Scylla Page 3


This page transitions from the subterranean tension of Chapter Three: Scylla to a polished corporate office, revealing the internal power dynamics within Metascience that run parallel to the events unfolding in the tunnels. DeBarett, a sharply dressed mid-management employee stands at Ventrik's desk with an air of confident entitlement. He leans forward as he tells Ventrik, “You can’t do this,” expecting the weight of the company hierarchy to settle the matter. Across from him, Ventrik sits calmly at a laptop, fingers steepled, responding with steady, almost amused composure. The office setting - grandfather clock, carved woodwork, and heavy furniture—contrasts with the mud and chaos of the sewer environment from previous pages of the webcomic. Their exchange focuses on Metascience’s contracts: DeBarett cites the board’s expectations, while Ventrik points out that there is a single contract left (after the Tribunal project was stolen), and that redirecting every resource toward it ignores the broader potential of his research. Ventrik explains that isolating the biological factor behind certain individuals’ extraordinary power could reshape future contracts entirely. DeBarett pushes back, reminding him why such work was outlawed and warning that "when information escapes, the company loses control, and when Metascience loses control, outside forces on the Circuit or beyond inevitably exploit the weakness". The page ends with their ideological divide laid bare: Ventrik’s vision versus DeBarett’s corporate caution and self-importance, highlighting how ambition and internal politics shape the world of Dystopia as much as anything happening underground.

Chapter 03: Scylla – Page 03

A rewarding part of the artwork for Scylla has been growing my ability to convey emotion through subtle facial expressions, something that’s an important for the more nuanced, character-driven stories that Jackwraith creates. The artwork has to carry the mood of each scenario, and on this page, that meant leaning hard into quiet tension rather than overt conflict.

Ventrik and DeBarett were a fascinating pair to illustrate because, while their outward behaviors appear similar; controlled, confident, self-assured; their motivations behind those expressions are very different.

Ventrik maintains an almost expressionless calm, the kind that comes from believing he’s the smartest person in the room and acknowledging that everyone else can’t see things as clearly as he does. DeBarett, by contrast, wears the polished confidence of corporate mid-management: someone who imagines their role as far more pivotal than it actually is (we've all met these types, right?). Neither is angry because both think they’re the one holding the power in the conversation.

The goal here was to make that tension readable without relying on the usual emotional cues - no raised voices, no scowls… just ego, posture, and carefully controlled expressions. Finding that balance is a fun exercise in storytelling through expression, and a reminder of how much a single eyebrow shift or hand gesture can shape the tone of a scene.