Ahoy Reader!
Apologies for the disruption of your regularly scheduled web comic updates, but we are experiencing some technical difficulties here at DRINK WATER headquarters. The scanner that I usually use to scan the drawings is locked up at work for the foreseeable future. There are new pages in process, but it’ll be awhile until I’m able to scan them in and finish ‘em properly. Stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram feeds for a sneak preview of what’s to come. I’ll post some cell phone shots of the latest pages to tide you over until production starts again.
In the meantime, Black Rock City has been cancelled for this year, so citizens around the world will be burning virtually in 2020. Might take some getting used to, but BRC has been living virtually in the pages of DRINK WATER since way back in 2013. Take a trip down memory lane and start the journey again from the beginning, just click on each comic to progress to the next. Mix up a cocktail, rub some dust in your face, and don’t forget to hydrate. It will be just like being home again!
Stay safe out there everyone!
And stay tuned, there’s more to come!
xoxo
Neptune
. . . )'( . . .
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 Drink Water Teahouse at Campfire Cove, Burning Man 2019. Located at 7:30 & Bacchus, this interactive art installation featured multiple rooms, daily tea service, and a rooftop observation deck. Designed and built by Aimee Hornberger, Elliott Aguirre, Dominic Eason, Michael Boyer, Jenna Germany, Jenea Sinsanity, River Reichhoff, Sara Amaya Dussan, Evan Ross and the entire CampFire Cove building crew.
Really nice work. I’m sorry to have missed seeing it in person, but honored to be included thematically. Congrats to the entire CampFire Cove Crew on a successful playa project! These photos almost make me feel like I was there (except maybe a little less dusty).
The Ghostly Circus: Tides of the Climates
August 9th & 10th, 2019
Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
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Some early Drink Water! sketches and character designs from way back in November, 2001. This story was brewing in my sketchbook for about 13 years before the work really started on the webcomic in the Fall of 2012.
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 . . . )'( . . .
This is a limited edition Drink Water! print comic that was made as a playa gift for Burning Man 2008. The story is basically a first draft of Book #2 (Wednesday), and is functioning as a loose outline for the current webcomics. The Mud-Wrestling match is the first story in this print edition but it’s much shorter, only three pages long (the current webcomic version of the Mud-Wrestling match is up to 32 pages and counting!) There were just 250 copies printed and distributed around BRC that year, so unfortunately they are all long gone out into the world. Although things are currently brewing behind the scenes, so stay tuned for info about new print editions coming soon!