Creeping Me Out’s Future!

Creeping Me Out is transitioning (primarily) to a print based comic rather than the web thing it has been in the past.

The first book I’m releasing is the four issue “remaster” of the original run. This has a lot of tightened up dialogue and timing, some redrawn art where necessary, and a lot of extra panels and connective material to make it work in the new format.

  • Issue #1 will be available around Xmas! 
  • Issue #2 Late February
  • Issue #3 April
  • Issue #4 June.
  • #Compendium. This will collect all issues into a special hardback edition with bonus material. Late 2020?

These dates are somewhat fluid as I have a lot going on, but that’s what I’m aiming for. 🙂

EDIT: I had to shuffle the dates about. I’m aiming for late Feb with Issue #1 now and the rest “at some point” – I’ll post a more comprehensive update soon, but was reluctant to post anything until I have actual “news”. 

Why take so long? Don’t you have the pages already?

I could have just shoved the pages into a book and had it printed, and I made a mock-up of that, but it didn’t come close to meeting a standard I’m happy with, or make it possible to continue in a way that made sense. It just wasn’t a good way of presenting things.

Why not? Well a lot of early CMO was 3 panel gag strips, or 4 panel squares, which didn’t translate well to a traditional page layout wIthout some work. I also had the problem of the first 30 or so pages’ working files (with layers, and editable text) being lost in a hard drive crash around 2005(?), so had to redraw a lot. (Back up your files!) Other things that needed replacing? Some really strange experimental animations and short-lived stints with different types of software, some of which needed redrawing.

There’s something really odd about inserting new material into such old work. In some ways I’d do a lot of things differently if I was approaching it afresh. (As you’ll see, eventually…) Practically though, when it comes to adding characters and details into new panels – that’s relatively straightforward as a more detailed take on things looks fine next to the older ones. The weird part has been where I’ve had to edit characters into old panels. It’s feels very strange to draw “like you used to”, if you’ve been developing steadily. It might not always work 100% but I’m happy with the results. I don’t think it’s jarring in a “Special Editions” kind of way at least.. Some examples:

Excitingly, the four new issues also tell a new framing narrative, the first genuinely new story arc to start in CMO for a very long time, while wrapping it all together and offering a couple of jump-off points for further stories, both set during the original run and in the years afterward. (I have started on a few one-shots set during different periods, in a range of tones.. and genres!)

About Those Future CMO Books…

So a few cmo books are in the pot while I’m working on the remasters.. I’ll see which of them feels best to serve once they’re better cooked. I might slot one between issues 3 and 4 of the remaster. We’ll see. Some of my favourite untold CMO stories are quick little tales that could suit an anthology, or short issues. Here’s a taster, but other stories are also bubbling along, some outside of the medium of comics entirely. 😉

Each of these has between 3 and 20 pages currently..

CMO’s website and Patreon

I’m not totally sure what I’ll do with the site. I may redesign it with more modern design practices in mind. It’s up in the air, but it definitely needs some TLC to make it responsive and play nicely with mobile devices.

I’ll have some links to the store soon, as well as an update on what I’m planning in regards to patreon. Once #1 is available, and once I’ve tidied up the Patreon enough and understand how everything works I’ll launch it more fully, and likely move all my project blogging here, rather than spread between sites. I’ll also work on putting some bonus content on Patreon.

Looking forward to showing you more!

– Mixel

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