Dead Reckoning is and will always be a nexus of unlikely scenarios all coming together at once to make something pure magical. I first met Scottie Watson, the artist of Dead Reckoning, as a pure competitor. We were both on teams in a comic creating contest, vying for that all important printing contract at the end of a very long and grueling road. Though the contest was hard fought on all fronts, the one thing I noticed about Scottie from the very beginning was he had an amazing ability to stay calm in the midst of all manner of controversy and never lost his composure or his enduring respect for everyone he was going against. It says a lot about someone’s character when they maintain a respectful and friendly manner in a situation like that, and Scottie went above and beyond throughout the whole process.
Fast forward a couple of months and I showed up at the Chicago Comic Con, which had been bought out by Wizard that year. I was wandering through Artist’s Alley, as I always do, and here sits this unassuming guy, sketching and talking to a couple of people at his table, obviously enjoying the entire atmosphere. I walked up and stuck out my hand in real admiration. Scottie had won the contest hands down, and though I felt I left some meat on the bone in terms of what I might have been able to do, he won, no doubt about it. Scottie immediately stood up, looked me in the eye, smiled, and shook my hand like the true man he is. We were friends instantly. We also left that convention promising to stay in touch, because we both knew there were things we could definitely work on together.
Ellabeth Parker had been born, and she wasn’t going away any time soon.
Time passed and we did indeed stay in touch, tossing ideas back and forth for something to work on, something that was exciting to both of us, something that had teeth and legs to run. We both had ideas but nothing seemed to click until finally I said “Well, I have this sci-fi western thing I’ve been playing with…” Scottie immediately said “Send me everything you have on that!” I did, and the rest is absolutely history. During the next few days sketches started flying in and we were off to the races. There was a short contest we were trying to hit and while we missed the deadline for that, Scottie completed the pages and I knew when I saw them that we had something special. We would go on to spend countless hours on the phone plotting out various parts of the story, and the artwork that followed would forever change both of us. Ellabeth Parker had been born, and she wasn’t going away any time soon.
Scottie and I are both huge comic book fans in general, but we’re also huge fans of hard science fiction, and the sci-fi western in particular. We love Bladerunner, Star Wars, and we’re both Firefly nuts, so doing something that not only pays homage to those epics but also takes off in its own direction was the project we were looking for. Dead Reckoning was upon us, and it would fill and define the next decade of our lives.
Now, we’ve completed the first graphic novel in this series. We chose to go one shot OGN style books for many reasons. One, because we both like the idea of a self contained book someone can buy, read, and enjoy on the face of things. Having said that, every Dead Reckoning story will connect and lead into the next, weaving a larger more intricate story as it grows. The funny, and scary part of Ellabeth’s story is, we’ve just scratched the surface of what we have planned. Stick with us, because you will not be disappointed!
Dead Reckoning details the life and times of Ellabeth Parker, an interstellar bounty hunter who when given the choice of bringing her prey back dead or alive, chooses dead, because dead’s just easier. The first graphic novel in this series will release shortly at Indyplanet and it will be available at conventions and stores nationwide.
