Reclaimer - A Halo 3 Comic

Today’s page of Reclaimer is actually a day later than I wanted it to be.  I had hoped to post a new page yesterday, but alas, real life decided to interfere once again, and I wasn’t able to build this page until last night.  It’s probably all for the best, though, as my revised writing schedule is to plan to produce three new pages each weekend (more if time permits) and get them posted up in advance.  As such, I hope to be able to start publishing on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule and settle into a rhythm there.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this comic since I started it a week ago.  A lot of this thought has gone into the overall storyline, figuring out specific plot points, setting chronology, planning reveals, and fleshing out details.  The rest of the thought has gone into conceptualizing specific layouts for specific future pages.  But I’m also trying not to get too far ahead of myself.  Some of those pages are a little ways off yet.  It’s good to have a goal to strive for but that becomes an impediment when it interferes with planning and writing the immediate story.  Progress has been made, though, and I’m a lot more comfortable with the immediate story and the subsequent pages that will be used to tell it.  And hopefully, I’m getting a little better, both with this type of storytelling and with the visuality (to coin a term) of the comic medium, with each page I do.

That said, I really would appreciate any and all feedback on Reclaimer.  If you like it, tell me why.  If you don’t, tell me why there, as well.  All comments and suggestions can only serve to make this comic better, and honest – you really can’t hurt my feelings.  I have seen one negative comment already, and this individual thought that Reclaimer was pretty lame – and it may well be.  I do know, though, that a number of people have privately expressed their enjoyment of it.  I think the only specific comment I’ve received thus far (and if I’ve missed one or two, apologies) is that the Poster Edges effect is a really nice way to simulate hand-drawn artwork.  For the guy who thought it was lame, tell me why.

That one negative comment, though, has caused me to re-evaluate every line of dialogue in this last page.  I re-wrote most of them a couple of times until I felt like I wasn’t merely relying on cliché.  There’s far too much cliché in writing these days, and one way to keep your writing fresh and interesting is to avoid using cliché.  Hopefully I’ve accomplished some of that.  I do feel like some of the tension itself between the Reclaimer and Ferial is too cookie-cutter still, and I hope to correct that as I reveal some of the specifics fueling the violence between these two characters.

So, thanks to those of you who have come back to keep reading, and I hope you’ll continue doing so.  Enjoy, and hopefully I’ll have a fresh episode ready on Monday.

I’m planning to bring Chapter One to a close by the end of the week.  There are just a few more story-development details to set in place and then the Reclaimer will be ready to move into accomplishing his objectives.  Of course, things will be complicated by more surprises, but what fun would a straight-forward set of missions be, anyway?

In “Facility” we get just a little more backstory on the Reclaimer and some hints about things that will be revealed in greater detail later.  The truce between the Reclaimer and Ferial is now more stable, at least for the time being, and some real dialogue can develop between the two. 

Today also marks the beginning of a new posting schedule.  I’ve determined that doing three pages a week is not beyond my means, so I’m effectively establishing a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule, which I will try to stick to.  If I miss a day, feel free to yell at me and get me back on schedule.  :)

In the meantime, sit back and enjoy.  Things are going to heat up very soon.

It should probably be noted – though this might go without saying – that the storyline you are reading in Reclaimer should be considered to take place in an alternate Haloverse.  As such it has little relationship to the Halo story that takes place in the games as issued by Bungie canon.  There are certainly some similarities in such things as the Spartan program and the existence of the Covenant, but these may well be where the similarities end.  Consider Reclaimer, if you will, to simply be a different level of the Tower, to borrow from the SK mythology.  No one has, as yet, tried to hold me to canonical Halo lore in this series, but this my way of heading any potential complaints off at the pass.  I have no intention of trying to adhere to that well-built universe, since I’d much rather devise a similar one of my own that will be a much bleaker, more pessimistic view of the human condition.  Be forewarned!

Ok, so I lied – Chapter One is not, in fact, going to wrap up this week.  Turns out, there is actually a bit more story to tell here than I had at first anticipated.  It may even take the better part of next week to tell it, maybe longer.

Today’s episode is also cut down to size to just four frames.  There’s actually a fair bit of information mashed into this one, and I prefer to keep the bite-size bits, well, bite-size.  It keeps things manageable and tantalizing.

I appreciate all the compliments and encouragement.  It’s that kind of things that drives energy into a project like this and keeps it fun.  For that, I say – thank you.  I hope you continue to enjoy reading this series as much as I enjoy writing and building it.

Yes, we are finally drawing close to the end of Chapter One.  Friday will see the last part, and then we will be shifting gears a bit heading into Chapter Two.  I’m pretty excited about being able to move away from the setup a little bit and getting more into the meat-and-bones of the impending challenges and conflicts that the Reclaimer will have to face.  It will also be time to start meeting Viper and learn a little of what they are about.

Stay tuned!