E-merl.com 8.5.1
My name is Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and everything you see here is my fault. I’m a comic creator and 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
The Occasional Quests of Lermin Spur – 29/07/2025 onwards
Lemrin Spur is a mage on a quest. Actually, make that several quests. But finding time to quest isn’t so easy when you’ve also got to worry about your lecturing job at Wyrmrise University. Can Lemrin successfully juggle demanding students, staffing cutbacks and the occasional call to high adventure? Tune in every Tuesday at E-merl and Webtoon find out!
Solid Metal Override – 9/03/2021 to 22/07/2025
So there’s this bar, right? Solid Metal Override. Tucked away down in Outer Ring Sector 23, where only the robots can go. The regulars there are a friendly enough bunch – just so long as your credit’s good and your flesh is non-existent. Why not stop in for a little look-see?
From Digital Display To Printed Page – 2024
I wanted to turn things on their head a bit with this paper and consider how digital comic adaptations and hybridizations might be applied back to more traditional printed formats. So I made a series of experimental print comics that did exactly that, and then wrote up my findings. Originally delivered as part of the Comics Strike Back conference in Ghent, the paper went on to form part of a special issue of Studies In Comics focussed on digital comics.
Key Terms in Comic Studies: Architecture, Game, Hybrid & Sound – 2022
Key Terms in Comic Studies is an impressive new publication from Palgrave Macmillan that aims to offer “a glossary of over 300 terms and critical concepts currently used in the Anglophone academic study of comics.” I was invited to write entries covering four terms – architecture, game, hybrid and sound. As a whole I think the book should serve as a good starting point for anyone looking to get a snapshot of the wide breadth of topics covered in academic comic studies.
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 employed by The University of Hertfordshire as a principal lecturer in comics, narrative and interaction design. From 2016 to 2025 I was also the Joint Programme Leader for Hertfordshire’s Digital Animation and Games programme. When not doing lecturey stuff, I split the rest of my week between creating comics and doing comic-related research.
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 several 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. Then in 2017 I earned a Doctorate in Design by studying The Impact of Digital Mediation and Hybridisation on the Form of Comics.
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 eighth 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.