Hi guys! Sorry for the little break, I’ve been busy prepping for the next 2 months. Good news though: I have a backlog now, and we are starting a week of 5x a week updates (and if my final plan holds this will be possibly up to 2 months at this breakneck update schedule). $5+ Patrons will be getting (text-free) art updates ahead of time, starting with the next 5 updates here. I also did a big shoptalk post on library conventions for other comic artists out there :]
People have been asking me here and there but it’s pretty much official now: the Kickstarter campaign for the complete Mare Internum book will be launching on March 15. If you’re signed up for the Shingworks general mailing list, I’ll be giving everyone there a heads up beforehand so you can jump on any limited tiers. I’ll be posting previews and such of that process (strategizing, making a video and graphics, marketing, etc) to Patreon as well! I just finished the mockups for the covers last week, so I’ve been internally screaming about that all weekend.
As usual, this book (and this comic in general) are 100% independently produced at the same (or exceeded!) high quality of the Meek Vol 1 editions. Thank you for being patient with me in general, there is a lot of detail work involved in making a stunning final product, and I want this one to be a showstopper.
Last but not least, I’ll be attending ECCC in Seattle from March 1 to March 4, at table P-13! Hope to see some of you there~
Anyways, will see you in about 24 hours with the next update!
The 2018 Hugo Award Nominations are open until 3/15! If you enjoyed my work in the previous year, I would be extremely grateful if you’d consider nominating “Mare Internum: Chapter 4” in the Best Graphic Story category (due to the voting process, only complete segments- such as a chapter- of a work are eligible for nomination. Next year the complete work will be eligible).
Thank you for putting up with my nervous forays into legitimacy, and of course for considering me~
24 Comments
You know, I don’t know if it’s already been suggested, but an appendix (or pdf addendum) of all the translations of what Threvi has _actually_ been saying in all the untranslated pages (like this one) would be one hell of a Kickstarter incentive! :)
An alternate print run where the “thrip”s and thighfriend’s “flap”s are intelligible, but English is rendered as … “hurr burr”?
Operation Replace All Thrip text with the Gettysburg Address
“… I am sorry, but I have just received priority orders.”
“Michael… I need a hug.”
Also, 5x a week eh? Bullshit.
The memories, they are so short (the last 5x in a row update was like 3 weeks ago)
Giraffe ants! So beautiful!
And that’s a reminder that this is indeed science *fiction*, since Mars is a geologically dead planet :|
Tectonically fairly dead, yeah, but I’ve read that hotspots are theoretically possible, so that’s where we are on that. Honestly it wouldn’t surprise me either way, can’t wait until we land there and start doing some actual surveys.
Actually, there is a fair amount of evidence that Mars has a molten core and at least a semiplastic mantle. True, the crust is not tectonically active like Earth’s, but if we accept the premise of extremely deep, oxygen-laden chambers filled with liquid water and life, it is hardy a difficult lift to also imagine that these could be close enough to the mantle to have magma fields extending into them.
Especially if we consider that the location of this story might be an extremely rare, or even unique formation – ie, not so much the Mars version of “Hollow Earth” but more a precious lockbox created eons ago by Martians to safekeep the last of their civilization and biosphere. So the lava fields might be deep-drilled heat pumps deliberately created by the original engineers.
You can add the fact that the chamber is below Ascraeus Mons, one of the few volcanoes of this planet. All these volcanoes are thought to be born from hot spots, like Hawaian islands or Iceland. These hot spots could theorically be still active. Some studies seems to show that Olympus Mons was still active 2 million years ago.
Unlike Hawaii, because Mars is not tectonically active, hotspots stay in the same place – as opposed to moving slowly over time so they can form a chain of islands. This is how Olympus Mons grew to be so friggin’ huge.
This would also account for the Mare lasting as long as it has – the hotspot stayed in the same place, so the Mare never lost its source of geothermal power.
Shing, I can speak for anyone but myself, but I will say this: I prefer quality over quantity and I prefer a healthy author/artist to one tearing him/herself apart. I’m going to worry about you now.
can’t*
Though I guess I can speak for my pet cat technically. YES, HE WILL BE WORRYING ABOUT YOU TOO NOW!
lol, thanks XD It’s going to be rough until May, but sometimes you gotta go hard to get things done~ Thanks for the sympathy for my poor arms at least, but these higher-stake times can also be fun/ exciting for me (and hopefully you all too).
There’s litterally a pair of these eyes just next to you.
I worry more about the eye glowing in the same shade of light blue as the processor.
Amazing page as per usual :)
Just wanted to point out there might be a typo… Shouldn’t it be ?
Hope that helps!
*irregularities
Last panel:
“Michael…. did you not notice that I let my hair down? I did it for you…
I just wanted to say again god I love this comic! Sometimes it may take me awhile to get something lol but I love this story! 5x a week!! YES!!!! Oh and I’m glad you mentioned ECCC. I always find out too late and all the tickets for fri and sat are usually sold out but the time I find out because I always forget when it is. I live 50 miles north of Seattle so I hope I can get my car fixed before then so I can go! ( it has a short and its killing the battery so I have to jump it and I have no brake lights because of it) I have always wanted to go to that though and every darn year I find out like the week before lol..
The surveyors are dope.
Mikes eye is still glowing, I see.