Hello everyone,  and welcome to Issue 4.  I’ll take this opportunity to say a few words about what will be coming soon:

• First and foremost:  the character we see here is Mary Atwright,  who hasn’t appeared much up to this point.  If you need to refresh your memory,  I recommend the Dramatis Personae,  or these two pages.
• More adventure. Where Issue 3 was more about the characters struggling with their pasts,  this one is far more about intrigue in the present,  which some of you are probably relieved to hear.
• Same art style. How about that,  a new issue with the same kind of art that the last one had!  What a concept.
• It’s a long one.  I feel I should warn you ahead of time that this issue is considerably longer than the last three.  Instead of my usual 25 or so,  it’s running at an estimated 43.  Depending on my mood,  I may decide to split it into two issues.  We’ll see when the time comes.
• Opportunity for Tintin bonus points.  Page 1 only:  Can you spot the Tintin character making a cameo on this page?

Thanks for reading the comic,  and I hope you enjoy Issue 4: Adrift.

That’s all for the flashback,   folks!  Whew.  I should note that the Galileo is the second ship which Robinson lost.  The first may be discussed some other time.  Anyway,  now we know why Robinson hates Astor so much,  which is why I put you through this.

Also,  a side-note:  I know I often cite The Adventures of Tintin as an influence,  but really this comic has very little in common with it.  If you’re one of the Tintin fans who thinks that Tintin is overly emotional in the scene where he thinks that Captain Haddock has just been vaporized,  well,  I’d say you probably won’t like this comic.

And regarding the melodramatic side of today’s episode:  I realize that having the Galileo get blown up accidentally by a firework is really melodramatic,  but I wanted to stress the fact that there is no conceivable way the Captain could have averted the disaster.

Anyway,  thanks for reading everyone,  and have a happy holiday.  New comic should be  appearing on the 26th if all goes well.