As I have mentioned before, my boyfriend Tamar Curry makes a webcomic called Lumia’s Kingdom, which I edit. This isn’t Tamar’s first webcomic and he also minored in Sequential Art at the Savannah College of Art and Design, so you can imagine he’s had a lot of time to learn the ropes of comic-making.
The following is a post he wrote on some of the obscure references he writes into his comic for his blog, Knaddian, and is cross posted here with his permission. While this certainly isn’t a deep introspection on his writing process, it does explain some of his place naming process and how that’s shaped some of his characters. It’s a post that, if you read between the lines a bit, reveals a lot about a webcomic creator’s thought process. This is the first in a series of posts on the obscure references and hopefully I will be able to post the rest of them in the coming weeks.
Take it away, boyfriend!
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In the first on a series of obscure references in Lumia’s Kingdom I’m going to focus on something that might not be quite so obscure to some of you. Surely you’ve noticed the most obvious joke; it was the very first implied joke in the comic.
That’s right.
“The greatly hung king of Knadds.” Lumiere XI’s grandeur was not a freak accident; each and ever single one of his forefathers were equally endowed (more so, in the case of Lumiere VII).
Enter Lumia, his tiny daughter who, up until now, was trying her best to live a quiet, normal life. She’s the first queen to ever rule without the company of a male counterpart.
Already this implies that she’s going to have a lot of difficulties trying to get ahead in what is obviously a male dominated profession. Not only that, but she has to do it when her ancestors pride themselves on their masculinity so much that they never bothered to wear any clothes.
So we know about Lumia’s disposition. But what about her peers? What do the names of the countries say about them and their upbringings?
Let’s start with the boisterous Queen Camilla.
Camilla, bless her heart, hails from the country of Mastodia. Mastodia is named after the word “masticate” which is essentially the process of chewing food. Mastodians are known for living it up; they are an extravagant people who have a reputation for doing anything and everything excessively. If you’re going to throw a party and you want to go over the top, then have a Mastodian plan it for you. This is the very reason why Camilla has taken it upon herself to plan out Lumia’s inauguration ceremony and suggest some of the skankiest dresses for her to wear from a rather questionable publication.
Next up is Pectoralonga, homeland of the very sweet (and horrendously strong) Lady Kara.
Derived from the word “pectoral”, Pectoralongans are an incredibly powerful race of humanoids with pointy ears (which only the most ignorant and masochistic of observers dare to point out.) In addition to their strength, Pectoralongans also tend to be very short-tempered; even the most reserved of them are known to undergo a complete personality switch once they are involved in a battle for more than five minutes. They are also notorious for underestimating their own power. This detail alone has made their nation’s carpentry and construction profession extremely profitable for centuries.
The last nation we’ll talk about today is Lobest, birthplace of the tentacled queen Madam Uupa.
The name Lobest is a mutation of the word “lobe”, in reference to several parts of the brain. Lobest has built a reputation for being one of the most efficient and industrious nations in the region. They have very skilled artisans, engineers, architects, philosophers and scientists. Their competitiveness stems from the fact that they are at a bit of a disadvantage; they are an underwater nation having to compete with land-bound countries for trade and business. In fact, there is a famous saying in Lobest: “Get wise fast or die even faster.” Unfortunately, their isolation has made them a bit weary of others. They often overthink things and are quick to jump to assumptions and become paranoid about the actions of outsiders. It’s not all mistrust of others, though. Growing exposure to foreigners have led to an increase in curiosity of other species, what they have to offer and, unfortunately, has given way to a rise in marital infidelity.
I’m afraid we’ll have to end it there for today. Rest assured there will be other nations (and quirky monarches) to learn about in the future.
