Smoking Serpents is a personal passion project I’ve been writing, illustrating, and publishing by myself for the past 5 years, based on a fictional setting I’ve been working on for 8 years. It is a samurai neo-western based on classic Samurai Cinema prefereably by the director Akira Kurosawa. The artstyle includes rich hand-drawn pen and ink crosshatching, which I utilize to the maximum on each page. However, due to the complicated artstyle and conflicting schedules with work and school, the development of Smoking Serpents has been at a snail's pace. Which is why the series is currently 2 and a half issues in, with issue 3 set to come out in 2026.

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The story takes place in the samurai-governed islands of Tekkan, amidst their recent industrial development that revolutionized and overthrown the sacred conventional values of the Seigun; An elite class of warriors that guided the country for hundreds of years. Replaced with the ashigaru footsoldiers of Clan Tatsu, whose quantity outmatched the Seigun’s quality, but without the cultivated virtues of the Seigun, the samurai of Clan Tatsu quickly became unorganized and corrupt, leaving the common folk to pay the price.

 

This setting is inspired by both historical events, such as the Meiji Restoration and the Satsuma Rebellion, as well as the stark contrast between how samurai are portrayed in media (honorable, wise, above cheap tactics) and how samurai actually were (cutthroat enforcers, aristocrats, as corruptible as any man, and complete willingness to use any means necessary to achieve victory). While I purposely made Tekkan “not” Japan and “not” located in our world to have complete creative freedom over historical contexts, I still think it is very important to stay true to the culture and fundlementals to real life Japan. Which is why terms such as “shogunate, “samurai,” “ashigaru,” and many others will remain intact.

 

Since this setting is currently a feudal Japan-type world undergoing a massive industrial age, and as much as I want to refrain from using the term “steampunk” to describe it. A lot of the technological advances located in the populated districts of Tekkan include inventions such as diesel/steam power, railroads, guns, typewriters, efficient mining tools, automotons, and really cool and impractical armor. Which will very much play into the “western” feel of the world, which will be an ode to the many spaghetti westerns inspired by Samurai cinema.

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Mythological elements from Japanese culture and folklore will also play a prominent role in the setting. Supernatural creatures known as yokai will roam Tekkan and will even blend in with their technological advances.​​

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