Order of Tales (comic)
From Rice Boy Wiki
Order of Tales is a comic by Evan Dahm that ran online for two years, from July 2008[1] to July 2010[2][3]. Order of Tales spans sixteen chapters (split into three books), in 744 pages. It is Dahm's second long-form webcomic set in the world of Overside, after Rice Boy.
The story follows Koark, the last Teller of the Order of Tales, as he becomes entangled in an ancient, mysterious plot involving the Bottle Woman. The first chapter is set in Red 219, and the subsequent chapters are set fifteen years later, in Red 234,[4] which is roughly 600 years before the events of Rice Boy.
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Published Editions
Order of Tales is available in three print volumes, which were released over a period of two years from April 2009 to February 2011. Each book contains extra material, such as spot illustrations, chapter names, and an appendix of historical information ostensibly composed by the historian Kerküsk.
At first, Dahm had thought he would publish each chapter separately with its own appendix and concept art, but in the end only Chapter 1 received a separate printing, in October 2008.[5]
Book I: The City of Shells
Book I was published in print in April 2009[6]. It is 224 pages, and contains:
- Chapter 1: "The Teller's Castle"
- Chapter 2: "The Tree Town"
- Chapter 3: "The City of Shells"
- Chapter 4: "The Bottle Woman"
- Chapter 5: "The Fallen Hornèd"
The Appendix has four entries: "The Order of Tales", "The Castle at Skystem", "Dorl", and "Tenshells".
Book II: The Hand of Stone
Book II became available for preorder in November 2009,[7] and after a formatting issue[8] was published at the end of December 2009.[9] It is 280 pages, and consists of:
- Chapter 6: "The Hand of Stone"
- Chapter 7: "The Fortress in the Trees"
- Chapter 8: "The Shadow"
- Chapter 9: "The Immortals' Plan"
- Chapter 10: "The Machines"
Its Appendix includes "Stonepalm", "The Colonization of Hornspine", and "The Black Teeth".
Book III: The Tower of Smoke
Preorders for Book III of Order of Tales began in early December 2010, a year after Book II was published. Dahm completed a proof of the book at the end of January 2011,[10][11] and he published and distributed it in February 2011.[12] At 296 pages, it is the longest of the three books, as it contains six chapters (11-16) instead of the normal five.
- Chapter 11: The Serpents
- Chapter 12: The Dark
- Chapter 13: The Desert
- Chapter 14: The Torch
- Chapter 15: The Sword
- Chapter 16: The Tale
The Appendix contains three entries, "Terassir", "The Shadow Monument", and a Timeline.
Single-Volume Edition
Evan Dahm has indicated that Order of Tales will, in the future, be available in a version that combines Books I-III. However, this will likely not be available until Spring 2011 at the earliest,[13] although Dahm wants to have it ready by March 2011 for Emerald City Comicon. At the end of January 2011, during his preparation for Book III, Dahm reiterated his intent for a single volume edition "within the next few months".[14]
Dahm plans to offer the combined edition as a softcover (like the other Order of Tales books), as well as a limited hardcover run when it is first printed. Judging from the page counts of Books I-III, a combined edition would be about 800 pages, over 50 pages longer than the comic as published online.
Translations
Unlike Rice Boy, there have been no major translation projects for Order of Tales. However, the first fifteen pages were translated into Arabic as a "learning exercise" by a member of the Koala Wallop forums.[15]
Reviews
- Storming the Tower: The Two Sides of Overside's Trippy Coin
- The Webcomic Overlook: Order of Tales
- Luprand's Webcomic Musings: Review: Order of Tales
- Digital Strips: Review - The Order of Tales (podcast)
- io9: An epic of mechanical men and a weaponized woman
Links
References
- ↑ http://riceboyart.livejournal.com/25789.html
- ↑ http://www.rice-boy.com/site/diskootend1.png
- ↑ http://twitter.com/evndahm/status/17679863466
- ↑ http://forums.koalawallop.com/viewtopic.php?p=173610#p173610
- ↑ http://riceboyart.livejournal.com/28914.html
- ↑ http://riceboyart.livejournal.com/36323.html
- ↑ http://riceboyart.livejournal.com/50686.html
- ↑ http://riceboyart.livejournal.com/52145.html
- ↑ http://riceboyart.livejournal.com/53619.html
- ↑ http://twitpic.com/3v8fpu
- ↑ http://twitpic.com/3v8ioy
- ↑ http://twitter.com/#!/evndahm/status/13041496206876672
- ↑ http://forums.koalawallop.com/viewtopic.php?p=190313#p190313
- ↑ http://twitter.com/#!/evndahm/status/32153312597901312
- ↑ http://forums.koalawallop.com/viewtopic.php?p=135387#p135387
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