And here’s the finale for Captain Bedlam’s origin story. Might make more if I’m in the mood or want to level up my watercolors, or if any of you tell me that you’re a fan!
Captain Bedlam, ppgs 11-14
Author: remus@panix.com
Captain Bedlam, ppgs 6-10
Captain Bedlam, ppgs 01-05
Heh. I wanted to learn more about watercolors, and I haven’t done a webcomic in a while, so I made this. There’s no better way to learn an art medium than to do a comic in it, right? Here it is for your enjoyment.
If you enjoy Captain Bedlam, consider buying one of my sci-fi novels! And let me know you’re a Captain Bedlam fan at any of the social media links on the left sidebar.
…to be continued soon!
All my 2024 Novels
Displaying all my prose work for 2024 in one place:
The future belongs to the insane. This is how they take it. They are mad geniuses, paranoid superlawyers, and satanic scientists. They are the Platinum Donkeys — too stubborn to quit, too excellent to fail — and they have chosen psychotic little Maggie to be their queen. Will she take over the world by their side? Or will she stop the Donkeys and their doomsday weapons to save her fans and the world that fears her?
Aliens came to Earth and offered us all immortality. Most humans took it and left for the stars. Eli and Suna stayed. They wander a nearly empty Chicago, seeking their own meaning and purpose, dodging teleporting billiard balls, and parleying with the King of Chicago and his army of pterodactyl-riding orphans.
Hilarious, weird, and deeply philosophical, One Reason To Live is a high concept sci-fi epic about immortality and the meaning of humanity.
On a newly settled world, a thirteen-year-old finds a pair of gravity boots and becomes the wall-walking thief known as Wally. But then aliens land, and raise the specter of a secret totalitarian plan.
If the Dark Colony plan activates, Wally and his friends are doomed. If negotiations fail, the aliens will destroy the colony and wage war with Earth. Wally needs to sneak, jump, and think his way through all of this, when all he wanted was three meals a day.
For her first year of criminology studies at CalState, Nita Javierez has to untangle the riddle of a cabal of fish-men, how to measure non-euclidean objects, and the creepy occult studies professor named Chipper who is always smiling. Is Chipper connected to the bodies washing up on the California coast with eldritch symbols carved into their flesh? Is someone performing a ritual to summon an otherworldly god? And most important, will Chipper agree to be her college advisor?
Novels now available in paperback!
All four novels that I’ve published this year are now available in paperback from Amazon! I’ve set the price as low as I could, but printing costs are high. But I know that some people were wanting physical copies of my novels. Hope you all enjoy them!
Here’s a quick link to Amazon, or you could follow the Books2Read link from any of the novel pages.
(Note: As of this writing, Amazon is playing around with the price of Platinum Donkeys. I think a surge of sales has put it into some kind of ‘featured’ category. I have no control over this; I hope they know what they’re doing.)
Chipper is available today!
I love Chipper, both the novel and the characters. It’s a paranormal detective story starring the hyper-determined Nita Javierez and the man she wants to be her mentor in her criminology studies — the enigmatic professor everyone calls Chipper, whose permanent smile hides knowledge about eldritch horrors, non-euclidean realms, and the upcoming doom of humanity.
Chipper is a story that blends together Lovecraftian horror, Norse myth, and paranormal sleuths romping around rural California. I hope everyone loves it as much as I do.
Click on the icon of your favorite bookseller above, or find all available platforms at this Books2Read link.
Wally is available today!
This book has a special place in my heart. My first completed novel, Wally and the Dark Colony is a YA planetary adventure (leading to a space opera) about a young boy who walks on walls.
A seeder colonist brought from Earth as zygotes, Wally helps the other seeder orphans by stealing food from the rich colonists. But then gigantic aliens land on his young colony world, along with an ambassador from Earth determined to negotiate with them. As the diplomatic chaos unfolds, Wally and his friends discover a secret at the heart of his world — a plan to make them a Dark Colony, cut off from Earth. If that happens, Wally and the orphans are doomed. If the aliens go to war then all humanity suffers. Wally needs to sneak, jump, and think his way through all of this, when all he wanted was three meals a day.
Wally and the Dark Colony is Oliver Twist in space, with a side helping of Spider-Man versus Godzilla. I hope everyone will love it as much as I do.
Click on the icon of your favorite bookseller above, or find all available platforms at this Books2Read link.
ORTL is available today!
This is the big one. One Reason to Live, which I affectionately refer to as ORTL, is published today!
The aliens came to Earth and offered us immortality. Most human beings took it and left for the stars. But Eli stayed. He looks for love in the nearly empty city of Chicago, while his ex-girlfriend Suna avoids him and ponders the Meaning of Life.
Then a preacher brings an alien parasite to Chicago, and the immortal aliens start dropping dead. Only the remnants of humanity in the ruins of Chicago can save the galaxy. But first, an alien shyster needs to find Eli one reason to live. Because if there is none, why bother?
Funny, philosophical, and deeply weird, ORTL is my love letter to humanity and it contains the Meaning of Life. I hope everyone enjoys it!
Click on the icon of your favorite bookseller above, or find all available platforms at this Books2Read link.
Platinum Donkeys is available today!
It’s Maggie’s time to shine. Platinum Donkeys, my novel about how insane geniuses take over the world, is available today on all ebook platforms. I just love this story so much, and Maggie…well, Maggie haunts me, and I’m thrilled that she might be haunting you soon. I think you’ll at least find her entertaining!
- Amazon
- Apple
- Kobo
- Smashwords
- Barnes & Noble
- All other ebook platforms should be found at the Books2Read universal link page
Novels for 2024
I have a bunch of new novels coming out in 2024! All of them are the beginnings of awesome universes, and with all these worlds there has to be something for everyone to enjoy.
Platinum Donkeys
Available March 2024
In the near future the world is almost a utopia, but there are still a few who are damaged, weird, and insane. The best (or worst?) of them are the Platinum Donkeys — too stubborn to quit, too excellent to fail — and they have chosen Maggie, a serial killing celebrity, to be their queen. If Maggie wants her freedom then she’ll have to choose to either help the Donkeys and reign over the ashes of the world, or face her own damage and stop them.
Platinum Donkeys is a classic hard sci-fi romp with larger-than-life neurodivergent characters. It’s a reflection of my own damage, and a dynamic, hopeful vision of the future. I’m proud to say that Alfred Bester would have loved it, and Joseph Campbell would have hated it.
A sequel is being outlined. Working title: Steel Elephants.
One Reason To Live
Available May 2024
Aliens came to Earth and offered us all immortality. Most humans took it and left for the stars. Eli stayed. He wanders a nearly empty Chicago, pining for love and making casual suicide attempts, until an alien social worker named Leon offers to find him just one reason to live.
But the search may have to wait. A parasite stalks Chicago, consuming the immortals. Trillions of aliens drop dead throughout the galaxy, and Eli’s journalist friend Suna finds that the cause involves ancient myths and the meaning of human life. But before they can solve those puzzles, they’ll have to tame Suna’s feral time-travelling daughter, dodge a rain of teleporting billiard balls, and parley with the King of Chicago and his army of pterodactyl-riding orphans.
ORTL is a philosophical sci-fi novel with a thoughtful presentation of immortality, life’s meaning, and why wise men drink. It is my love letter to humanity. There is no sequel planned; this book is a stand-alone.
Wally and the Dark Colony
Available July 2024
On a colony far from Earth, an orphan boy finds a pair of gravity boots and becomes the wall-walking thief known as Wally. But Earth’s war comes to his world when gigantic aliens invade. An ambassador arrives to negotiate, the governor makes plans to betray the Earth fleet, and Wally and his teenage friends learn about the Dark Colony plan, a policy that will doom them all. Wally must save the colony and stop an interstellar war, when all he wanted was three meals a day.
Wally and the Dark Colony is a coming-of-age tale in a time of space exploration and war. While I intended it to be for young adults, the themes got dark enough that I’m not sure it’s suitable for children — but adults who like sci-fi YA will love it.
A sequel is outlined. Working title: Franklin and the Pirate Fleet.
Chipper
Available September 2024
Nita, a criminology student in Southern California, finds herself in the midst of a murder investigation involving fish-men, non-euclidean horror dimensions, a cult that may have the means to summon an otherworldly god, and the secretive always-smiling professor known as Chipper.
Chipper is a paranormal detective story and a look at how a Lovecraftian world would twist the minds of the people within.
A sequel is outlined. Working title: Chipper meets the Fun Guy.
Links to all these books will be here as they are released. 2024 is going to be an exciting year!