Marooned

I’ve talked briefly about this in the past, but this is the official announcement. At the end of this current story, the plan is to release the definitive version of Marooned as one BIG story, in one big, beautiful book!

Now, you might be asking: “Why reprint parts of the story that have already been printed in books one and two?” Good question! I’ll tell you why: because is isn’t right. As Marooned has evolved, many problems have surfaced in the archive. Certainly some of them are art-related. Colors changing, styles changing, and frankly, just some bad art. But the biggest problems revolve around the most important issue: STORY.

There are glaring inconsistencies in the archive. There are places where I rushed the story, or told it wrong, or even told it bad. There are holes that need filling. So the main goal is this: to tell the story of Marooned as one large graphic novel, and to tell it right. And second, to make a beautiful, fun to hold book that is a joy to read.

This is going to be a challenge and a large project. I’ll certainly need your help to pull it off. I have a 9-phase plan that will culminate in a Kickstarter campaign. If that campaign succeeds, the book will be printed. Below are the key features of my plan for the book:

• The art for nearly every single strip will be revised in some fashion. I’ll be making colors and settings consistent, making uniforms match, and fixing bad art. (This process has already begun).
• The story will be fine tuned to be the complete and consistent Marooned story. That means I’ll be changing the text, editing by adding, subtracting and rewriting. Inconsistencies will be fixed and bad writing will be made good.
• Additional strips will be added (and some things may be removed). Where the story has been rushed or is unclear, strips (or panels) will be added to make it work. One of the downsides of a webcomic schedule is that you always feel like every strip has to leave you wanting more. This doesn’t leave much room for those “story moments” that you really need. I’ve only just begun this process and I’ve added 3 strips to the first 20 already. This will make the story better.
• Some key extra content will be included that directly pertains to the story. So “Payload” and “Evasive Maneuvers” should be in there. Possibly the Dr. Ugofandian strips will be as well, although if I do they will be reworked.
• Because the book will be large, I will probably keep other bonus content to a minimum, but I would expect there to be a few special pieces included.
• The plan is to have a nice hardcover book printed with signatures, which is a way to have it open enough so you can read it properly.

The bottom line is the book will contain Captain John’s journey from hapless to hero, along with the full stories of all the other characters as one complete graphic novel. You’ll be able to read the story the way it was really meant to be read, and to see it presented as it was meant to be seen.

I’ve already blogged about little items from the project here and there. I will keep you updated on the progress via the blog as well as the Facebook page, Twitter and G+. Soon I’ll put together a little widget on the site that tells you what phase I’m in and how far along I am in that phase.

I’m hoping you are as excited about this project as I am. It’s challenging on many fronts, not only with art and writing, but getting the campaign together and pushing for funding. It won’t be easy, but you have all been really supportive of my books in the past. I’m looking forward to reaching that point. In the meantime, back to the digital tablet – there’s work to do!