Comic Fury Webcomic Hosting - Near Mint Mill

So we have a couple webcomics up here in Shameless Advertisement, and it's about time we posted up a thread for Near Mint Mill as a whole.

So who are we and what do we do?

Well we are a Webcomic studio. Where as there are a lot of places that host webcomics, such as this fantastic site, there are relatively few that focus on their creation. This is a marvelous medium, that allows a wide array of expression, fills a lot of voids for creative people, aspiring pros, pros, and everyday people who just need to create and express themselves. There is also room for elevation.

Our goal at The Mill is to bring you professional level comics, free to view and enjoy. Based roughly on the more traditional comic studio model, we create stories, find the talent, and produce webcomics with reliable posting, quality art and with an eye towards eventual publication.

You can head on over to our main site: Near Mint Mill and check out our About page for more info, and just browse around.

This thread is a portal of sorts and we'll post up weekly news updates and pin-ups and all sorts of stuff for you to enjoy and check out.


Our comics to date (will be updated with new ones as they launch):

The Sovereigncy

The C-Files

this week:


It’s getting close to Christmas, just two weeks away. So the mad rush begins. Yup, even though this is truly an amazing season, there is invariably a panic mode that sets in usually about now. Not all the gifts are gotten, cards haven’t been sent out, the mall’s are a mess, parking, the post office has lines out the wazoo. And you begin to panic about getting things done in time.

Well calm down.

One service we offer is a breathing space. A perk of webcomics is that where ever there is internet, you have comics. We’re readable on tablets, smartphones, laptops, desktops. You name it.

So while you’re in that stupidly long line at the mall or the post office, and there’s that one insufferable kid getting on your last nerve. Pull us up. Read some Sovereigncy, and if you really need a pick me up, head over to The C-Files. Escape the madness! And if someone peeks over your shoulder, let them, you could make a new friend, share a little Christmas cheer, and help someone else’s sanity along the way.

If after your sanity is saved and you feel extra generous, feel free to donate. Actually donate anyway, while to The Mill would be nice, this time of year just donate somewhere. Donate a toy for Toys for Tots, throw a little money at that Santa outside the mall, give a blanket to the homeless guy you pass on the street.

Read a comic, share a comic. Be in the moment, share a moment.



And in case you missed it:
The Sovereigncy 1.01.13 was new Saturday and Seb had a heart to heart with Sam

this week:

Well that happened fast.

One weekend it’s Thanksgiving the next it’s Christmas. So not ready! Well on a personal level anyway. The Mill is all set and ready to give you guys some annual Christmas goodness! We’ve wrapped up our Christmas pin-up and nice and shiny and even had time to make a little something special for the day after too.

So what’s the drill? This Saturday in lieu of our regular strip you’ll get a special Christmas pin-up to enjoy with your egg nog and Christmas eve festivities, shoot you’ll be able to enjoy it even if you don’t have any plans whatsoever. Then enjoy Christmas and come monday we’ll have another special surprise for you! After that The Sovereigncy 1.01 will resume the following Saturday, AND we’re getting stupid close to wrapping that story up and the coming of Volume 2!

In case you missed it:

The Sovereigncy 1.01.14 was new and we had some fun at Max's expense

Well that went fast.

We got a lot done in 2016. Wrapped up Volume One of The Sovereigncy, introduced and completed Season One of The C-Files. Updated the website. Got our paperwork filed for business….and guess what we even planned out 2017 like semi-responsible business people!

Wait….what?

We planned 2017?

Oh heck yeah.

And we got some big goals, and some exciting dates coming this year. The Mill will most definitely be busy. For the moment though we’ll just take it one announcement at a time. Mainly being, The Sovereigncy Volume Two is so eerily close. Namely January 21st! Yup that’s right just a couple short weeks away from the launch of an epic Volume. We’ve started production of it this past week and both Kris and Cross are super excited to sink their teeth into it. New characters, new locations, new enemies. Everything is churning and something great is in the making.

Which speaking of The Sovereigncy. Our short sweet story with Sebastian and Bella, (Sov 1.01) wraps itself up THIS Saturday! We had fun doing it and it was a nice bit of fresh air. But it all must come to an end sometime.

OH before we forget, Cross made another production video! Which you can see right here

In Case You Missed It:

The Sovereigncy 1.01.15 Family dinner night went on with some prodding of the new boyfriend, Ryan. Just to see what he does. And Sarah turned down a job from a King.


The C-Files What? Yeah that’s right, we surprised you all with a special ‘Tweener. A strip for fun and to help pass the time between Seasons. (Which there are more…just saying)

BIG NEWS!


Oh yeah that’s right. We wrapped up The Sovereigncy 1.01 and Volume Two is just around the corner. This week we’ll give you a little teaser and then next week we go right on in to Volume 2!

But before that we thought it might be a good idea to give you all a quick summary of things that happened in Volume 1. Because let’s face it a lot happened. We introduced you to an entirely new world, new races, new people and concepts and it was a learning curve. Soooo….

VOL 1 RECAP:

Glossary of Terms

Of the four Royalty that rule a hidden race of people called the Sa’rinians, only three were known. Both the Sa’rinians and their enemies (The Federation) raced to locate the Corora the final Royal. The Federation hoped to control or kill her and destabilize the Royalty. Though within The Federation, a race called Devarians had a plot all their own. To kidnap as many Arx’s as possible, kill them in one fell swoop, steal and funnel their powers into their own chosen one. Who could then rival and destroy all four Royals.

It was discovered that The Federations Presidents own daughter, Kassie, was the new Corora. A revelation that sped up the timeline of the Devarians plans. They raided Nova and kidnapped a host of Arx’s, strung them up and readied their spacial bomb. Though the Sa’rinian Royalty showed up and Nate usurped the bomb for his own purposes. Hoping to use the weapon as a means to hide his race from the collective memory of the planet, Nate set it off but to only a fizzle.

Now with the Devarians plot and betrayal exposed their leadership is imprisoned. Kassie has taken to studying and developing her powers with Jake. The Federation has sought the help of the Church of the Alignment in tracking down and ferreting out the depths of all the Devarians had been working on.

It was a busy Volume. And as always we encourage you all to read it through, if you haven’t read The Sovereigncy yet, now is the perfect time to start. If you have, now is the perfect time to refresh your memory. Because Volume Two is coming…..

In Case You Missed It:

The Sovereigncy 1.01.16 Wrapped up! Seb found a new way to access power and he does indeed enjoy it.

That’s right! This is the week! Volume 2 of The Sovereigncy begins this Saturday!

We’ve seen the rise of the new Corora, the sting of betrayal and subsequent fall of the Devarian leadership, the death of a friend and an enemy. We’ve learned just who and what the Royalty are, and have seen a generational long plan come to seemingly nothing. In Volume One we introduced you to all this and more, an entire world of people and races and powers. In 1.01 you spent some downtime with two characters we personally love. Learned a bit about Bella’s family, and saw where that relationship is heading.

And now comes Volume Two.

And the world of Terra expands. New locations visited. New characters introduced. New threats will rise.

Are you ready?


In Case You Missed It:

we teased you with an image for volume two

Well we did it, made it to Volume Two of The Sovereigncy. And kicked it off this past Saturday! Both Cross and Kris are excited for this Volume, so many fun and cool things are in store. Twists, relationships, and so much more. New bad guys Cross is dying to sink her pencil into, plots and scenes Kris has been planning for a long long time.

While Volume One introduced you to the world of Terra, now with all the set up out of the way, Volume Two will take you deeper. So read up and keep up!

In Case You Missed It:

The Sovereigncy Volume 2 The Church of the Alignment is still helping The Federation clean up the Devarian mess from Vol 1. Which means Jake is sent to investigate, and Kassie, still training as the Corora, is along for the ride.

It’s been a busy first month of the year already. Volume 2 of The Sovereigncy is up and running, for its second week, we snuck you in another special C-Files Tweener, and behind the scenes. Well that’s where we’re really excited.

We can’t say just yet but in this month alone we’ve been working on a couple of big projects, one will be unveiled in a few months, the other is a massive piece of work that we’re making good headway in. It’s time consuming and we’re trying things we’ve never done before but that’s the beauty of it isn’t it? Try new things and grow.

So while we’re stretching our muscles and brain and learning new skills, we encourage you to do the same! If you’re an artist, try your hand at a piece that makes you anxious, if you’re a writer stretch that muscle and write something that puts your emotions out on a limb. And let us see it!

Let’s make February a month of growth! Post up your art and your pieces of writing on our Facebook page. Share! Even if you don’t like how something came out, or it makes you a little uneasy, that’s OK! Part of growth is stepping out on a thin limb and learning to fly awkward. We’re doing it, so can you!


In Case You Missed It:

The Sovereignyc Vol 2 Scene 2 In the middle of essentially expanse of nothing, trekking towards their goal, Kassie harasses Jake for some training, but gets something she wasn’t expecting

The C-Files Tweener 2 e gave you another little surprise! A second Tweener while we work on Season Two. (which is coming along nicely btw) What goes on behind closed meeting doors.

A lot of the time we only think of the visual spectrum when we say ‘art.’ Comics, painting, etc etc. However, we here at The Mill believe everyone has an art, and that extends well beyond the visual. There is an art to pretty much everything, if you apply yourself and have a passion for it. There’s an art to marketing, and art to lab work, to building computer, to programming, to pretty much everything.

The key is passion for what you do. Passion drives innovation, it drives creativity, it fuels artistry.

So our question to you this week, what is your art?

Is it comics? Drawing? Painting? Is it counseling? Computers? What do you do? What are you passionate about? What are you an artist of? Let us know! Share your passion!


In Case You Missed It (our passion):

The Sovereigncy vol 2 scene 3 went up Saturday and we learned a bit about what kind of training Jake went through as he was more or less groomed to be the Draconis.

Well it’s that time of year again. Where almost everyone is skipping around throwing rose petals with little hearts beaming over their heads. While others scowl and hunker down till it blows over.

Yeah that’s right. Valentines Day.

Well whether you’re one of the skippy or the hunkers, we have something you can love. Comics! Oh yeah, what else did you think we’d say? Be it waiting in line for flowers, waiting for your date to get back from the restroom, or just needing a distraction to get through the day, or help to ignore it completely. We got ya covered. Just pull up The Mill on your mobile device or at home and read some Sov or C-Files, or heck ALL of it! It’s a great diversion or quiet time killer. Works great for both.

And just remember, we provide this service because we love you.

In Case You Missed It:

The Sovereigncy 2 scene 4 went up Saturday. And we met Maddie and Jake’s little girl for the first time.

Well, Valentine’s day is over, and either you had plans to celebrate or avoid. Either way it can be a day to survive. Crowds, dates, last minute gifts you forgot to get and had to fight a mob to just get one dinky box of chocolate. In most cases you lived!

So now what?

Comics that’s what!

Yeah you knew we were going there. There’s nothing like a little sit down, and decompress with some good fiction after a day or week like V-day. Need comedy to cope with the singleness depression? Read the C-Files. Need some action to spend some pent up energy after battling crowds? The Sovereigncy is for you!

Go on, read some. You got today off anyways.

In Case You Missed It:

The Sovereigncy Vol 2 scene 5 We found out some more specifics about just what Jake and Kassie’s mission is.

It’s getting towards that season, Easter stuff is already filling store shelves.

So we thought, why not get in on it?

With C-File Easter eggs!! All through Season one we hid little Easter eggs in the strip. Mostly X-File related, some potentially not. We’ve already started them on Season Two as well. But we’ve got some time to kill before that release so Stephanie Marie and Cross figured why not go through and reveal the Easter eggs?

So that’s what we’re gonna do, once or twice a week until Easter we’re hunting on Facebook! We’ll post a strip near the beginning of the week and reveal the eggs at the end, in the meantime we’ll see just how many YOU can find!

You guys game? Cuz we are!

In Case You Missed It:

The Sovereigncy 2 scene 6 Jake and Kassied arrived at their initial destination only to find the entire town empty

The C-Files Tweener 3 one more bonus strip! This time with a nod to the old Ninja Turtles cartoon

Well it's yet another month already. This month, let's focus on doing something fun! Art is supposed to be fun, though often it can feel like a chore. In either writing or drawing, sometimes we can feel like it gets tedious, or we get stuck. It's important in those times to take a break from the norm and just do something fun. Draw something in a style you're not used to, or someone doing something amusing.

Just get them creative juices flowing!

This month let's just have some fun! Share anything you do with our Facebook Page and let's all just smile and enjoy eachother's art and sense of humor.


In Case You Missed It:

The Sovereigncy 2 Scene 7 We found out the source of the missing townsfolk.

AND don't forget the great C-Files Easter Egg hunt is on!! A new one will be posted tomorrow!

It’s already that week. Of green and orange and pinching and clovers. Those who are Irish and those who aren’t, even if you don’t celebrate it you are aware that St Patrick’s day is Friday.

It’s generally a fun time all around, and here at the Mill we like green…..but we prefer mint leaves to clover. Sooooo let’s spread that! Let’s start a St Patrick’s day revolution! Take pics of mint leaves, wear one, draw one, eat something minty and share it on our Facebook

In Case You Missed It:

The Sovereigncy vol2 scene 8

Finally! Officially out of winter!


That is all.


Enjoy



In Case You Missed It:

The Sovereigncy Vol 2 scene 9 We found out what and where Kassie went

It’s been a while but Cross finally got around to doing another production video! You never know when she’ll do it, or why. This time its that big reveal panel from the newly released Scene 10!

As always new videos pop up here!

In Case You Missed It:

The Sovereigncy 2 Scene 10 We reached the Tenth scene in Volume 2! Jake and Kassie were led to an empty military base and an odd structure within the mountain. Landing upon a new, imprisoned figure

Well, did you all survive April Fool’s day?

With all the bogus headlines and practical jokes it can be both fun and irritating. Often publishers get in on it with announcements, artists love to throw their hat in the fool ring.

The question is would we ever do that to you?

No…..well maybe. But probably not.

Certainly not this year.

We’re just glad to have survived with most of our sanity in check. And glad you all made it to April with us! We’ll have an exciting announcement towards the middle to end of the month (no joke) and our C-Files Easter Egg hunt is drawing to a close with just two weeks left! (Have you been on the hunt?) All in all it looks to be a fun month ahead of us so stick around!


In Case You Missed It:

The Sovereigncy 2 scene 11 We checked in with Sebastian in Avador and met Tessa the head of the countries science division.

We don’t know about you but this week is packed for at least one of us here at The Mill. And at least the end of the week and weekend will prove busy for a lot of you. Family, Holiday all that good stuff. Hopefully you all enjoy it and there’s no drama or anything of the sort, just a good quality Easter.

But if you end up needing a retreat, head on over here, read a comic or two or more. Take a breather, and get back to enjoying what this weekend is.

As is tradition around here there won’t be a new Sovereigncy strip this Saturday. HOWEVER we do have a very special pin-up ready and waiting to share for your enjoyment! (We never leave you hanging) So come ready!

Also! This is the last week for our C-Files Easter Egg hunt! Savor it!

In Case You Missed It:

The Sovereigncy 2 scene 12 Jake and Kassie started to get some answers this week

Well that’s it! The C-Files Easter Egg hunt has come to an end. We hope you all enjoyed it, and if you’re missing it never fear, we didn’t reveal everything! You can go through the strip and do a search for Eggs we didn’t reveal. Feel free to shout out what you find too

We also hope you all had a wonderful Easter this past weekend. We sure did. But now that it’s over what next? Well work! The Sovereigncy is back in swing this Saturday after taking this past week off for our Annual Spring Pic, and we’re also full steam ahead on the production of Season TWO of The C-Files. Actually almost halfway through it

On the back end of things here at The Mill we’re hard at work at a few surprises, one of which will be announced NEXT week! We’re excited, a little nervous but mostly excited!

In Case You Missed It:

Our Spring Pin-up went up on Saturday!

PRINTS!!!

Yeah that’s right

On May 5th, Free Comic Book Day we are officially opening and launching our first set of Prints for sale! We’ve been working hard on getting them all pretty and ready to go and are in the process of getting the shop ready for you all. So in just Two weeks we’ll have our very first stuff up to buy!

There will be quite a selection for you to look through and purchase. Focusing on the First Volume of The Sovereigncy. So be ready!

In Case You Missed It:
The Sovereigncy 2 scene 13 the Fen'ra Arx was released but Jake was taken in it's place