Before I begin, let me just say this. DON’T PANIC! I’m not stopping the strip or anything like that. This is just me musing about what is next for Marooned and what the future may hold. Okay? Okay.
Lately I’ve been thinking about what comes after this current episode, and I’ve been thinking about doing other projects, too. The truth is that no matter how many things I try to do at once, there’s really only time to focus on one thing. So while I have ideas for other things, I’m not quite free to pursue them.
I’ve mentioned before that this current episode is probably the longest one I will do (to date). I’d say we are maybe around 25% or so into it, I wouldn’t expect to finish it until sometime late in 2012 – especially at the current rate of production. It’s a big story that, as you have seen so far, encompasses a large portion of the ensemble cast.
Of course, I know how it all ends. Without giving too much away, I can say that the episode ends in kind of a natural… “resting place” for the characters. In other words, at the end, there isn’t an obvious “next story” to tell. So far, the stories have very naturally led to the next one. That will not be the case this time. So I’d have to think up something completely new, some new direction, for the characters, or bring in some new ideas about the setting and the Martians.
Or, I could do something else. Take a break from Marooned and start a new project. I’ll admit when I see cool new projects being released – projects that clearly have had some thoughtful development (unlike Marooned!) – I get itchy to do something new. (For example, Chris Oately’s Greg the Megabeaver’s Prehistoric Sideshow, which looks fantastic.)
I’ve begun some work on my 2112 comic adaptation, but it’s extremely slow going. That could be one thing. It could be something completely new. I could do something radical and reboot Marooned entirely, although I’m not sure that’s something I really want to do, because it would involve rehashing some things. I’m not sure what the real point of that would be. I think Lian is a fairly compelling character, and I wonder if there’s a way to spin her off into her own series that would make sense. She’s by far the deepest character in the whole strip.
Some of this thinking comes to me because I do feel as though Marooned has kind of run its course in a way. I’ve mentioned before that the strip is no longer growing (in spite of my best efforts, although the truth is I am not able to give as much in promotions as I probably should). The lighter schedule has definitely lost me some readers, but there’s simply nothing I can do about that.
I am super thankful for all of you who continue to read though – don’t get me wrong! It’s great fun to post a comic and have our little conversations. (And for those of you who lurk, stop by and say “hi” sometime in the comments section.) I have some extremely loyal fans, and that has always been an astonishing and wonderful thing to me.
My posts in the last weeks musing about a book also met with a pretty mediocre response. At this point it’s hard for me to think there’d be the support to do the book I want to do. It’s very hard to tell based on comments on a blog and rough surveys, but it feels like there was a lot more interest in the first book than there is right now. Possibly that would change when I come up with some special content (if I can in fact).
Anyway, that’s where my brain is right now. I’d like to think that if I did something new, you folks would at least stop by and check it out. I’d hope it would be as good or better than Marooned, but who knows. To be clear, I have made no decision at this time, and don’t plan on making one until the story begins winding down (or some idea comes to me that I just cannot let go). There’s still a lot to be done here, I mean Lian is trapped on a ship thousands of miles above Mars, kidnapped by a maniac for heaven’s sake!
Once again thanks to every one of you for reading. Have a great weekend!
Second, Justin asked if I would let you all know it’s there. If anyone wants to help fill out the pages, you are welcome to help out. There’s a rough beginning there with a handful of pages. But I’m sure if you folks are creative, there’s a lot of things that could be added. 
