Drink Water!

Photo by Terry Fields, BRC 2017

Ahoy Reader!

Welcome to 2020! In the spirit of the New Year, I’d like to take a moment to assess where we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re going with this crazy webcomic project. We are now seven years into our story, which is significant given that the number seven plays an important role in the structure or our tale. Our story is divided into seven books, one for each of the seven days, and each day is divided into seven chapters, making forty-nine chapters total. We’re currently wrapping up Chapter 10, just one episode left (#219) that was supposed to be the final update of 2019, but will now be the first of 2020 (should be posted in the next few days, just needs to be scanned and cleaned up.) That will bring us up to the start of Chapter 11, which is right in the middle of Book 2.

Below I’ve included a rough outline of the full story. I’ve intentionally left a lot of the details vague in order to maintain some mystery and the element of surprise, but hopefully you’ll be able to see the general arc of the narrative through this outline. Thursday & Friday will be spent expanding our current story threads and introducing new characters, building up the intensity and excitement. Saturday will be the Man burn, and Sunday will be the Temple burn. And Book 7, Monday, will be a prologue/epilogue of sorts featuring scenes from both Mondays, pre and post. The first half focusing on arrival and set up, the second half on break down and exodus.

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DRINK WATER!
Story Outline – Jan. 2020

Book 1 : Tuesday
    Chapter 1: Follow the Fish (1 – 21)
    Chapter 2: It’s a Parade (22 – 48)
    Chapter 3: Thar She Blows (49 – 64)
    Chapter 4: Pirates (65 – 77)
    Chapter 5: Bzzt! Bzzzzt! (78 – 97)
    Chapter 6: Light ‘em Up (98 – 125)
    Chapter 7: Intrepid Tendency (126 – 140)

Book 2: Wednesday
    Chapter 8: Boom Boom (145 – 152)
    Chapter 9: Buff it Out (153 – 189)
    Chapter 10: Mud-Wrestling (190 – 218)
    Chapter 11: Technical Difficulties
    Chapter 12: Thunderdome
    Chapter 13: Dragon Fight
    Chapter 14: Lucid Dreamers

Book 3: Thursday
    Chapter 15: Hitch a Ride
    Chapter 16: Convergence
    Chapter 17: Neptune for Mayor
    Chapter 18: The Great Debate
    Chapter 19: Show Me
    Chapter 20; Scavengers
    Chapter 21: Book Mobile

Book 4: Friday
    Chapter 22: Late Start
    Chapter 23: Wedding
    Chapter 24: Shin-dig
    Chapter 25: Kamp Show
    Chapter 26: The Opera
    Chapter 27: Trebuchet
    Chapter 28: Into the Man

Book 5: Saturday
    Chapter 29: Dream Intro
    Chapter 30: Laminates
    Chapter 31: Center Camp
    Chapter 32: Suit Up
    Chapter 33: Burn the Man
    Chapter 34: El Circo
    Chapter 35: Sunrise

Book 6: Sunday
    Chapter 36: Intermission
    Chapter 37: Pancake Preacher
    Chapter 38: Enjoy the Silence
    Chapter 39: White Out
    Chapter 40: Let it Go
    Chapter 41: Temple Burn
    Chapter 42: The Last Peep Show

Book 7: Monday
    Chapter 43: Cessna
    Chapter 44: Drive In
    Chapter 45: Set Up
    Chapter 46: Break down
    Chapter 47: Moop Sweep
    Chapter 48: Exodus
    Chapter 49: Begin Again

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Obviously, this may take some time to complete. The first ten chapters took seven years to finish, so at this pace, it should take me about 28 more years to finish the entire story. Drink Water! 2048! That might sound insane, but my hope is that at some point I’ll be able to focus on it full-time, which would significantly pick up the pace of production.

This year, I’m also going to make a real effort to bring the comic to print. Starting with an edition of mini comics, and eventually proceeding to a collected hardcover of Chapters 1-7. Stay tuned for updates about the print editions. There’s still a bit of artwork to be completed before they’re ready (covers for the mini comics, title pages, appendix, etc.), but it will all come together eventually.

Long term, I’m imagining that this series could eventually be adapted for film or television. Maybe as a seven-part animated series, where each book becomes a single episode, or as one feature film containing the story of the entire week. Once completed, a second season or a sequel could then be created focusing on a whole new set of characters. Starting the week over, but seen from another perspective, and focusing on another camp. It would be a chance to tell someone else’s true story, and chronicle their journey through the same week. Our current characters could appear as background figures in the sequel, whose stories might intersect the narrative from time to time.

Anyway, that about sums up some of my thoughts concerning the current state of our tale. Feel free to leave a comment with any thoughts, reactions, or suggestions you might have, or just to say hello! Stay tuned for more updates, and thanks again for reading Drink Water!

xoxo
Neptune
. . . )'( . . .

YAR HAR!! In honor of ‘talk like a pirate day’, it is my great pleasure to announce the release of the debut album and video from Neptune’s brand new undersea heavy metal band, CHUM! Avast ye Scallywags!!!!

From the cold, forgotten depths of the deepest, darkest oceanic trenches, CHUM! rises like an ancient leviathan calling to all undersea predators scattered across the seven seas. These massive beasts rise into the light, following the primal undersea rhythm which flows freely like blood on the aquatic currents of the world.

Featuring performances by Lee Eschliman, Wayne Fidler, Chris Davis-Slade, Jay Caddle, Michael Miller, Ed Kellogg, and Bill Pusey.

15% of all proceeds of the album will be donated to Oceana International, for protection of the world’s oceans and marine environments.

Stream & download the album now!

Bandcamp: https://chumchumchum.bandcamp.com/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/chumchumchumof…

The Ghostly Circus: Tides of the Climates
August 9th & 10th, 2019
Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA

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Here’s a little sneak peek behind the scenes into the making of Drink Water! This picture shows Chapter 10 in progress, as it currently hangs on my studio wall (Catwalk included for scale). Chapter 10 chronicles Munki’s mission to enter the Mud-Wrestling Tournament Supreme at the Netherworld Ranch in an attempt to claim the Devil’s boon and restore his lost soul. This is a true story from Black Rock City 2001.

I generally layout about a dozen pages at a time in pencil, and then gradually finish them in ink over the weeks that follow. Once the inks are done, the pages are scanned, and then finished digitally in Photoshop. This batch is about be taken down to make room for the next set of layouts, the end of Chapter 10 and into 11. Things are going to get pretty crazy as our story moves into Wednesday evening, so stay tuned! There’s a lot more to come . . . )'( . . .

Ahoy Reader!

Here we are 200 episodes and six years into our story and still a long way to go. We are currently in Chapter Ten, Book #2, about midway through Wednesday afternoon. We have an action-packed evening ahead of us featuring battling dragons, flaming stilt soccer, and a visit to the Thuderdome! All this and more coming up, so stay tuned!

This photo was taken in Black Rock City back in 2001, and features Munkus and Neptune standing outside the Netherworld Ranch about to enter the Mud-Wrestling Tournament Supreme. Another piece of evidence from the archive proving once again that all of this is based upon true events, and I am endeavoring (to the best of my recollection) to bring you these stories as they actually transpired.

Thanks again for following along with our story, and stay tuned for many more adventures in 2019!

. . . )'( . . .