The Story Behind The Writing: From The Archive

The Overman Book I is in the new issue of Previews, and we've got a nice full-page ad that should not only knock your socks off, but also prompt you to order a copy from your local comic shop. For retailers, that order code is OCT07 1968. It's really up to retailers to decide what comics they want to carry, and even though we have the support of Image Comics behind us 100%, we still need your help to make sure we're not overlooked in December. We know that The Overman is destined to be a hit, but the only way to make sure that happens is if you help us spread the word about this 5-issue mini-series and ask your local comic shop to carry it. As much as we've plastered this all over the web, it's really just the tip of the iceberg. Weighing in at 32 pages each issue, full color, and NO ads, The Overman should stand out nicely...especially with Shane's stunning, almost iconic-looking cover art. When we displayed a poster sized version of it at WizardWorld Chicago, I noticed that the image is totally recognizable even from a distance. The image of our main character, Nathan Fisher bursting out of an egg-shaped servol-conn unit summarizes the entire story, and is perfectly fitting as the cover of the first issue.

While I'm immersed in writing the follow-up to The Overman, I've been mining the dusty archives in search of anything that I might find useful to the sequel. It's a strange experience sifting through these old scripts, sketches and notes. Most of it dates back nearly 20 years. I'm not much of a pack rat, but for some reason I've always kept these papers stored safely away. I'm glad I did that, because now it gives me something to post here on the blog, while we count down the remaining days until The Overman #1 arrives. Keep in mind that these old script excerpts are NOT what you'll see in the comic; they are early drafts from many years ago, written by a very young and inexperienced writer.

This story has changed significantly over the years, in it's various incarnations. I'm finding that it's still evolving, right up to the very end of the creative process. This week, while proofing Book III, I was compelled to modify a few pages of dialogue. Shane and I have remained pretty diligent in this project, concentrated fully on 'getting it right'. So as much as I hate re-editing or re-writing, I know that all of this work must, in the end, serve the story. I should print that as a credo and tape it above my computer monitor.

The Story Behind The Writing: Bells, Whistles and Sequels

We've unveiled a new flash animation for the home page this week. This is a quick flash trailer that will change over the coming months, focusing on key events in each of the 5 books. You'll find new glimpses from the first issue, and for subsequent issues later on. Our plan is to continue evolving this site for visitors who either stumble upon it or come back to check out what's new in our Newsreel Blog. Most of this work has fallen to me, as Shane is immersed in actually drawing the books, as well as updating the blog with various production art.

I've added a 'send to a friend' feature, a self-explanatory tool that we hope you'll take advantage of. Word of mouth is essential in our efforts, and we're hoping that you're excited enough about The Overman to help us spread the word. Our mailing list is powered by a service called feedblitz, which converts the Newsreel blog RSS feed to html and then automatically emails it to you as soon as news appears. Yeah, we got all the latest gadgets here. Last but not least, I've placed a timer counting down the remaining days until The Overman #1 arrives in comic shops December 5th. It does a couple of things: A. Creates a sense of urgency. B. May possibly cause Shane a nervous breakdown.

Other than some minor editing duties, I'm mostly waiting in the wings while Shane's pencil, brush and photoshop mastery brings the script to life. When the site isn't keeping me busy, I'm hard at work writing the sequel, which will exist for the time being as a novel. The Overman began in novel form, so it's appropriate that the follow-up is created in the same way. I felt that if I charged ahead and just wrote a comic script, it would lose something important and unique; an element that can only exist in novel form and extracted later for a comic adaptation. The writing process involved with The Overman was more extensive than anything I've attempted before, but well worth that effort. I found myself continuously boiling down the novel into its core components, trimming out the fat and focusing on what makes this story so compelling to me in the first place. Even though the sequel will be very different from its predecessor, I want to make sure to capture that same vibe and storytelling 'rhythm'. Anyway, that's my current feeling about the process. I 'MAY' unveil this sequel online, in weekly increments once The Overman concludes next year, depending on how I feel about everything, and the level of interest in seeing a follow-up. A lot of factors to consider, although in the end it really comes down to a personal choice. I've never been one to create comics based on what I think the market will support, but rather on what I would like to read, as a comics fan.



Scott Reed

http://www.websbestcomics.com/

Notes from the Field: Ad Nauseum

Back again with a small installment. Our book will be in this months Diamond Previews from the looks of it. That means retailers will be able to order our book for December. But what if they don't order it?

If you're reading this that means you should tell them. Never assume they'll order what you want. Especially something that's not easy to categorize as The Overman. Yeah it's sci-fi, but it's also action, noir, and so on. That being said if you're not reading this, we'll have ads in other Image books. To start we have this introduction ad that should be appearing before and during the release of Book One.

This will hopefully give you the sense of what the series proposes it will be. It's not your typical character in your face ad. In fact there are no characters on it. Yet there are human elements to connect with...except you probably have no idea what's like floating dead in outer space. Which means if you're reading this you have definitely not had that experience.

Once the book is to market and we're well into our 5 book run, then hopefully Image agrees to put this ad in their books as a follow-up.


Notice the lack of the title? We hope by now that the symbol will have done it's job and made you familiar with the graphic, what it means, and what it's connected to. We also put a URL to help you further your investigation of the mystery. The tagline is the same, so now we have context to who the hired killer is.

Oddly enough when shown to someone they did say, "Why would I want to buy a comic if I know the guy fails?" If they were to think about it a little more, there are so many more interesting ways to fail, thus so many different endings to stories. It's the journey that is most interesting.

Hopefully these ads do affect those who see them. Because by all accounts if we fail at this I can tell you our ending will be an unremarkable cascade of tears.


So do your part to stop grown men from crying, order The Overman today.



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