Shadow’s Depths Page 10

Transcript

Shadow’s Depths page 10 of the Dystopia webcomic continues the conversation beneath the Spill as Jasper explains more about his people and introduces Modrena.

In the first panel, Jasper is shown in a close frontal view. His pale green face is long and humanoid, with red eyes and tendrils growing from around his eyes and radiating outward. He tells Bradson that he must have spent time on the Rim to know the term “Morlocks,” adding that his people prefer another name but are comfortable with the simpler “citizens.”

The second panel turns Jasper slightly cocks his head to the side as he addresses Colonel Frazier. His large bat-like wings rise behind him. Jasper promises that his people will be far more hospitable than most things the soldiers will encounter inside the city, noting that he overheard their earlier conversation.

In the third panel, Jasper stands beside the soldiers while Frazier still holds his handgun. Jasper challenges the Force’s tendency to assume that nothing inside deserves either the right to leave or the time to be understood, saying they would rather “just shoot them and be done with it.”

In the fourth panel, Jasper turns toward Modrena. Modrena’s light-blue face is visible as her tendril-like hair floats and curls around her head. Jasper explains that some of his people like living here far longer than the soldiers might imagine. He suggests Modrena can show them what he can only use words to describe.

In the fifth panel, Bradson and Frazier react. Frazier asks, “What? How would that happen?” Bradson then remembers hearing a story from a Market trader about “the Links.”

In the final panel, Modrena fills the foreground, her large dark eyes and floating tendrils clearly visible. Jasper stands behind her and confirms, “Modrena is a Link,” adding that he hopes the story Bradson heard was positive.

 

Comics

Chapter 04: Shadow’s Depths – Page 10
Posted on October 5, 2026 by ALFA

Giving Jasper a Voice

This week in Dystopia: Shadow’s Depths, Jasper has a lot to say. Bradson has recognized the term “Morlocks,” but Jasper begins to explain that the world beneath Haven is more complicated than the Force may believe. Not everything inside wants to leave or is waiting to attack. And when words are no longer enough, Jasper suggests that Modrena may have another way to help the soldiers understand.

This week’s Patreon essay steps behind the page to look at something that usually works best when readers barely notice it: lettering.

ALFA talks about giving Jasper his own visual voice and looks at the challenge of finding a typeface that feels distinctive without sacrificing clarity, how lettering can help a character sound different before the reader knows why, and why another reason for Jasper’s unique lettering will become clearer later in the story. The essay also digs into the practical rules ALFA normally follows when lettering the Dystopia story.

Readers interested in extended creator commentary, lettering, page design, and the visual storytelling behind Dystopia can find the full article on Patreon.

→ Read ALFA’s essay on Patreon

News

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