News and Shuen Taishu Concept Art

Hello folks!

I thought you all might like to have a bit of news and maybe another bit of artwork for the project. We're slowly moving forward on our various projects and I hope to relaunch Baeg Tobar sometime in the first quarter of 2009. Granted, nothing is set in stone, but if things continue to proceed as they currently are, we should be in good shape. As of right now, we have several projects in production, those being -

1. The Torn God, our primary webcomic which was written by Daniel Gooden and Scott Colby and illustrated by Shannon Potratz. This will be free online for everybody to read.

2. The Rise and Fall of Pileaus, a comic that we're planning to distribute through print, also written by Daniel Gooden and Scott Colby and penciled by Alan Gallo. I'm looking at coloring this book myself.

3. A revised, edited, and newly illustrated version of The Unmade Man, written by Daniel Gooden.

4. Numerous short stories written by a variety of contributors that will tie into the main webcomic, The Torn God, and expand upon the world as we move through the main storyline.

5. Baeg Tobar Realms, a massively multiplayer online game. The game will be a war game that takes place in the Shoro and will pit players against each other to become the dominant country in the region. We'll have several versions of the game, one which will be free for all to play and also a subscriber only version.

6. The Baeg Tobar RPG, which will also be a print product that we hope to release sometime late in 2009 and which will be fully illustrated by me.

Those are just the main projects we are working on right now and I can say with some confidence that things are moving forward. Slowly, but surely.

In the meantime, here is some concept artwork by Caleb Prochnow of the Shuen Taishu. These are the massive creatures that the ocean going cities of the Shuen reside upon. As you can see, Caleb did a rather amazing job on this creature - it is unlike anything I have ever seen and I absolutely love this design. It'll be a lot of fun to see it in action!
Keep checking back for updates! I'll let you all know more as we make more progress!

I hope you all have a great holiday! Thanks!

Jeremy

Check this out!

Here's a full color preview from The Torn God, featuring Boruin using a bit of magic to fight off a group of soldiers. Appearing with him in the bottom panel are his companion Wraethe (the woman) and Pile (though all you can see is his hat).

I don't know how Shannon (Potratz) gets those colors, but they look awesome!

What is Baeg Tobar?

We realized the other day that we’ve been giving you all these great previews without actually telling you what Baeg Tobar is. Let’s fix that.

Baeg Tobar is the tale of two very different parallel realms learning to coexist. The mortal Duine of the earth-like Dying Lands and the ethereal Fae of the constantly shifting Dreaming Lands are brought into conflict by the unexpected return of a demigod once thought dead.

Sound complicated? Don’t worry. It’s beings trying to make the most of their short life spans against immortal forces content to follow their own whims. It’s a civilization attempting to move forward technologically against a society satisfied to work only with what nature offers. It’s a hodgepodge of diverse nations and groups trying to put aside their differences to face a unified front. It’s military know-how against abstract forces of nature.

The differences between the two realms are many, and the events of The Torn God will only exacerbate them. Can the rift between the Dying and the Dreaming ever be repaired?

More to come!

Since Jeremy brought up Rise and Fall of Pileaus...

...here's a sneak peek at the introduction to the first issue, Mutiny:

Brailee’s Steps. A chain of cold, rocky islands unwinding from the northeast corner of Pileaus. Only the stoutest forms of life can gain so much as a foothold in this barren wasteland of ice and stone.

The aggressive and territorial shuen only make matters worse, delivering holy retribution upon any who dare befoul the sanctity of their waters. Sailing is punishable by death – physically entering their seas without permission, by much worse. The shuen always know when someone has befouled their territory, but the source of this knowledge remains a mystery.

Such a land breeds a hearty, pragmatic people to whom hopes and dreams are naught but a distraction from the hardships of the day. Yet it also produces a particular strain of rebellion, a group of individuals willing to risk their lives to escape the doldrums of merely surviving. In the Steps, these people take to the high seas as pirates, daring to anger the shuen as a vital artery of commerce between the distant, sparse settlements.

The man destined to become Pileaus, emperor to millions and god to many more, sprouted from such humble beginnings. A stowaway upon a privateer ship at the tender age of fourteen when he abandoned his dull childhood in search of his legendary father, young Roderick Smallmuss quickly proved an able hand to the captain that spared his life.

The shuen, however, care little about ability and even less about destiny...

Watching all the art come together for Mutiny has been one of the most exciting parts of this whole project. Alan's doing a heck of a job putting together what's going to be a heck of a book.

We're still looking for short story writers. Send a writing sample to scott@baegtobar.com, and please don't be daunted by the spam filter's request that you prove you're a person.

More to come soon!