This is an exciting week for us as we enter the home stretch of our kickstarter campaign. We are really thankful for all of the tweets, retweets, articles, facebook links, and just really positive word of mouth about our Wild Blue Yonder project. We never imagined all of the benefits doing a kickstarter would deliver beyond just helping us get the project off the ground. We've had the chance to interact with so many of you. It has been awesome to meet so many people who love new, indie comics as much as we do. So, for those who are excited about this book as we are, if you could make one last push on twitter or one last mention at your local comic store, we would really appreciate it. You've all gone above and beyond to help us out and we will always be grateful.
So, to update you on where the book is right now, Zach is currently hard at work on a new set of pages. This is hugely exciting. He is almost halfway done with the first issue and is entering the book's first dog fight.
One thing a lot of people forget about is how time consuming it can be for the artist to create a comic book. I'm not just talking about laying out a page and drawing the actual book. I mean the time it takes to create an entirely new world from scratch. Zach (and Austin and I, in our much easier writerly ways - "Draw a big jet fight!" ) has spent a long time perfecting and tweaking the look of the world that the Dawn and her crew will inhabit. He has created an intimidating fleet of warships for them to be on the run from and a leader to tremble before. He even created an extremely cool bar on the top of the mountain to open our book in. All of these things take time and, when they are done, are a sight to behold.
So today we've included a shot of The Peak, which is the bar that our opening scene happens in, as well as a shot of The Dawn itself. Both took some time to develop. The Peak was important because it was our first introduction into this world. It had to feel like something that could be built on a mountainside and that would be a destination for those looking to grab some ground time without chancing the extreme disease and sickness of the lower elevations. The Dawn on the other hand, had to have some tangible qualities to it. How does it fly? Where do people live on board of it? How would it defend itself against attack? These, and about a million other things, are all thoughts that go into building a flying fortress and home. So enjoy a sneak peek at both and thanks again for all of your help.
WORLD FACT #4 - To live on the ground is death - While most of the surviving population on earth have taken to the skies, there are many pockets of people who still live on the ground eeking out a miserable existence. Their lives are filled with sickness and decay, but they are the lifeblood of the fleets above. The life spans for those on the ground is extremely short. This is not only attributed to the radiation and pollution all around them, but also by the lifestyles they live. Most people on the lower altitudes of the planet work in refineries or mines. Dangerous lives with little hope of reprieve. They spend days underground milking the last drops of fuel from the earth for their masters in the sky, masters who promise a better life in the future. Few ever achieve it. However, in a world with no hope, this small sliver of light is like a blinding sun. All people on the ground hope for that lottery ticket that will deliver them, or a loved one, into the clean sky above. Will there ever come a time when those below rise up and revolt? Perhaps. But without the know how and apparatus to fly, these earthbound will forever be tethered to the dirt that is slowly killing them, indentured to masters who have no intention of freeing them from their chains.
