56.5 – One Year Anniversary Q&A
TLDR: Thanks for reading and for being cool, everyone. Also there are books and some weird shit happens in them.
Hi guys!
Today/yesterday depending on your timezone was November 18th, which is the anniversary of the day I started uploading my dumbass drawings to the internet. So, here’s the Q&A I promised – uploaded kinda late because I’m a procrastinating piece of shit.
Apologies if I didn’t get to your question – maybe if I get time, I’ll do another one of these to get through more of them.
If I may get sappy on you glorious bastards for a moment, I want to thank you. Like, seriously, sincerely, thank you. One of my life dreams since I was little has been to have an audience with whom I can share my stories and characters. You guys – your support, your comments, your readership – have given me that. You have literally made my dreams come true, and that means everything to me. I’ve loved talking with you all, reading your comments, and hearing from you that I’ve been able to make you laugh.
Working on this comic, and knowing that in doing so I’m not just shouting into an empty void, has given my life direction that I was sorely missing for a long time.
I also wanted to address something, and I’m a little nervous to do so, but I figure now is a good time to get it over with.
A few of you, those who tend to read through comments on the various sites I use, know that these characters come from a book I’m in the process of revising. I never expected the comics to become a thing – I just doodled them on a whim to try out my tablet, and uploaded them without thinking that anything would come of it.
I’ve had a handful of people ask me when the book is coming out, how they can get a copy, etc., and I appreciate that so much. But, I want to explain something so that there are no false pretenses:
The comics are very much a comedy/slice-of-life kind of deal, but the book is not. There is a fantasy element to it. I’m scared to tell you guys that because I know that not everyone is down for it, and that it’s unexpected given how much the comic is grounded in ordinary day-to-day college life. I also had writing professors who openly discouraged fantasy writing in favor of realistic fiction, and I know that they would judge me for this.
I probably should have cleared this up earlier, but I didn’t quite know how to approach it. There are, actually, some dropped hints throughout the comics, that a few people may have noticed.
Some of you are probably like “oh cool, I like fantasy stuff,” but others are probably like “noooooo that ruins it!” I will say this – there is plenty of silliness in the books, and plenty of storytelling that’s similar to the comics. After all, Aiden is still Aiden, Kaia is still Kaia, and I am still the same author, with the same narrative style.
But, the book was not designed to tell a series of jokes, or to tell the same story that the comics do (though Aiden and Kaia’s relationship and development are still at the core of the novel). I wrote the book wanting to write a new take on a superhero story. I hope there are people among you who would be excited for that, but I know some of you will not be.
Feel free to voice your opinions about it – it would help me to understand how much my marketing for the book will be intertwined with the comic’s audience whenever I figure out how to go about publishing it. Also feel free to ask me to clarify anything. I always read through all of the comments on here, but on this one in particular I’ll be monitoring the page, ready to answer any questions.
Again, thank you all for your continued support through this exciting year. I hope for many more years of butt jokes to come.
-DT Saranya
Late to the game with this reply. but I am super excited about your book. I am a superhero junkie, and I especially like when creators think outside the box when it comes to superheros and their powers, so I am really stoked to see where you will take it.
Whatever else your book turns out to be, I am sure it will be uniquely you and therefore amazing.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the encouragement! I appreciate it.
Will do my best to make it good. ๐
Hahah, I loved this. And when you mentioned Fantasy, on top of the superhero gig, you had me sold. I don’t care if it’s not the same as the comic–superhero movies differ from their source material all the time, sometimes telling entirely different stories.
Plus I happen to be a fan of both types–Fantasy and Superheroes.
Honestly, if a professor discourages one type of genre over another, I don’t think they are doing the job they are supposed to. Their job is to teach, not impose their own opinions on the next generation.
Anyway, I do have one question. How do you plan to try and publish? Mostly online, or are you going to try and get hard copies (i.e. a physical book) out?
Glad you’d be interested. ๐
I’m still figuring out how I’d go about publishing. There are a lot of marketing advantages to having a publishing company behind you, but if it doesn’t work out, I’ll find a way to self-publish. I’m shooting for physical books, but online would work too, especially considering that’s where the comic fanbase is.
OMG, I just read through your whole archive in one go… THANK YOU. Aiden and Kaia’s interactions are hilarious, and their characters so well developed… Er. In a literary kind of way. But then, a boob or dick joke wouldn’t really have been inappropriate, no…? ๐
And about your book: In all honesty, when you wrote ‘Fantasy’, I went YAY!, only to go Meeeh when ‘superheroes’ got mentioned. Me and superheroes don’t click, but upon reading what kind of superhero-y thing you are doing (staying in the real and three-dimensional characters and realistic treatment of violence, SCORE!), I actually got ever more intrigued. So whenever you publish your book, please count me in in your readership. You are doing an effing amazing comic, and your book will be exactly that as well.
Thanks for all your kind words. Glad you’ve enjoyed the comic!
I’m glad to see so many people open to the idea so far – hopefully it goes well. ๐
I really did not expect that the story of the book would be fictitious because the comics never showed it so openly but as you said, if the characters continue to have the same personality, I believe that people who love this incredible relationship in comics also will love the book, especially if you also address serious topics as in Chapter 25: Best Friends. PS: I hope you be inspired in games like Bioshock, I love stories with mind blown moments (Sorry for the bad english – google translater helped)
Hopefully it’ll be something most of you enjoy. I’ve done my best to make it a good fit for both those who just want a “young people with powers” kind of story, and also those who would want things to be taken a step further.
And don’t worry – your English is very good!
Thanks for reading. ๐
Haha! Thanks for the kind words, we are here for you! I think I might have said it before but theres a real mess of shit webcomics on the internet and while I cant pretend to have read more than 10, I know a good quality comic when I see one.
Now I might have joined the party slightly late, first reading your webcomics around 15-20 weeks ago, but for some reason I resonate with this series, probably because my relationship with my best friend is very similar to the two main characters.
Fantasy is a very broad term, it can be as simple as inventing floating shoes to Aiden and Kaia and Elie battling evil robot zombie unicorns on Saturn with rayguns and magic. ( PS: If you steal this idea I want full credit and 90% of the revenue of your book :P). Which is it?
Fiction usually sells more than non-fiction so I dont know what your profs are saying and although superheroes are my favorite genre, its a very niche industry. Not saying its not going to sell but dont hold your breath. ( If the titular characters atr anything like Waffles and Pancakes then I might save money on the side โบ)
En tout cas, I support this idea. The important thing is to have fun โบ
Typed all this by phone so cant reread or spellcheck
2 additional things, would the mother and son Aiden embarrased himself with be by any chance his inspirations for the mother kangaroo and her baby last page?
And you forgot to add a vote incencitive in the description ๐
It’s a “one exception to reality” kind of fantasy. Like, there’s one thing added that breaks reality, but everything else must obey realistic rules.
As I said, it’s supposed to be a new take on a superhero story, so there’s a thing that lets people have powers. Everything else is realistic.
I loved superhero stuff growing up – Justice League, Teen Titans, that kinda thing. The thing about those, though, is that so many of the powers are over-the-top, and the violence is so common and exaggerated that at a certain point, it stops feeling authentic and exciting.
I wanted to write a superhero story that felt more grounded in reality – one that made you feel the weight of the violence that occurred, and took a more realistic approach to how having a supernatural power would affect a person’s life.
I don’t want to explain to much of it, but I’ll say that both Kaia and Aiden’s perspectives are key. One is a realist, and the other is a dreamer.
As for the vote incentive, that’s coming later today. This Q&A is not the weekly Sunday update – I’m uploading that in a little bit, and the vote incentive along with it. ๐
Thanks for your readership and encouragement!
Oh, and in defense of my writing professors –
I do think some of them went a bit far with the whole “fantasy is dumb, don’t do it” thing, but there was a good reason for their having that attitude.
I see a ton of young writers getting caught up in fantasy, and never really learning to write on a higher level because of it. They come up with an imaginative idea, and then all of their effort goes into that. Character development and realistic dialogue fall to the side, and their work is poorer for it.
I have nothing against fantasy, but I absolutely think it’s a good idea for young aspiring writers to spend some time writing realistic fiction only. It forces you to learn to make characters and plots interesting without relying on action or magical ideas.
It’s good training, even if you don’t intend to be a strictly non-fantasy writer.
You know, I think the thing that really brings this whole comic together is that cute little dick in the bottom right corner. So glad I found you on imgur, even if I can’t believe it’s already been a year.
Haha, thanks for reading.
And for noticing the dick. ( อกยฐ อส อกยฐ)
we eventually need this backstory in comic (Well in strip)
It’s a little tough to explain without going through the whole story, and kind of inextricable from the fantasy bit. So, for those who would want to read the comics alone and pretend that the story is 100% realistic, that may not be a good idea.
A new take on a superhero story? Hopefully not like Worm. I mean, I love Worm, but I’d hate to see these two in such a dark story.
Otherwise I’m quite interested. Fantasy is a plus in my book and since Worm I actually started to like some superhero stories.
A bit of darkness, but not to any suffocating extent. Pretty difficult to make things dark with Aiden around.
Wow. Hard to believe it’s been a year already. I remember that Imgur post, been amazing watching it go! Congratulations! Good luck on the book, too! Funky fantasy take on super heroes with these two sounds amazing. ๐
Thanks for your readership and encouragement.
And indeed, hard to believe that it’s been a year. Time goes quickly.
I love the comic and having a fantasy element would be really cool and interesting. I’m sure that whatever you write it will be brilliant. As soon as I have a more “stable” income you will be the first person I support on patreon as I truly can’t wait for the book. Sorry if this sucks your dick a bit but I’m just really anticipating the book.
I appreciate that you’re excited for it, though this whole thing is making me really nervous because I feel like I have to live up to expectations now, haha.
Thanks for the kind words – I’ll do my best not to disappoint. ๐