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Bit of a change this week, Spacers!

For the first time since I started doing these comics 18 months ago, I haven’t been working on a short story. I’ve been working on something much bigger.

A script for a full size comic!

And after a bit of trepidation, I’m getting more and more excited. It's classic Bad Space: Astronauts in trouble, hard science, big questions, existential dread, and plenty of blood.

So what the hell brought this on?

Well, first of all, I’ve been advised that if I want to get my short stories into print with a decent publisher, I’d be better launching a long-form story first. This will get more eyes on it, and will mean more interest in a short story collection later on (which apparently is a harder sell).

Secondly, after more than 40 of these stories, I’ve been itching to expand some of them into something longer: The ten panel limit is a great motivator, but it also means I have to dump A LOT of really good ideas - which can be frustrating.

So this feels like the next logical step. It's definitely a change in gear though, and I admit to not knowing how you might feel about that. Hopefully it's something you would like to see!

I can promise to give you updates as I move forward, behind-the-scenes art and sketches, which no one else will see. Once I have a firmer grip on format and so forth, I may even be able to serialize it as I go, but until I then, I don’t want to make any wild promises. And I’m really open to ideas from you about how I could proceed.

Any thoughts? I’d love to hear what you think!

Files

Previews only

Comments

David Vance

I'm so excited to read this when it comes out! And yes, I also can't wait for a collection of the short-form stories. Let us know if you ever need beta readers lol

badspacecomics

Oh hell yes, you peeps will be it. I will definitely be calling on you to eyeball this stuff before anyone else.

Max

Yes please! I'd love to read a long story.

badspacecomics

Yus! Thanks Max. I'm still thinking of ways I will continue to produce more short stories along the way too, but I just need to figure out the best approach.

Jugsy

This sounds awesome. I love the digestibility(?) of the short comics, but more room to flex can only be a good thing. I really like the spacesuit in the second picture!

Virginia Streit

Omgosh this is so exciting! Congrats... really looking forward to seeing whatever eventuates.

Jackblackmamba

Hell yeah, shoot for the stars and if you miss we’ll be here to read the gory details about you getting lost out there

john ruble

Yes please! Two ideas: 1) Preorders, whenever you’re far-along enough to be comfortable taking them. It’s a way we can vote for the book’s existence, and maybe a helpful metric for you? 2) Give us a way to avoid spoilers, for those of us who would like to inhale the whole thing upon its completion. Does Patreon have a spoiler tag? I’d be happy to see landscapes and spacesuits and characters along the way, but want to be surprised by major plot elements.

Jackblackmamba

I initially read the first idea as “predators” and thought “oh hell yeah but I think that’s trademarked”

Anonymous

Whoop! Tell me where to pre-order! (when you are ready! I am ready!) 😅 🔥❤

Bruno

TAKE MY MONEY ALREADY :D excited to see what comes of this!

Carlos Avila

The worst thing that can happen is that something is learned. Go for it.

Philip DiNuzzo

Very excited to check out a longer story! I'd love to see extended versions of your existing stories someday as well.

badspacecomics

I would love to extend a few of those stories too! Some of them felt a little short changed by the ten panel limit, and could easily have been longer, while still being short stories.

badspacecomics

Thanks William - I’ve been doing lots of drawing and writing over the last few days: designing space ships and even mission patches, as well as contacting a couple of experts to get their opinions about my science. It’s exciting!

yangwong

Yes please! And let us know what we can do to support the hell out of it.

badspacecomics

Brilliant! Thanks buddy! I’ve got the week off from my day job, and will work on it full time for the next few days, so stand by for updates 😁

Noah Wright

Love these, I would like to say tho, It’d be really cool/ unique if the form factor could be similar to that of the IG posts. The limited panel constraints gave them a really cinematic feel that I feel would be missing if there were more than 2 or 3 panels per page.

badspacecomics

That’s a good thought, Noah. For this story I’m currently experimenting with what format will work best with my art style. I’m really fond of that approach too, so it’s top of mind. On the other hand I’m aware that this format is quite novel, and I’ve had some resistance to getting my stories published in print form because of that format. So I’m going to have to consider carefully what exactly I want to achieve here.

Phoebe Randall

I truly wish I could give you more money at this moment, so a pre-order sounds like something I could save up for! I just came across your work today, and already I’m obsessed!! If you don’t get published, I’m officially rioting at every publishing house haha!

badspacecomics

Aww thanks Phoebe- just having any support from you means a lot to me! But I will bear you in mind for some rioting; I need a few people ready and willing to smash some stuff! 😅✊