Let's do this inverted pyramid/newspaper style: the big news right up front.
Today, I'm thrilled to launch Incredible Doom - Eternal September, the third volume in the series Vanity Fair called one of the best of the year. It's an intimate, harrowing comic series about the first generation of teenagers to pour their lives onto the internet, this time in the world of blogs. Featuring a new cast of characters, and to be serialized for free online, it's the perfect place to jump on board. The first issue is now up at incredibledoom.com, with new scenes posted regularly.
Here is a little background about how we got here:
For months and months, I was haunted by one question:
What - comes - next?
The success of the series "Incredible Doom" exceeded my expectations. It garnered praise from notable press and personal heroes, leading to a publishing deal with Harper Collins. I had stumbled backward into having a literary agent, editors, a lawyer, and a Hollywood agent. All of whom I loved working with. All of which meant my next step had to be pitching a new book to publishers. Right?
Even though I love working with all of those folks, and would do it again, I missed self-publishing each time I ventured even slightly down the big publisher path a second time.
Things like writing HTML, budgeting, sharing with patrons, and grappling with printers had become as much a part of creating comics to me as writing and drawing. I missed doing things myself.
So I proposed a bold idea to my collaborator Jesse: a return to our roots with a revival of "Incredible Doom", exploring the untold stories from our initial run. Available for free online - where our story unfolds - and published as mini-comics, like the ones I've been obsessed with making since I was a kid. Something funded by our readers, if they'd have us. A direct connection with our audience would enable us to create more of the beloved extras and feelies that were so exciting about our initial run.
Jesse was on board, and we started work, writing and drawing over 90 pages of the new series, the first chapter of which is up at incredibledoom.com right now.
Like the previous two volumes, "Eternal September" explores the lives of a few of the first wave of teenagers who find connection, love, heartbreak and danger in the untamed wilderness of the early internet.
Although it's the third volume in the series, it's also the perfect place for new readers to jump on board. It introduces a brand new cast and a new part of the internet to explore: the early days of blogging.
We plan to post new scenes regularly, and for those who cherish the tactile joy of print, we've made some beautiful mini-comic editions.
And if all of this seems as thrilling to you as it does to us, if you like seeing weird, wild independent art on the internet, consider becoming a member on Patreon. You get access to all kinds of cool stuff, including over 100 pages of exclusive Incredible Doom comics and the ability to read 60 pages ahead in the "Eternal September" saga.
We're thrilled to be telling stories in this world again, and doing it on the web is where a story like this belongs. Visit incredibledoom.com to be part of this adventure. This is going to be great.