Fractal Friction

Well my script has now been all used up and we are off the map. Where do things go from here?

Well you'll be pleased to hear that the second arc should be starting within the next four days and it really opens up, you'll learn just a little more about what is going on and why they are doing what they are doing. Of course, we'll be heaping on more mystery and intrigue at the same time.

Behind the scenes we are working with something like the Marvel Method (one of the possibilities I mentioned last time we sat down for a cosy chat). I'm throwing in a sentence or two of plot about what is happening in each page and any key points we need to hit. They then pick up the ball and run with it (and they have run with it!!) and I sneak in later and throw Jim some words to slide in where he can.

It is a bit more of a seat of your pants ride but it seems to be staying on the right side of the disaster/triumph line, which is all we can ask and appears to already be fuelling some fine work (usually following "But I can't draw that you giant bastard!!").

We will also have our first guest artist for page 4 and the script is done and off. It is all a little rough and ready (so I hope they forgive us for modest vagueness about things yet to be defined), but should mean we have a better idea of how this process will work for the next arc when we are hoping to sneak a few more guests in. Of course, the next arc is the interesting bit for me, as I have left a big blank hole in this arc's story for the artists to fill and this will help define aspects of the story as we progress. So, I currently have no idea what will happen after this arc but don't worry, by the time we are stuck into this arc I'm sure the ideas will start appearing. They will won't they? Hold me, I'm scared, and just a little excited, so don't hold me too close.

Anyway as I was going to keep this short and sweet (although it didn't turn out to be either), I though it worth throwing in a little something we've stumbled across. As the eagle-eyed amongst you will be asking: "where is Mrs W's handbag?" Yep, every dimension-hopping pencil-pushing lady should have her own handbag packed with all sorts of knick-knacks to help winkle you out of nasty nooks and handy reference material to guide your through planes of reality filled with mind-warping chaos (as well as a spare pair of sturdy undergarments). Well she appears to have misplaced it, and we have somehow got our dirty mitts on it and we are feeling giddy and in the mood to share. Soooooo what have we here? Hmmmmmm a mysterious photograph of what appears to be a playbill stuck to a wall. What can it all mean? Don't ask me. Seriously. I'm making this up as I go along and I haven't got anywhere near this far into the story.

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2010-01-22T08:37:00.006Z

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2010-01-16T15:59:00.007Z

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2010-01-06T11:40:00.009Z

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Merry Christmas from the FF crew!

2009-12-24T22:58:00.003Z

See you all in 2010 for more mucho weirdness, friends!

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2009-12-22T12:34:00.011Z

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What all this then?

2009-12-12T22:03:00.003Z

Short answer: I don't know, and I wrote it.

Long answer: It is a collaborative storytelling venture with a number of damn fine artists on board (some of whom, I'm sure, will turn pro in the not to distant future):

All brought together by the lothario of lettering (fonting things up as only he knows how) Mr Jim Campbell.

The common thread is that we all read 2000 AD and have been known to frequent the official forum, where a lot of the artistically inclined take part in the competitions (and generally help each other out in the creators forum). A number of us also contribute to the small press: Chris has a long history of work on FutureQuake Press titles and he, Kev and I are all in the latest Zarjaz and Kev, Matt and... me again are in the current Dogbreath (but you know that because you've already read them both I'm sure). Jim is the old, seasoned, pro keeping us all in line (and we all need one of those, , at least according to a Tory MP I once met in a house of ill repute) having written the Warhammer 40k story Daemonifuge and the Dredd-world tale The Inspectre and (both alongside the awfully talented Kev Walker) and with his lettering cropping up all over the place. He isn't a shabby artist either, so he could really be doing this as a one-man show if I hadn't wedged a spoon into his cerebellum. If we can stop flicking the protruding handle we might even be able to to tempt him to draw a page or two at some point.

But what am I doing, while these talented folk are slaving away? Apart from standing round stroking my beard and pretending really hard that I know what is going on? Welllllll I'm operating in a scripting support role, ready to give as much or as little as is required. However, that is what I tell all the ladies, so perhaps it might help if I tell you this all came about.

Matt and I are working on a little something (keep an eye open for news next year), so we'd already had a bit of a chat via email and he punted another idea over to me: what about doing some kind of collaborative webcomic with a few other people we knew? Coincidentally, I had been thinking the same thing (the success of such things as Huzzah has probably got a few cogs turning for a lot of people) and had thrown out such an idea on the 2000AD forum. So I was obviously up for the challenge but how to start?

Matt suggested I dust off an old story idea but that didn't narrow it down as I've got a tonne of them sitting around (even if a reasonable proportion are fit only for the budgie cage). I did have a nose through them though, and found one idea I'd come back to a couple of times but it had never got beyond the introduction. The basic premise was: a young lad turns up for a job interview and ends up being catapulted right off the map. The first iteration of this idea, gave us the name "Fractal Friction," although the story and reason for the name will remain a mystery for now, as there is a possibility we will delve into that further down the line. The second shot at the story is pretty much what you see here, just with a little back and forth first helping firm up the characters and the larger backstory. So once this was given a provisional thumbs up, I hammered out the 40 panels-worth of introduction (as it was pretty clear in my head by now) which, the way it has been divided up, runs to the first 9 pages. And then beyond that... what?

Well that is all up in the air and is where the fun really starts!! I'm happy to step back and let the artists take it from there, seeing where the story takes them. I see the blog description paints the situation like a runaway bus with me holding onto the wheel. Personally, I see it as more of a bobsleigh, where I'm the one at the back running like a big fool (which is the only way I know to run) and then jumping on the back, holding on tight during the ride down the side of a mountain, possibly while wearing a revealing skintight outfit (although I might stick with the lightly-soiled, orange bathrobe left provocatively open, but it does plays havoc with the tobogganing and no one wants to share a sledge with you). Beyond page 9 it is all up to the artists and whatever approach they prefer: I can leave them to it and cheer them on from the sidelines or I can offer advice when required or do some heavy to light plotting Marvel Method-style or I am up for just adding the words to the pictures or I might be called upon to provide more script. We'll have to play it by ear, but I'm up for any challenge and it'll be fun seeing where it goes. I'll update with more information as I find out myself.

From this point onwards, the scope of the comics should, hopefully, soon become apparent as we plummet headlong out of the introduction into... whatever comes next. The possibilities should be nearly endless.

For now the other important thing beyond the story itself, is that we want to open it up to others, and there will be guest slots available. We have already had a couple of exciting offers and will be snatching their hands off (just not the one they draw with, of course). We'll do a full couple of turns through the artist currently on board, which should take us into the start of the next story, and by then eveything should be running smoothly and we'll have a better idea of the pace and the process, as well as a glimpse of a broader picture, which should make it easier to slot guest contributions in. If you are interested, just email us (or drop us a note on the 2000AD forum).

So hopefully that has answered a few questions and introduced a lot more. I will now leave it up to the story to answer them, or not - we'll just have to wait and see.

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