I have finished the next chapter in the psychedelic time travel/conspiracy theory saga, Time Samplers, and before I begin, I need to give a special thanks to Paranoid American for giving me an opportunity to review their work. I read it on my Kindle Fire which I have to admit is my new favorite way to read comics, but more on that another time.
We find our heroic team of bros, Lex and Cal, still stuck in the W.I.L.D. Machine, the device that lets them recreate and visit the past. As reality breaks around them, Carmot and Vodnar try to rescue the brothers from the machine by sending them to a Skull & Bones ritual in the Tomb at Yale. Meanwhile, a new character, Luna, is introduced and immediately becomes the puppet of the shadowy figure causing chaos throughout the country.
The series continues to be humorous and delightfully weird, but I was left with more questions than answers. Who is Luna? Who is the shadowy figure controlling her? What is the council? I also feel I don't know much about the existing characters and I hope that futures issues might focus on them, especially Lex and Cal.
Alternate historians might be put off by all of the secret history, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a chance. Numerous alternate histories reviewed on The Update have been inspired by conspiracy theories including Prologueby Greg Ahlgren (see John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories) and the 2012 Sidewise nominated short story "Adrift on the Sea of Rains" by Ian Sales ("The Bell"). So if you are looking for a well-done indie comic that makes use of tropes common in alternate histories, give Time Samplers a shot.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new story "The Enchanted Bean" can be found in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale from Echelon Press. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
I present to you my interview with Thomas Gorence, the creator of Time Samplers. Enjoy:
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I'm just a normal guy, who happens to have a completely healthy obsession with conspiracy theories, secret societies, and mind control research. I've been working professionally as a software engineer and musician for the last 10-15 years, and just trying to combine these skills to break out into other mediums.
What go you interested in time travel?
The biggest influences in my love for time travel can probably be traced back to Bill S. Preston (esquire), Theodore Logan, and Marty McFly. After that initial spark of interest, my fascination with history and the potential of things like time travel, chaos theory, and multiple dimensions has only gotten bigger.
The elevator pitch is that two musicians use psychedelic time travel to research historical conspiracies and corruption. Of course, it goes much deeper than that. The two main characters, Lex and Cal, were raised in a top-secret mind control program, funded by the modern-day equivalent of what most people refer to as the "Illuminati." They are using their skills and technology to travel back to specific moments in time, and confront historical figures - or to just find out the truth for themselves. All of the technology, character references, places, and conspiracies correlate to actual research. The true goal of the comic is to spark some interest into real history.
What inspired you to create the comic?
After years of ranting about my research and theories to friends, coworkers, strangers, and puzzled looking studios heads, I realized that the very nature of conspiracy theories make them hard to explain. Writing theories down can also result in a long and complicated body of work, really only palatable by a very small minority of interested readers. On the other hand, cartoons, comics, and games seem like much more appropriate ways of reaching outside that small bubble. The hope is that some very complex (and dark) research can be presented in a light way - essentially being able to boil down hours and hours of long lectures and thousands of pages of tedious research, into an entertaining format (with real history and learning snuck in).
How did you find the Time Samplers team?
The current team took quite a while to find, just scouring websites like DeviantArt.com and ComicArtCommissions.com, and giving lots of different artists a shot. I worked with quite a few less-than-professional artists along the way, and all sorts of graphic styles. Also tried working with a few friends and local artists, but as much as I would have liked to - none of them worked out. It's been important to find writers and artists to collaborate, which really resonate with the subject matter. As for finding the writers, I've had a bit of luck contacting self-published writers I find on amazon, various blogs, and the AbsoluteWrite.com forums. I'm constantly looking for more people to work with, so feel free to contact Paranoid American if any interested artists/writers are reading this now!
What sources were particularly helpful when creating the comic?
This is such a long list, I actually added a special thanks page to the first comic to go over them all. However, in terms of research - the entire Trine Day catalog has been very helpful - along with lots of rare books I've managed to snag up on eBay. I also lurk the ATS forums constantly, along with sites like VigilantCitizen, - a popular site run by a friend that I've know for a while through professional music. In terms of creating the comic, I've needed lots of help and guidance along the way. Aside from being an avid comic collector, the comic industry is totally foreign to me. Brandon Perlow of New Paradigm comics (Watson & Holmes, Rockthrower, Nimbus) has been a huge mentor, along with William Wilson and Percy Carey at Arch Enemy Entertainment (F-00 Fighters, Aurora Rose, many others). They have all been extremely helpful and patient with my seemingly endless amount of questions. Kris Millegan of Trine Day, Hank Albarelli (writer of Terrible Mistake), and Nick Bryant (writer of The Franklin Scandal) have all been very helpful as well. I would count all of them as some of the most established professionals in their respective fields, without question.
How many issues of Time Samplers do you plan to publish?
That's a good question - if money were not a factor, I would say 12 per year. However, doing this all without a big publisher or any real financial backing, more realistically, looking at 2-3 issues per year, and hopefully a 100+ pg trade paperback graphic novel every year or two. Of course, that's just for Time Samplers. Also looking to release quite a few other titles and projects along the same lines in the near future, so there will be plenty to look forward to.
Do you plan to use Kickstarter to fund future issues?
Absolutely. I would have used Kickstarter the first time around, and originally planned to - however, getting all of the rewards together, and explaining what Kickstarter is to the uninitiated... it all just became very overwhelming. Almost like I would need to put together a Kickstarter campaign in addition to a normal Time Samplers campaign. Plus, I'd probably have to set a target goal lower than the cost of creating a comic, just to make sure there was a chance of succeeding. It seems more and more that Kickstarter is being used as a vehicle to "kickstart" pre-sales, rather than starting brand new projects from unknown creators. Hopefully with Time Samplers #1 out in the wild, any future Kickstarter campaigns will be successful, since I'm proving the hard way with Paranoid American, that these projects will be published no matter what!
Do you have any other projects you are working on?
Yes, lots. Since I had to setup my own publishing company (Paranoid American, Inc.) to publish Time Samplers, I'm hoping to develop lots of different projects. There is a Time Samplers game in the works (for android and iOS devices) based on the first issue "Escape from Jekyll Island." The game is an homage to old classic arcade shooters like 1984 and Gun Smoke - except in this game, the enemies are sheeple and other members of the Jekyll Island Club (and the main boss, Alexander Graham Bell). There will be other games coming out as well. Also working on a series of prints and posters that illustrate various conspiracy theories - such as Barbara Bush being the daughter of occultist Aleister Crowley, and Walt Disney working for the FBI in exchange for information about his true birth parents. Not to sound over-ambitious, but there's also a music project in the works, featuring a handful of legends in their own rights. Can't wait to share more about that next year!
Do you have any advice for writers or artists who want to make a comic?
Absolutely - once you find a good team to work with, make sure you keep them all happy and busy! On the other side of that coin, stay flexible and make sure not to rely on any one artist/writer/etc. too much. I feel like I may have more experience dealing with various personalities via the music industry. Working with writers and artists is very similar. I would also say that patience is key. Many other creators and writers are excited to see what I've come up with, and lament about how they've been working on their own project for a few years without much progress. Truth is, I've been working on this for almost 10 years now, so to me, 3-4 years is just part of the pre-planning and learning phase. Also, don't expect to make money (or even come close to breaking even) on a comic. If you can keep all that in mind, there's really not much that will throw you off course.
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For those looking for more information on Time Samplers check out there Facebook page and Twitter profile. You also might enjoy the trailer to Time Samplers:
I wanted to take this opportunity to discuss my personal definition of alternate history and the definition I use for this blog and the social media sites I run. Now I will go into my personal definition of alternate history when Amazing Stories goes live (they have been letting me play with new website, it looks nice), but the definition I use when presenting news and reviews to you is what is causing me problems.
I talked about it during my guest appearance on Dissecting Worlds and the guys have alluded to it in later episodes. Essentially I consider alternate history, from the point of view of this blog, to be any speculative fiction that requires an appreciation of history to fully enjoy. That is why I feature steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel, parallel universes and other genres, even if actual allo-historical content is minimal. I do this because there are a lot of great things in this world and we alternate historians should not be narrow minded. I see it as this blog's mission to help spread awareness about books, films, television shows, games, etc. that we as alternate historians can enjoy.
With that mind, if you don't like the way I run my blog, then you don't have to read it. Just don't be like the guy who left this message on the "Alternate History" Facebook page. If you want to leave, fine. Just don't be a troll and post a passive aggressive message before leaving. I still appreciate feedback, but I assume people who give constructive criticism are going to stay and see what happens.
By the way, this is my first week at my new job so once again I request that you be patient as I get used to my new routine. As I said before I am taking a lot of time off in December so it will next month where we find out if I can balance my new jobs and the Update.
I have talked about this DLC before and the plausibility of Washington as king, yet I have to admit the "evil" Washington and his guards do look cool. It will be interesting to see what the storyline is behind this alternate history and what events caused America's first president to go bad.
This is first trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s SF adventure. Here is the synopsis from SciFiNow:
One thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape from Earth, Nova Prime has become mankind’s new home. Legendary General Cypher Raige (Will Smith) returns from an extended tour of duty to his estranged family, ready to be a father to his 13-year-old son, Kitai (Jaden Smith). When an asteroid storm damages Cypher and Kitai’s craft, they crash-land on a now unfamiliar and dangerous Earth. As his father lies dying in the cockpit, Kitai must trek across the hostile terrain to recover their rescue beacon. His whole life, Kitai has wanted nothing more than to be a soldier like his father. Today, he gets his chance.
Things to do With a new year coming there are already a slew of conventions and events planned for 2013.
Boskone 50, NESFA's regional science fiction convention, will be held on February 15-17 in Framingham, MA. You might even see some of the people behind Amazing Stories there. Meanwhile, for those steampunk fanatics out there, we have the Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention on March 8-10 in Old Tucson, AZ and the music festival Steamstock on July 27-28 in San Francisco, CA. Check out there Kickstarter if you are interested in contributing.
This just in from LoneStarCon 3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention, rates will increase from January 1, 2013. So if you are going to see the Sidewise Awards get presented next year, make sure you bring enough cash.
New Releases Hardcovers
The Merchant of Dreams by Anne Lyle
When Mal’s dream about a skrayling shipwreck in the Mediterranean proves reality, it sets him on a path to the beautiful, treacherous city of Venice – and a conflict of loyalties that will place him and his friends in greater danger than ever.
E-books Black Sun Reich: The Spear of Destiny by Trey Garrison
The first novel in a new steampunk, horror, alternate history, action-adventure series set in a 1920s where the Nazis have begun their subjugation of the world using the occult, advanced science, and a holy relic with awesome powers.
Generation Null by Wendi K. Bennett
Whenever your time machine begins to smell like this, you know you are in trouble.
Substitution Cipher by Kaye Chazan
Spies can change the course of history, and and in the six thrilling stories of Substitution Cipher, they do. Check out my review of the anthology and my interview with Update contributor Tyler Bugg, whose short story "From Enigma to Paradox" appears in the anthology.
Comics Time Samplers #1 - Escape from Jekyll Islandby Thomas Gorence, David Pinckney, and Erik Koconis, with art by Nicolas Colacitti
Two musicians investigate historical conspiracy theories through psychedelic time travel. Check out my review of the comic and stay tuned for my upcoming interview with one of the creators of the comic.
Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly andThe Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
Time travel has always been a perilous plot device for authors. If you are not careful you will create paradoxes, which become plot holes to your readers. Meanwhile, science tells us time travel is impossible forcing authors to often throw up their hands and shout "it's magic, alright?" Time Samplers #1, however, finds an ingenious method of time travel that opens up endless possibilities for future stories.
Written by Thomas Gorence, David Pinckney, and Erik Koconis, the story follows two musicians with colorless eyes as they go back into the past to visit Alexander Graham Bell. Assisted by a scientist and a pawn shop owner, our duo use the "W.I.L.D. Machine" to travel into the past. The machine uses the vibrations of ancient objects and locations to create copies of the past for users to visit from the safety of their own minds. The entire story has a cyberpunk theme going for it, but the idea of being able to go back into the past and watch what happens every time you make a change without having to leave your home is probably a dream many alternate historians share.
Of course the machine is not entirely safe. If you create to much entropy in the system you can put the users in danger. Furthermore, you might not be able to handle what you find when you peer into the past, as our protagonists discovered when they stumbled onto Bell's secret laboratory where he was entertaining powerful robber barons. Conspiracy theories and secret histories abound in Time Samplers, which might turn off plausibility hounds.
Time Samplers major flaw, however, is how much is left unexplained in the comic. You begin by seeing a shadowy figure in a control room using mind control to turn everyone into mindless consumers and jump to a scientist on a lap top describing time travel to our heroes standing in clearing surrounded by armed "sheeple". I understand why they did this. Time Samplers is not a graphic novel, but the first issue in what I can assume the creators hope will be a long running series. So obviously you do not want to turn people off by burying them in back story. Still a little more would be nice (although you can find some on their website).
Despite the lack of sufficient back story, Time Samplers #1 is a delightfully weird story with a unique take on time travel. Nicolas Colacitti's art is good too, but I have never had much of an eye for art (Comicgeekboy at Geek Syndicate did use the words "stellar" and "glorious" to describe the art so I am going to take his word for it). Hopefully as the story continues the universe of Time Samplers will become clearer and we will see the characters interacting with more bizarre historical figures. Renaissance alchemists? Voodoo Confederates? Nazi Occultists? Anything is possible.
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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly andThe Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
