Homage!

JGray

Look who's the star of today's installment of Apple of Discord! Go over there and check out the bit of fun Adam Smithee has at our expense. While you're there, subscribe to Apple of Discord's RSS feed and peruse the archives. Trust me, you won't be sorry. Apple of Discord combines a solid plot with some wonderful geek culture parody.

Speaking of parodies, tributes, and easter eggs... well, it segues right into today's commentary. The inspirations for Mysteries of the Arcana are many. In a way, you can say anything I've ever seen, read, or played has been an inspiration. Some, of course, are larger than others. The DC comics mini-series, “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, for example, introduced me to the concept of multiverses. The writings of Tamora Pierce, Douglas Hill, and the comic series, “Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld” helped develop my thoughts on strong, female protagonists. The Prydian Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander made me fall in love with fantasy. And, of course, Robin Wood's tarot deck helped create my love for the tarot.

Occasionally, we try to pay homage to these influences and sneak things into the comic. For example, did you know that the cat-girl hologram Theresa shoved Chrys into is actually a stylized portrait of Keith's lady love? Or that the appearance of BbuzZ's plant servant was modeled after Audrey II from “Little Shop of Horrors”?

Anyone who is a fan of the “Ace Attorney” series of games for the Nintendo DS (and now the Wii!) should recognize Chrys's pose in the last panel of today's page. It is one of my favorite Miles Edgeworth poses.

And Chry's line, “In this way, I will become unique to it, and it to me” was inspired by one of my favorite children's stories, the “Little Prince”. Here's the exact scene I mean, from the 1974, musical film based on the book. The Little Prince is played by Steven Warner. The fox is played by the amazing Gene Wilder, easily one of the best actors ever. The “unique” line happens pretty early on but watch the whole video through. You won't be sorry, I promise.