During a recent trip home from a convention, where I was driving by myself for hours and needed to keep my brain occupied, I started to wonder what it would be like if I’d started Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire today. I mused on what would be different if I’d begun from scratch as a creator in my late 40’s with two decades of experience, as opposed to my early 20’s with little more than big ideas.
So, starting last month and continuing for the next several months, I’m going to be exploring that idea over at my Patreon. I’m calling them “alternate takes” on the Oracle for Hire cast.
I’m loathe to call them “reboots” or “alternate universes” because I’m not a fan of those. “Alternate takes” is a jazz reference where musicians would record slightly different versions of their well-known songs, and I feel like that’s the more fitting term for what I’m doing.
It’s also a fun exercise for me because I get to reflect on where I was as a creator in the early 2000’s as opposed to where I am now, and all I’ve learned from almost a quarter of a century making comics. In looking back on the choices I made as a young creator, I get to remember why I made those decisions and why I would change them two decades later.
For example, in last month’s entry I said that I wouldn’t have included a war between Callan and Maltak in the world’s history. So if there’s no war, there’s no curse of tusk-mouth from a grief-stricken Thuen Gor. And if there’s no tusk-mouth, then Luna doesn’t get tusks. So what does that change for her? You’ll have to see for yourself.
Would I ever do anything more with these ideas? No. The Oracle for Hire years, as they are, mean too much to too many people, myself included. They’re a look back at my journey as a creator, a time-stamp to where I was over the course of my career. I long ago made a vow to never officially touch the Oracle for Hire years, and I don’t plan to break that promise.
But still, it’s fun to unofficially imagine “what if?”