The polls have closed and--with a not-too-shabby 333 votes cast--we have a winner!
And that winner is…going to be revealed at the end of this post.
But first let’s talk about our 4th place finisher, revealed yesterday, WISDOM (green)
We knew going in that WISDOM would have a tough hill to climb. Westerns just aren’t popular. We’d hoped that combining the powerhouse team of JM DeMatteis & Tom Mandrake would overcome that, but alas it wasn’t enough.
I also want to mention, as the publisher & EIC of these 4 titles, that I know where they’re all going, and WISDOM was the one I was most excited for long term. So seeing it get the least love was a bitter pill.
That said, there are three other spectacular titles to discuss!
Finishing 3rd was GODSEND (red). Godsend had a true rollercoaster of a ride. Through the first half of voting, GODSEND stood alone in 1st! But, unfortunately, in the second half, it got left at the altar.
GODSEND’s opening remains my favorite scene of the entire DeMultiverse, and I was really looking forward to seeing where the series was going (and to seeing more of Matthew Dow Smith's perfectly paired art). But we knew going in, there could only be one…
So now we’re down to LAYLA IN THE LANDS OF AFTER & ANYMAN...
Orange, which finished 2nd, put up a nice fight for a long while, at one point climbing from a distant 3rd to a vote or two behind 1st. It just couldn’t stick the landing.
So which title is orange?
For starters, it’s the one that appears to have the most fervent following. I've received more comments and DMs about this title than any other. (Speaking of comments, I plan to showcase many of the optional comments received during voting in the days to come.)
It's also the one that surprised me the most. It seemed like an impossible task to ask an all-ages fantasy book to beat out the others, but it almost did! So yes, orange, our 2nd place finisher, is LAYLA.
Maybe its success is a testament to Shawn McManus's astounding art, or all the Abadazad fans JM has amassed over the decades, but LAYLA most definitely earned an Honorable Mention. Unfortunately, though, we may never know if Layla makes it back to the land of the living because…
Our first ever DeMultiverse winner is… ANYMAN!
Congrats to the AnyFans(TM) and to David Baldeon for guaranteeing yourselves more exciting adventures to enjoy! Assuming David enjoys drawing, that is. We certainly enjoy seeing his drawings. Like this one. Cheer up, Anyman, there'll be more of you!
I said from the start that Anyman was the one I thought could most easily be adapted to a TV show, and it seems about 1/3 of the DeMu backers agreed. Now we’ll all get our way in the form of more ANYMAN!
Just maybe not THIS Anyman.
As for the other titles, who knows what their future holds.
That is...
if we ignore this little pie chart...
Whoa! See that giant purple section that’s just shy of 50%? That’s how many of you said if you had your druthers, you’d rather have a chapter 2 for all 4 titles than multiple issues of just one. That's way more votes than any one title received.
Plus there were so many comments mentioning how agonizing choosing a favorite was that it got me thinking… maybe we should spare you any further agony...
WHAT DO YOU GUYS SAY WE DO A DeMULTIVERSE VOL. 2 FEATURING ALL FOUR CHAPTER 2s?!?!
I’ve already reached out to the artists & JM, and they’re all up for it! In fact, JM thinks he could have two of the books plotted by the end of this month. Heck, there’s even a chance we could get a campaign up before the end of the year!
This feels exciting! Is this exciting?!
If you're wondering about THE EDWARD GLOOM MYSTERIES, I'll address that in a separate post over the next few days, along w/ some other things. But for today, let's just enjoy the end of OUR chapter 1.
Less than 8 months from campaign to now. Four amazing new books by 4 fantastic artists & one of the greatest comics writers of all-time. A gobsmacking turnout from some of the best fans of the medium in the WORLD. (Truly the world. Books were shipped to roughly 25 countries!)
A heartfelt THANK YOU, GRACIAS, MERCI, GRAZIE, DANKE, OBRIGADO, ARIGATOU, SALAMAT (& any other Demu-backer languages I missed) to you all!
And please stay tuned. It turns out, we're just getting started...