Re: Tired

Captain Satellite icon (originally posted individually September 16, 2014)

Re: Tired

As I write these words (March 18, 2020), the whole world is in varying degrees of crisis. My little corner of the internet feels especially inconsequential in times like these. However, I need to bring closure to some stuff for my own peace of mind. Hopefully, by the time this is published, the worst will have passed.

I've decided to suspend posting here and put the Owariverse back on the shelf. Faithful followers might recall I did the same thing in November 2018 right before Tumblr's radical change in policy drove me from their platform. The move back to Blogger reinvigorated my interest and creativity for longer than I would have anticipated, but I'm kind of back to where I started.

There are pieces in my archives which still conceivably could find a place here. This isn't everything by any means. This is just all I plan on including here at this time. It tells the story of the Owariverse as I currently envision it. I'm proud of all the content posted here over the last 18 months.

Thank you to everyone who has supported my art and my characters over the years. Though this phase of my online life is ending, I am leaving it open for the foreseeable future. And who knows? There's always the chance it could come roaring back to life with more antics from Captain Satellite, Shelly Ericson, and friends (and foes). This may not be the end at all!

Signing off from the Owariverse, wishing everyone the best!

To Be Continued

To Be Continued

A thank you to everyone who has supported this revival of the Owariverse. I consider 2019 a success in whipping this back into shape. Not bad considering I had completely shelved everything in November 2018.

The current plan is to take some time off to recharge the batteries and map out the direction for this year. I have no idea exactly how long this hiatus will be, but it is not intended to be permanent. There's still a lot of content left to republish!

Happy 2020!

Pete

Pete

I didn't know his name was Pete the entire time we were friends. I only knew him by the username "Bastard-Bird" on DeviantArt. It was an ironic moniker, because BB (as I usually called him) wasn't a bastard to me, or indeed to anyone as far as I could tell.

We crossed paths in 2015 when he did some fan art of one of my characters. This led to our commenting on each other's work, and eventually he asked for my input on a project that stretched into three weeks. Don't get me wrong - I loved every second of it! Pete's art was quirky and wonderful, but what was truly amazing was how he was able to map out multiple universes inside his head. His talent and creativity were both off the charts. It just seemed like he never quite believed it.

Pete Kowal, aka Bastard-Bird, passed away on July 13, 2016. The last words he wrote on his DeviantArt account were:

I'm leaving the page and entries up in case anyone wants to take a crack at it.

I've thought a lot about that statement. And the truth is, I could never continue BB's stories. My mind doesn’t operate the way his did. "Wayward Earth" was so uniquely his that I could not possibly pick up all the strings it entailed. His detours into other stories and universes were equally colored by his own perspective. That perspective is something no one could duplicate.

But what I can do is make sure that BB's legacy lives on through my own means. You will be seeing a tribute piece based on his work in the very near future. There's already a character in my profiles who owes an enormous debt to his design sense. As long as the Owariverse endures, Pete will be a part of its canon.

There's also the art. BB's fan art will be appearing here beginning in 2020. I also plan to present non-Owariverse art that I either helped facilitate or that I just plain want to include here. It's all fluid, because I often am making this up as I go.

In all honesty, I barely knew him. Yet I still think about him and miss him terribly. All I can do now is honor his memory by making sure his work still has an audience and is not forgotten.

Bastard-Bird Gallery at DeviantArt

Obituary for Peter M. Kowal III

If you need to talk for whatever reason, or just need someone to listen, call 1-800-273-8255.

*EDITOR'S NOTE: The image accompanying this entry is a larger version of the image BB used as an avatar on DeviantArt. The present author has no idea why he chose it, or whether it was supposed to resemble BB in any fashion. It had previously represented a strictly non-autobiographical character at any rate. Art © estate of Pete Kowal.

Phase One, Complete

Just a quick heads-up to let everyone know that "Phase One" of the Owariverse Revamp rollout was completed on June 14. All current profiles (76!) have been posted, and all current stories are online, too. I'm hoping to have the index pages for those features updated by the end of the week.

This is by no means the end of regular posting. I still have a lot of personal art that needs to be added. There's even more guest art still in the queue. You can rest assured that Christopher Elam's OWARI will maintain a steady schedule through at least the end of the year, and probably beyond.

Thank you for following us this far on the odyssey of bringing the Owariverse back to life!

Introduction: Captain Satellite

Imagine a world where a skinny nerd is the world's greatest hero (sorta) and his girlfriend is his bodyguard (seriously). Imagine a world filled with giant monsters, alien invaders, rampaging robots, and dastardly villains of every stripe. With us so far?

Captain Satellite by Christopher Elam is your guide to just such a world and the colorful characters that inhabit it. So grab your ticket and fasten your seatbelt! It's time to take a trip to the Owariverse!

REGARDING MY ART: Yes, I know.

(Image originally posted October 6, 2014)