The Torn God Chapter One Cover

Howdy folks!

Well, we're in the home stretch, here. Launch is coming up on Friday and we're all scrambling to get things put together and ready. I'm furiously coloring pages (we're going to launch with a good clump of pages) and everybody else is working away at various other things. We're all getting pretty excited!

I'll try to put up a preview of the new website design tomorrow as well - just to give you all a little preview of what's to come.

The Torn God Page 02

Hey folks,

I spent the day today working on coloring some illustrations for The Unmade Man, but, I think I'll keep those under wraps until we relaunch. Gotta save something back, right? Anyway, here is the next page for The Torn God. Hope you like it!

Pencils by Alan Gallo, colors by me...

The Torn God Page 01

Hey folks,

Just wanted to show off page one of The Torn God, written by Scott Colby and Daniel Tyler Gooden, and illustrated by Alan Gallo and myself! Really folks, this is just the beginning. We have a massive story that I think is going to be really, really good. I hope you will enjoy it! But for now, I hope you will enjoy seeing some of the artwork!

I just wanted to be sure to include the pencils since Alan did such a stunning job on them. And my final colors below so you can see the before and after.

The Torn God Cover

Howdy folks!

Well, today marks the first day that we are starting to actively promote the project. We're looking at a relaunch in October (we'll be releasing a press release about the specific date in a few weeks). To celebrate this occasion, we're going to probably be ramping up our posting on the blog.

For those of you who don't know, The Torn God webcomic is the main storyline for the world. It is essentially a sequel to our first nove The Unmade Man by Daniel Tyler Gooden. The Torn God is written by Scott Colby and Daniel Tyler Gooden and will be penciled by Alan Gallo and colored/lettered by me (Jeremy D. Mohler). We're pretty excited about this because we've got a really fantastic story coming together for you all to enjoy.

Here is some teaser text -

War is coming. The Fae courts understand only that a Duine has kidnapped one of the Nai’Oigher. This kind of threat is exactly what the To’Sidhe’Lien has been warning about. The Duine, not just its people but the entire dying land realm, is a danger to the Fae race. They must be dealt with for once and all.

In Deos, Boruin must decide which path to take. Meeting Nightmare, and dodging Polorun, has put him no closer to understanding the strange being that he is. The late emperor’s concubine, Lani, holds some possible truths, but not all. What he does know is that bad times are coming. Polorun is on the hunt. He leaves Wraethe in Deos to protect Lani and Pileaus’s child. The boy might be the key to fighting back against Polorun. Boruin and Pile race south, for Nightmare—the unparticipating key to his existence—has been stolen from his custody as well.

Here is the cover (pencils by Alan Gallo and colors by me) -
Anyway, we'll be posting up more art and updates in the following weeks.

Thanks!

In Killing Gods Short Comic

Well, about a year and a half ago we were kicking around the idea of submitting some content to Heavy Metal magazine in an effort to get some press. Daniel Tyler Gooden worked up a really fantastic short comic story called "In Killing Gods" and Gene Kelly did the illustration.

Well, quite recently, Gene finished up all the linework for the project and it is just SO good, I thought I should share some stuff from it...

Synopsis -

"As First Disciple to the God-King, Merenui submits her mind, body, and soul to absolute service. But when Merenui's faith is shaken, she treads into heresy looking for answers that jeopardize all she has lived for."
I expect that we will eventually post this story on the main Baeg Tobar website at some point, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy these glimpses!

New The Torn God Pages

Hey folks,

Well, we've had a bit of a shift on the production of The Torn God. Shannon Potratz, who was going to be doing the comic has gotten entirely too busy to continue work on it. However, he's not leaving us! Rather, he'll be moving over to work The Unmade Man. He'll be contributing an illustration per chapter per week. We're all looking forward to seeing what he comes up with!

Regarding The Torn God, Alan Gallo has stepped up to take it over. You may remember Alan working on The Rise and Fall of Pileaus, which he did an exceptional job on. We felt it only right that we move him over to take over The Torn God as well. Below are a few of his pages so far!
And please be sure to go over and check out our brand new forums!

The Torn God News

Well,

We've had a very minor set back, lately. Shannon Potratz, who was our artist on our planned webcomic, The Torn God, has decided to step down. Instead of working on the webcomic, Shannon is going to be working on developing new artwork for our first full length novel (which will also act as a prelude to The Torn God), The Unmade Man by Daniel Tyler Gooden. While we're sad to see Shannon go (because he was doing some really spectacular pages for The Torn God), I think that this new arrangement is going to work out beautifully.

That being said, Alan Gallo, the artist on our print comic, The Rise and Fall of Pileaus, has graciously stepped up to take the reins of The Torn God. Below are some of his first set of layouts:

Also, it looks like I will also be taking over the colors for the webcomic. We've got a bit more work to do before we can relaunch, but, I think we're in good shape!

And we have another new artist involved in the project - Scott Godlewski. Below you can see his version of people from Norrington. Great stuff!

I'll keep you posted as we work more out! Relaunch is looming closer!

Character Art...

Howdy folks!

Well, considering that the last post was an excerpt from one of our short stories, I thought it would be appropriate to post up some artwork next. Below is Boruin, the main character from The Unmade Man by Daniel Tyler Gooden and also the main character in the upcoming webcomic, The Torn God. Artwork by Shannon Potratz.

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!

More on The Torn God and an Open Call for Writers

The Torn God is Baeg Tobar's main storyline - it's the tale around which we're basing everything else we do. Current plans call for the release of one comic page per week, augmented with one short story, one novel chapter, a map place, and at least one entry from the Resource Guide.

What does all that mean for the reader? It means if you meet a new character in The Torn God, you get to read more about him in that week's short story. It means you get more information about the setting through the map place and the Resource Guide. It means you get to learn all about the past of our main character, Boruin, through weekly updates to his first novel appearance, The Unmade Man.

It means we're going to have a ton of related content throughout the site, and it means you're going to want to come back everyday to see what's new.

Jeremy's already teased you a bit with an art preview, so let me whet your appetite a little more with the introduction to the first chapter of The Torn God:

Emperor Pileaus is dead. Lesser factions battle to improve their standing as the Empire struggles to right itself under the guidance of an inexperienced regent. Freed from its decades old fear of the Emperor’s stern hand, a continent wracked by war and expansion tilts even further toward chaos. Those familiar with the otherworldly source of this new discord are few and fearful.

And yet, despite the strife, business is still business, and the business of war booms loudly as ever for experienced mercenaries like Boruin and his crew. The Empire’s border with Ommany is where the money is – but it’s also the focal point of the continent’s most devious machinations, as Boruin discovers when he’s incorrectly charged with the murder of Emperor Pileaus. Luckily for Boruin, the runes on his arm and the library in his head make him more than just some common merc...

I'd also like to announce an open call for short story writers. Prose production is chugging along nicely, but adding a few more writers would help us all sleep a little better at night. Writers will be given a choice of topics relevant to the events of The Torn God. Stories should be 3000 words or less. Payment is $15 per story. We've got the first ten months or so of story ideas planned, so due dates are still somewhat flexible.

I'd like to mention one added bonus: since I started working with Baeg Tobar, my writing has improved considerably. I can say the same for everyone who's been with us since the beginning. We aren't going to just take your story, edit it, and be done with you. We're going to welcome you into our community and try to help you become a better writer. And we're going to pay you for it!

Interested parties should email me at scott@baegtobar.com. Please note that your first attempt to email me from a particular address will get caught in our spam filter; simply follow the instructions in the automated response to prove you're a real person.

More updates to come!

Art and News!

Hey folks,

Well, it has certainly been quite a while since we last updated the blog, but, that's about to change. We're going to work diligently to keep this thing better updated - I know it's been quiet and I keep saying that we're working on a lot of stuff in the background to get ready for an entire relaunch of the project. It's hard to believe when there is nary a word to be heard out of the project, isn't it?

Anyway, I just wanted to show you a sample of what is to come. This is a pin-up for our first print project, The Rise and Fall of Pileaus.
The book is going to be penciled by Alan Gallo and colored by me (Jeremy Mohler). We've got 15 pages completely penciled and just waiting on me to color, which I plan to tackle in late November/early December.

Aside from that, Shannon Potratz is busy working on The Torn God, our web comic, and it is coming along quite nicely as well. Shannon is doing all the pencils and colors for that and it is looking quite sharp as well. Here is a preview of one of the pages he just completed.
I'll be posting up some more artwork in the following weeks as we draw closer and closer to the relaunch of the project. Please stay tuned!

Also, just as a quick note, we now have a variety of Baeg Tobar related imagery available as wall papers for your mobile devices (cell phones, PDA's, etc). You can download them here - http://www.playphone.com/Outland-Mobile/

Thanks!

New BT Intro's...

Well, work on Baeg Tobar goes on.

Right now, we're discussing both the intro to the world itself and the intro to our ongoing webcomic. So, I thought I might share with you all some of our passes at intro's. These are both from Daniel (Gooden) and Scott (Colby).

"Pileaus has fallen. Keystone to the great empire forged by blood and faith, the Emperor's assasination will again divide the land. The Fae lean in to strike from the Dreaming as mortal alliances fracture, faith crumbles and the Dying Lands collapse.

The promise of a golden age ends with this last beat of one man's heart."

And this one...

"Emperor Pileaus is dead. Lesser nations battle to improve their standing in the new pecking order as the Empire struggles to right itself under the hand of an inexperienced regent. Freed from its decades old fear of the Emperor’s stern hand, a continent wracked by war and expansion tilts even further toward chaos. Those familiar with the otherworldly source of this new discord are few and silent.

And yet, despite the strife, business is still business, and the business of war booms loudly as ever for experienced mercenaries like Boruin and his crew. The Empire’s border with Thila is where the money is – but it’s also the focal point of the continent’s most devious machinations, as Boruin discovers when he’s incorrectly charged with the murder of Emperor Pileaus. Luckily for Boruin, the runes on his arm and the library in his head make him more than just some common merc..."

Now, keep in mind that these are a work in progress and subject to change. And hopefully, those should give you a hint or two of what is coming. I'll also post a bit more art in a few days!

Thanks!