Welcome back to another edition of “The Captain’s Log!” This week I thought I would offer a few brief updates on the projects we are working on, as well as “dream” a little and let you in on some of our lofty ideas.
First off, both Michael LaVoy and Jay David Ramos are hard at work on The Phantom Phoenix. I have included the latest page they completed (below), which is a marvel to behold! Jay will be coloring the cover artwork over the next few days and we hope to reveal that publicly by next week! These two artists are truly talented and it is always a pleasure to work with them. Many readers have expressed to me how excited they are about this series…so am I! Besides the Finnian Series, this is the comic that I am most excited about and can’t wait to show you the full first issue! Pre-orders remain open on our website and now you can add a Phantom Phoenix t-shirt to your order as well!
This week was also a “week of podcasts.” The Creatively Christian Podcast released an interview that I did with them, and I also recorded another podcast for a different person that will be released at a later date. I’ll be honest, when I was first invited to be interviewed on a podcast several years ago, I dreaded the idea. Typically speaking, I despise talking. I don’t mean I despise talking to people, I mean, if I had the choice of talking or not talking….I would choose not talking! I know some people love talking, but that is just not me. I love writing! It is super easy for me to write-out this Captain’s Log each week. If I had to record myself instead, it would turn out much differently! Anyway, the good news is that I can tolerate podcasts now and am starting to have fun with them. So if you have a podcast and want me on, send me a message! I won’t turn you away, though you may have to e-mail me multiple times and then I will finally say “OK.” It’s good for me. I need extra penance for Lent! For a full list of the podcasts I have been on, check out the “In the Media” section on our website.
Now let’s get to our “dreams.” Michael and I have been dreaming a lot lately, trying to look into the future of “what could be.” For example, we would love to finish the initial run of the Finnian Series this year. We have three issues left and it would be amazing if we somehow pull it off. Also, we have been brainstorming other ideas and products we would love to launch. A great idea we had would be to create a Finnian Board Game, in partnership with another board game company. Board games are in their “golden age” right now, especially with 2020 being the way that it was. We are not talking about a “Finnian Monopoly” game, but more like War of the Ring or Journeys in Middle-Earth or even something as complex as Scythe. And to be honest, The Phantom Phoenix deserves a board/card game too! This could be something like Thanos Rising or Marvel United to name a few examples. It is a lofty dream, but we want our company to be a champion of family-friendly entertainment. My own family loves board games and my wife keeps buying them! We have a whole shelf of them and there is a huge fan-base out there of families wanting to buy good, quality board games. We have also had dreams of creating an audio-drama, or a motion comic for YouTube, where our comic is displayed on the screen with a dynamic narrative behind it.
We have many dreams and would love to work on them. If only money grew on trees, or as my children would say, if only you could plant money like you do on Animal Crossing! (Seriously, the video game teaches children that all you need to do is plant a money bag in the ground and then you can have a “money tree”!!! I wish that was true!!!) Realistically speaking, we need an investor if we ever want to bring these ideas to life. If we simply rely on sales, it could take decades before we reach that point. Most companies start with capital, or take out a big loan…we did neither of those things. We think there is a lot of potential in the market of family-friendly comic books and board games and we know families are starving for them. We just need someone (or a group of investors), to see our company and say, “Hey, Voyage Comics is doing a lot of great work. I have a couple hundred thousand dollars laying around. Here, take my money and make beautiful things.” I’ve been thinking lately of praying a novena to St. Joseph for that intention. He provided for the Holy Family, why not for Voyage Comics?
Well, this week I wrote way too long. If this was a podcast, let me tell you, I would have stopped after the first paragraph!
Until next week!
Godspeed,
Philip Kosloski
Philip Kosloski
Philip Kosloski is the founder of Voyage Comics & Publishing and the writer and creator of the comic book series, Finnian and the Seven Mountains.