The Tabernacle Space Station…

Happy weekend, Marsers. Just got back from the new Star Trek. I won’t go into too much detail (My God, man, I’m a comic writer, not a movie critic!), but suffice it to say that I really enjoyed it. I will say that the first half of the film is superior to the second half. The first half felt fresh; the second half was not. Go see it and let me know what you think.

I was delivered multiple completed pages this week from our Argentine artist and I was tempted to post them all! But I won’t. Just this one. We get to see the nefarious High Theocrat in the flesh this week. I love the muted, washed-out command center. Very moody.

Until next week,

Dave

Ashes2Ashes    Page 23.

Interior, the back room of the Green Mill, Offworlder Zone.

Friday once again, Marsers. Hope you’ve had a good, if busy, week and can now sit back, relax with a Pan-galactic Gargle Blaster and enjoy this week’s page, another work of art from our gene-enhanced Argentine, NRG!

Here’s the rub. As Short Round would say, “Bad news coming”. Everyone in Free Mars is willing to help each other, if the price is right. In this case, the cost of acquiring three Martian political prisoners doesn’t seem extravagant. But nothing is ever as easy as it seems…

I always love Nic’s “holo” work. Here is no exception. The three liberated prisoners look great. Nic had a good point, at this point in the story, Kessler deserves a good nap. “Stasis chamber? Yes, please!” And Siouxsie is starting to become one of my favorite characters, thanks to Nic’s design. I’d love to see her back story at some point.

Have I mentioned The Savages yet? Wow. They could very well be THE sound of the Sisters Grimm. An all-female UK band. With a very Sonic Youth-esque feel. The actual album came out this week – Silence Yourself. Which is a nicer way of saying the title of their opening song, ‘Shut Up.’

Dave

Interior, The Green Mill. Offworlder Zone, Earth.

Friday again, Marsers. I’m back from a prolonged trip away from “normal” life. Nice to be back. I spent most of it in Mexico. Playa del Carmen to be specific. Now, it has been a dream of mine to see Mesoamerica for some time. And I finally got to visit some Mayan ruins at Tulum. The one thing that really struck me, however, about the Maya Riviera was all the Predators. They absolutely love the Predator (el Predatore) down there. Fishbone statues were everywhere; even saw some crazy metal ones. It was awesome. I’m an ALIENS man myself, but the original Predator comes a close second. The downside was a perpetual need to get to the chopa. I’ll post a picture of what I’m talking about on the Free Mars Facebook page.

So, back to the Green Mill. I didn’t get a chance to say this last week, but Nic’s GM sign was perfect! Anyone that’s been to the Chicago landmark would recognize it instantly. The Green Mill was a speakeasy back in the day – it still has a tunnel running to an adjacent storefront. Al Capone used to frequent the place, which makes it something close to hallowed ground here in the Windy City.

Now, I’m not sure if there was ever a hidden Remnant Underground music studio/trans ‘caster facility until now. I’m gonna say maybe 50/50 chance.

I think we go with a little Canadian pop this week. I really love this song and I think it’s a good fit for the Mill. Serena Ryder and STOMPA.

Dave

Chris Borer here, Free Mars sculptor and semi-official sounding board. Dave is traveling abroad and Nic is diligently working on the next pages of the saga, so I was offered the chance to “guest post” and intro today’s page.

As Dave mentioned last week, we just finished Adepticon (www.adepticon.org), an annual convention for what my wife calls “little fighting men” (AKA miniature wargames). I got to hang with Dave and meet a surprising number of people who follow the comic. As a bonus, our own Taryn Vexx won the “sculpted miniature” category in the Crystal Brush – a contest at the show. http://crystalbrush.coolminiornot.com/artwork/369
The best-of-show winners were stunning as always. I’d highly recommend checking them out too.

As for today’s page, I won’t say it’s my favorite page yet – because how could I pick – but think it gives a great change of mood from DeForrest’s bar a few pages back; it’s still a bar, it’s still Terra, and it’s still our heroines, but yikes… I told Nic when I saw the pencils how well I thought he’d conveyed the “what are WE doing HERE” feel in the last panel. Also that I really liked the Remnant dog in the first frame. I find it somehow reassuring that even the Remnants still have dogs. I just want to pet him and give him a nice bowl of Soylent Green.

Without Dave or Nic around to propose a musical pairing for this week – I’ll take crack at it and suggest Carnies, by Rush. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnEIL9KDDCM
I think the lyrics and undercurrent fit this page well, and the album is one of their best in years.

-cb

NRSFW (not really safe for work, depending, quite honestly, on where you work)

Happy Friday, Marsers. I’m gonna keep this short, as we’re coming to you live from Adepticon, a fantastic convention with a lot of great people. I just wanted to give a quick A-con shout out to Mark and Ken who put together a great Free Mars promo vid (you can see it on Facebook). Also, a huge congrats to Marsers Brian and Lisa who just got engaged! And finally, to Nathan whose recipe for whiskey and bacon rice crispie treats are destined to be the first entry in the Free Mars cookbook.

This week’s page is some of Nic’s finest work, I think. We thought long and hard about how we could be sexy/erotic, but also tasteful and fun. Whataya think?

Nic’s song choice this week: Depeche Mode, ‘In Your Room’.

See ya next week,

Dave

Let me put you in the picture, let me show you what I mean

The messiah is my sister, ain’t no king man, she’s my queen

Happy Friday, Marsers. Nic and I are happy to bring you a nice, fresh page of Free Mars on this gloomy (at least here in the Chicago hab-pyramid) afternoon.

I really love this page. I think Vikki G. looks great in Panel 2. And I think DeForrest might just, maybe become a regular bartender in our (hopefully long-lived) series. I can see him sorta being the Free Mars equivalent to Issac on the ‘Love Boat’. Remember that show? The night that show featured Kirstie Alley in a two-piece (1983) corresponds almost exactly with my becoming a man. But I digress. Anyway, DeForrest could end up as some sort of galactic travelling bartender. He could always show up right when you need him. Sort of like Dr. Who without all the spaziness.

When I was thinking about this week’s music pairing, I thought about how Brad Paisley has a new album out this week. Then I thought how those things could never be related because I hate Brad Paisley.

Anyway, this is for the Stone Roses who are playing at Coachella tonight. You better tour, you northern monkeys!

Dave

Interior. DeForrest’s Saloon (and Oyster Bar), Offworlder Zone. Earth.

Whew. That was seriously one long naffing week, Marsers. Yours truly was gifted by Nurgle with two different afflictions this week. But I am feeling much better now. Anyway, you don’t wanna hear about my Chaos problems! You wanna here about this week’s page, which we are very proud to present.

During our Kickstarter, we offered three very cool appearance rewards, i.e. you could appear in the comic itself, with a speaking role. We are very jazzed to introduce the first of these. We can wait and get Lord Dubu’s reaction to his character after next week. I’m curious to see what these exceptionally generous backers (and long-time supporters) think of their respective portrayals.

DeForrest’s Saloon is the quintessential sci-fi watering hole. The cliental is eclectic and shady and kinda looks like a couple 2 AM establishments I’ve been at during GenCon in Indianapolis. Chris knows what I mean. Can you spot some of the references?

I think we use Tame Impala’s ‘Elephant’ this week. I think DeForrest’s plays a lot of Neo Psychedelic stuff. Or maybe I’ve just been listening to a lot of it lately. Bands like Foxygen (that name, right?) and Unknown Mortal Orchestra are delivering some very evocative tunes these days. I can’t say it’s not derivative, but derivativeness (a word?) can be forgiven if it’s good music. Usually.

Until next week,

Dave

Interior, Reclamation Mine 24601 – six miles below the Earth’s surface.

Introducing Siouxsie…

Dave

Interior, Reclamation Mine 24601. Deep below the surface of the Earth.

Friday! Whew – that was a long week. I think it’s the weather.

Meanwhile, down in the proverbial Goblin Town of Holy Mother Earth, we find our heroes on the run, looking for a route to the surface.

Any B.R.M.C. fans out there? They have a new album out this week. I think I was introduced to this California band via Noel Gallagher, who was a big supporter. I think he even tried to sign them to his label. Anyway, the new album is great (2013 is turning out to be a pretty good year for music already). This tune – ‘Teenage Disease’ – is our musical pairing this week. It’s a nice heavy, track to accompany a good mine escape scene. Next week we’ll introduce a new character and they’ll require a bit of a retro soundtrack…

Until then,

Dave

Interior, Reclamation Mine 24601 (look down)…

Friday, Marsers! It’s the 15^th page on the 15^th day. And Damien Kessler is hell-bent on getting outta the waste mines. Who wouldn’t be?

If you haven’t seen it yet, head to our FaceBook page for a glimpse of the Chris Borer-sculpted Trayn Vexx. Fantastic. If you supported our KickStarter, chances are one of these will be coming your way in the next few months.

I’m going to self-indulge for a minute and give you a short album review this week.

The Next Day. So I’ve been listening a lot to the new David Bowie album. What does it mean when you say “classic Bowie”? It’s almost meaningless – like saying “classic Peter Gabriel”. They’re such diverse artists with incredibly long careers, patriarchs whose musical identities get blurred over decades of music. But I can’t think of a better way to describe The Next Day. There are so many songs, like ‘Valentine’s Day’ or ‘You Feel So Lonely You Could Die’, that harken back to the early 1970s. There’s the shiny slick production values, but there’s also some very stripped-down, low-fi here. Combined with a surprisingly earnest sense of rock ‘n roll. This is an honest album.  And I think it’s awesome. Bowie is 66 and he’s released some of his best stuff in years this week.

‘Where Are We Now?’

Dave