However – I also believe you should get something for a donation – that’s only fair too! I’m working on the donation page now, and it will be up soon. But I wanted to give you a peek at some things you can get.

First – how about a couple buttons? The 1″ kind – Ril and Asimov:

I think they came out pretty nice. I’ll be adding other characters too, but I’ll be starting with those.

Next, iPhone/iTouch backgrounds – again here’s Ril:

I’ll be making a bunch of these. (Chris gets one for free, it was his idea!) I will probably do some regular desktops as well, but those are a lot more work and since there is a lot of desktop resolutions, there will probably only be a couple. I’m going to experiment with those.

You’ll also have the ability to request an artist’s card (size of a baseball card) sketch, or even larger sketches – even colored if you like. Of course everything will have an appropriate price.

For those of you unable to buy a book, this will be a more inexpensive way for you to support the strip.

I’m welcome to other ideas – let me know what other types of things you’d like to see offered in return. I’m even willing to offer original art too, that will be on the list.

Keep an eye out, I’ll be launching the page soon.

Majestic strives to be a pretty epic superhero story with lots of interesting characters and a very intense story. From his own explanation:

“Legend has returned from retirement only to find the world on the brink of domination at the hands of his long-time nemesis, Anthrax and his team has been replaced by a rowdy, disorderly band of ex-super-criminals. HOW can Legend win and WHO can he trust.

There is an invisible war going on without our knowledge. A battle being waged between our government and an alien empire bent on enslaving our entire species. It is a fight that we are losing and our only hope is a super-human military force known as THE MAJESTIC-XII.”

Justin Leach is the co-creator, writer, and publisher. Andrew Kilian is co-creator, penciller, and inker, and Omi Remalante Jr.is the colorist.

On the whole I enjoyed reading the book. The pencilling of Andrew Kilian is very well done – feels pro in a lot of respects and would stand up well against some of the stuff the big guys do. Same thing with the colors. I applaud these guys for taking their stuff and putting all the hard work in to get it out there.

The team needs a little work on fleshing out the storylines and keeping things organized. There are just so many heroes and villians I found myself a bit lost at times. But that’s a minor quibble considering the effort it took for these guys to put this together.

You can view sample pages here.

Comic is available here at IndyPlanet.

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Preorder is NOW OPEN – Order Yours Now!

In case you missed the news, preorder is now open! I’ve got lots of Artist Edition orders already to keep me busy. Go and get yours now!

Previously on Marooned…

While attempting to send a message to Earth, John fell ill. Ugo brought him to the Volotrum (also called The Dark Ones), his only remaining chance to be healed. The Listener, an apprentice of the Dark Ones – a human woman named Lian Fisher who crashed on Mars years ago – agreed to heal John. In doing so, she has fallen into some kind of coma. Meanwhile, the dangerous Krosa are approaching to attack. John, Ugo and Asimov will try and help the Dark Ones repel them.

New Readers

The current storyline starts right here, or you can read from the beginning. Be sure to check out the about page, which explains the story and the main characters.

The proofs arrived today and they looked great! That means you can now place your preorder for Out of Orbit. I’m very excited, I think you folks will really enjoy the book.

The preorder period is now open from today, November 17th until Tuesday December 2nd. Preorder is the ONLY way to guarantee yourself a book. I don’t know how many extras I will order, and there’s a good chance all the extras will be spoken for. So preorder yours today!

Preorder Out of Orbit now!

If you have questions, contact me.

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The Chicago Bears could use Ugo.

Book update…

Preorder should start this week, I will know more as soon as I hear from the printer (hopefully today). Stay tuned!

Previously on Marooned…

While attempting to send a message to Earth, John fell ill. Ugo brought him to the Volotrum (also called The Dark Ones), his only remaining chance to be healed. The Listener, an apprentice of the Dark Ones – a human woman named Lian Fisher who crashed on Mars years ago – agreed to heal John. In doing so, she has fallen into some kind of coma. Meanwhile, the dangerous Krosa are approaching to attack. John, Ugo and Asimov will try and help the Dark Ones repel them.

New Readers

The current storyline starts right here, or you can read from the beginning. Be sure to check out the about page, which explains the story and the main characters.

I got the book boxes this week and went to the Post Office and weighed and measured it all. Luckily the package comes in just under a pound, so I can use nice flat rates. Here we go:

Economy Shipping – USPS Media Mail

If you are trying to keep costs as low as possible and you are not in a rush to get the package, the this is your best choice. Media Mail can be shipped anywhere in the continental U.S. for $2.50. How long it takes to get there depends on how far away you live from Chicago. The closer you are, the sooner it will be there. Anywhere from a couple days to up to 2 weeks says the USPS.

USPS Priority Mail

Anywhere in the continental U.S – $4.95 gets you the book in 2-3 days, no matter where you are.

Canada

Canadian orders will be shipped via 1st Class Mail for a cost of $5.00 – anywhere in Canada.

International Orders

Just about anywhere in Europe should be $10.75 via 1st Class Mail. I assume that these orders will take awhile to arrive, probably a couple weeks.

UPDATE – This same price/method will also work for Australia.

If you don’t fit under any of those categories and you still think you want a book, contact me and we can figure something out.

Paying for Your Order

I will be using a PayPal checkout process, of course you do NOT need to have a PayPal account. You can pay with any credit or debit card. I’m happy to accept personal checks for preorder HOWEVER – your check MUST clear before the preorder end date (which will be 2 weeks) in order for me to place your order. So if you pay that way, you better get in on the first day and get a check out to me. Again, contact me if you want to pay that way for my address.

If your check doesn’t clear, you’ll have to hope there’s enough extra books to fill your order. If there isn’t, I’ll refund your money.

Don’t forget for those of you who don’t want to purchase the printed version, a digital download will be available after book delivery.

So you want to get Out of Orbit but you can’t afford it – or you’re not in the U.S. and you fear the shipping will be too much? Never fear! Today I’m announcing I will also be offering a digital download of the complete book!

However, there will be a few caveats. Here’s the deal:

• The digital version will only be available after the printed versions are shipped out. People who buy the printed book get preferential treatment
• The price will be roughly half of the printed version. I have not decided on the actual price yet, but I will let you know.
• Most importantly, there will NOT be any digital rights management on the book. It will be a simple, unprotected PDF. This means I’m putting my trust in you to buy it, but not share it with others. I think most people are pretty cool and if you are really a supporter of Marooned, then you will not break that trust. You’ll even be able to print out your own copy if you so desire. All I will ask is that you do not print copies out for other people.

That’s it. I hope this will allow more people to enjoy the book. I know not everyone was going to be able to buy the printed version. I think this is a good thing for you and for me. It will allow more people to support the comic.

So in light of that, when will it be available? Assuming preorder goes to plan and I get the books in something like the second week of December to ship out, then I would hope the week of Christmas would be when the digital download will be available. It would be nice for you to get it so you can read it on your Christmas holiday right?

I’ll post more information when preorder begins.

Previously on Marooned…

While attempting to send a message to Earth, John fell ill. Ugo brought him to the Volotrum (also called The Dark Ones), his only remaining chance to be healed. The Listener, an apprentice of the Dark Ones – a human woman named Lian Fisher who crashed on Mars years ago – agreed to heal John. In doing so, she has fallen into some kind of coma. Meanwhile, the dangerous Krosa are approaching to attack. John, Ugo and Asimov will try and help the Dark Ones repel them.

New Readers

The current storyline starts right here, or you can read from the beginning. Be sure to check out the about page, which explains the story and the main characters.

After much secrecy and sneaking around, I’m excited today to announce Wishtales Publishing Studio! What is Wishtales you ask? This pretty well sums it up:

Yes, this is a joint venture between me and my good buddy Steve Ogden. We’re tired of trying to play corporate games and trying to fit into a mold that is constricting and limiting. We’re going to forge our own path.

The first step along that path is my very own Marooned book, Out of Orbit, which will be a Wishtales imprint.

We’re just getting started, but there’s some interested posts over there already. We’re looking forward to publishing a Moon Town book as well, and we’ve got lots more ideas cooking in the pot. So head over to Wishtales and take a look, and let us know what you think!

Anyway, I figured I would share the process with you. This will no doubt take a very long time. Some of the backgrounds are going to be pretty detailed and I don’t really have much free time. So once I get all the designs done and the script finished, it will be just drawing a panel here and there over the process of time until it gets done. So having said all that, let’s get to the project.

The Flower

A couple years ago I was training myself to be an animator. I hadn’t landed my current job yet and I was unhappy where I was working. I have some animation experience, I figured I would do a couple shorts, build a test reel and see if I could break into the industry. Really, it was a bad idea on a lot of levels. Let’s just say I moved on from that idea.

However… I did write a story for one of the shorts I was going to do called The Flower. In summary, it was a steampunkish story of a guy running a old beat up store who leaves at the end of the day to go home to his wife, and finds a beautiful flower on the way home.

I don’t want to share too much more about the story itself yet. I’m still working on the script. I’m actually going to do this project right for once, and that means it will take time. I can tell you that, of course, the main characters are now going to be robots. Yeah, I got a robot thing.

I’ve been sketching, and here’s what I’ve got so far. The robots are going to be a mix of technology. Some steampunk influences, some light manga influences, and who knows what else. Just trying to make them unique and expressive as possible. The setting will be a very run down, nearly dystopian town. Think dark and dreary.

First Sketch of Bill

In this first round of sketches I worked at getting the basic idea of Bill (the main character) down. I felt that his face would not be expressive enough here, but there are parts of it I like.

Bill version 2

The second version of Bill moved much closer to what I think I want. He has the boiler grate in the center with a gauge and something like a battery life indicator below that. The things sticking out are almost Gundam-like. However I don’t like the mouth on this one.

Bill version 3

This one is getting close to what I *think* I want. The mouth is more “normal” and easier to manipulate. He has chunkier feet for plodding along. It’s still early though and I’m not quite sure about the proportions and all. I also suddenly realized he has an uncanny resemblance in the face to the maid in The Jetsons. Completely by accident.

Three Quarter View

Here I began drawing him in space from a three quarter view. I don’t want the front of his face to be too flat. Drawing him this way will be most challenging until I figure out all the forms. It’s likely that this will cause the most changes in design.

Betty

Three things in this one. At the top is the gable of their house… maybe. I’ve been looking at a lot of 18th century houses for reference. I’m not quite sure how I will approach it yet. At the top is Bill with his work apron on, and below is his wife Betty with her kitchen apron on.

It’s worth noting that Bill and Betty will not be talking during the story. It’s a “silent” story, just like Green.

Storefront

This is my first sketch for Bill’s store “Gears and Microprocessors.” Like Bill, I want the setting to be an odd mix of old and new technology – yet somehow the whole of it is all obsolete.

I hope you enjoyed this first look into the project. If you like, I’ll keep updating the blog with information as I make progress.