Celebrating Four Years of The Isis series in Print!

First book in the Isis series!

This month marks the fourth year the Isis series has been ongoing in print. I can’t believe I’ve written over thirteen books about the goddess next door. And the crazy part is I’m not done yet.  

I originally planned to take Isis in a different direction when I originally started her adventures four years ago. Back in 2012 I planned on following an outline I proposed for a Wonder Woman run of comics I posted on my blog. And that plan was supposed to be just three years or 36 issues of comics. In the last four years I’ve gone far past my plans for revamping Diana Prince for the 21^st Century and turned the goddess next door into her own character with her own unique stories.

Isis’ character transformation arc hasn’t even gotten started. While Isis has taken on demons, vampires, stalkers, and Cybergodesses, she’s connected with people all throughout the SJS DIRECT Universe. And with each relationship she’s formed, she’s learned a lot more about the modern world and the problems in it. As she’s gone where she’s needed she’s come to realize that if she wants to help people in the 21^st Century has to change her approach from the one she used in the 20^th. In the modern Isis series the former college professor is now learning a lessons about life and the people she serves as a goddess.

Four years in I’m just starting to establish the foundation for Isis’ part of the SJS DIRECT Universe. I haven’t even started establishing the world of Isis’ supporting cast or her rogues’ gallery. There’s a lot more people for her to get to know and places for her to explore as she goes where she’s needed. Anyone interested in a Spinsterella guest spot where Isis becomes a Goth Goddess?  

I’ve got a lot of ideas running in my head for Isis series stories. For Isis’ fifth year in print. I’ve got lot of new rogues planned with adventures that take her from Harlem to Translyvania. And I’ve got plans to return existing ones like Raheema Sanders and Dracula in new storylines. And I’ll be expanding her relationships with supporting characters like E’steem, John Haynes, and Colleen Anderson from The Thetas. 

Story model wise I’m still doing things where every book is an entry point and the complete story is told in one volume. However, for one villain I’m planning a build to a larger storyline featuring a big bad in Isis and E’steem series books. That storyline starts in next years’ Isis: Samurai Goddess and continues E’steem: Ascenscion. 

Four years writing Isis I’ve struggled but I’ve made a lot of progress. And there’s a lot I’m proud of. Bill Walko’s awesome covers. A consistent run of solid stories. A continuity that a child could follow easily, and readers all over the world have no problem acccessing. While the publishing schedule for Isis hasn’t been as prolific as I originally wanted it to be, the Isis series has run longer and more regularly than most comics at the Big Two comic publishers the indies, and even some trade publishers. Five years into the characters’ existence I haven’t had to reboot the adventures of the goddess next door.  

I’ve come a long way in four years working on the Isis series. I’ve gone from hand drawn covers to not so great editing to professional covers by Bill Walko and books that are almost error free. I’m hoping to keep raising the bar on the Isis’ so readers who have enjoyed her adventures can feel confident about picking up her adventures and sharing them with new readers.