmarked.. will read when i got home 😀
Thanks for checking it out Peter! Glad you like it. Let me know what you think when you’re up to date.
ow .. I suppose meta theology is as good a way to start a HAPPY NEW YEAR 🙂
Just a little bit. The rest of the chapter is pretty action-packed though.
After chapter 3 , I was waiting for that update. Goofy is too good this time.
Waiting for next update.
Thanks Jordan.
So she has hope that he is correct. In this case, her hope is faith; faith in his story and in him. If she did not believe in him, she would not have that hope. So she is not that far from understanding his faith after all.
David, You’re definitely right. I’ve spent a lot of time having Icari grow and learn from the Tree People. I wanted a scene where some of them get something out of him. Right now, Icari’s and Lye’s major difference is that he does believes whereas she wants to believe. She just needs something a little more concrete. The important thing is that they’re starting to understand each other.
Thanks Jordan, ive read a few and its good so far 🙂
Thanks Kiefer! Glad you checked it out.
AWESOME!
BEWARE the THING from the BELLY!
Too true Sarah!
It appears I CAN in fact post through Firefox, but the fields for name and mail don’t show the input.
The entry page loads correctly, but the image pop-ups fail to load the images. I can use “Open in new tab”, which loads a page from gophoto.it with the image, so there is a level of functionality, but not a smooth operation.
Not sure what the importance of the search engine is, but I typically use Metacrawler. My preferred browser is Firefox.
I thought the issue might of had something to do with the search engine but I suppose not. Thanks for bringing the issue up to me. I’ll look into making it smoother.
Do you know that your website coding essentially excludes those of us who don’t like Internet Exploder? Even the comments section won’t accept input to the Name and Mail fields. I haven’t tried it on [Shiny and Impermeable] as I dislike it even more than IE – and that takes some doing. ☺
I’m sending this through a special link set up to load IE to view your site – I guess you should feel honored, as the only other time I use IE is for Microsoft Update (They are a little snitty about connecting via something else. ☻).
I enjoy the story immensely, but wish I could include and view it with the rest of my favorites.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I wasn’t aware of that. I haven’t heard of anyone having problems outside of IE before. I use Chrome and it seems to work. If you don’t mind, what search engine do you usually go through. Then I can investigate. I definitely don’t want anyone to be excluded.
I’m using Opera 10.10 on OSX Tiger, and I have no trouble viewing the comic (except for the infamous black bar on whatever page I view first.)
The “Comments” editor is completely f@$#ed up, though: the previous comment completely obscures the comment form so I had to guess which field I was filling in, and the contents of the Name and Email fields was completely illegible. The Comment field itself became visible when I tabbed to it, but I can’t see the Submit button at all, so here’s hoping this works… 😉
Love the new page! The goofy expression on the bird in the first panel made me burst out laughing. This is what I look forward to every week, and next week could not come soon enough!
Thanks Polaris,
Those birds are a blast to draw. I’ll write a little something about them and what their deal is soon.
Thanks for coming back each week. Any nights were I feel like I need a break and can’t continue I read these comments. Knowing people wait each week for a new page makes me so happy.
New page rocks! I love the layout and the sense of adventure as the tribe mounts those grouchy looking birds…
I always wait for next update, I am loving there junglee look. I got addicted to your series. I want to buy the book, can get online?
Hey Waytt, I’m glad you are addicted to the series! The 1st 3 books are available in the store. I get them out as quickly as I can.
Thanks!
Got my issues today, so stoked! On an unrelated note, it’s rather surprising to see how much hair Sno really has. Also, you already answered about the inspirations for the Flesh Eaters and Root Dwellers in chapter 3, but how about the briefly mentioned larger species in chapter 1 that lives ‘by the water’? I have an idea or two, but want to be sure.
I’m so glad you got them already! That seemed fast. Thanks for picking up the books and being my first online customer!
Sno definitely has quite a bit of hair. When I was drawing those armpit shots I just kept picturing her trying to shave them. It didn’t make any sense and I was already drawing a bunch of naked people running around the jungle. Might as well make then hairy where it counts.
As for the giant water dwellers, I’m very curious to know what you guessed. I based them off of a more ape like species called Gigantopithecus: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantopithecus
Though they’re not technically a hominid, they were a very close relative and lived along side us for a very long time. These guys where the biggest ape species ever, standing around 10 feet tall! How could they not be in the story!?! They won’t be in Book 1, so you’ll have to wait to see what they’ve evolved into in Book 2.
Thanks again!
Glad you put them in the store. The downside of living in a state with no Cons and having no time to travel.
But yeah, Gigantopithecus was one my guesses, it being amazing what you can learn when you watch Discovery Science and the history channels, although being tied with them being a nod toward the more mythical/potentially undiscovered species like the bigfoot/yeti/skunk ape/etc.
Fortunately more and more conventions are popping up all over the place. I’m looking to see which shows I want to do most this year. Probably Denver, Phoenix, and of course Seattle. You know which shows are closest to you?
I unfortunately only know of the major ones that occur far away from my humble city of Omaha. A simple search through google reveals two conventions in the city. Nuke-con which is a gaming convention and Anime Nebraskon. Not sure if you’d find either interesting but there they are.
Hi There,
I love this series very much and its definitely a great fun. I will be back for next page.
One more thing please check your your comment form, I think it needs some corrections as I am unable to see my posting info in the text boxes.(I have opened this page in Opera)
Thanks,
Hey Eric, Thanks for the feedback. I’ll look into it. I’m so glad you like the comic.
Nice new page! It said a lot with out saying a word. You might have to fix this “submit comment page”. The brackets are listed wrong.
Thanks a bunch! It was a really fun page to experiment with storytelling without words. I’ve always been really inspired by the way Pixar and film like Fantasia were able to do it with such eloquence.
Also, thanks for mentioning the comment brackets. I hadn’t noticed it until you brought it up.
Been WAaaayy to long
But what a comeback!
I agree Anglo. It took too long. That first page took awhile but I’m glad you thought it was worth the wait.
A couple of links for your perusal ( my interests come from a somewhat different direction )
http://www.cavemanchemistry.com/
and
http://www.primitiveways.com/index.html
Cool. Thanks! I look forward to checking them out.
Wow!! When episode 4 would be available on stores? Great series, I have first 3 episodes, I bought these from stores and watched these episodes around 5 times. These are the part of the funny things of my life.
Thanks Hunter! I’m so glad you like it. I’ll start posting Chapter 4 this coming Tuesday so keep a look out.
It was great meeting you at NYCOMICCON!
It was great meeting you too. Thanks for coming back to the site and checking things out.
Jordan, it was so nice meeting you at Comic Con. I felt AWFUL for almost walking away with your comic without paying (stupid me! and I even had my wallet out!!), and I’m so glad I went back and bought the other two issues. You’re series has stunning art, a gripping plot and plenty of comic humor and fun for any fan. I’m definitely recommending it to my friends!
It was nice meeting you too, and don’t worry about it. I was just happy you picked up the books.
Stay tuned. Lots of good stuff coming soon!
Looking forward to chapter 4! Have a blast at NYCC!
Thanks Mutaziod! Just got my exhibitor badge and can’t wait for this weekend!
I just can’t wait for next update session. I read all previous chaps and were, mind blowing!
Thanks Taylor! I should have 4 ready soon.
I had a chance to glance a couple pages, Preety cool! I’ll read it in deaph eventually….
Thanks Antione! Let me know what you think when you’re all caught up.