Ori v. Goroshi I - Notes
This is the first battle between Ori and Goroshi. I had just published "Fall in the Bamboo Grove," in which I used an ink & brush style inspired by Japanese Sumi-E art. I continued this same style for this webcomic. I cannot say I am happy with the art here, but I do think the last two pages here are better than the first two.

The reason I created this webcomic was mainly to show what the art looked like in my latest print comic at the time, as well as give an example of just how effortless it is for Ori to dispatch a random enemy. I needed someone to attack Ori, so why not someone who just attacks anyone carrying a sword. I found a Japanese/English translating website, and looked up a few words. I found "Hitogoroshi," which was translated as "Murder/Murderer." Perfect meaning, but a bit long, so I trimmed it down to just "Goroshi."

In writing the webcomic, I thought it would be amusing to have the attacker use a Naginata weapon. I think the naginata is an awesome weapon, sort of like a spear with a broadsword at the end. However, I've read somewhere that it's considered a "woman's weapon." So there's a motivation for this guy to attack people. He's trying to prove that his chosen weapon isn't for girls.

This character, Goroshi, was meant as a disposable villain. After finishing the webcomic though, I felt like I hadn't had enough of the character. Normally, dead means dead in my comic world. I'm not at all a fan of comics who kill off and bring back characters all the time. In this case however, I felt differently. I saw an opportunity for a rival for the hero. Ori is such a skilled swordsman, who could oppose him? How about an enemy that wouldn't die so easily. Fueled by hatred, fate, or whatever, Goroshi would return.