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by Remus Shepherd |
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Think it's time for a 'State of the Comic' report.
Things are going pretty well, but it is an effort. And due to some health problems and intermittent vacations, the buffer is all but gone. I'm facing the very real possibility of missing an update in the near future.
There are several ways I can handle this. I can update whenever I finish a page, but that would give the comic an irregular schedule that I wouldn't want readers to have to follow. Or I could go to a once-a-week schedule, which would be easier and more relaxing for me, but then the story would take forever to tell.
It's slow enough right now, at least from my perspective. :) We're finishing the introduction of our major characters, and by the end of Chapter 4 (Nick's Story) all but two of the story's thirteen major characters will be on stage. At that point the comic will be officially open for business, and I'll start advertising it for real. To prepare for the grand opening, I'll be fixing up the layout and navigation, as well as adding an 'Extras' section with some story-relevant material. I'm modelling this after the comic 'Watchmen', which had text-dense extra material in every issue that gave hints about the unveiling plotline. I hope it helps the readers enjoy the comic -- I know things are confusing right now, but the puzzle pieces will eventually fit together.
It's strange, how different a comic is from writing a story or novel. You can wait until the middle of a novel to reveal the central mysteries of the story. But most comics have no defined end, and they unroll so slowly that people lose patience. Well, I'm learning how to write the comic form, and I hope the Extras section will keep your appetite whet. The first Extra will be Demonology 101, explaining the relationship between what I call 'demons', 'avatars', and 'gods', and it should be up within days of this message. This is information that I was going to reveal in the comic eventually, but I don't want you to wait any longer for it.
As for the buffer woes, I think my best plan of attack is to keep forcing myself to draw fast, even if it means drawing badly. When I read webcomics, I value writing quality and regular updates over art quality, and that's what I intend to do here. So I'll be changing styles occasionally (you've already noticed some stylistic waffling, I'm sure) and trying out new things until I find a mode of drawing that works for me and is quick. I still can't promise that I won't miss an update, but it's my goal not to.
If you have any comments, suggestions, or requests for things to add in the Extras, please feel free to post them on my LiveJournal.
I'm in for the long haul, here. It's at least a two-year story, although I'm still hoping I can gain the skill to speed that along. Hope you enjoy the ride. :)
(Click here for comic text)
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Orbstar: Nick, Foil, just stay near me. I can keep this forcefield up all day. Debbie, how's it going? Debbie: Fine. This guy's fun. |
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