Upcoming comic books #sneakpeek

Spring is upon us. For some it doesn't feel like it but now is the time for cleaning out the winter and moving on to new growth. There will be no waxing philosophy or grand attempts at poetry in this post. We do comic books and that's what you want to see so without further ado... here's are some pages from upcoming releases. Signed C: the missing.

C_3_page 9

 

C_3_ink_page 11

 

C_2_Page 20

 

The Ascendant:

Ascendant3pg6inks

 

Ascendant3pg9inksfinito

 

Ascendant3pg2fin

 

(FYI, the book isn't in black and white. Those are inks that are yet to move onto the color stage)

Horsemen:

HORSEMAN_2_P1

 

HORSEMAN_2_P2

 

Horseman_pg_4_final

 

The last page isn't from a new issue. It's there to show you there's a new artist involved with the project and that it will look differently than before.

Also the webcomic, Damn Heroes is updated all the time so please have a glance or two. http://damnheroes.com

FYI, we have more announcements coming regarding our convention schedule and about new projects we've taken on. I guess we can tell you now that we are doing a Kickstarter campaign in early April, the 9th to be exact if our launch is approved by then, and this will allow you to get first dibs on deals and special products that will be limited. They will only be offered for a scant amount of time as well.

Have a most outstanding day or night.

Ars longa, vitae brevis.

Do G-B engines exist? Scientist, engineers?

Gravity-Buoyancy Engine? ... How ideas grow from simple to complex.  

When trying to develop new stories, ideas come and go about the characters and motives but all must conform to place. Environments, novel or not, need to be thoroughly investigated and in many cases lead to questions that lead to even more questions. Through trying to resolve fictive issues, we must reflect on what is real and speculate in flights of fancy. Sometimes, these lead to practical concepts and other times to the whimsical.

 

In the last few weeks while working on submissions for a kid’s TV network and revising another project, an idea kept spiraling in the back of my consciousness. I’ve wanted to create an entire alien world and set it with characters with a diminished capacity for tribalism that seems to beset so many alternate fictive worlds. The factionalism is, of course, manifested in such fictive worlds because it is allegory and we see the nascent society torn asunder by power-plays, so we can reflect upon our current primitive behavioral exchanges. Oops, sorry. Not going to begin a tirade on theme and socially constructed institutions. Let me get to the point.

 

So, I am going to create a story world called Avalon. I’m sure all of you familiar with De Troyes and Arthurian tales get he reference. Avalon will be set on an alien planet, a water world, with more gravity and a denser atmosphere. Human inhabitants will be descendants of space travelers and they have adaptive genetics, which allow them to rapidly evolve. Some people will have wings and fly in the thick atmosphere as other could have gills but I haven’t worked out the details yet but genetic reversion is possible to a primary human form. Other big thing is Avalon is a city that is based on icebergs. Only a portion bobs up and sticks out of the water as most is below the surface because with a thicker atmosphere I surmise more heat is retained from the solar radiation and thus the storms would be powerful, which bring me to the problem. They would need a renewable source of power protected from external elements in the atmosphere so I thought of combining a waterwheel and submarines with turbines to create a Gravity-Buoyancy Engine that is all under water.

 

One submarine would be connected to what would look like massive Ferris Wheel squashed into an elliptical form and would utilize gravity to pull down this submarine when the negative buoyancy is created by compartment flooding. Then, there is another submarine connected to the wheel in an offset position that would utilize buoyancy to raise itself in the water column. So while one descends, the other rises and will compensate for loss of momentum when reaching horizontal position on the wheel (12:00 and 6:00 on a clock face). The dual forces would allow it to drive to the point where it could rotate either up or down and begin its descent or ascent again. The crank just keeps on going. A stone sinks and a bubble rises.

 

Buoyancy would be controlled by electric pumps just like in submarines today, or electrolysis could also assist and separate the water into gases to provide a lifting force. There would also be external fan rotors attached to the dorsal section and pointing to the nose so when the submarines rise and fall in the water column, the fans spin and drive a turbine to create electricity for the pumps. The blades would never need to be adjusted for angles of attack this way. All electricity will be stored in a battery until needed and the most stress really only comes when pumping the water out. Flooding the compartments is a fairly passive endeavor.  The submarines would drive a the massive underwater wheel that’s connected to a drive shaft that has a series of differential gears that connect to the city of Avalon. The wheel could be also more like a bicycle chain with two axis of rotation at the north and south points. The primary point of connection would enter the submerged areas of the city. If air pockets were needed, then the city could have bays. Just extrapolate and let what is, inspire what will be. Onto other dangling issues.

 

The wheel would need to be secured to the ocean floor but perhaps a series of weights could provide stability if not tethered.

 

I also thought of a different idea with weight/counterweight-gravity/buoyancy drive that was vertical/linear in the water column. It would be attached to a horizontal pulley system, which would capture the energy and drive a transmission crank shaft sort of like a saw blade going back and forth motion. It would in effect be the same premise but the directional force would alternate. I surmise a constant single direction of force would be better, so that’s why I went with the horizontally compressed Ferris Wheel model. I assume the actual length of the wheel’s circumference would be about three miles with one and a half mile descent and one and a half mile ascent so the mechanical force from the fan rotations would have enough time to charge the batteries in the submarines to work the pumps. Of course there would be an initial charge from photo-voltaics on the surface along with wind turbines. The reason for not relying on wind and solar alone is because of the weather changes and would not be constants.

 

My question is, has this been developed? I can’t find any information on such a device. I’m probably not using the correct terminology because it seems too simple an idea to not have been done. I mean gravity isn’t going to falter, neither will buoyancy, and to combine them as opposing forces to drive a turbine just seems logical. It’s basically using two submarines connected to a massive waterwheel made from a bicycle chain and crank system where the rotational energy drives a shaft at the apex pivot point that’s near the submerged area of the city where a turbine is connected from the inside. I do wonder if this could be done on a smaller scale on Earth. We got oceans and all the technology to make it happen. It’s renewable and batteries are getting better at storing energy to drive the pumps.

 

In conclusion, this is an example of how ideas form for writers in streams of conscious speculation piqued by the subconscious. Theme drives characters and the world they inhabit. Every system has a certain amount of rules. Apply universals to details and know all settings include problems. Figure out the problems and they will lead to solutions… and more problems… in perpetuity.

Joshua

 

Sorry for the informal rant but I just needed to get this off my chest. I hope Gravity-Buoyancy engines really exist.

 

Joshua

Geek Cast Live Talk Coffee, Comics and Whiskey

We talk about Signed on Geek Cast Live

On Thursday night Mark and Alex got the opportunity to hang out with the guys on Geek Cast Live and had an absolute blast! Lots of laughs and good discussion on topics like #LovecraftChicken, #OdinForceCoffee, our books, whiskey, what the double splash page in Signed #1 does to us and even our upcoming Kickstarter and convention schedule. Plus, Alex digs himself in deep doo-doo with his wife (well, at least if she hears the interview. Please forward the link to her). The whole thing clocks in at just over an hour, perfect for your commute home.

If you haven't listened to the guys at Geek Cast Live, we highly recommend it. Very funny and knowledgeable folks. We promise the conversation is wide, varied and lots of fun. Heck, you might even learn something! You can find the whole interview here.

Ars longa, vitae brevis.

-The Wayward Raven Crew

We're on Geek Cast Live Podcast Tonight!!!

Recently the awesome folks over at Geek Cast Live were nice enough to check our stuff out and talk about it on their podcast. In case you didn't catch it the first time around, you can listen to the episode. In addition to being a really fun listen, they had some wonderful things to say about our books during the show (I won't spoil it for you, go click the link. I promise you will enjoy the whole show, not just the bit about us). In fact, they were nice enough to do a brief follow up on Damn Heroes too. So when they asked us to be on the show, we were really excited! In fact, we've been looking forward to it weeks! So tonight go ahead and mosey on over to Geek Harder, their new home on the interwebs and check it out. Hope you enjoy listening as much as we will enjoy hanging with the crew. Check them out on twitter too @GeekCastLive.

Ars longa, vitae brevis.

-The Wayward Raven Crew

Girls with Issues Podcast reviews The Ascendant

We want to give a special thanks to Vickie and Billie at the Girls With Issues Podcast for reviewing The Ascendant #1. We've been fans of theirs from the time their podcast was in single digits. Each week, they review one Marvel, one DC, and one indie book. On episode 20, they reviewed The Ascendant #1 along with Damian, Son of Batman and Guardians of the Galaxy: The Trial of Jean Grey.

Highly recommend subscribing to them.

http://girlswithissues.libsyn.com/girls-with-issues-episode-20

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/girls-with-issues/id703232251?mt=2

Girls With Issues Podcast

@gwipodcast

@vickioh13

@billeabones

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Girls-with-Issues/158427587680724