Hopefully by now everyone has had a chance to read the latest installment in the Dead @ 17 series, Afterbirth #1. I thought I would do something different and offer a little insight on what went into the creation of the series and kind of show my thought process and hopefully answer a few questions along the way.
When I began talks with Image, I was suddenly faced with a monumental decision for the series, and potentially my career. The dilemma was: do I continue the series as is, picking up where I left off, or do I do a fresh "reboot," essentially restarting or resetting the series fresh to take advantage of a wider audience and hopefully bring in lots of new readers.
It was not an easy decision, and it was one I was actually wrestling with even before I knew Image was a possibility. So it was something I thought long and hard about over the course of a few months. It seemed obvious that the smart decision would be to got with option B, the reboot, in order to maximize sales and audience. But then I began to think about the story I had crafted over the past five years. Despite the various missteps and and growing pains, I was still pretty proud of the work I had put into it and was still very passionate about seeing the story all the way through to its conclusion. I didn't want the story I had built to go to waste, or to tell longtime fans to throw everything they knew out the window. I tried to think long term. Years from now, when it was all said and done, would I have a complete story with a beginning, middle, and ending that rewarded readers for sticking through to the end, or would I have a disjointed experiment, with a 4 part series suddenly ending and then beginning again with a new storyline with little or no connection, or perhaps completely contradictory, to what had come before. (in other words, a typical ongoing mainstream comic book)
You can see the direction I was leaning as I was beginning the conversation with Image. What tipped the scales though was when they asked to reprint the entire series so far into one volume. It seemed like the best compromise. Continuing the story, but allowing new readers the opportunity to get caught up. Granted, some people still weren't happy. Some didn't want to plunk down $25 just to get caught up, which I can sympathize with. Other people just didn't want to bother and jumped right into Afterbirth and left feeling lost, confused, and dissappointed, something you never enjoy hearing as a creator.
However, I feel I did the right thing for the series in the long run. The decision has allowed me to map out the remainder of the series all the way to its final conclusion, something I couldn't be more excited about. Partly because I want to move on to other things, but mainly because I can't wait for you to finally read it. Following Afterbirth, there are only 2 more mini-series to go until the grand finale. But there are still some wild things ahead before we get there. The conclusion to Afterbirth is guaranteed to make your heads explode. Or knock you flat on your butts, or take your breath away, or some other similar physically damaging analogy.
Coming up in Writing 'Afterbirth' pt. 2: The Zodiac!
I'm glad Image reprinted the series into one volume. Excited to see where the story continues from here.
Posted by: david | July 07, 2009 at 07:30 AM
I don't think $25 bucks was bad at all for the entire series reprint. If I hadn't just bought all the trades, I'd have bought it.
Afterbirth looks like it's going to be a good one. Can't wait for the next issue.
Posted by: Alan | July 07, 2009 at 08:43 AM
I'm glad you made the decision you did. I really enjoyed the first issue, which I literally *just* finished reading. Can't wait to see what you have in store!
Posted by: John Walsh | July 07, 2009 at 02:48 PM