One of the things I wanted to do to give this story a more "manga" feel is to throw in some of these "chibi" versions of the characters at points when I can put some humor into the story where it won't compromise what should be a serious or suspenseful moment... so this is just such a moment. (And it also foreshadows the predicament she'll soon find herself in... )

One of the biggest challenges I've faced as I draw this story is trying to capture that elusive "manga" look. I have learned so much about what goes into that look we in the West associate with Japanese comics... and I'll admit I don't see a whole lot of it in my work, aside from the large liquid eyes. Panel arrangement is part of it... and yet, publishing in a Web format, I have all the space (vertically, at least) to make each panel as large as needed, so I don't need the overlapping panels and other techniques that have been developed over time (in comics generally) to maximize the limited space of a printed page.

In my own reading, I often find such "zappy" layouts to be a distraction to enjoying the story. Isaac Asimov once wrote a column comparing two styles of fiction writing, which he referred to as "stained glass" (overly stylized, "look at me I'm a writer" verbiage that obscures the story) and "plate glass" (the plain, unadorned style he preferred that lets the story be the star) styles. In that sense, I proudly declare that I am a "plate glass" artist. I will strive to render what I draw within the panels to the best of my ability, but I don't spend a lot of time trying to "design" a page except inasmuch as to facilitate reading the story.

So my style isn't really much of a "manga" style after all, perhaps... but it is a style in which I enjoy drawing.