Winner of this year’s Best Newcomer Eisner this past July, Nate Simpson has suffered a bit of a delay in the process of completing his next issue of Nonplayer. It looks a little like this:
You can read all the details on Nate’s blog, but the extent of it is that he had a quite terrible bike crash, and that shoulder you see is attached to his drawing hand, So that’s a bit of a problem.
In accordance with Murphy’s Law, I’m right-handed. So Nonplayer #2 will be on hold until my arm comes out of the sling. I’ve heard a few theories about how long it’ll be before I can hold a stylus again, ranging from one to three weeks. I’ve tried to write my name with my arm in the sling, and I can say pretty confidently that I’m not ready yet. Because ouch.
Simpson also goes on to say that he’d been reviewing the work he’d done on issue #2 already, and he’d already back to the drawing board, ditching a bunch of work, and starting over. He’d made it to page 13 before the accident.
You might remember Nonplayer #1, which came out back in April. It was widely lauded for its lush art, and the rich world it created, but even it was widely understood that the second issue was a ways off. We spoke with Simpson in April. Then we had him on the video show at Wonder Con, which used to be a great convention in San Francisco.
In the meantime, Simpson let’s us know what we can expect, and what’s going on.
So where do things stand now?
Band-Aid removal in three, two, one: I was working on page 13 when I took my spill.
As bad as that sounds, I’m very happy with where things stand. Some really cool stuff happens in the second issue, and what’s been drawn so far looks pretty good. In addition, the rest of the issue has been roughed out to the point where everything works well. The trick from here on out is to work quickly and efficiently without letting panic set in again.
What does that mean in terms of a delivery date? In the afterword to issue 1, I said it would likely take less than a year. In an effort to satisfy the letter, if not the spirit, of that promise, I think I’m going to shoot for March. This decision’s a bit of a nail-biter, because I’ll need to commit to that date before completing the comic. Which means that if page 29 suddenly turns out to be a trench-warfare drawing, things could get pretty ugly. But again, if I’m making sober decisions, uninfluenced by fear, everything should be fine.
Honestly, it’s OK. We’ll wait.
Also, when biking, wear a helmet. Seriously.
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I heard about how long # 1 took to make. I knew it wasn’t going to be monthly or even yearly. It’s cool man, shit happens. Get better and take your time. We’ll be here.
wow, that sucks. I’m a trade guy any way. i can wait. hope the recovery is going well.
Jesusgodalmighty! That is a vicious break! I hope he heals quickly and best of luck to him. Nonplayer #1 was amazing, and I can’t wait to read the rest of it.
Ouch 🙁 I feel the same as I did when Bone (probably the worst title to bring up in regards to this article’s subject) was delayed back in the day. When the quality of a comic is so high, I’m willing to support its creative team in the interim period between one issue and the next, no matter how long that turns out to be.
I just loaned out my copy of #1 to a friend who read it last night and showed him the above picture this morning and he’s claiming “bullshit”. His reasoning is that anyone who draws (he himself is an artist) does not ride a bike.
Nate, as long as you give us a beautiful hardcover for the first 4 issues, take as long as you want.
I find his logic flawed.
Is he considering the Portland, Oregon factor? Because that’s huge.
The people I knew who drew things in Brooklyn ONLY rode bikes….
saw Nate reffer to his accident early on Twitter, but had no idea what had happened or how serious it was, but damn, that does not look good at all!!!! get well Nate, that’s the most importnat thing!
That sucks, I hope he gets better quickly. Guy is super talented
I wonder why the publishing schedule is like this, though. Don’t people usually get a few issues in before they go to print on the first? Seems strange that he would go to print with only one issue in.
Nonplayer 1 was good enough to wait!
Oh lordy, that looks sore.
I’m still looking forward to Nonplayer #2
Just out of curiosity. How long do you guys think it will take for all six issues to be released? I really enjoyed the first issue and I’m very excited for each and every issue in this tale.
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Too bad he got that shoulder injury, ouch. I wasn’t keeping up Nonplayer news but I didnt expect it to a be a yearly thing X_X. Hope he gets better and hope the second one is great.
How many pages is Nonplayer #1? and is it any good?
No excuse. Nick has two arms. I am kidding . I hope you heal well man.