E-merl.com 7.1
My name is Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and everything you see here is my fault. I’m a comic creator and new media lecturer based out of Welwyn Garden City, England. E-merl.com is where I catalogue my experiments in fiction and the comics form. If that all sounds a little dry, don’t worry – I’m sure something horribly violent and amusing will happen if you stick around long enough.
Current Projects
MASIVO – 30/07/2012 onwards
Citizens of Beta City beware, for MASIVO has come and destruction shall surely follow in his wake. Surely! E-merl’s new twice-weekly science fiction serial will be updating every Monday and Friday until all order is reduced to ruin by glorious atomic flame.
A Duck Has An Adventure – 22/02/2012
A Duck Has An Adventure is a hypercomic adventure game that challenges you to explore all the different possible lives one duck could live. 16 unique endings to discover! 12 achievements to unlock! And 7 hats to collect! Yes! Hats! Wooo! Now available as both a browser-based game and the orginal Android app.
100 Planets – 12/4/2010 to 5/3/2012
100 Planets was E-merl’s most recent weekly webcomic series, broadcasting across the farthest reaches of the cosmos every Monday for 100 weeks. Listening posts were also established over at Modern Tales and, via the wonders of minicomics, here at E-merl.
The Rule Of Death – 27/10/2006 to 11/11/2011
Pete Colby doesn’t want to die. So he doesn’t. And that’s where the problems begin. Illustrated by Douglas Noble, this epic kitchen-sink zombie western ran for five years at Serializer and can now also be read in its entirety right here at E-merl.
Unfrequently Asked Questions
Q. What was you name again?
A. Daniel Merlin Goodbrey
Q. Is that your real name?
A. Yeah.
Q. You’re not just making that ‘Merlin’ bit up are you?
A. Nope. It’s inherited from my great-grandfather or some such. And I was born on Halloween, so I guess my folks figured it would be a good fit.
Q. What’s this site all about then?
A. It’s a place for me to tell my stories and show off my work. That’s it really.
Q. Do you make a living from doing this sort of stuff?
A. Much to my surprise, yes. I’m currently employed by The University of Hertfordshire as a part time lecturer in narrative and interaction design. The rest of the time I split between creating comics and working towards my doctorate in experimental digital comics.
Q. So you’re available for hire?
A. Most definitely. Anyone interested should check out the Consulting page and drop me an e-mail to merlin (at) e-merl.com.
Q. Where are you based anyway?
A. I live in Welwyn Garden City, just a little bit above London.
Q. Been there long?
A. For a couple of years now. I’m originally from Suffolk but I moved to
Hertfordshire for my degree and then decided to stay on once I was done.
I lived in St Albans for nine years before making the move to
Welwyn.
Q. You’ve got a degree?
A. I’m the proud owner of a first class honours degree in Software Systems for the Arts and Media and a distinction level master’s degree in the Digital Practices of Hyperfiction.
Q. Wow, that was a modest answer.
A. Is that sarcasm I’m detecting?
Q. I shouldn’t think so.
A. You’re just a voice in my head, you know. You can easily be replaced.
Q. Ahem. So, anyway, how long has E-merl.com been going?
A. E-merl.com has been around since 2000. Before E-merl there was Triple Distilled and before that there was Merl-Net. The design and focus of the site has really changed a lot over the years – the current version of E-merl is the seventh major redesign since I purchased the domain.
Q. So maybe it’s passed time to write a new FAQ rather than just repeatedly re-editing this conversation?
A. Clearly if I thought that I wouldn’t be typing this response.
Q. Good point.
A. …
Q. …
A. Well?
Q. Sorry. It’s just, um, I’ve kind of run out of things to ask.
A. Really?
Q. Yeah.
A. Fair enough. Fancy going for a drink then?
Q. Sure.
A. You can get the first round in.
Q. But I’m just a voice in your head.
A. We’ll explain that to the barman.
Q. You think he’ll understand?
A. If he knows what’s good for him.
Old News
Before I started a proper blog I kept an irregularly updating news page. Interested parties (probably just me to be honest) can read an archive of that material here. Real E-merl news complete-ists may also want to check out Brain Fist as each episode of the strip was accompanied by a weekly news post during its two year run.
