About the Comic

In the beginning...

Unfortunately, I can't say a lot about the origins of "Carried by the Wind" without giving away a very critical plot element, as it all started with one central idea. While I can't divulge that, I will say that most of my influences for the comic have been popular science fiction works, ranging from Star Trek to Quantum Leap.. usually the stuff that has to do more with human progression and less to do with aliens. Space elevators, Fusion Drives, Teleporters, that sorta thing. It is my firm belief that we are fully capable to developing these things, but the money and effort is instead being spent on developing heated cup holders for SUVs.

Before I started 'Carried', I had a few other webcomic ideas. The first was a project called "Shadydale", where Lucien's origins are actually from. I scrapped the idea for that comic, and it will likely never come to life. In part, this is because it was based on my own life, and my life has changed so much since then that it no longer applies.

My other large influence is music. Without music, all would be lost. I have a very wide array of things I listen to. To set the mood properly, I tend to choose music from the Neo-Prog/Space Rock genre to draw 'Carried' to. The band of choice is Ayreon, whose Universal Migrator albums inspired the very title of this comic. The song "Carried by the Wind" has elements synonymous with the comic, and also happens to be a very good song.

What to expect

If you're here for a little humor, or something to read while drinking your coffee in the morning before your brain has woken up, this might not be for you. While humor comics have their place, I feel there is a greater need for epic storylines, and the format of a web-based comic that supplies the reader with an archive to refer to is the perfect medium for such a story.

I also believe that censorship is the cause of many problems in the world, and has caused far more conflicts than it could ever resolve. Because of this, I refuse to limit the intensity to which I draw or write things. If I make it shocking, it's because it's supposed to be that way. I don't put a rating on my work, as I feel it is acceptable to all audiences who happen upon it. I'm sure a lot of people would disagree with me on that point.

Ideas

People like to ask me where my ideas come from, or where I get certain character names. I live very much by the notion that you should write what you know. Lucien is a mechanic. I was a mechanic for many years. Most of the names are based either on someone I have known, or have some signifigance to their character. Example: Sandy Allattare - Allattare is an Italian name for 'Nurse'. And a few, like Lucien and Diram, I chose because I ran across the name and liked them.

About the Author/Artist

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Brent has been drawing on and off since he was able to pick up a pencil. None of his drawings were especially good for a very long period of time, but he enjoyed doing them anyway. He never gave it a lot of thought or practice until a few events changed him forever...

In the summer of 1995, a movie was released that would change the course of Brent Bowser's internet personality forever. This movie was Waterworld. While not a wholly perfect film by any means, it carried some rather interesting notions of a post-apocalyptic earth that have embedded themselves into brain of one particular Ohioan. He decided to from then on be known as the same title the lone seaman in that movie had been dubbed... Mariner.

In the fall of 1998, by pure chance, Mariner stumbled upon a webcomic by the name of Sabrina Online. This not only opened the door to a world of webcomics, but also to a new and wonderful idea known as "Furry." Over the course of the next several years, Mariner would develop his pencil to taking the shapes of anthropomorphic animals, to eventually tie into his own stories.

Summer of 2002, shortly after the debut of "Carried", Mariner attended Anthrocon. Having taken in so much in those few days, he was changed yet again.. and added the sur 'Raccoon' to his handle.

And the rest is history, so to speak.

-Mariner the Raccoon