Ciphers Decoded

If you've been following me for a while you'll know I like to include ciphers and codes in my comics.  Black Voyage is no different as I include ciphers that enhance the story and hint at future stories i'm working on like 'Smile' or ' silence comes knocking'. These ciphers are easy to find but what do they mean well here I will be detailing what they mean and how to solve them.

The most noticeable part of the cipher pages are the animals in the center. these were inspired by totem animals.  I liked what the animals represented that they could illustrate character traits. So I researched totem animals and what they represent to see if any represent the traits of Elizabeth, Blackbeard and future characters.

I found this image below that details a large selection of animals and what traits they represent. Most of theses didn't corresponded with my characters until I found the totems Grizzly Bear, Raptor and Buffalo skull. These three Totems represented the key traits for the corresponding characters. 

The traits were included on the page as the characters don't develop those traits until the page has been absorbed.  

The Grizzly Bear represents a hunter which is what Jack the Ripper is after absorbing the page.

The Raptor represents speed and theft which work perfectly for BlackBeard who as a pirate needs those traits.

The Buffalo Skull represents sacredness and reverence of Life. I felt this represented a future character as Sophia respects the life of this character and causes the events of that project to take place.

Next you may of noticed that behind the totems there is a giant symbol and each one is different. I found online and thought they were really interesting. I found out they are from a game so I had to rework them before I used them. The meanings behind the runes will stay the same but there connection to my comic will be different to there original use.

I used three symbols, Disorder, Illusion and Hunger (Undead). These symbols represent a key component to there identities. The disorder is apart of Rippers self as she suffers from ego-dystonic as she is in constant conflict with her self belief. This is what the page brings out in her.

The Illusion represents Blackbeard as he has deluded himself that he is untouchable when we meet him.

the final symbol I use is Hunger, this is for my future character and as you can guess there is an undead element to that story so I felt was perfect for this page.

Here are the pages if you wanted to solve the ciphers and not read the comic. I decide to go with two different cipher types the vigenere cipher and templar cipher. The vigenere cipher is the one at the top and reveals the character they are connected to in a figurative sense.. The key to solve this cipher are the numbers.

The other cipher is the Templars cipher which when decoded reveals a spell that hints at the powers they get once they absorb the page.