Feedback Requested Below!
I have Volume 2 for each of our book series just about finished. I’d like to see about getting them printed. They will be identical to the first volumes in size, fit and finish, just… you know, with new stuff inside.
However, I want to just check to see if it’s something people want. I will sell digital versions either way, but I put a lot of work into making the books the definitive versions of these comics, with extra content, and I prefer to make them available as physical collections. If it turns out everyone would rather just have digital media, I’d just as soon save myself the effort of putting together a campaign to get physical versions made.
Books would be $20 a piece (hardcover, spot gloss, dustjacket, include a digital download, etc), with some sort of early-bird bundle discount for those that jump in early and help get it funded. Maybe I can do a bundle for the Volume Ones as well, I have to see how many we have.
Shipping in the US should be pretty reasonable (a little less than $10 for all three books). I’d do the best I can with shipping around the world- I cannot control VAT and that other nonsense you guys across the pond put in place, but I can freight batches into your country and ship from within, which is better than shipping individual books from the states. I’d have more info/estimates on that with the actual campaign.
So if this is something you’re into, drop a vote below so I can see where we’re at.
Ruh Rohh!
Next big romantic question. “Lucas, do you want to register with me? How about your friend, Ethan?”
(Not that he has met Ethan as far as I know.)
Damned if you do, darned if you don’t.
Good choice, Lucas!
Glad to see Lucas has his priorities in order.
A swell guy, that. Someone else might’ve hesitated just a little too long.
I don’t know if it was priorities, I think that was reflex. Afterall, consideration of priorities would have caused hesitation
Oh boy.
Lucas has plausible deniability at least because he doesn’t have to say anything to summon the arrows and they don’t emerge from his hands.
And so the plot thickens…
But if he didn’t make any of the usual “superhero moves” then the arrow appeared out of nowhere and Lucas may be able to gauge Ben’s response to vigilantes
I really really want to support this book thing but the state of my finances and the fact I’m disabled and living in crappy supported accomodation and have been for 2 years now means realistically I can’t – especially being in the UK. Just like with the plushy campaign the real factors of life get in the way of my impulsive desire to spend money I should not spend
Sorry Tim
I can relate to that.
I think neither Tim nor other people here will fault you for not supporting him. First support yourself. Only if you have a good surplus you can consider supporting your favourite creators with money.
This, near exactly my own circumstances save the accommodation aspect – I would definitely buy if it were UK printed, though, and may get a collection of CAD if and when it finishes up and comes out in a cool box set!
Oh I feel you, rent just went up this month and my budget turned red so I gotta look into moving into supported accommodation and hope it’s not crappy
No shame in this. No one (aside from big corporations) wants you to spend money on things you don’t need when money is tight and you have necessities.
Oh boy, things are about to get interesting.
Concerning the kickstarter, I cannot really tell yet. I would really love to buy Starcaster volume 2 but it will really depend on the final price you are able to achieve for us Europeans. I know you are doing everything you possibly can to bring the price down, and your cut is pretty reasonable too, but the final price for us can still be daunting…
I kickstarted Volume 1 and I’ll be there to kickstart Volume 2. I’ve been reading your stuff for years. I actually lost count of how many years. So yes, I’ll be there to kickstart.
Plot twist: Lucas just wanted to make a traffic sign to remind the car which way the road is, and his shocked expression is only because he accidentally smacked the girl with it.
Here’s the thing. If Ben DOES know that Lucas is a hero, Lucas not intervening there would have been extremely damning…allowing an innocent to get hurt or killed to protect your identity makes you the exact kind of superhero that law enforcement doesn’t like. If he didn’t know, the fact that Lucas was willing to reveal himself like this to save an innocent will speak volumes about who Lucas is as a person and as a hero, meaning it’s probably the best way to reveal the truth to him. This seems like a win-win situation to me, unless Ben is… Read more »
Yes and no. If he doesn’t know, Ben could assume it was a reflex not intentional to out Lucas. But now Ben has to make a decision between his personal life and his professional life. If it was just his feelings, that wouldn’t be an issue and I see your win win situation, but that’s not all that will be considered.
I agree, it’s not just his feelings. Ben isn’t an ahole if he accepts and agrees with Lucas’ use of powers here, but also can’t reconcile his life with a partner who is a super. He has the right to make that choice. At least Lucas hasn’t been running around doing vigilante work while dating Ben. It lessens the “why didn’t you tell me” impact slightly, but they should also discuss whether Ben can accept if Lucas does go back to working as a vigilante and what their boundaries and rules need to be if they proceed. It’s going to… Read more »
No matter what happens, this was the only choice. Anyone with a soul would happily go to prison rather than let a child die. there’s no debate to be had.
Oh snap.
*gets out popcorn*
I suspect nobody will notice despite the broad daylight due to ‘busy city syndrome’ but Lucas does usually move a hand for the arrows so I suspect the cop isn’t going to be *completely* thick in the head here… the question is, will Lucas be acting and denying it?
Also… ZK can smash through Lucas’s arrows, but a taxi can’t?
He pushed the girl out of the way, not the car. Look at the girls expression
Uh, no. The expression is “I’m about to be hit by a car and I’m scared.” Look at the impact graphic, it’s between the car and the arrow. He’s deflecting the car, but it doesn’t mean the arrow is taking the full direct force of it.
Presumably Zeke was expending effort to do exactly that, while this taxi driver is currently doing their best to slam on the brakes and *not* hit this child.
Think of how something like tempered glass can be hard to break with a larger area of force vs easy with a concentrated small point of impact. A super powered robot breaking it deliberately with full force vs a braking car with a large surface area cushion not breaking it is just as believable
Plus cars are designed to crumple up and dispate force, while Zeke would built for doing the opposite of that
Could be a force of will thing.
angle of deflection is easier than trying to stop the car on the spot. Less strain on the arrow.
Quick! look around and try to find out where that came from!
Lucas, pretend to be shocked: “Were you a superhero all that time?”
Ben, suddenly very uncertain of what just happened: “What? No… It wasn’t me.”
Lucas: “Well, who was it, then? I don’t see anyone else here, do I?”
Lucas usually makes gestures to spawn/direct his arrows, so this probably exposed him.
And even if it didn’t, there are people behind the girl and her (probably) mother, could be any of them. The black guy is quite close too, maybe that was him?
(meaning “I don’t see anyone else here” wouldn’t work)
I think the two figures farther back ARE Lucas and Ben, by their clothing? Which demonstrates nicely why powers were required, they were far too distant to otherwise help in time.
Ah. Yeah, could be. I assumed they aren’t shown (so they are somewhere in the front of the girl, where we’re looking from), but the colors seem to fit, and the positioning as well (Lucas is on Ben’s left-hand side).
The arrow’s back end being behind the girl fits that, too, I think Lucas generally spawned them directed away from himself (and he didn’t have much time to think here, so that likely happened, too).
And the great sage Homer spake thusly: “D’OH!!!”
Tim, I would more than love to buy only physical additions of each book from you. However, if you remember the one Canadian order that you did on your last batch, we had quite a conversation because the books took months and kept on getting shipped back to you for no reason. It was frustrating to both of us. I’m more physical versions, but your shipping company has to change for Canadian orders as they proved they didn’t know what they were doing last time.
We had hundreds of orders to Canada, I do not remember that one, unfortunately. I do know that Funagain (the company used that go around) is out of business, so I couldn’t use them again even if I wanted to.
Well, then, if you produce physical versions, you can expect my order. I sincerely look forward to it.
Plot twist! Not Lukas but Ben summoned that arrow!
Lucas*
Mr. Tim Buckley, since I fully expect you to switch to a different story right at this poinand to all the anguish and anticipation this will cause for your readers, it is my duty as an upstanding citizen to inform you that you are a Bastard.
A Magnificient, Magnificient Bastard.
I just had to be sad.
Sincerly
An avid reader who has to deal with one more worry for the next few weeks
P.S.: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagnificentBastard
P.P.S:. It will be only a few weeks, right? Like one or two? Right?
Come join Patreon to get the comics right away 😉
Quick Lucas! This is your opportunity to look around wildly for D-Pad and exclaim wildly “D-Pad must be here somewhere! That’s his ability!” You get to gauge his reaction to heroes and distract him away from yourself.
Early bird’d on the last ones and will early bird on these too if we get lucky again here in Europe! I loved the little extras last time too, I think it was pins/stickers/bookmarks? Would love if you could add things like that again if the campaign is successful enough. Only thing is I’m not a fan of the cover art on the Console War/Campaign book – the last one was really lovely but this is a little… gross to look at? It’s not going to stop me buying them, but it would mean that guy won’t be facing forward… Read more »
Console War + co, it’s.. okay.
I’ll early bird the physical books too, if I’m fast enough. Even if it would be shipped from the USA to EU.
Ctrl+Alt+Del 1.0: The Box Set, I got.
Ctrl+Alt+Del 2.0 Comic Book Collections, hardcovers, I got.
Axe-A-Lot-L x2, check on that too.
Channeling his inner Bart Simpson:
“I didn’t do it. Nobody saw me do it.”
I can’t have such amazing Volume ones on my bookshelf without adding further volumes. Take my money and print more dopamine!
Next comic: Ben frantically flailing about and excitedly yelling: “D-Pad! D-Pad! There’s D-Pad somewhere around here! I love that guy!!!”
That’d be pretty sweet 😀
OK but there could *not* be a better way for him to be found out.
Not making a google ID just to fill in a vote form, but as a previous purchaser of Ax-a-Lotl and the original v1 boxed set, then I’ll probably order if you are UK-shipping
P.S. VAT = Sales Tax. No need to snippy jus’ coz you don’t know what it is fella.
Will his boytoy be a Louis Lane or turn on him, tune in next time for “As the controller spins!”
)(
bro defaulted to the hero he is. now to see how the other half takes it.
Ok, now we’re getting somewhere!
There’s no reason for the cop to think that Lucas manifested that arrow though. He just has a normal look of shock on his face like anyone else would. All he has to do is will them into existence, I don’t think he needs to make any gestures for them to appear, does he?
Well… the cat is out of the bag
My vote was taken before I can say a resounding YES! to the kickstarter! (Please!)
This escalated quickly…
I can’t say I’d be super interested in books considering the state of my bank account, but I would buy t-shirts so fast, I can never find them on ebay I want a re release so bad 😢
And…cliffhanger
Just wondering if they have to register the posession of super powers, or only if they want to fight villains.
Anyway, a great call from Lucas. And really, really Hope, that Things will Work Out for hin in a good way. He deserves it.
And this is how Lucas learned that he wasn’t the only person in the world with this power.
Ooooo…I doubt it, but I like it.
Well, I figured Lucas was going to “come out” to Ben sooner or later, but this was certainly an unexpected way…
Not Today Final Destination Taxi! Dhalsim Deny!
And he arrests him on the spot and he goes to jail for saving a kid. No, of course he isn’t going to do anything. I would be shocked if he actually arrested him.
Even if he did, it was worth it.
If it was subconsciously maybe the guy didn’t notice? It doesn’t show Lucas used his hands or anything, maybe there’s hope.
The first 3 books where so nice, I will back those for sure.
This is a fantastic way to spur things in this relationship along! Can’t wait to see how this turns out.
Straight up worth it. No matter what happens next. There was zero choice because any other consequences/gains would pale in comparison to not acting and letting a child die needlessly.
Plot twist… It wasn’t Lucas who summoned the arrow it was? Any guesses?
My predicted plot twist: Ben actually moonlights a vigilante too…
As a Villain. 🤪
Great writing in terms of forcing the question (gulp, answer!) my dude!
Well crap
The CAD 1.0 collection and CAD 2.0 vol 1 collection sit beau
And so we get to the important questions with Ben.
I’d also back the Volume 2 kickstarter. Been here for 1, had been itching for 2 😀
I feel like the last two panels are out of order. First Lucas reacts instinctively, in the moment without thinking, then the consequences of his noble action hit him along with the fight or flight adrenaline dump.
As much as I’m rootin’ for the relationship to succeed, can it? If Lucas and Ben continue to move forward on their path, the Ethan and Lucas roommate dynamic ends. Also Ben will be in a compromising position, potentially being charged with something like aiding and abetting a criminal enterprise (Ethan and Lucas’s crime fighting efforts).