Newsletter 36: SENTINEL 4 Inks Done! FCBD & more
New sneak peak at color pages in progress, and the evolution of my D&D obsession
Hello friends, countrymen, countrywomen, countrynonbinarypeople, Romans?
Welcome to Orion News, the newsletter by comic creator, scoundrel and soft-cardigan-wearing gramps-at-heart Ryan Lessard.
No, contrary to popular belief (according to my pure speculation and no empirical data) I did not pick “Orion” because it sounds like “Ryan.” SEE! …some of you thought that, though, right?
I did pick “News” because I was a journalist for 10-years, and my protagonist is an intrepid investigative reporter in much the same way -- but also in space, in the future, with a tragic alien refugee backstory and the natural ability to turn invisible.
You probably guessed that.
Anyways, I bring NEWS! (Neat, a newsletter called “Orion News” that, *gasp, boasts the inclusion of news within its content. Who saw that coming?)
Keep reading if you’d like to see some newfangled color pages of SENTINEL Issue 4 and a progress update on the same.
First, I would like to invite those of you who live in or around the great Granite State to come see me at Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, May 4!
FCBD!
Just like last year, I will be tabling at my local comic shop’s FCBD festivities. This is at Double Midnight Comics in Manchester, New Hampshire, from 10 am to 5 pm.
Here is where I’ll be:
This year, the stars have aligned with a galaxy far, far away as FCBD falls on Star Wars Day as well! (According to ChatGPT, the first Saturday of May occurs on the 4th only about 14.3% of the time.) NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS!
Every year, DMC puts on a great FCBD, like a small, free con, replete with all the trappings of a full-size con, such as a long line of patrons, a cadre of hardcore cosplayers and a stunning list of tabling artists and vendors. There will be food trucks, a video game trailer and something called “The Cantina.” If this Cantina doesn’t serve Savareen Brandy via droid or surly Weequay, I might be disappointed.
The first stop is through the front door, and signs will guide people from inside the shop (where you may obtain the titular free comics) to the rear venue space downstairs where you will find me and my fellow creators.
All three issues of SENTINEL will be on sale, plus variant covers.
SENTINEL #4
OK, OK, I’m getting to it. So, it’s been a few months since my last newsletter. Far too many, in fact. My last newsletter was sent December 27, 2023.
I had hoped to get on a more regular monthly schedule. But work has been extra busy and I’ve been recharging my batteries with a balance of rest and tabletop roleplaying games. (More on that in a bit, rest assured, dear reader)
Regular readers know that artist extraordinaire Javi Laparra has been working on line art for Issue 4 for the past year. As of last month, we officially completed all 22 pages of inks! Woohoo!
Javi is the same artist who drew Issue 3, so those of you who have already acquired and read this issue can expect the same level of fantastic quality. His characters are delightfully expressive and his action is chock full of kinetic energy.
And we’re probably about 40% done with colors already, as returning colorist Luiz Zavala cranks through his pages.
Take a gander at some of these beauts. This is the Transwarp Relay — the interstellar highway system that let’s everyone get around fast and also underpins the power structure of the Orion Arm Authority.
And this is a friendly game of cribbage.
And also this... this is unresolved childhood trauma.
I hope to launch the next Kickstarter this year. Looking at late summer, early fall. So stay tuned!
The campaign promises to have many surprise artists contributing to pinups and such, with original artwork rewards and more.
Dungeons & Dragons
Yea, so my D&D addiction has reached a troubling zenith. (If anyone wants to stage an intervention). I am currently an active player in no fewer than four campaigns and am a Dungeon Master to one regular campaign as well as a series of one-shots I’ve begun hosting once-a-month at Double Midnight Comics.
I’ve also spent a small fortune (in terms of my discretionary income) on D&D minis. Though, I think I’ve got enough now……..
To top it all off, I’ve also been playing Baldur’s Gate 3 (that’s a D&D video game, mom… game of the year, one of the most award-winning video games in history) and I totally get the hype now. To those in the know, my Tav is a silver dragonborn bard named Galvan Gardensong, and he has so far wooed the mighty Karlach, cleansed the Shadow Cursed Lands and obtained two of the three Netherstones.
I’m very excited about my new one-shot series. It’s called Wondrous One-Shots with Ryan Lessard. It’s designed to be friendly and inclusive to all walks of life and all experience levels. It’s easy to jump in, as a first-timer or a veteran, without any commitments to return for long running campaigns and with plenty of opportunity for experimentation. I generally run them on a Monday night from 6 to 10 pm.
So far, I’ve run a Valentine’s Day themed one-shot in February that had us all laughing, a classic brewery-basement dungeon crawl and a rowdy Easter/eclipse-themed adventure featuring a malfunctioning wand of true polymorph and a rabbit making chicken noises and laying magical eggs. Coming up is a Cinco-de-Mayo-themed magical taco heist.
Some of my regular returning players are self-described “forever DMs” who need to break up the sometimes burdensome game mastery with some lighthearted, low stakes and fun game play. And I love being able to offer that escape for them.
So far, I’ve been using published official or homebrew one-shot modules I’ve found online, with my own little twists. In June and July, I will be testing out some of my own homebrew material. June will be an adventure I ran once before, for my friend’s son’s birthday party, which I’m calling “Midsummer Machinations.” And July will be called “Magic Castle for Sale” -- an adventure where the players must clear a castle of giant crabs in order to claim it as their own.
I’ve got the whole calendar year planned out. Some are modules published on sites like the DMsGuild or in books like One-Shot Wonders, others are completely made up by me.
If you have ideas for a one-shot, or something you think I should include in an adventure, shoot me a note!
Anyways, that’s all for now. I’ll endeavor to send more letters this spring/summer as we ramp up for the next Kickstarter.
Thanks for reading, friend. You are a curious and well-informed citizen, and that’s the best kind of citizen to be.
BYE!
Pages look great!