Astounding Space Tales

The Kid Knight

2009-09-22T19:44:00.003+01:00

Here's a new project Steve is working on - The Kid Knight. A graphic novel in the works,it has its own site where you can follow the developements as they happen. Another brilliant piece of work from the great man himself! Click on the picture to see what's new.

A.S.T. is back online!

2009-09-20T17:19:00.002+01:00

AST is back online! Steve Conley has resurrected his old site in conjunction with the launch of the TPB "Astounding Space Thrills - the Adventures of Argosy Smith". Details on the site. He has also linked back here. Great to see AST back in the fold. Hopefully this blog will still have its uses and serve as an archive to complement the new "old" site. Great to have you back,Steve! CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO GO THERE RIGHT NOW!

Astounding Space Thrills - The Convention Comics #1 - Excerpt

2009-05-14T21:14:00.003+01:00

Here's an excerpt from the first Convention Comic - Mooch's Lot.

Sketches from 1999!

2009-04-15T20:06:00.002+01:00

We've now put online all the original daily adventures!Still a few bits and pieces to go though.Anybody care to scan the "given away free" Convention Comics?? In the meantime,here are a couple of sketches Steve did for fans back in 1999.

Space Quakes - Part 10 - Finale!

2009-04-15T12:56:00.003+01:00

The End!

Space Quakes - Part 9

2009-04-14T19:50:00.002+01:00

Space Quakes - Part 8

2009-04-10T20:28:00.003+01:00

Space Quakes - Part 7

2009-04-08T19:08:00.004+01:00

Space Quakes - Part 6

2009-04-06T20:43:00.002+01:00

Space Quakes - Part 5

2009-04-05T20:28:00.003+01:00

Space Quakes - Part 4

2009-04-05T09:39:00.011+01:00

Space Quakes - Part 3

2009-04-04T20:57:00.011+01:00

Space Quakes - Part 2

2009-04-02T21:07:00.011+01:00

Space Quakes - Part 1

2009-03-29T00:38:00.004Z

I have decided to try out the animated gifs again,so any panels you see incomplete,simply click on them to view them as originally intended. Enjoy!

Who Stole Professor Vaverckek's Brain? - Part 7 - Finale!

2009-03-25T21:46:00.009Z

THE END?

When I checked my archive,this was the last strip in this series,so I'm not sure if it is really the final strip.Hopefully Steve can answer that question soon!

Who Stole Professor Vaverckek's Brain? - Part 6

2009-03-25T21:40:00.011Z

AST to come back online shortly!

2009-03-25T20:40:00.004Z

Brilliant news space cadets! Steve informs me that he intends to reactivate the A.S.T. site shortly! That together with his new bloop blog is fantastic news for all Conley fans,yeah! Will keep you informed. Meanwhile,don't forget to visit his new blog by clicking on the button below!

Who Stole Professor Vaverckek's Brain? - Part 5

2009-03-23T19:37:00.011Z

Bloop is back!!!!

2009-03-22T16:26:00.002Z

Hi folks , Steve Conley has started a new blog based around the cute green alien monkey Bloop! It will chart the ins and outs of a brand new Bloop graphic novel. Click on the picture below and in links section to right of this post to go there right now. I have contacted Steve so hopefully we will hear back from him on his exciting new venture!

Who Stole Professor Vaverckek's Brain? - Part 4

2009-03-22T16:01:00.012Z

Who Stole Professor Vaverckek's Brain? - Part 3

2009-03-20T21:48:00.010Z

Who Stole Professor Vaverckek's Brain? - Part 2

2009-03-17T18:40:00.010Z

Who Stole Professor Vaverckek's Brain? - Part 1

2009-03-16T00:33:00.002Z

The Faberge Omelette - Part 8 - Finale!

2009-03-16T00:17:00.007Z

The End!

The Faberge Omelette - Part 7

2009-03-16T00:12:00.012Z

The Faberge Omelette - Part 6

2009-03-15T18:30:00.010Z

The Faberge Omelette - Part 5

2009-03-14T01:01:00.011Z

The Faberge Omelette - Part 4

2009-03-13T21:21:00.011Z

The Faberge Omelette - Part 3

2009-03-12T21:48:00.012Z

The Faberge Omelette - Part 2

2009-03-09T20:12:00.012Z

The Entropian Engine - Excerpt

2009-03-08T22:51:00.006Z

Just a coffee break now as we show you a little excerpt from The Entropian Engine.What follows is the original blurb from 01 Comics who published the original comic:"ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS: THE ENTROPIAN ENGINE is a stand-alone Argosy Smith adventure created, written, and illustrated by Steve Conley (www.astoundingspacethrills.com). Twenty- Six Pages. Full Color. All Ages-friendly. Available now at www.01comics.com. Read the entire story on-line for just 50 cents."Well,we can only give you 4 pages,but it still shows what a great story this must have been.

from: http://www.comicsbulletin.com/news/108266192280873.htm

Astounding Space Thrills: The Entropian Engine

Posted: Thursday, April 22, 2004
Posted By: Shawn Patty

Steve Conley’s Astounding Space Thrills: The Entropian Engine comes to 01 Comics!

For five years, Steve Conley’s Astounding Space Thrills has been one of the most popular and widely read action adventure comics on the world wide web. Now Conley brings Astounding Space Thrills: The Entropian Engine, a full length, full color, stand alone Argosy Smith adventure, to 01comics.com.

A few short years into the 21st century, the laws governing the universe change - time flows at a different angle, space folds against the grain and positive particles aren't so sure! Welcome to the universe of Steve Conley's Astounding Space Thrills!

Argosy Smith is haunted by recurring nightmares. In the dream, he finds himself trapped inside a giant engine that is consuming him. Meanwhile, someone is exploding stars, prematurely causing them to go nova, killing billions of the people inhabiting the stars’ systems. Is there a connection? Is there a common event causing both Argosy’s nightmares and the exploding stars? Of course there is! Join Argosy, his intrepid sidekick Thermin, and Professor Xozynxinal as they race to find the secret of the Entropian Engine before another star dies!

__________________________________________________________________________

"I’ve been a fan of Astounding Space Thrills and an admirer of Steve Conley for years now," says 01 Comics Editor Barry Gregory. "There’s a quote on the AST site from Warren Ellis wherein he praises Steve and AST for rewriting all the rules for comics on the web. Truer words were never spoken. Five years after its launch AST – in SO many ways -- remains a ground-breaking web comic. And Steve Conley is a true webcomics pioneer. We at 01 couldn’t be more delighted to offer The Entropian Engine to AST fans the world over."

The Faberge Omelette - Part 1

2009-03-08T18:26:00.006Z

UMFTY 3200 Part 10 - Finale!

2009-03-08T18:15:00.012Z

Ta-Dah!!!! The epic saga comes to an end.But don't despair people.We'll be right back with another space adventure very soon!

UMFTY 3200 Part 9

2009-03-02T20:52:00.011Z

Don't miss the final episode of this great story!

We're Back!

2009-03-01T15:42:00.003Z

Welcome back folks!Yes,after our six month sabbatical we are finally back online.Apologies to anybody who had been following the various series.Thanks for your patience.We have ironed out all the bugs and found workarounds with our software to begin the process of uploading again.We are proud to present this archive of the brilliant Steve Conley now-defunct website-Astounding Space Thrills.We have collected all we can from various sources,including the original graphics and banners as created by Steve Conley a few years back.So if you missed out first time around,now is your chance to play catch up.Hopefully this will whet your appetite to buy any newly published material by the creator as and when it becomes available.So without further ado,on with the show.You may also have noticed that the preceding few threads have been thoroughly updated since last year and we will now continue with "newer" episodes and features.

UMFTY 3200 Part 8

2009-03-01T15:21:00.010Z

We're back!Yes,it's like we've never been away,judging by the number of visitors ;-) Anyway,on we proceed with the UMFTY 3200 series which will culminate shortly.Enjoy.Remember,we like to read your comments if any.Let us know what you think about this archive project,which Author/Writer/Artist Steve Conley knows about!

The Stonehenge Connection

2008-10-16T20:36:00.010+01:00

Hi all,sorry for the glitches with the blog.I at first thought it was to do with animated gifs,but they upload okay,and now it seems they don't.I then thought it was to do with the strips from UMFTY 3200 and started to put up The Stonehenge Connection so people would have something to read while I tried to sort out the problems,but guess what,at panel 4,Blogger starts acting silly buggers again,so unfortunately all you have is the beginning of this strip and an unfinished epic beforehand!

UPDATE:Okay,have been offline for a while,but it seems if I now capture the gifs as one whole frame they will upload okay,so we are back in business :-)

UMFTY 3200 Part 7

2008-10-09T19:47:00.014+01:00

Hi all,sorry for the delay in upping,but we will be back to form shortly.Thank you for your patience.

to be continued...

Special Announcement #0

2008-09-08T23:21:00.003+01:00

From the 1,300 visitors to date,I take it people are enjoying the blog and the subject matter.Particularly as we only opened in July!So I would appeal to visitors to at least leave a comment or two and perhaps to vote on our survey which can be found at the bottom of every page.A query from some people pertains to the "bubblegum" episodes of the various original online series and their file size.They are the original file size;to view them at a slightly larger size,simply click on them!Enjoy,and remember,if you like what you see,let me know.

Blog Owner.

p.s. I was slightly taken aback with our survey to see who would buy the new anthology due out in early 2009.Only 2 voted-and the other said no!Guess who said yes? :-(

Undersea Menace From The Year 3200 #6

2008-09-06T09:44:00.012+01:00

Undersea Menace From The Year 3200 #5

2008-09-02T20:40:00.012+01:00

UMFTY4200 #5

And now we resume our UMFTY series,folks!

And rush here for Part 6!

AST Lookout! #4

2008-09-02T20:18:00.009+01:00

MYTHOGRAPHY #7

This was an occasional anthology that ran for roughly 8 editions.The original version of Astrogenesis featured in Issue 7 published on 1 February 1998.Here we exclusively present it for your delight.My thanks to Cadet Imbie for the scans!It is fascinating to compare this with the online version.As always just click on the image for a reader friendly view of the strip.

Astrogenesis

2008-08-30T16:54:00.014+01:00

a Petra Vaverchek tale

Petra is hired to ferry a strange passenger to a stranger planet! This story first appeared in the anthology MYTHOGRAPHY #7 published by Bardic Press,1998(coming soon!) and was later adapted for the web.

A.S.T. Lookin! #2 - The Comic Book Series

2008-08-19T20:00:00.017+01:00

The Comic Book (Full Color) Series #1 - 4 (Image Comics) 2000

Two years after the release of the independently produced b/w comics,Image Comics brought out four Bi-Monthly Issues of A.S.T.-The Comic Book in FULL color! There was supposed to be a fifth and subsequent Issues,but due to Steve's commitments elsewhere,these never materialized :-(

ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS THE COMIC BOOK#1

The first of the new series from Image Comics came out in April 2000.Behind the fantastic painted cover provided by Ken (Star Wars, Boba Fett) Kelly, Eisner Nominee Steve Conley brings his acclaimed sci-fi series and syndicated comic strip, Astounding Space Thrills: The Comic Book to Image Comics in FULL-COLOR! In the debut issue(The Cydonian Contract), Argosy Smith and his reluctant pal Theremin are lured to the mysterious Martian monument of Cydonia to stop the theft of a priceless and very deadly alien artifact. The introduction of the beautiful space vixen Astra Nouveau only complicates matters. Robots, rayguns, rocketships, a gorgeous villainess and the fate of all life on Earth hangs in the balance. And if that weren't enough, also in this issue, for the first time in print: Marty Baumann's The Crater Kid. "We have seen the future... and it really ain't all that bad!"

ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS THE COMIC BOOK#2

Dial 0100010110101001 For Murder!Published July 2000. In a brand-new adventure, "The Criminal Code," featuring a spectacular painted cover by Kelly Freas ("The Dean of Science Fiction Illustration", winner of 10 Hugo awards), someone is killing key figures in the robot underworld and all the clues point to one of their own. And who better to profile a mechanical killer than a computer programmer? Can Argosy Smith dismantle the killer's plans before becoming a statistic himself?

And in "The Replacements," The Crater Kid and his companions are forced to deal with the loss of Diz's father, learning much about hope and perseverance in the process. Every panel packed with out-of-this-world action!

ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS THE COMIC BOOK#3

Written and drawn by Steve Conley and Marty Baumann in September 2000 .Flip Covers by Dave Dorman and Jack Davis! "Gordo: Earthling Prime" In the 1950s, NASA sent a squirrel monkey named Gordo beyond Earth's atmosphere never to be seen again! Now, 80 years later, in 2030 mankind finds itself the target of a nefarious simian scheme that may cost us the Earth itself. Can Argosy Smith stop Gordo before we all have to find a new planet to live on? BONUS FEATURE: THE HOLE IN HEAVEN. Is it always darkest before the dawn? What if dawn never arrives? The Crater Kid's faith in himself is sorely tested as darkness enshrouds the planet and all the inhabitants of Meta 4 look to him to save them.

ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS THE COMIC BOOK#4

Now that Marcoshaft owns all of Earth, what will it do with it?Released on December 2000,this was the last of the series!

ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS THE COMIC BOOK#5

ATTACK OF THE MACROBES.A dimensional breach begins an invasion of a very different kind.
AVAILABLE JUNE 2001.But due to commitments elsewhere,it never saw the light of day :-(

A.S.T. Lookin! #1- The Original Comics!

2008-08-12T19:39:00.007+01:00

Astounding Space Thrills #1-3 (Day One Comics) 1998

As opposed to our other series-"Lookout",which is attempting to document all the non-Conley publications that featured A.S.T. content,this one is attempting to expand on the home cooked variety-the ones which directly involved the Creator.Now when talking about A.S.T. it is important to note,that Steve Conley intended it as a multimedia concept from the word go!So,we must take cognizance of the Internet,Printed Media and Videos!As far as I can ascertain,back in 1997,Steve put online the very first appearance of A.S.T. in the form of a short animated cartoon(not to be confused with the A.S.T. "trailer" which came later),called simply "Astounding Space Thrills".This has since disappeared and even Steve is reputed not to have a copy!If he does,we can only hope that he makes it available again for us fans!Now back to base-Steve put out 3 independently produced A.S.T. comics back in 1998,published by Day One Comics.The first of these was called not surprisingly-Astounding Space Thrills #1.

Astounding Space Thrills #1

This came out in May 1998.Featuring an explosive cover by series storyteller Steve Conley and comics legend STERANKO (Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Shadow), this first plutonium-powered issue introduces the retro-universe of Argosy Smith, Theremin and a cosmos of new characters. Beginning part one of "The Codex Reckoning" the characters seek the Codex Melzi - mysterious lost notes of Leonardo da Vinci. As a backup story, a 7-page retro sci-fi adventure "The Victor Belt" features the Hero of Strata 4, Jet Victor by Marty Baumann. As an extra bonus: a sci-fi pin-up from STERANKO! 40 pages in classic B&W with full-color covers.There was also a variant cover (limited to 750 copies) featuring the same beautiful STERANKO/Conley cover without type, showcasing the cover painting.

Astounding Space Thrills #2

By Steve Conley, Cover by the Brothers Hildebrandt!This second independently produced comic was released in July 1998 and continued part two of The Codex Reckoning. Argosy Smith, Theremin and pilot-for-hire Petra Vaverchek find themselves caught between galactic corporate superpowers, alien protoplasmic monsters and little green mercenaries as they determine just what Leonardo DaVinci's lost notes mean to the future of space travel. Renowned sci-fi illustrators Greg and Tim Hildebrandt (STAR WARS, X-Men) provide a stunning painted cover. As a backup story, a 7-page retro sci-fi adventure "The Jorvax Cloud" features the Hero of Strata 4, Jet Victor by Marty Baumann. As an extra bonus: a sci-fi pin-up by Michael Cohen (Strange Attractors). 40 pages in classic B&W with full-color covers.A variant cover (limited to 500 copies) features the same spectacular Brother Hildebrandt painted cover without type.

Astounding Space Thrills #3

By Steve Conley, Cover by Drew Struzan (Artist of the STAR WARS Special Edition and Indiana Jones Trilogy movie posters)! The third comic of the original run was released in January 1999.In the feature story, "Aspects of Iron": Argosy Smith is dead, so what is he doing running from dinosaurs, robots and the Velthan mystic who prophesized his death? And while Argosy is galavanting in the afterlife, his cohorts are no better off! Petra's being chased by a Bounty Hunter and Theremin's up to his globules in Musketeers. This issue also features a Jet Victor episode by Marty Baumann. PLUS: a sci-fi pin-up by comics legend Pat Boyette! 40 pages in classic B&W with full-color covers.A rare variant (limited to 500 copies) features the same gorgeous Drew Struzan painted cover without type.

Undersea Menace From The Year 3200 #4

2008-08-11T21:11:00.004+01:00

UMFTY3200 #4

To be continued in Part 5!

A.S.T. Lookout! #3

2008-08-11T20:45:00.009+01:00

SON OF RAMPAGE

Here we look back at the 1999 Anthology which featured a different version of A.S.T.'s "The Stonehenge Connection",which like many other strips was adapted for the online Daily Adventures strips.

Solicitation Info
Shipping Month: December 1999
Creators: Over 20
Format: 168 pages, squarebound with double laminated four color covers
Price: $13.95
Publisher: Slap Happy Comics
Frequency: Annually
Contact Info: WingnutIBH@aol.com
Promotions: Ads in other indy books, heavy promotion at cons and
shows

Summary: Bursting at the seams with the field's freshest talent, this 168 page sequel volume to last year's red hot RAMPAGE contains twice the fun! Each creative team crafted an all-new 7 page story spotlighting their most popular project exclusively for this volume.Each story is accompanied by a creator bio page complete with photos, an overview of their current project and contact info. SON OF RAMPAGE is an excellent showcase package that is attractive to die-hard comic-fans and newcomers to the magic that is comics.

The line-up:
Chris Yambar
Fire Breathing Pope Comics
John Green and Dave Roman
Quicken Forbidden
Vince Sneed and John Peters
40 Winks
Brian Clopper
Marshall: Godling of War
Jay Torres and Tim Levins
Copybook Tales
Ken Harrison
Borne Heroes
David Yurkovich
Threshold
Scott Roberts
Pattycake
George Broderick
Courageous Man
John Gallagher
Buzzboy
Lyman Dally
Max Rep
Art Baltazar
Craybabies
Ty and Ian Smith
Odd Adventure Zine
Steve Conley
Astounding Space Thrills
Pam Bliss
B-36
Dan Berger
Gutwallow
Peter Laird and Jim Lawson
Planet Racers
Kevin Thomas
Spy Girls
Harold Buchholz
Suburban Space Pets
Josh Blaylock
Penguin Bros.

How Astounding Space Thrills: The Daily Adventures is created.

2008-08-11T20:26:00.006+01:00

How Astounding Space Thrills: The Daily Adventures is created.

STEP 1: ORIGINAL ART

Each episode of Astounding Space Thrills starts out as a ballpoint pen illustration on standard white photocopy paper. The original ballpoint art for episode 262 can be seen below.

STEP 2: LINEWORK

A scan of the ballpoint illustration is brought into the drawing program, FreeHand 5.5 (Macromedia's FreeHand program is now up to version 8 - I prefer the speed and interface of 5.5 and continue to use the 4-year old program, having purchased and very much disliked the the later upgrades of the software). Using that scan as a starting point, I redraw the image using a mouse. I've tried using tablets and don't find them as precise as I'd like. The final linework is below.

STEP 3: COLOR

Once the linework is complete, the FreeHand document is exported as an EPS file and imported into Adobe Photoshop. In Photoshop, the colors are applied to separate layers, giving me precise control over the opacity and colors of each layer. The color art is created at a much higher resolution than what you see online so that the art can be collected in print format later.

STEP 4: LETTERING, ANIMATION

All lettering and animation (if any) is done is Adobe ImageReady. I find the text for the word balloons is sharper when produced in ImageReady vs. Photoshop. Some sound effects may be done during step 3 if they require some of Photoshop's specific tools. The final file is exported as a GIF with an effort to keep the file size as small as possible (usually 40 to 45k).

Below is the final comic strip.

Holiday Cards

2008-08-11T20:07:00.004+01:00

Steve specially produced 3 holiday cards for fans way back when.These bubblegum sized cards mimicked the online daily adventure strips.Pity Steve only made the three.Hopefully when the site comes online again,we may be treated to more!Great for passing among friends and advertising A.S.T.!

Undersea Menace From The Year 3200 #3

2008-08-10T15:12:00.008+01:00

For your reading and viewing pleasure,here's UMFTY3200 part 3!

To be continued in Part 4!

Dave Rose Drawing Contest

2008-08-10T13:58:00.002+01:00

A few years back,Dave Rose ran a contest at his comics shop.He handed out flyers to buyers to color in and return.Prizes were generously donated by Steve Conley.Below are the 3 winners and their entries.Maybe you're one of the winners?!I have reproduced the article that appeared on the site at the time.Dave Rose was awarded the rank of Lieutenant for his efforts.Below is the ad which greeted the customers enticing them to enter the contest.

ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS: CLASSIC CARDS AND COMICS Contest

As AST SPACE CORPS Lieutenant Dave (Eclipse) Rose reports:"Northwest Classic Cards and Comics in Richland, WA had a two-week contest in honor of the online strip's two-year anniversary in March. There was a prominent display near the register, and another by the weekly comics which included at least a half dozen sets of Astounding Space Thrills #s 3 and 4."

"There was in-store advertising of the event for a couple of weeks before it began. The display also included the prizes:

* 1st place: a set of the B&W issues, issues 1-2 of the color series, and a large AST t-shirt.
* 2nd place: issues 1-2 of the color series and a large t-shirt.
* 3rd place: issues 1-2 of the color series.
* Honerable Mentions: Sabrina Bennett and Jessica Haight."

"It was difficult for our judges (myself and Janie Aunspaugh - the store comic lady) to choose the winners. The rules were simple: each contestant colored one of the flyers (using the medium of their choice) and returned it with their name and phone number on the back. It was entered in the drawing, which took place on April 11th - two weeks from the beginning of the contest (March 28th). We appreciate your donation of the prizes. They really made the contest cool. The activity was a success. Awareness of your series increased. There are now several people on hold for the new issues as they come out (we're - still :) - eagerly looking forward to the Galaxy-sized issue and AST #5). Also customer morale was given a boost by the fun contest - which, although morale was already high, is always welcome."

"Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to help both the local comic shop and you with this promotion!" --Dave (Eclipse) Rose

Steve Conley:THANK YOU, DAVE!

1st PLACE:

Aaron Kirk

2nd PLACE:

David Wolf

3rd PLACE:

Krystal Watts

HONORABLE MENTION:
Jessica Haight

HONORABLE MENTION:
Sabrina Bennett

THANKS TO ALL THE CONTESTANTS AND TO ECLIPSE FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN!
-- Steve

Postcards from A.S.T.

2008-08-10T11:19:00.013+01:00

Here's a selection of postcards Steve made available for download a few years back.Though quite small,they look cool and are suitable as avatars.

A.S.T. Lookout!#2 Special Edition :-)

2008-08-07T21:14:00.006+01:00

ASTOUNDING SEA THRILLS!!!???

Astounding Space Thrills is not the only work of Steve Conley.Going off on a slight tangent here,we showcase another of his projects,this time as writer of the popular Aquaman comics-a one off edition of AQUAMAN:SECRET FILES.Published in 2003,Steve wrote the 6-page story-"FAMILY TIES" drawn by Darryl Banks.He also wrote all the text for the Profiles in the book!

A.S.T. Lookout!#1

2008-08-07T20:41:00.004+01:00

Starting our occasional look at the other publications that featured A.S.T. stories,we commence with BLIP( The Book of Little Independent Publishers)72 pgs. This sampler offers thirteen four-page excerpts featuring work by some of the best talent in the independent market. Each section is forwarded by a text page, introducing the creator and their current project, as well as a list of available backstock and their Diamond product codes. Much of the contents is original for this issue.This Issue from 1998 featured a different version of A.S.T.'s "The Shift" which was later adapted for the online Daily Adventures animated strips.It was published by Bardic Press.This was one of many of Steve Conley's forays into other Independent comics to help spread the word about the A.S.T. Universe!This series will tie in with the newly expanded Time Line as we uncover more of Steve's amazing work!

Here's a list of the BLIP contents:

FRONT COVER by Barry Blair & Colin Chan
THE CARETAKER by Dave Sim & Michael Cohen
WAHOO MORRIS by Craig Taillefer
DREAMWALKER by Jenni Gregory
ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS by Steve Conley
THIEVES AND KINGS by M'Oak
THE FURIES by Bill Knapp
SHADES OF GREY by Jimmy Gownley
DARKLIGHT by Teri S. Wood
TRESPASSERS by Joe Zabel
STRANGE ATTRACTORS by Michael Cohen & Mark Sherman
HARVEST SEASON by Scott Morse
GALAXION by Tara Jenkins
FINDER by Carla McNeil
THRESHOLD by David Yurkovich
MYTHOGRAPHY: MYSTERY DATE by Carla McNeil
MYTHOGRAPHY: SIMONE & AJAX by Andrew Pepoy
MYTHOGRAPHY: EMPYREAN TALES by Michael Cohen

Timeline 1.1

2008-08-05T20:09:00.004+01:00

As previously stated on the blog here,the timeline is being worked on as the original was not updated to take cognizance of any other editions of the series.As a place holder/marker we have a rough draft here of the sequence of printed series to be going on with.My thanks to Imbie for his info!In lieu of Steve granting any ranks in the future,I will solicit Steve to hereby grant him the rank of Cadet,in keeping with the practice of the old site.More stuff coming through on the ether from other helpful fans,who should be proud to be called Cadets as well.

_________________________________________

Astounding Space Thrills #1-3 (Day One Comics) 1998
Astounding Space Thrills: The Comic Book #1-4 (Image) 2000
Astounding Space Thrills: Galaxy Sized Special #1 (Image) 2001
Astounding Space Thrills: The Convention Comics #1-6 (Day One Comics) 2003
Astounding Space Thrills: Bloop #1 (Day One Comics) 2004

#1-3 of the 1998 and #1 of the 2000 series had variant editions (same covers,
but no dress or text), and The Convention Comics were:-

1 MegaCon 2003 (Mar 2)
2 Pittsburgh ComiCon 2003 (Apr 25-27)
3 Wizard World East 2003 (May 30-Jun 1)
4 Comic-Con International 2003 (Jul 17-20)
5 Wizard World 2003 (Aug 8-10)
6 Baltimore Comic-Con 2003 (Sep 20-21)

_________________________________________

Of course that still leaves the appearances in other anthologies/titles.My quick checklist follows

SPX 1998 anthology(ARGOSY SMITH VS MAINSTREAM-different version)
Blip(THE SHIFT-different version)
Love In Tights(MADE FOR EACH OTHER-different version)
EXPO 1999 anthology(BRIGHT SPOTS-extremely rare!)
MYTHOGRAPHY anthology(ASTROGENESIS-different version)
Son of Rampage anthology(THE STONEHENGE CONNECTION-different version)
Amelia Rules FCBD Anthology(Bloop-The Picnic Guest-appeared in Bloop #1)
AST-The Entropian Engine(The Entropian Engine-stand alone Argosy Smith full color adventure)

_________________________________________

Of course that still leaves the famed online A.S.T. animated webisode from 1998!Not to mention the 3 bloop videos and the AST trailer.Remember AST is a multimedia concept.
We're only just getting started.If anybody can help with cover scans,please do!

Bloop Revisited!

2008-08-03T14:52:00.013+01:00

Hi folks,we thought it about time to give Bloop a little of the spotlight!As you may know,he started off as a peripheral character back in the early days of A.S.T. when Argosy used him as one of a pair to do some battering with an Alien informant.When that deal turned sour,Argosy kept him as a pet.Or it's the other way around,if you ask Bloop.That story arc featured in Issue #2 of the original B/W comic.

Bloop featured in hs own story as a back up feature in the Special Edition of Amelia Rules(This is a "best of" sampler with Amelia narrating the bits between.) in a "silent" adventure entitled-Bloop:The Picnic Guest.This is extremely rare and if anybody has it,please let me know!

Of course over time Bloop has gone on to being a more upfront character,starring in his own comic!

And even having his own poster and plush toy along with an assortment of merchandise to buy!
xxxxxx

Of course Bloop has already starred in 3 videos.Now we bring you these in another fruity flavor-shockwave,that is.The animation differs slightly so I thought it worthwhile to include them here.Click on the banners to download and enjoy!For fans of cute little green alien monkeys everywhere!

Blog Interlude #1.1

2008-08-02T08:53:00.004+01:00

Hi Space Cadets ;-) Hope everybody is enjoying our trip down memory lane courtesy of Steve Conley's brilliant series.I know I sure am!Of course lots more to come with several more adventures waiting in the wings.The goal is to have them all online before the launch in December of this year of the anthology title.Go to Amazon to reserve your copy now!

Also if anybody was a former forum member or Space Cadet of the AST site,why not leave a comment!
Other News:Prof Vaverchek's Puzzling Mysteries ends :-( Did you write to the Prof?

Undersea Menace from the Year 3200 #2

2008-08-01T20:13:00.008+01:00

Okay fight fans,here it is-Part 2 of UMFTY3200!Argosy experiences more shocks than he can shake a space blaster at,or even a fist ;-)

To Be Continued...in Part 3!
Stay Tuned!

AST Flyer

2008-07-31T21:00:00.003+01:00

Steve Conley made available for download a 2 page PDF printout of an AST flyer for comic shop owners and fans alike to help visually promote the comic series on the original site.I re-present it here as a scaled down gif file for your delectation.Why not print it out and ask your comic store if they'll put it up?In lieu of the new anthology coming in December of this year which should be on your Christmas wish list.

WHAT IS AST?

2008-07-29T20:19:00.008+01:00

ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS:

WHAT IS AST?

"...have you discovered Astounding Space Thrills yet? I suggest you check it out. This is not just kid's stuff."
- Mike Swaine, editor-at-large for Dr. Dobb's Journal, a programmer's magazine, and co-author of Fire in the Valley, the definitive history of the personal computer.

A few short years into the 21st century, the laws governing the universe change - time flows at a different angle, space folds against the grain and positive particles aren't so sure!

Welcome to the universe of Steve Conley's Astounding Space Thrills!

Astounding Space Thrills is action and adventure, satire and social commentary, humor and heroes hopping from medium to medium -- designed to entertain a worldwide audience and take full advantage of the evolving and converging media.

Astounding Space Thrills is the brainchild and labor of love of Steve Conley, the web design innovator behind the launch of USATODAY.com in 1995 and hundreds of other web sites. (Visit Conley Interactive for more information about Steve's web development work.)
In 1997, AST made its debut simultaneosly in print as a self-published comic book and on the web as one of the earliest animated Flash 'webisodes'. Over the next two years (while Steve was also Co-creating with cartoonist Rick Veitch, the incredibly popular COMICON.com web site) AST steadily gained momentum and exploded in March, 1999 when Steve developed 'Tooncasting" - a new distribution model for online comic strips. Since then, Astounding Space Thrills: The Daily Adventures, a full-color, daily online comic strip, has been seen more than 4 million times around the world.

Currently 350+ web sites carry the syndicated Astounding Space Thrills daily comic strip bringing the monthly viewings to more than 300,000!

AST continues to earn praise not only for its fun stories, vivid characters and terrific art but as a technological achievement as well.

And as they develop, you can be sure that wherever there's an audience, you'll find Astounding Space Thrills.

"...one of the most exciting independent comic books being published today."
-- Galerie Lambiek, Amsterdam. The first and finest comics shop in Europe

"Steve has demonstrated an inventor's genius with his comic-strip-as-virus approach to Astounding Space Thrills."
- Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics.

"...the one that rewrote all the rules, Steve Conley's Astounding Space Thrills"
- Warren Ellis, author of Planetary, Authority and City of Silence.

"Golden Age science fiction is reborn for the 21st century in the daily Internet comic strip Astounding Space Thrills."
- Sci-Fi Weekly, SCIFI.com

Wallpaper

2008-07-28T20:32:00.004+01:00

Carrying on our dip into the Fun & Games part of the original site,here are a selection of AST wallpapers for you to decorate your desktop with! Originally presented in bitmap format,they weighed in at a hefty 2 mbs each! So to keep the file size down,I present them here as gifs. Virtually no loss of picture quality but dial up friendly for all you space surfers out there.Enjoy! As always,just click on the images to view them at their full Technicolor glory!Oh,and don't be afraid to leave a comment in any of the pages...it gets lonely out in Space!

Coloring Pages

2008-07-28T20:18:00.005+01:00

Another part of Steve Conley's original site was given over to Fun & Games! So,intrepid Space Explorers,we present 4 specially drawn b/w pin-ups suitably titled(i,e, stranger than strange!) for your perusal! Why not print them out and keep the kids amused? While you view this blog in peace :-)

Timeline

2008-07-26T10:04:00.028+01:00

Steve Conley produced this handy time line on his original web site so readers would have an idea of the chronology of the stories(online only and printed only comics) and of the history of the AST Universe.I have expanded on it slightly to include stories that had appeared thereafter.This is a work in progress.Check back often as we update.

ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS:
TIMELINE

If you want to know which events took place first in the Astounding Space Thrills universe, use this handy guide.

Around 3500 B.C.
Stonehenge is built.

2680-2565 B.C.
The pyramids at Giza are built.

500 YEARS AGO
The Neghtaer, who had been abducting the most intelligent aliens from all over the cosmos are forced to stop by a shift in the physical laws of the universe.

400 YEARS AGO
The Lem begin their search for religious artifacts similar to their own.

EASTER 1722
Dutch Admiral Jacob Roggeveen and his three ships, land on the south Pacific island of Rapa Nui. Roggeveen renames it Easter Island.

JUNE 30 , 1908
Tunguska, Russia: An 850-square mile section of Siberia is destroyed by a meteor explosion striking with the impact of a 20 megaton nuclear weapon. Prior to the blast, witnesses see a fiery object descend into the region.

JULY 2, 1937
Aviator Amelia Earhart vanishes along with her navigator Frederick Noonan over the Pacific Ocean.

DECEMBER 2 , 1942
Man splits the atom for the first time.

DECEMBER 13, 1958
The spider monkey Gordo is launched in the nose cone of an ICBM missile. He becomes the first primate to reach outer space.

APRIL 12 , 1961
Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to orbit Earth.

JULY 20, 1969
American Astronaut Neil Armstrong walks on the moon.

1998
ARGOSY SMITH VS. MAINSTREAM
Available online
Argosy Smith and Theremin travel back in time to a comic book convention in 1998. Adapted for online - with a new epilogue - from a short story which appeared th the SPX 1998 anthology.

A FEW SHORTS YEARS FROM NOW
THE SHIFT
Available online
As our part of the Milky Way swings into a new region of space where the laws of physics are different. During the chaos, Argosy Smith is born. "The Shift" first appeared in the anthology BLIP (right) published by Bardic Press and was later adapted for the web.

ALMOST 25 YEARS LATER
MADE FOR EACH OTHER
Available online
A prologue to The Codex Reckoning story. Redmond tries to distract Argosy from finding the Codex Melzi. The online story was adapted from a short tale which appeared in the adventure-romance anthology Love in Tights from Slave Labor Graphics.

25 YEARS LATER
THE CODEX RECKONING (PART 1)
Issue 1 of the original b&w series
Argosy Smith, Theremin, Petra Vaverchek, Redmond and thousands of aliens chase the Codex Melzi, the lost notes of Leonardo DaVinci.

THE CODEX RECKONING (PART 2)
Issue 2 of the original b&w series
The race for the Codex concludes and Argosy Smith is killed.

ASPECTS OF IRON
Issue 3 of the original b&w series
If Argosy's dead, why is he being chased by dinosaurs and crazed robots?

THE CYDONIAN CONTRACT
Issue 1 of the new full-color Image Comic series
Argosy Smith and Theremin race aliens and Astra Nouveau for the secrets of the mysterious Face on Mars.

BRIGHT SPOTS
Argosy & Theremin take a walk on the sun.
Only available in the EXPO 1999 anthology available from the Comic Book legal Defense Fund

MENACE FROM THE YEAR 3200
Available only online
Argosy Smith must save an undersea kingdom from disaster!

SPACE QUAKES
Available online
Someone is tampering with the physical laws that hold the galaxy together.

Coming Soon to this blog!

ASTROGENESIS
Available online
Petra is hired to ferry a strange passenger to a stranger planet! This story first appeared in the anthology MYTHOGRAPHY published by Bardic Press and was later adapted for the web. The online version is available in the archives.

Coming Soon to this blog!

THE STONEHENGE CONNECTION
Available online
The secret of Stonehenge revealed! Adapted from a short story which appeared in the anthology, Son of Rampage.

Coming Soon to this blog!

THE CRIMINAL CODE
Issue 2 of the new full-color Image Comic series
Someone is killing high-profile robots and computer-programmer Argosy Smith is hired to decode the crime.

THE FABERGÉ OMELETTE
Available only online
Eggciting adventures as giant monsters duke it out.

Coming Soon to this blog!

GORDO: EARTHLING PRIME
Issue 3 of the new full-color Image Comic series
Earth's mysterious ambassador to the Galactic Parliament seeks revenge on the people of Earth.

HOSTILE TAKEOVER
Issue 4 of the new full-color Image Comic series
Now that Marcoshaft owns all of Earth, what will it do with it?

ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS:GALAXY SIZE #1

AST-THE CONVENTION COMICS #1

AST-THE CONVENTION COMICS #2

AST-THE CONVENTION COMICS #3

AST-THE CONVENTION COMICS #4

AST-THE CONVENTION COMICS #5

AST-THE CONVENTION COMICS #6

BLOOP #1

to be continued....

Blog Interlude #1

2008-07-21T20:08:00.006+01:00

Hi all,I think at this juncture it's about time to stop,reflect,pause for effect and otherwise see where we are at and where we are going!Pay attention at back ;-) Now,in only over a week we have had over 400 hits(brilliant for a blog!)and we have attracted the attention of none other than the very creator we set out to pay tribute to!!!!Cool or what?!

Now a little about myself.I have always been something of a comic nut.And by that I mean I reveled in the comics of the 70s and 80s,mostly British comics from Lion,Valiant,Starlord,Battle,Victor,2000ad,Tornado,Warlord,Bullet and onto the American imports that featured weird sci-fi tales(never a big fan of the Superhero genre).So when I ventured onto the Net back in the 90s,the first thing I did was seek out all my old favorites.Sadly little if nothing was available or online.But the millennium saw a huge upsurge in interest and various groups and sites started appearing and shared scans and swapped info on artists and writers that would forever change my life.Added to this was my discovery of a few online web comics,one of which was Steve Conley's Astounding Space Thrills.I was instantly hooked!And it was American.And it was about a Superhero,sort of :-) But from the oft,it presented something quite distinct.Cliffhanger stories,brilliantly written and drawn,that wrapped humor up in science and did it really well.So I downloaded all of this site,I loved it so much.Then I quietly forgot about it,until a little while back,when I decided to pay a visit to see what was happening.I couldn't believe it was off line.Apparently AST was sold off to be a TV series and some Comic group was now publishing the strips!So I thought,that's that then :-( Of course since then,many more revelations have come to light.More anon! I searched my hard drive to re-read these tales and glory over the Universe of Steve Conley.Then I thought-other people should at least have a chance to view these brilliant strips.So the blog idea was born.Which brings us to here.I plan to upload all the strips from the original site according to the AST time line.Of course Steve later deviated from the strictly chronology and proferred more strips,some as flashbacks,some purely for fun.Also of course there were the off line-only hard copy comics,which Steve has now informed us,will be released in the New Year as an Anthology!And he hopes to reactivate the site.Great news indeed.I can't wait!So lots more coming yours and our way,space fans.Hang onto your visors,we're about to go hypersonic baby!

BTW,all the graphics,logos,insignia and strips are from Steve's site and may be slightly re-edited,otherwise are per se as seen on the old site.I use them here purely to show just how artistic Steve is and how well put together his site was.
p.s.The Avatar portrait as shown above is painted by a very talented British Artist-Graham Hill.

Other News: The Character Profiles is now complete.

Message from creator Steve Conley!

2008-07-20T20:13:00.003+01:00

Fantastic news folks!Thanks to John Freeman,the great man himself Steve Conley has had a look at the blog and likes what he sees!(Who knows,we may even get semi-official status :-) Once again,my sincerest thanks to John for the contact.Hopefully Steve will leave a message here himself.

John Freeman:
Firstly, Cap'n, Steve Conley is delighted by your blog - and the inclusion of the trailer! (He may have already posted to you direct).

Here's a message from him in full on the blog and on the past and future of AST, direct from Steve himself:

That's fantastic. I don't even have a copy of that AST "trailer" video. :) So crude. I remember the software wouldn't let me rotate the starscape behind the ships so the star backdrop is static the whole time.

AST didn't go anywhere. Like cicadas, it goes dormant for a few years and then it's everywhere again. :D

I'm wrapping up the collection now for IDW and have largely resisted the temptation to redraw the whole thing. And I've come up with a few ways to make sense of some of the crazy things I put in those early issues. :)

The challenge has always been to find a way to make self-publishing pay for itself - or at least pay well enough to turn down better-paying design gigs. Whenever I have a new method or model to try, AST gets another shot at life.

There will be some new AST stories in the future but how soon will certainly be affected by the success of the AST collection. And I'm working on some new comics projects/properties as well.

Thanks so much for sending along the link. I'm more than a little flattered.

I'll be building a new AST site once the AST collection is done and once a major upgrade of COMICON.com (also celebrating it's 10th year) is wrapped up. I'll be sure to link to that fellow's site. :D

Best wishes!"

Undersea Menace from the Year 3200

2008-07-20T11:03:00.009+01:00

Now we move on to Argosy's epic adventure-the 101 strip Undersea Menace from the Year 3200.This is by far his longest online saga and so I will divide it up into installments as we progress along.

Part 1

Go to Part 2...!

Meanwhile if you've missed the first 3 strips,you can read them by clicking on their titles here-Argosy Smith vs Mainstream, and The Shift and Made For Each Other and don't forget to check out Prof Vaverchek's Puzzling Mysteries!

Bloop

2008-07-19T13:48:00.007+01:00

Popcorn time again folks!Yes,we present the trailer and two webisodes of Bloop,the adventures of a cute green alien monkey,a part of the AST Universe!Click on any of the pictures to directly download the movies and enjoy!

Trailer

Webisode 1

Webisode 2

A.S.T. Trailer!

2008-07-17T20:37:00.006+01:00

Yes folks,it's popcorn time! Steve Conley produced this small trailer a while back possibly to fire up interest in a T.V. series.Alas,that didn't happen.So sit back and enjoy what might have been!

For those that want to directly download it and watch it without the frame drop-outs,click on the picture!

Calling All Cadets...Roll Call!

2008-07-16T20:28:00.012+01:00

Back when the AST web site was firing on all cylinders,a forum sprang up and had some lively debate about the AST Universe including the new kid on the block...a green monkey called Bloop!Below is the last extant record I have of honorable members and associates of the site.Can you see your name?Why not contact us and leave a comment!

All supporters automatically achieve the rank of Cadet in the Astounding Space Thrills SPACE CORPS! Exceptional valor is rewarded with an immediate field promotion!(Steve Conley)

CADETS

* Luke Crowe
* Peter L. Kantor
* Doug Chapel - Fan Gallery Art
* Patty Marshall
* David Piechocki
* Andrew Douglas
* David Frank
* Nathan Vonnahme
* Elias Plagianos
* Ron Boyd
* Andrew Scholl
* Jeremy Magnus
* Jason Brooks
* J.Torres
* Ken Harwell
* Billy O'Brien
* Gil Silva
* Sergio C. Caro
* Kyle Thorne
* Kevin Warrington
* Andrew Devitt
* Gig Line
* Mr. Zinglock
* Stefan Ernsting
* Roger Cotton
* Mr. Devious
* Non Sequitur
* Brian P. Skelly
* Arthur Sigmon
* Glenn Barbis
* Ian A. Ralph
* Epsilon Varger
* Dave Thomer
* Dorourke

ENSIGNS

* Ramon Alameda
* Lee Atchison
* Tom Briscoe
* Jennifer Contino
* Eric L Kent
* Dr. Nate
* Steve Pitts
* Jackie Schnoop
* Jay Williams
* Michael J. Myers (Namor)
* Andrew Devitt (shade0202)

LIEUTENANT JUNIOR GRADE

* Argosy Smith
* Barry Wolborsky
* Kevin Casson

* Craig T. Powell

LIEUTENANT

* Dave Rose (Eclipse) - Eclipse put together this terrific in-store promotion of AST!

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER

COMMANDER

* John Freeman

CAPTAIN

VICE ADMIRAL

ADMIRAL

* Marty Baumann
* Anthony Bozzi
* Brent Braun
* Harlan Ellison
* Jim Steranko
* Jim Valentino

Steve Conley again...!

2008-07-16T01:03:00.017+01:00

From the Scoop Archive - 2/28/2004
(Photo shows Steve with wife Britt and AST!)

Steve Conley is astounding, but he's pretty humble about it. He's the guy who invented "Tooncasting," the process by which anyone with a website can copy the html code, paste it into their site, and have an automatically updating comic strip such as Conley's own Astounding Space Thrills, John Gallagher's Buzzboy, or any number of strips from Insight Studios Group.

He's also Executive Director of SPX, the Small Press Expo, the co-founder of www.Comicon.com and its Pulse comics news website, and he has some other things in the works, too. Scoop caught up with him this week for the latest.

Scoop: How did you first come up with AST?
Astounding Space Thrills is my attempt to cram every weird, fun and bizarre idea I have into 24 pages. AST started out, oddly, as a very serious science fiction story but when it came time to commit it to digital paper, I just couldn't help but have fun with it. More and more it seems that life's too short to not have fun with every page.
Scoop: When did you get the idea of doing the daily web strip? Was someone else Tooncasting?
Web browsers and e-mail programs were just becoming the must-have technologies they are today and I saw it as an incredible opportunity to reach a much bigger audience than just the direct market. Only so many people go to their local comic shops and only so many people attend comic book conventions, but soon everybody was going to be online and everybody is the crowd I'm after.

Tooncasting was my creation - essentially it was a reversal of the thinking about web sites. Everyone was trying to get visitors to their web site and I thought it made a lot more sense to not require readers to come to me. Instead I broadcast my cartoons to them. Soon AST was on 20,000 web pages.

Scoop: What makes you interested in doing an all-ages series?
I never went into it with that intention; it's just a reflection of my tastes. With a goal of "fun" there's a tendency for the work to not get too dark.

Scoop: For someone who doesn't know AST, what's it about?
Astounding Space Thrills follows the adventures of inventor and trouble-magnet Argosy Smith. Argosy is a hero motivated by curiosity. He's a modern pulp hero in the tradition of heroes Doc Savage, Tom Swift and Sherlock Holmes. He's young, brilliant and more-often-than-not thinking so far ahead that he can miss the eight-foot-tall, slimy, tentacled alien pointing a deadly doohickey at him.

Along for the ride are: Theremin, a formerly-human living lava lamp; Petra, a pilot-for-hire; Mooch: a nuisance; and Bloop, a cute green space monkey.

Scoop: How did you come up with the idea of the convention giveaway issues you did last year?
The biggest challenge for independent creators (in any field, not just comics) is finding a way to reach the audience. I find that the best ideas come from turning traditional thinking around - instead of trying to get my books to people, I brought my books to where the people were. In a lot of ways, this is exactly the same kind of reversal of thinking that makes Tooncasting possible and successful.

Thanks to this program, there are more copies of each convention comic in each convention city than any other single issue of any comic. We gave away approximately 7,000 copies of last year's Megacon issue of Astounding Space Thrills to fans in Orlando. That means there's probably more copies of that issue of AST in Orlando than any other single comic book - more than Jim lee's Batman debut, more than JLA/Avengers #1, more than any individual issue.

The books are paid for by advertisers and those advertisers get to reach fans in that city in a Big way.

I priced the ads in each issue to be a third of what it would cost an advertiser to print an equivalent number of flyers at Kinko's. The response from the advertisers has been terrific.

Scoop: What have the different responses been from fans?
The response from readers has been wonderful, too. Every show causes a spike in traffic on the AST web site (http://www.astoundingspacethrills.com), e-mail list and the online store. Each show results in more mail coming in. I'm Really looking forward to returning to Megacon this year and seeing what happened to the seeds I planted last year.

Scoop: And you make the issues available later for people who weren't there? How does that work?
I don't expect every AST fan to make it to every show so the issues are for sale (after the show, of course) at later conventions and online. I've now also made the issues available as a pack through Diamond Comic Distributors and the direct market.

Scoop: You did a number of issues on this in 2003. What do you have lined up for this year?
There will be six more issues in 2004. The first issue of the new convention series will debut at Wizard World Philadelphia, the series will feature a focus on the space monkey Bloop - last seen in the More Fund Comics anthology and online at http://BLOOP.tv

Each issue will feature a Bloop story and an Argosy Smith adventure.

Scoop: What else are you working on?
My web design business keeps me very busy. I continue to administrate and develop COMICON.com, the online comic convention and community, with Rick Veitch (http://www.comicon.com) and this year, I'll be the Executive Director of the SPX - the alternative comic book convention held October 1-3, 2004 (http://www.spxpo.com). I also pitch in to help my pal Marc Nathan promote and build his amazing Baltimore Comic-Con.

I've been writing and drawing the odd contribution to DC Comics. My most recent piece for them was a single-page illustration of JLA-Z. I'm also pitching a few series to a number of publishers. We'll see how that goes.

Most recently, I've joined the adjunct faculty at Northern Virginia Community College teaching advanced web design and animation programs.

Scoop: If the planet is really spinning around so fast, how come we don't all go flying off into space?
Finally, an easy one! Earth's not spinning. The universe is. That's why it's expanding. Just kidding, it's because most of us are too fat.

Steve Conley

2008-07-14T20:29:00.003+01:00

Interview: Artist, Writer and Web Designer Steve Conley

Steve Conley at a comic convention.

VZSciFi Live Creator Event: Thursday 8 June 2000, 1.00pm VZT (PST) Space City Conference Centre

Virtual World VZSciFi (no longer in existence), part of VZones, played host to its first virtual guest appearance on Thursday 8 June at 1.00pm PST, featuring online comics creator Steve Conley, who won the prestigious Eagle Award for Best online Comic Strip in 1999.
Conley, creator of the multi-award-winning Astounding Space Thrills online comic strip was on hand to answer questions about his web creation and the subsequent print publication, now in its second issue from Image Comics.

Here's the transcript of the Steve Conley event, held on 8 June 2000.This has been edited slightly for spelling, with repetitions removed, and to add additional information where appropriate. Special thanks to Steve for going over it again for us! The event was moderated by Mr. Templeton (John Freeman).
VZSciFi Members who attended included (not all are listed here): An*ee* (HD); au-r@l-b; Bren; Brenegan; Caretaker; The Cat; Charbear; Cherry Pie; Columbus; Cuz; DallasStarsGal, dayce; DelilahJ; FP; The Great Hoo-Doo; Jakk; kellin ; ~Lit~l Starrr~, link; Linsue; Logik; mr.mistree; The Mole; Nikells; NoeNoe; Passion Quest; PC Girl Am I; RJohn223; Rad¨; Robyn; Rocky_Man; Snowflake; Sorsessa; Spazz; Stig Redfin of the Ukrann; tiresias, Tony; VaBelle; and Wings.

*******************************************************************

Mr. Templeton: OK folks, I am going to bring in Steve now. Before I do, just to say, this is the first time I have done this, so please direct your questions to me by ESP... and we will see how it works! If a person, i.e. an avatar is in the room I will ask them to repeat the question, okay?
Stig Redfin of the Ukrann: Right, I will give my seat up for Steve now.
Mr. Templeton: Hi Steve, thanks for coming

Steve Conley: Cool. Standing room only!

Mr. Templeton: Hi everyone, and welcome to our first ever VZSciFi creator event. We're delighted to have Steve Conley with us here today, creator of the daily online strip Astounding Space Thrills. Just click the poster on the wall for today's instalment!
Steve's daily strip is read by over 50,000 individual web users a month and has rightfully earned him a number of awards including a prestigious Eagle Award, named after the world famous British comic of the Fifties and Sixties.
The success of the online strip has meant the release of a print version of the story, and the second issue from Image Comics is about to go on sale in comic stores. You can also order it online from the Astounding Space Thrills web site.
Steve, perhaps we could start by you telling us about yourself and how you can to create an online strip?

Steve Conley: I'm a 30-year old New York-escapee now living in Arlington, Virginia USA. I earned a useless degree in advertising, which was all I needed to work for newspapers. After working in the news biz at USA Today, I designed and launched their web site in 1995.A few years later, started my own web design biz and made time to do what I love: cartooning.

Mr. Templeton: What spurred the idea for the Astounding Space Thrills universe itself?

Steve Conley: I wanted an environment where I could tell any kind of story, that required throwing the laws of physics out. I'm also a big believer in a bright future! I wanted to do something counter to the Blade Runner dystopian vision, so I went 180 degrees in the other direction. It has the elements of pulps and the classic movie serials.

Mr. Templeton: A question from Link, who is new to your story, what's the potted pitch you give people?

Steve Conley: The simple one is: Indiana Jones in Douglas Adam's universe

Mr. Templeton: That's for film execs, right?

Steve Conley: Yep. It's the Hollywood talk. But it actually more like... Princess Bride with space helmets.
There was one guy who called it -- and I'm not kidding -- The A-Team meets Men In Black. I almost choked! (but whatever sells it, right?)

NoeNoe: What kind of art training do you have?

Steve Conley: I received a degree in advertising art which had design classes and figure drawing. It concentrated on design.

Mr. Templeton: So you write, draw and bring the web page to life by yourself, essentially?

Steve Conley: All by myself!

Mr. Templeton: How long does it take to bring one of your daily strips to the web?

Steve Conley: Maybe two -- two and a half hours from start to finish.

Mr. Templeton: Could you perhaps take us through the process a little? Do you have a plan way in advance for the strip?

Steve Conley: All my work starts in ballpoint pen on typing paper, usually started in a coffee shop

Mr. Templeton: Good place!

Linsue: where would this world be without coffee!

Steve Conley (producing coffee machine!): I scan the ballpoint images and 'ink' the page in a drawing program, then colour and letter it in Photoshop. Some animation is done in the Adobe Imageready program.

Mr. Templeton: Question from RJohn223: What happens if you get an idea for a comic strip when you are doing something else? Like shopping or in the bath?

RJohn223: U added bath lolo
Mr. Templeton: I did!

Steve Conley: I usually have a pad with me and jot it down. If I'm in the bath, I run screaming from the water!
RJohn223: lol
Linsue: Eureka!!

Mr. Templeton: In creating the strip, what sort of problems have you had along the way?

Steve Conley: Overcoming some technical hurdles with the syndication software. System crashes, line drops at bad times. ZIP disk failures. The usual.
Losing a day's strip that is 90 per cent done due to a system crash still hurts. Finding an audience has been the easiest part!

Mr. Templeton: How quickly did the audience build?

Steve Conley: It was a slow build. It grows at about 15 per cent a month

Mr. Templeton: What sort of things did you do to promote it?

Steve Conley: I came up with a code that let's any person add the comic to their web page and it automatically delivers the right strip, on the right day. That meant anybody could add the comic to their web page as if they were TV affiliate station, broadcasting the comic.

Mr. Templeton: So essentially 300 people carry the strip for you -- so you could be read by millions more than go to your own site?

Steve Conley: Right. The idea was that more people will visit other web pages in a day than will visit mine. Why make 'em all come to me?

NoeNoe: Do you have formal computer training as well?

Steve Conley: No. Just an aptitude, and a belief that the longest distance between two points can be the fastest...

Linsue: How do you know when you have created a comic strip that others will want to read? What is the winning formula?

Steve Conley: Sheesh. I'm not sure about a formula... I just try to maintain the tension from day to day to keep people coming back. Sending five strips a week at 40k each is a megabyte a month. That's a bit much to want in your inbasket -- but 1,200 people have signed up. So I must be doing something right!

PC Girl Am I: Yes. I was wondering with your letting people have it free, is there a profit?

Steve Conley: Yep. There is a sponsor position on each comic strip in the upper right. They pay for the exposure just like a TV ad in a television programme. They pay me a monthly fee. I also sell the comics and the t-shirts

NoeNoe: Do you actively seek these sponsors?

Steve Conley: A few came to me. After eight months of doing it for free. I knew the model would work, but I had to build a sizeable audience first. The current sponsor sells game software and hardware. But some were not right for the stripsÉ

Mr. Templeton: -- Such as?

Steve Conley: Such as a site that had some racy content. I try to be kid-friendly. The web is primetime. I need to not scare away the audience.
Mr. Templeton: That reflects your strip in some ways... Adventure, bold, golden age adventure for all.

Jakk: So you put the strip up each day for free until proving yourself?

Steve Conley: Yep. It's still free, but now one company is paying for us all to see it. The Robin Hood business model!

Mr. Templeton: Now it's gone into a print edition from Image, and you did three issues on your own -- what is the reason for that? Was it always your plan to do this?

Steve Conley: Image Comics is now publishing the print comic book. I love creating comics and my thinking is that print is more permanent that digital. If my ISP goes out of business, I have a hard drive failure... and my backup disk burns in a fire, the online work is GONE. Vanished like it never existed.

Mr. Templeton: Yike, talk about your worst case scenario...

Steve Conley: All my work for online will eventually find its way to print. But without the cool animations I've built into the web version.

Linsue: Any chance of a TV series?

Steve Conley: There is a writer/producer who contacted me after an article in The Washington Post. He's pitching it for exactly that. I fear it could be terrible -- but I'll take the money! Most comic adaptations to tv/film are unwatchable. Can you imagine: Rutger Hauer as Argosy Smith!
More money, means more free online comics for everyone.

NoeNoe: Wouldn't [a TV adaptation] also mean loss of control of the content?

Steve Conley: Probably. It's a different medium. It can't do what comics can, so it has to make up for it in other ways. In comics, I have an unlimited budget and a cast of thousands. [For TV] they want one star, two supporting characters and one set!

Mr. Templeton: You've had a few topical digs in the recent strips, with Microshaft as the villains...

Steve Conley: Yep.

Mr. Templeton: Does everyone spot those? Today's [where the Macroshaft boss complained about being called back to Earth for a trial] was spot on, for example.

Steve Conley: Macroshaft has been the bad guys from the beginning, but in the first issue, I point out... that they're NOT Microsoft. Microsoft was bought out by TY with the beanie baby money. Having worked for a few fortune 500 companies, I figured out. I'm a big fan of capitalism... but don't care much for corporations. So the biggest corps are the biggest bad guys.

Mr. Templeton: Do you have a particular favourite story so far?

Steve Conley: I like the new one. Space Quakes has been fun.

Mr. Templeton: Tell us a little about how that came about.

Steve Conley: When i started all I had was the title. I was putting together a pitch for the Sci-Fi channel and I wanted to show them how far ahead I was and... rattled off the names of the upcoming stories - just making the up on the spot. I hadn't given it more than a moment's thought, so when the first story ended, I looked up what I said was coming up... Space quakes. I thought, okay. I can do that!

Mr. Templeton: Would you consider yourself a strip creator or web entertainment provider?

Steve Conley: Storyteller. Just tying to use whichever medium I'm working in to its best effect. I try not to think about the definitions -- you get painted into a corner

Mr. Templeton: But you are a big fan of the web and its potential?

Steve Conley: Absolutely. But storytelling in unidirectional. A storyteller telling a story to the folks around a fire. The web is more collaborative. This environment is a great example.

NoeNoe: Do you consider yourself primarily a storyteller then? Why not novels?

Steve Conley: I like to draw, and I also like the instant gratification of the web. I finish the comic and upload it and the world can see it. I do a novel, it goes to an editor and sits on their desk for three months. Maybe it becomes a book, maybe not.

Mr. Templeton: Do you see yourself creating an even more 3D version of the strip as bandwidth expands?

Steve Conley: The web is only good at a few things right now.

The Great Hoo-Doo: Now that DSL is becoming more publicly available, do you think that the trend will be to push that envelope further?

Steve Conley: Sure, but right now the technology is a pompromise trying to serve 56k modems and DSL. It ends up not working well for either.

Mr. Templeton: So, what do you think the web will throw up next?

Steve Conley: TV is next -- full-screen.

Mr. Templeton: I haven't read your whole archive (fer shame), but have you tried interactivity with your readers? Voting for a storyline, for example?

Steve Conley: No. I think it should be unidirectional. The example I think of is having readers' vote as to whether Sherlock Holmes solves the case or not. I have the same problem when folks add game elements to the story.

Mr. Templeton: What's been your proudest moment as regards working on this strip so far?

Steve Conley: In comics, I've had a good run. Top 5: Posting the 100th daily episode; winning the Eagle award for best e-zine; getting an Eisner nomination; seeing the cover paintings for the first time; and wrapping up the first Image issue that I wrote, illustrated and coloured.

Mr. Templeton: You have gotten a lot of support from some great artists, too...

Steve Conley: The covers have been by: Jim Steranko, The Hildebrandts (who did the first Star Wars poster), Drew Stuzan (who did the Indiana Jones posters); and Kelly freas who has won 10 Hugo awards.

Mr. Templeton: AST isn't the only thing you work on, is it? There's also the comic.con web site, working with writer Rick Veitch?

Steve Conley: Yep. It's an online community.

Mr. Templeton: How did that come about?

Steve Conley: We were trying to create a place outside of the comics industry to get creators together to work and solve problems and figure out how we make money off the web

Mr. Templeton: How many people are involved in that now?

Steve Conley: 150+ cartoonists

The Great Hoo-Doo: Wasn't it also a way to get around some of the problems of distribution?

Steve Conley: Yep. The [print] comic market is shrinking quickly, and the web is exploding. It seems to be the way to go

Mr. Templeton: Why do think the comic market is suffering so much? The talent is still out there...

Steve Conley: The comics aren't written for a general audience any more and they're not available in the super markets, or 7-11s any more.

Mr. Templeton: So lack of distribution is effectively strangling the consumer marketplace?

Steve Conley: Somewhat. I don't have THE answer for it, but there are a lot of factors. I think the problems are that the comic shop owner on The Simpsons isn't THAT much of a stereotype, exactly

Mr. Templeton: Soressa says it sounds like you know exactly what a lot of comic shop owners are going through... she is one herself.

Steve Conley: Cool!

The Great Hoo-Doo: Comic shop owners will rather get books that sell themselves.

Steve Conley: I'm very lucky. I have a few GREAT retailers near me. There was a comment made about TIME magazine. They're like a shoe store that only sells shoes that fit the owner. That's why I try to get such great covers, so that the books do jump off the shelves.

Mr. Templeton: When I worked at Marvel we were always told how important a great cover was followed by the splash page -- that still applies?

Steve Conley: Sure!

Mr. Templeton: One last question from me: Steve, if you weren't doing all this great stuff in comics and online, what would you be doing?

Steve Conley: Sleeping!

NoeNoe: Thanks so much for taking the time to visit with us Steve!

RJohn223: Yeah, thanks Steve means a lot.

Mr. Templeton: Steve Conley, I'm sure we all here thank you very much for your time today and I hope you continue to have great success with Astounding Space Thrills. Steve Conley: Thanks, everyone!

Nikells: Cheers Steve -- You're cool!

RJohn223: Good Luck Steve Passion Quest: thanks Steve

Linsue: Thanks,

Steve Nikells: Can I ask a quick question? Will you ever use VZones again?

Steve Conley: Sure. I'll be in here!

Mr. Templeton: Thanks to everyone here for coming and making this first event such a success. I have enjoyed it and there have been some great questions!

Stig Redfin of the Ukrann: Well, that was spukiflferopus! I can't draw for Yarbles!

Sadly, Astounding Space Thrills is no longer online. Steve Conley has since gone on to draw Star Trek Year 4 for IDW and produces the daily Barney and Socks web comic .

Made For Each Other

2008-07-13T13:50:00.007+01:00

This is Argosy's third online outing.A prologue to The Codex Reckoning story. Redmond tries to distract Argosy from finding the Codex Melzi. The online story was adapted from a short tale which appeared in the adventure-romance anthology Love in Tights from Slave Labor Graphics.

fin