The Story

The Space Between is an ongoing, online, free graphic novel, set in a distant future where mankind has colonised an empty galaxy and human affairs are regulated from above by the authoritarian Mission. The story follows the officers of a Fleet Service asset, tasked with protecting the stated aims of the Mission as they struggle to reconcile their orders and beliefs with the reality of the world closing in around them.

The aim is to deliver a hefty dose of science fiction and character drama, seasoned with a dash of political intrigue, conflict, disaster, betrayal and commentary on the good old human condition.

Creation and Tools

The script, line art, colouring and backgrounds are all produced by Mark. It’s a lot of hard work! Some public brushes and textures are used for the environments and backgrounds, and public images are often used for figure reference.

Pages are constucted and drawn in an old copy of Photoshop, using a Wacom Cintiq. Backgrounds are built in Blender. Concept sketches are done using good old pencil and paper.

Hosting

The main site is run on shared hosting with ASmallOrange from Atlanta, Georgia. Heavy content like pages are currently hosted on a small Linode VPS in London.

Author

Mark is an IT technican who lives and works in Canterbury, England. Please note that the views and politics expressed in this novel may not represent the author’s! It’s just a story after all. Previously I’ve worked on computer games, both commercially and for fun, but this is my first web comic.

Contact

You can contact me at mark.r.pay@thespiritengine.com. Please note that I am not the most efficient email replier, so please don’t be offended if I don’t reply immediately.

Legal

All original content is © 2013 Mark Pay. This novel is produced on a non-profit basis, for your and my entertainment. Please don’t redistribute without permission. Thank-you!