One of the first images that came to mind when I was conceiving of this story was that of an Indian warrior, at the end of the battle, holding one of the 7thcavalry banners aloft and screaming to the sky that they’d won the day.
The horse was abandoned because it made the image too vertical and our book featured a landscape format. So Val reworked it as a horizontal image.
Clearly, this image is loaded with meaning, but we imagined this warrior as one of a proud band who faced extermination, fought back, and won a battle, even if it were just for the moment.
Final inks by Val below.
NBM Blog 
yay Jim, congratulations. I’m looking forward to seeing the work in this guise! Will Morgan / Seattle WA
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