Sea of Spheres FAQ

So some of you may have noticed that I've been talking about starting a webcomic for a while. Well gears are finally turning in the right direction for that (Though the whole idea of running a site is still a little daunting, so if anyone has any advice on that side of things feel free to PM me.)

A couple weeks ago I wrote about some of the characters, but now is the time to give you a better idea of what the comic will be like. Here's an FAQ.

So what is Sea of Spheres?

It's a fantasy story with elements of science fiction and steampunk in there. The first story arc is primarily a murder mystery.

Okay, what's the comic about more specifically?

The setting of Sea of Spheres is a cluster of small planetoids in a crack between dimensions. A breathable atmosphere connects these small worlds and people travel between them in air balloons and sky ships.

Occasionally travellers from other realities will pass through this crack, leaving behind magic and technology that the inhabitants adopt.

Most of the Spheres are ruled over by a large city called Icon (pronounced Eye-son) that hangs above them. Their biggest rivals are the largest Sphere, called Arcadia, and a tecnologically advanced Sphere called Gemini. Beneath the Spheres is a large concave desert called the basin.

Sea of Spheres is the story of these inhabitants, and the societies they form on the spheres themselves. To begin with though, we'll be following a couple of detectives call 'Justices' investigating a murder on one of these worlds.

 So what format is is going to take?

Each page will be about three to four panels. The artwork will be black and white, but I'll try and fit some colour in now and again. I'm trying to stick to the feel of old 'newspaper' style serials.

What's the planned update schedule?

One strip per week is what I'm aiming at. I hope to upload the prologue in full (about five pages) to start with.

I'm planning the main arc to last about three acts, at about fifty two pages each, not counting interludes. I'm writing it to be self contained so that it's concluded after about three years, and if it's picked up enough interest I have a larger story to tell after that.

How soon can we expect it to start?

I'm hoping some time during March, but more realistically it'll probably be April/May time.

Is this based on any of your other works?

It's not connected to the Modern Realms stories, and it's not connected to Cummings either.

It shares the same fictional universe as a bunch of Carnack short stories I'm writing, though they do not themselves take place in the spheres. Some of the characters might cross paths though.

What are your major influences for the comic?

Sea of Spheres actually started as an idea for a Planescape comic, so you'll see a lot of similarities both in the setting and the visuals. However, my original plot was playing fast and loose with the Planescape setting anyway, and became much more interesting once I changed it to an original universe.

Other than that you'll also see elements from things like The Wire, Judge Dredd, Doctor Who and the works of David Lynch and Terry Gilliam.

Hang on a moment, haven't I seen some of those characters from your old Dungeons and Dragons campaigns?

Yes! A few characters are re-worked from ideas that came about during a couple of our Dnd campaigns a few years back.

However, even though you might see some of those characters and events mentioned, you can consider any of the old Dnd stuff non-canon. The comic has no connection to Dungeons and Dragons or any of it's fictional settings.

Any other questions, feel free to get in touch.