Just a heads up that it’s possible there will be no strip on Monday. It’s a very busy weekend for me with my skating club’s big race which takes up the whole weekend, plus my wife’s birthday. I’m also busy with work. So, as much as I hate to miss a post day – I haven’t missed one yet – it might happen. Now back to your regularly scheduled robot sulking.
Previously on Marooned…
While attempting to send a message to Earth, John fell ill. He returned to the Martian sanctuary Vita to administer antibiotics, which made him worse. Ugo has now brought him to the Volotrum (also called The Dark Ones), his only remaining chance to be healed, where he has been speaking to “She-Who-Hears” about his predicament.
Meanwhile, Asimov and Ril got trapped in a sandstorm and had taken sanctuary inside Captain John’s ship. They have returned safely and are now awaiting the return of John.
New Readers
The current storyline starts right here, or you can read from the beginning of the strip. Be sure to check out the about page, which explains the story and the main characters.
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That rumble effect is cool. I think these two are going to become very good friends. (much to the dismay of Asimov I am sure.)
Ack! You missing a post is almost like me NOT missing a post! (back before I went all hiatus-y)
I’m liking the strips individually, and the story is coming along great, but DANG it’s slow going. Almost makes me wish it was just a monthly BUNCH of comic pages, so the story doesn’t seem quite so slow.
Yeah Doug, I’m aware of that big time. I feel like it’s slow too. Unfortunately, nothing I can do about it. Twice a week is nearly more than I can handle and I don’t think a once a month batch would help me out any.
Okay, after these last few strips I just have to say “Ril is just too darn cute, has a fantastic sense of humor, and truly understands the human/robot condition!”
JfD
Yeah, I really like the rumble. Having a comic that updates twice weekly, I get the concern of pace as I worry about that all the time. I think sticking to the 6 to 8 panel format has helped greatly with pace.
Yeah Ril has got Asimov pegged
Agree Don, the larger format has helped. Steve Ogden suggested it, and I think it was a good move. It’s more work, obviously than doing simpler straight 4 panels, but I get more in, and it seems to fit my style.
However, it allows me to do 4 panel strips now and then, and when I do I get nice big panels. So it works both ways.
Yeah that RUMBLE panel is GREAT!
Fantastic atmosphere, Tom. Just really great all the way around, great sound effect, great light, love the action lines around Ril, great character. This is maturing into a lovely little strip.
As for what Doug was saying, I completely sympathize with both of you. I see it from your side, Tom, as a creator, and I see it from Doug’s side as a reader, that a pile of strips would be much funner to dig through than these little drips and drabs.
However, as a creator, the update schedule does help me keep plugging away at the content (even though I’ve missed my share of updates…) and I’m not sure I’d have the discipline to keep going otherwise. But can you imagine doing a batch of strips and then releasing them in one torrential downpour, say, a chapter at a time?
I wonder if anyone would wait a whole month for a batch of strips? At that rate, I guess there’s nothing to stop people who want to gorge themselves on a batch of Marooned from just waiting a while, and then plowing through a bunch. I have a few people who do that way with Moon Town.
But I’ve also talked to people who have stopped reading Moon Town because they felt like they feel with some TV shows, that they got behind and didn’t have the time to catch up.
What to do, what to do. Can’t please everyone, or at times, anyone, it seems, least of all ourselves. I for one only judge a strip on its storytelling pace, not on its delivery pace. And I think the pace of your storytelling is right on, for what it’s worth.
Thanks for the comments Og! As usual, I’m seemingly less happy with the effects than everyone else. In any event, for the chapter dump – my worry is exactly as you say, discipline in getting it done. I don’t know that I could. I think it would just end up fading away.
I have had people who fall behind and then read big chunks too though, it happens here too.
Hmmm is there something romantic forming between Ril and Asimov…
Asimov is quite snarky so I’m guessing he has some ability to feel
Tom, with 12 panels of storytelling a week, you’re definitely providing more story than many other webcomics I read. It seems like you’ve found a good rhythm with this update schedule and format, so I wouldn’t change it now.
On the other hand, you could try to speed up the story a little, introduce more plot points, etc. There really haven’t been very many “events” taking place in this storyline. But who cares? It seems like you’re getting more enjoyment out of exploring the characters and how they relate to each other. If that’s the focus you want to take, I think that’s great, so stick with it.
Thanks Tony, I do feel like I do a bit more work than two standard strips. It mostly feels like two “Sunday” strips per week. Sometimes I do a 4-panel, but it’s rare lately.
The 6 panels seem to match my writing style, where I can stretch the story and allow for some humor. But the size still lets me do 4 panels or even more if I want to. So kudos to Og for suggesting the format.
I’m pretty happy with how it’s going. I never set out to become some kind of webcomic celebrity or anything, I’m fine with how things are going.
well, I am one of those examples. I follow several pages at once and then go elsewhere to give you time to update. The only problem is that my comments are not timely.
I tend to enjoy the strip in bigger chunks, but that is the beauty of webcomics. You can have your fix on-demand. You want it as frequesntly as you can? Right on. You want a bigger dose like me? It works too.
I love it.
I noticed! But that’s totally cool, however you want to enjoy it. I don’t mind that comments come later.