The Story Behind The Writing: Origin Of The Species

I began writing The Overman when I was 18 years old, during my first year as a student at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. This has been one of those projects that refused to be ignored, and despite lulls in activity through the years, Shane and I have repeatedly gone back to The Overman, like frustrated scientists re-examining alien technology. We couldn't get it out of our system, because we knew there was something there worth developing. We bought into our own half-serious pretentiousness regarding The Overman. Just as my crude scribble implies (see letter below to Shane White, dated 1990), The Overman really was heavier than we thought, and we weren't ready to carry that weight yet.


We are ready now, and I know that after you download the preview from this site and read it, you'll agree. While Shane is hard at work drawing the comic, I'm going to take some time here every week and delve into my story archives. I have a large cardboard box packed with hand-written notes, letters, scripts and various drafts of The Overman, beginning around 1989. I
won't post complete scripts or plot synopsis drafts from that period, because honestly I don't want to confuse our new audience, the folks who will read this mini-series for the first time when issue #1 hits comic shop shelves in December. The plot and characters have changed much through the years, so keep this in mind when you read these never-before-published excerpts. I have quite a few of Shanes early drawings, sketches and sequentials from this period as well, things he's probably forgotten about. For the same reason that I'm holding back on publishing completed scripts and other plot points, I'm going to resist the temptation to post those drawings, which also include a few of my sketches and character concepts. After the series concludes next year, we'll take another look through all of this old material and see if some of it can be put to use in a special feature section in the collected edition or elsewhere.


Scott Reed
www.websbestcomics.com