Comic updates

Midnight Sun has updated.

Freebird is now on indefinite hold, because when I was down in Anchorage I began writing the script for what I'm now calling the New Alaska Project. It's actually a prequel to Freebird that was going to take place as a story-within-a-story in that one, but since it doesn't really relate to the main Freebird storyline, I thought it would be stronger if I pulled it out and made it into its own story rather than as a flashback in the other story. I'd like to do this one first because a) it takes place, chronologically, earlier than Freebird (late 1970s) and b) unlike Freebird, which is relatively open-ended, this one has a beginning, middle and end, and can probably be told in about 100-150 pages. It'll be a nice size to make a graphic novel.

The New Alaska Project, which still doesn't have a proper name, is based very loosely upon my parents' experiences as rural homesteaders. In some ways I've been waiting all my life to tell this story. Freebird will still happen; this will just happen *first*. If you've been reading Freebird, you'll have a good idea of how the art and storytelling style will look in the new project.

Autumn pictures

At this time of year, Fairbanks truly lives up to its official nickname, the "Golden Heart City".

( Leaves like gold coins )

One thing I never noticed until living somewhere else for a few years is how golden Alaska is. Obviously, at this time of year EVERYTHING is gold, but even in midsummer, it seemed that many of my photos had a golden hue to them. Husband points out that this is at least partly because the vegetation "down south" is much more verdant; everything up here is on the very verge of dying all the time. Spoilsport. ;) At least partly, though, it seems to be a quality of the very low angle of the light at high latitudes -- a perpetual sunrise effect.