The Year of Faral

In the Beginning…

It was already decided that Robert Henry and I would submit a story for Rough Cut issue 2. Robert would do the pencils and I’d do the inks. I had a few different story ideas that I pitched to him. He liked the idea of a demon hunter in the old west. 

On October 2, 1993, I penned an 8 page story called “Demontowne” and shortly after did the first sketch of Faral. That comic story appeared in Rough Cut issue 2.

I took that world and expanded it by running a role playing game campaign for several years with my friends. I filled out so much of the world through that experience. Then I began to ruminate on Faral’s origin story. I wanted to write a full sword-and-sorcery, steampunk western novel. At the time that was almost unheard of but that was long ago.

 

No Guarantees

The last few years have taught me a lot about love and loss. One thing that I know for certain is that you don’t have forever to do the things that are most important to you. In my head, I have decades left to do all the stories I want, but the reality is that there are no guarantees.

Also, I’ve learned that you have to set aside time for big projects that matter to you. I draw, I write, I do podcasts, I make videos, I help people with personal branding, marketing, and I have hobbies too. I stay busy and I’ve been learning how to do certain professional tasks over the past four years. But now I’m ready, and I know that if you don’t focus on the big things, that the small things will take up all your time.

I Did Something Big

I’m not joking when I say that I’ve thought about Faral’s origin story for over 30 years. I’ve written stuff in notebooks, and saved ideas in Evernote. I’ve scanned old notes and illustrations to keep track of them. I’ve done new designs for Faral and the other people in her world.

But over the past week, while I stayed with my Mom over Christmas break, I sat down, gathered everything from the past three decades, and plotted the entire story, from beginning to end.

There’s a whole process I used, and I’ll share the specifics later for those who want to know. The bottom line though, is that I made a big move that will set this story into action, finally.

The Year of Faral

First off, I’m not going to make any silly predictions. I know better than that.

What I am going to do is lay out what I have planned for Faral, whether that takes a few months or a few years to achieve, that’s going to be a top priority for me.

Here are the upcoming projects that will involve Faral and Demontowne:

• Design of the characters, groups and other worldbuilding elements,
• Write the “Demontowne” novel, featuring the origin story of Faral,
• Finish inking and coloring an 8-page comic story that I wrote 30 years ago and Robert penciled,
• Write, pencil, ink and color my own 8-page comic story,
• Use those two stories and hopefully get help with two more stories to create an anthology comic on “Demontowne.”

Take a Ride with Me

I’m telling you all of this because I can’t believe that I’ve plotted this story after all this time. It’s a big deal to me and I wanted to share the news with you.

But I also want to invite you along for the ride. I’m going to need help of all kinds. It’s a lot of work to write a full novel, but even if I take care of most of the jobs, I’m still going to need beta readers, and people for my launch team.

Comics are a huge undertaking and I’m hoping that I don’t have do all of that on my own. I’m hoping that a few of my close friends step up and help get me over the goal line with the comic. I’m happy to work with new people too! I feel strongly that this project has a built-in audience, and I’ll share in the success with my partners!

No matter what, for me, 2025 will be the Year of Faral.