Summer Camp 2024: Week 1

in which our hero worldbuilds

Photo of a bunny from my yard, taken on this day, added later so that this post finally has a photo

Dear Readers,

I fear I will have to make this week’s newsletter a quick one. All is well, but it’s 9:30 in the evening and I might or might not be driving the family somewhere tomorrow to meet up with some of the extended family for some well-mannered frivolity. That, plus my laptop’s battery indicator is giving me the evil eye.

I have no big news about the comic this week. I’m still waiting on my proof copy of issue #1 and I’m still working on art for the first few pages of issue #2. And so, there’s nothing to share on the comic front.

What I can share is the fun I’m having with World Anvil’s annual Summer Camp event. This is where I use prompts given to the community by the fine folks at WA and build out the backstory that I’ll use to help me write stuff for the next year. Loads of things that are popping up in the comic now were first conceived during past Summer Camps, and I feel certain already that stuff I’m writing now will come in handy sooner or later.

Here’s what I’ve cooked up so far in this first week of the event:

1. Mira’s Well, a desert region that’s one part Los Angeles and one part Egypt;

2. The Storm of Cats and Dogs, a crazy meteorological events during which the bad people got floods and the good people got new puppies and kitty cats;

3. Cherno’s Curse, a supernatural blight that messes with crops in nations where the leaders are being assholes;

4. The Treaty of Meltwater, a peace treaty between humans and shape shifters with a little marriage pact thrown in for good measure; and,

5. The Model E, a super-efficient steam-powered motorcar that pushed Eden into the modern era

All of this is really rough right now and there’s no art for any of it yet, but it’s been a helluva lot of fun cooking up these crazy ideas this week.

I’ll be back with more next week.

Yours,
Chris