I opened the Bluefall eBook up for pre-orders on Monday, and it quickly hit the #1 New Release in Scifi Graphic Novels, edging out new releases from the Power Rangers and Star Wars IPs. I had done a previous AMA about the project a few weeks ago, and wanted to come back and share the update as well as answer any new questions you might have!

MY BIO:

I wrote a graphic novel and commissioned an awesome Indonesian artist, Vincentius Matthew, to create concept art for the project, then I went and hired a talented recent graduate of the Kubert School, Dillon Snook, to illustrate the project.

The graphic novel comes out in July!


THE STORY:

When the creator of the powerful virtual Universe, “Circus” is murdered, LAPD detective JULIAN AMBROSE delves into the virtual world to find the killer and uncover the global financial conspiracy behind his death.

THE VIRTUAL WORLD OF CIRCUS:

In 2041, the planet has a new global superpower – the virtual Universe known as Circus. Accessible in seconds from anywhere on Earth, Circus is everything that modern VR wishes it could be – a fully immersive fantasy experience where everything looks, feels, and tastes completely real. The virtual landscape is composed of hundreds of disconnected “zones,” which can be as large as a dozen miles across or as tiny as a studio apartment. Each zone has been developed by users into a unique environment, from cyberpunk metropolises, to lavish casinos, to jungle tree-house hamlets, to idyllic island resorts.

But Circus is more than a game – it is an autonomous nation with its own economy, fashion, industry, politics, exchangeable currency, and law. The GDP of Circus has surpassed Finland’s, and its money – called “credits” – trades at better rates than the Japanese Yen. By 2041, the concept of a virtual world has evolved, so that it is no longer simply a place to live out fantasies; it is a gathering place, a home, a place to go to work, or fall in love, to become wealthy, or famous, to drink away the sorrows of the day, or build an empire.

THE BAZAAR, LAKESIDE, AND MUSI'S COTTAGE:

Two of the important zones in the virtual world of Circus include a virtual metropolis called The Bazaar – which looks like a cyberpunk version of Tokyo and is the most densely populated section of the virtual Universe – as well as the luxury resort getaway of Lakeside, a paradise playground open exclusively to members of the virtual uberwealthy and elite. There are also "private" zones, like Musi's Cottage, accessible only with the permission of the zone's moderator or owner. These zones are only available to users who are willing to pay large sums of money to rent them. Customization costs extra.

CONCEPT ART:

https://i.redd.it/0q2okn980d131.jpg

PROOF:

https://twitter.com/BluefallTV/status/1127471847547609093 https://twitter.com/BluefallTV/status/1134694888140705792

AMA about BLUEFALL!

Comments: 27 • Responses: 11  • Date: 

KantankerousKunt9 karma

So.. is the book any good?

Slippy3024 karma

Haha -- asking the important questions! As a totally unbiased outside party I think the graphic novel is really cool!

SubscribeCreatePost26 karma

Is it possible to make a living out of just being an artist or is it almost mandatory to have a side job ?

Slippy3028 karma

Thanks for your question! I think it’s a great one. Making a living as an artist is definitely possible — before I became a writer I made a living acting in commercials — but you need to approach your art like a business, and it will take a ton of work and hustle to get there. If you’re doing it right, you should be putting at least as many hours in as someone working a standard 9-5. It’s still almost mandatory to have a side job at first, because the worst thing you can do to your art is add extra financial pressure to an already overwhelming goal.

SubscribeCreatePost24 karma

Ok, thank you for your answer :)

I'll make sure to check out your graphic novel when it comes out !

Slippy3021 karma

No problem! Awesome!

creehiker164 karma

It sounds very similar to Ready Player One and the OASIS. Did you draw inspiration from that?

Slippy3022 karma

Hi! Thanks for your question! Another user asked something similar about the differences between Bluefall and RP1 the last time I did the AMA, so I want to paste my previous reply to them here (see below). I have actually never read Ready Player One, though! I took my inspiration from my gaming experiences in MMORPGs and my background studying Economics.


Hello!

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on Ready Player One by any means, but I'll do my best to answer!

The future in Bluefall is not dystopian, and Circus (Bluefall's virtual world) functions rather as an extension of the real world than an escape from it. Avatars look just like real people (with some... enhancements... available to those who will pay, although some users, called "authentics" -- like Musi -- choose to look just like their real selves, wrinkles and all.) Everything about Circus is driven by a consumer culture and it has adult institutions of all kinds. In brothels like The Love Diamond, users shell out credits to have virtual liaisons with other real users who work full-time in Circus as prostitutes.

Story-wise -- and I think this gets to the heart of your question about what makes Bluefall stand out -- the focus of Bluefall revolves around a grounded financial conspiracy rather than a treasure hunt. There are certainly some similarities to RP1 in the scope of the virtual world and in the inciting incident of the story with the creator's murder, no use trying to dodge that, haha! But Bluefall -- and, by extension, Circus -- endeavors to say something very different about virtual worlds and how they are susceptible to being misused. The plot of Bluefall errs closer to something like The Big Short than it does to Ready Player One.

mrdmp13 karma

Love the art and I have been anticipating it since I heard of your concept!

Does the big idea come to you at once and you flesh out the details or is it all small pieces coming together?

Also, where do you find your inspiration for this particular story?

Slippy3022 karma

Thanks so much -- that's wonderful to hear!

In the case of Bluefall, it was definitely the former. I had a moment in my early research that opened up the whole story for me all at once, which is something I'd never quite felt before with a piece of work. After that moment, it was just a matter of creating a world that the story could live in, and then populating that world with characters people could fall in love with.

I'm an avid gamer and studied Economics in college before I became a writer, so the initial idea for Bluefall came from a desire to blend those two passions of mine into a story that I felt would do justice to the virtual worlds I grew up being a part of.

Enjoyed answering this for you. Awesome questions!

jbryner8552 karma

Is it possible for amazon to notify me through text message when the physical copy of the book is available for purchase?

Slippy3021 karma

Hi! Trying to look into this now, but if you want to be sure not to miss the release in the meantime, you're welcome to sign up for the blog on www.bluefall.tv or follow us on social media @bluefalltv . I will get back to you if I find a guide to how you could go about setting that up! Maybe someone more experienced with Amazon than me can chime in with a better answer.

:)

princeboobooduck2 karma

Will the graphic novel be sold in physical copies as well as digital?

Slippy3023 karma

Definitely!

I'm planning to make the physical copies available for pre-order on Amazon within the next 2-3 weeks, and am also working very hard to get Bluefall into comic shops all along the West Coast as well as in other major cities across the U.S. (starting with NYC, Miami, and Austin). Thanks for asking!

princeboobooduck1 karma

Thank you for answering! I am super excited to hear that! I'm going to have to preorder a physical copy!

Slippy3021 karma

You're more than welcome! :)

Thantastic2 karma

It’s cool seeing the very beginning of your journey. Hope it launches with a bang! Questions:

You mentioned receiving offers for film/tv rights, did you accept? Was the $$ appealing enough and can you give us a general idea of how much?

Do you just pay the illustrator per page or does he get a royalty of sort for any copies you sell?

Do you have an ending in mind for the story? How long can you conceivably keep going for?

Slippy3023 karma

Thank you!! It's been awesome sharing this all with you guys as I go!

I'm still in discussions re: the Film/TV rights, and I can't comment too much on that until it's further along. But I can tell you there are some definitely exciting things being talked about (and hopefully I'll have more info to share with you soon)!

I paid the illustrator per page, and I do have an ending in mind to this story, but the thing that's so exciting for me about Bluefall is that there are so many other stories to be told in and around the virtual Universe of Circus -- other characters to take the spotlight; other aspects of the virtual Universe to explore; the history of how Circus became what it is today -- that I could conceivably work on this stuff for the next 10-20 years and never run out of material!

But for the closed story that begins in Volume 1, I already know exactly how it's going to end. It’s still to-be-determined exactly what the Volume number would be, as the next books I release will likely be longer than the first.

felixjmorgan2 karma

What are your biggest inspirations? Both from within literature, but also artists and works in other fields like film and music.

Slippy3022 karma

Hi! Love this question. I’d like to answer it in two parts — one answer specifically for Bluefall, and another for in general.

Bluefall inspirations:

  1. World of Warcraft (game)

  2. Blade Runner (film)

  3. 13 Bankers (non-fiction lit.)

  4. Willy Wonka (film)

  5. The Big Short (film)

  6. Star Wars Galaxies (game)

  7. Synthwave (music)

  8. Econ. (field of study)

  9. My brother (a Google engineer)

  10. The Matrix (film)

In General:

  1. Harry Potter (lit)

  2. Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain (film)

  3. Joseph Campbell (non-fiction)

  4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (film)

  5. Sigur Rós (music)

  6. Unknown (whatever strikes me as cool on the day)

  7. Armor by John Steakley (lit)

  8. Asimov’s, “The Last Question” (lit)

  9. Black Swan (film)

  10. Ólafur Arnalds (music)

vanilla_disco0 karma

So you made Ready Player One again, ok. When I search your book I see nothing indicating that it is #1 anything, where can I see that?

Slippy3026 karma

Hi! I posted a link to a screenshot in my proof and would be happy to post another for you. Since Bluefall released this past Monday (6 days ago) it has since been passed by other newer releases, as often happens on Amazon. The site updates the release rankings a few times a day, but Bluefall was the #1 New Release for 5 out of the 6 days last week. I understand your concern so let me know if there’s anything else I can do to provide the correct proof for you. Thanks.