I think I realized a while ago that I needed to reboot Prince of Vermin. The comic as it is makes passable entertainment, but I feel the nature of the story isn’t suited for Webtoon’s format and pace — even though I still intend to make it available there, of course! The artwork and storytelling quality is no longer up to the vision that has grown in my mind.

The premise began very simply; a man goes hunting for a monster in the woods, only to meet the monster and discover he’s more like the man than he expected. The two would befriend each other and go on adventures that I just made up as I went. I recycled Zibal’s design from another comic, designed the monster who became Kano, and (if my memory serves me correctly) made the first comic completely without a script.

This would’ve worked fine if I had stuck to the silly improvised misadventures, but it only lasted until Zibal and Kano crossed paths with their first adventure.

I’ll go deeper into Jinaara later, but she transformed the narrative immediately. Suddenly there was something to protect — the philosopher’s stone, Jinaara herself — and a dragon to slay in the form of her master, Nicolas Flamel. An adventure of this scale demanded more care than the casual project I had in mind. This is why I need to start from scratch — to tie it all together, to make it look beautiful, and to make sure the story still belongs to the Prince of Vermin.

The relationship between Zibal and Kano will be an important part of compelling the reader. The story should be watertight, but people remember characters first. Zibal is bold, crooked, and flamboyant, while Kano is cautious, morally upstanding, and as subtle as an ogre the size of a small elephant can be. However, a friendship is forged when Zibal fails horribly at trying to kill Kano and the ogre takes pity on him. Zibal winds up feeling indebted to Kano, while Kano has a heterosexual case of the I-can-fix-hims.

Much of the design changes made to Zibal were to freshen up what he started out with. The tunic and scar he acquired in later chapters is there from the get-go, the earrings add to the roguish look, and his half-sword is a little longer. The red cape has been exchanged for a scarf, partly because I didn’t enjoy drawing the cape, and partially because I felt the scarf fit him better. I also realized, pulled over his face, it reminds me of the one worn by The Shadow. Another (better) story about a reformed criminal. I like how The Shadow acts for good while retaining a villainous flair, something for me to keep in mind going forward. Even if Zibal winds up on his best behavior, he doesn’t need to act like it.

Like Zibal, Kano’s initial look and costume design are relatively unchanged from the first run of the comic. It’s basically his original look retouched for some visual interest, which I figured would be cool enough as a presentable character design with room to shake it up. He could get a jacket, wear his hair differently, lose a few pounds, lose a tooth, whatever I decide serves the story.

I think the most interesting change for Kano is his hair. I figured if it were a lot longer than it was, he’d look cooler, and in my admittedly biased opinion I was right.

Thinking on it, I MAY change the style on one of their pants, given that both have that funny looking cuff at the bottom. Maybe give Kano something a little more boot cut.

I don’t have much else to offer at the moment. Next time I’ll come back for more redesigns -- maybe of Jinaara, so I can complete the trio. The general story isn’t plotted out as fully as I would like yet, but I have already begun delving into the rewrite of Chapter 1. Expect that to be bigger and funnier than the version on the webtoon.