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Working on a new 7-page Commander & Scout story! It will be part of a new C&S book. Click the image and vote to see a whole roughed out page
If you want to see all the progress and finished pages as they are done (page 1 is already up!) Become a Patron of my work at Patreon
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Who knew Bob had a toy from the 80’s up his sleeve?
Poll: If you’ll notice there’s a little poll over in the right sidebar about how you found Marooned. Please take a moment and cast a vote, it will really help me with the strip. Thanks!
โ Tags: Puzzle, Robot, Rubik’s Cube
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When I plan out a story, I’ve got all the key points figured out including (generally) the ending. So I know where I’m going. But within that structure, or set of waypoints, are “open areas” that leave me freedom to “fill in” the story. This is definitely one of those kinds of strips that shows up in those spots, unplanned. Often they end up being really good strips. In fact, the last two strips would fall in that category.
We know John is boorish and wears his ego as protection. He’s kind of a jerk sometimes, a little self centered and maybe not the brightest bulb in the lot. But what else do we know about him? He did reveal that he was an orphan to Ril when they first met. But here Asimov hits all the typical reasons why he figures John wants to go home, but it looks like none of them fit. Other than Earth being home, it doesn’t sound like John has a whole lot waiting for him. Almost makes you feel sorry for the guy!
I’ve mentioned before that I read a lot, typically sci-fi but some fantasy. Anyway I just finished Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke. I’ve not read a whole lot of his catalog, actually. This book centers around Earth being visited by the Overlords – a massively advanced alien race – that forces them into one world government and peace. This seems good initially but it turns out they have plans that they are not letting us know.
It seemed like a really great premise, but the book just never delivered. The book is somewhat short at like 225 pages – not necessarily a bad thing. But the problem was I never really connected with any Earth characters, and the aliens are not really the protagonists either. There’s nobody to latch onto in the story. So at the end when dramatic things are happening, I was not really affected. I wanted to find out, I had invested the time reading the book, but I really didn’t care so much.
It’s important that you have characters people care about. I think that with Marooned, that is something I need to work on. Do we really care what happens to John? Often he’s kind of a jerk. And Asimov isn’t exactly someone you love even though lots of people get a kick out of his comments. Anyway, it’s something that’s on my mind and I’m trying to improve.
My next book is Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein which I started last night. I’ve wanted to read it for some time. So far, pretty interesting.
If you are a new reader, you have jumped in at the perfect time. We’ve just begun a brand new story in Marooned. All you need to know is that Captain John (the spaceman) and Asimov (the robot) have been stranded on Mars. Ugo the Martian (the green guy) has put them up in the Martian underground city Vita, and they live there now. There are other various Martians you’ll meet along the way. Sit back and enjoy the story!
If you want to be fully informed, you can start reading from the beginning
You can also read Episodes in full-screen mode without digging through the archive!
As I mentioned briefly previously, I planned on making a second, more affordable version of Mars Wars through CreateSpace. Yesterday I finished laying out the interior of the book. I simply need to put the cover together and upload the files and review the proof. It really shouldn’t take that long.
So for those of you who wanted to get the book but balked at the price, this will be a much more affordable book. There will of course be some differences, but essentially you will be getting the same book. Here’s a breakdown of the 2nd print:
Timeframe? I’m guessing a couple weeks until it’s available. Generally depends on how long it takes them to process the files and get me the proof. Also, I have to adjust the cover artwork to fit the new size.
Keep in mind if you missed out on Out of Orbit, it’s available here for $9.99
Note to those of you who ordered books, yesterday I sent out the first batch of like 8 books. They are going out first ordered/first shipped. I’ll be working on the next batch this week. I hope to get them all sent out in 3 shipments.
Also, interestingly, there are a couple of used Marooned items listed by someone on Amazon. I don’t get any take from these secondary sales, but I figured I’d let you all know.
First there is a version of the first print of Out of Orbit. Of course they were all signed. It doesn’t say what number book it is. Doesn’t appear to have a sketch in it. They are asking $19.95
The same person has listed the Ashcan I made a couple years ago for the same price. If it’s truly the first one that I hand made and assembled, it’s like 20 pages of B&W strips, the very early ones, with a page of development art. If it is indeed that one, I think I only made like 15 copies, so it’s a pretty rare thing. There’s certainly nothing new or special inside, but if you are a completist, this was the very first thing I put out.
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โ Tags: Asimov, Dwelling, John, Ship, Ugo
