Modern Carapace

Modern Carapace: "O Bounty Of Thy Ribs FINAL VERSE"

For your reading, here is the full epilogue to my first Modern Carapace comic. A wordless 12-page story of the Ribs, a remote desert region in the Western United States, teeming with life under the harsh sun, ruled over by the towering Armacada: pale subterranean insect kaiju. Rarely seen on the surface, their arrival is a portent of life (the arrival of the male Armacada to feed the juveniles) or death (the ritual burial of their dead). Join mecha pilot Esther as she observes the funeral rites of this remarkable species.

I'm opening commission slots if anybody is interested! Three different tiers to meet the needs of whatever the heck you want me to draw (within reason, probably no NSFW stuff).

I got interviewed on the Constructing Comics Podcast and had a lot of fun talking about my influences and techniques. Give it a listen!

The Mantle Dauber, nearing her death, crawls into her vast subterranean nest. Illuminated by the slowly fading glow of her detached egg sack. The Spore that is overtaking her body has spread to her eggs, each resting its own chamber. The future of her offspring is a narrow path.

Excited to share the illustration I did for "Onward," the first full-length record by Lammoth. If you like Tolkien and black metal, you'll want to check out Lammoth's work, which fuses the two to thrillingly whimsical effect. He's one of my favorite working musicians and I'm honored to cover this record, which is all about hero of Middle-earth, Bill the Pony! You can listen to the first single and preorder the record here: https://lammothofficial.bandcamp.com/album/onward

MODERN CARAPACE

The Megafauna that have appeared in Modern Carapace stories so far* alongside the Tarantula Hawk for size comparison.

Armacada Sovereign | Subterranean Insectoid Burrowing Megafauna

In a desert region called The Ribs dwell the Armacada. Armored and pale, they seldom rise from underground, where they burrow deep into the earth, feeding on the soil, diverting subterranean water westward. Their coming and going is crucial to making the Spore-covered West hospitable. Every seven years the juveniles emerge under the cover of powerful sandstorms to feed on a royal jelly provided by the Armacada Vertax, a male with a large sail on his back. The female Sovereign observes from afar. This ritual is crucial to the development of the juveniles, but also makes them vulnerable to poachers, and Armacada carapace is much desired.

Armacada Vertax | Nomad Insectoid Trophallaxis Megafauna

Scattered across the United States, and potentially the rest of the world, are males of the Armacada family. The only airborne of their kind, they sail on the wind with a large appendage on their back. Accounting for the radius of the Vertax sail, they are technically the largest megafauna yet recorded. When hunting for food, the Vertax allows their sail to cover the ground around them in what is called a "death tent," trapping their prey within. Lined with globules containing necessary sustenance (and, it's speculated, generational memory), the Vertax will arrive under the cover of dust storms or hurricanes, delivering food to juvenile Armacada. Roughly every seven years new broods of Armacada are born, and the Vertax makes his deliveries until his body cannot produce more sail silk.

Osst | Feline Defensive Emesis Megafauna

A master of stealth considering her size, the Osst is mostly defined by how little is yet known about her. While it is surmised she is feline, she has almost as much in common with bats (her large snub nose, her powerful ears) and, strangely, amphibians. When hunting, she will vomit up her intestines on her prey, dissolving their body with a powerful glowing acid. Just as easily sucking her intestines back in, she will feast primarily on large aquatic prey, picking at their carcass over many weeks.

"Crabe De Menthe"

Very little is yet known about this gargantuan crustacean megafauna distinct from its utility to the Osst. The celia barbs covering its long claws are thought to have a similar function to deep sea crabs, catching and filtering nourishing bacteria from open vents on the ocean floor. Three large gills on its back fill with air when it surfaces, allowing it to return to the depths and hold its breath for as long as it takes to collect sustenance.

Agaricarus | Composite Fungal Epizootic Megafauna

Public-facing information about the Agaricarus is scant, but after years of study since their emergence and subsequent death, █ █████ ██ ███ ████ ██ ████ ███ █████ ████ ████ █ ████ █████████ █████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ████ ██ █████ ██ ███ ███ ██████ ███ ███████ ███ ████████ ██████ ███████ ███████ ██ ██ ███ ███ ██████████ ██ ████ ███████ ██ ███ █████ ██ ██████ █████████ ██████ █████ █ ██████ ███ ████ █████ ████ █████ ███ █ █████ ██ ███ ████ ████ ██████ ██████ ███ █████ ██ ████████ ███████ █████ █████ ██ █████ ███ ██ █████ █ ████ ██ ████ ███ ████ ███████ ██ ███ ██████ ███ ████ █████ ██ █ ██████ ██ ███ █████ ███ ███ ██ ███ ████ ██ █████ ████ ██ ███ █████████ ████ ██ ██████ ████ ███ ████ ████ █████████ ████ ████████ ███████ ██████ ███ ███ ████

Mantle Dauber | Solitary Hypogean Apis Megafauna

Fiercely territorial, the Mantle Dauber spent most of her life building an underground chamber for her offspring. After mating with a drone, she consumed him, and his remains were repurposed into a vessel for incubating her eggs. The Mantle Dauber is unique among megafauna for being negatively effected by the Spore, and ingesting it leads to an agonizing death. For this reason, there is speculation the Mantle Dauber is a fairly young species, ill-adapted to the Spore as an energy source in common use by others of its size. A concerted effort is in place to protect eggs not effected by Spore exposure, building new manmade nests outside of the Spore Quarantine Zone.

Tarantula Hawk 2