11x17-karis-smallGrand Admiral Thrawn was introduced in Timothy Zahn’s book, Heir to the Empire. The book was the first part in a trilogy which kicked off the modern Expanded Universe, continuing the story of Luke Skywalker and the fall of the Empire. In today’s strip we give our own take on why Grand Admiral Thrawn was sent to the “Unknown Regions” of the galaxy and therefore absent during the destruction of the Death Star.

For an additional perspective on our last poll, regarding the new comic series for Star Wars from Marvel, check out Sean Kleefeld’s article “Where’s My Data”, for the website FreakSugar.

Our new poll asks the question: Would you support the BMS creators’ other projects? So far we have a generally favorable level of interest from our readers. It’s an important issue for us as we are in a somewhat unique position as a webcomic based on someone else’s license. So, being unable to truly monetize BMS we have to play it safe and keep it free and unpublished in print. However, Leanne and I do have plans for the future and we would love to know if BMS readers would be on board.

Possibly the most important thing we can get from you guys is support. Super-active fans, who have time to promote Blue Milk Special and be our cheerleaders. It is challenging marketing and promoting while at the same time creating the strip. The more super fans, the more likely we will be able to go further with BMS and new projects. You’ve seen me do podcasts, compete in webcomic list rankings, and cross promotion over the years, but with my health problems I have really hidden away in my shell somewhat. I decided to focus simply on the creative side. Even though I couldn’t promise to deliver strips twice a week on a regular basis, I figured something is better than nothing, and I wanted to complete the journey. So growing the BMS audience and reminding people to keep coming back to follow the story is one area we could use some help.

And, I suppose I should put this idea out there… I’ve only mentioned it to a few close friends up until now. How important is Star Wars to you as a reader of BMS? Would you continue to follow us (at least try us) if we evolved into an original comedy sci-fi strip inspired by Star Wars and other sci-fi material? Return of the Jedi is coming to an end this year and it would be a lot better for us if we could make a webcomic with original characters and situations where we can actually sell printed collections. Do we have enough of a fan base to take that chance, or should we just do something completely different?

I know, I know… you want us to do Star Wars Episode VII. And we might yet do that. But longer term, are you with us?

tie-fighter-thrawn

Grand Admiral Thrawn from the 1990s flight simulator game TIE-Fighter. A game close to my heart.