Sketchbook: A World Within A World

Pencil on paper

Castle Whatsitsname is set in our own world - as much as any work of fiction can be. It's an Earth we would recognize. Even the strange spirit realms, after all, are products of our own beliefs. They're just a bit more tangible in the comic than they are in real life.

Until she stumbles into the Castle, my main character Alyssa doesn't believe in werewolves or angels or demons. But like myself and my friends, she finds the "real" world just a bit too dull, a bit too lacking in magic. She and her best friend create an imaginary kingdom, a Terebithia of their own, pictured here.

I've had floating islands and flying ships hanging around in the back of my subconscious for over a decade. One of the many reasons CW has been so much fun to develop is that it serves as a dumping ground for all the random ideas and visual brain-farts I've had over the years. I rarely have to come up with something out of the blue - I just mine the back burners in my head for something interesting. It's rather like antiquing.

Now I just have to think of a name for this place...

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