Hey fellas!
With Tower of Death in its fulfillment stage, I am turning my attention back to Fistful of Yen.
And what better way to dip my toes back in the water trough than with a
DOUBLE
PAGE
SPREAD
PINUP:
AhAhAhhhhhwawawaaaaaaa (alright, it’s not easy to type the Good, Bad, Ugly theme).
Of everything I’ve shared so far, this gives you a first look at some of the supporting cast.
Let’s take them one by one starting with the top-left.
Sentenza
Sentenza is the main antagonist for the Man With No Name (Clint Eastwood) in Fistful of Yen.
He is visually based on Italian actor Gian Maria Volonte, who played the antagonist in the first two Dollars Trilogy movies.
He was initially supposed to play the Lee Van Cleef character Angel Eyes in Good, Bad, Ugly, and that character’s name was also originally “Sentenza” (Spanish for “sentence”).
So, here in our spiritual sequel to the Dollars/Yojimbo series, Volonte finally gets his shot at a villain named Sentenza.
The little wooden horse is an important plot point, and if you remember his character from For a Few Dollars More, it’s gonna be kind of an homage to that.
Lady Izumi
Lady Izumi (pictured at the top here, and on the right of the double-page spread) is the main antagonist for the Ronin With No Name (Toshiro Mifune).
She is a crime lord and daimyo in the final years of the Edo period, seeking to maintain control of her territory and resist Meiji reforms.
Imagine someone who worked their way up from the very bottom, and the second they finally got to the top of the food chain, the world changed. That’s Izumi.
She’s extremely bitter and ruthless, and directs most of the action from the bad guy side in Fistful of Yen.
Her design is still evolving a little bit. I haven’t quite gotten that desperate rage look I want to see yet. But she is based on Misa Uehara from The Hidden Fortress, so that should give you an idea of how feisty she’s going to be.
Nozomi
Nozomi (the one with the melted Noh mask) is a secondary antagonist. Sort of a majordomo/Jafar type figure to Lady Izumi.
Nozomi is an out-and-out witch, with supernatural characteristics. We don’t go full supernatural, but I am taking Fistful of Yen into a bit more of a pulpy direction than the movies, so the character does have that kind of creepy, otherworldlyness to them.
Tessai
The man in the mask is Tessai. This is your classic Indiana Jones large henchman. He’s the bloody-knuckled bruiser in Lady Izumi’s court.
Not much to say about him, except that he’s going to give the boys a run in chapter II.
The ninja guy below is a generic henchman in Lady Izumi’s court. There’ll be a handful of them running around all the time. I more or less lifted the design from Ninja Scroll.
That’s all for now! Hope you enjoy the art and the behind-the-scenes look, and if you haven’t subscribed to Fistful of Yen, you can do so here.
Be good.