Brian Schirmer and Elena Gogou are teaming for Quests Aside, a new fantasy-comedy series at Vault Comics.
A skeleton, an apprentice mage, and an exiled princess walk into a bar… for another shift at Quests Aside, the local watering hole run by once legendary, now retired adventurer Barrow. When the King privately explains that he plans to shut the place down, Barrow must find a way to hold onto his business and the family he’s built around it.
“I’ve always loved stories about the thief who wants to take One Last Score, or the outlaw who needs to take One Last Ride,” said Schirmer in a press release from Vault Comics. “Their eyes are frequently fixed on retiring thereafter. Usually, things don’t work out as they planned. We take this conceit to a fantasy realm, where a legendary adventurer has already actually succeeded in taking One Last Quest, opened a tavern, and got to retire. That’s where we begin.
“With a set cast of bartenders, servers, and a skeleton cook, QUESTS ASIDE — the series and the tavern itself — also features a steady flow of colorful characters heading out to slay a dragon, or returning with a treasure, a few scrapes, and tales to tell. We liken it to high fantasy Cheers or It’s Always Sunny. I wanted to write something that was about friendship and (found) family, and the lengths we’ll go in order to protect, preserve, and (sometimes) exploit those relationships. I also wanted it to be fun, funny, and occasionally absurd.”
“In the world of QUESTS ASIDE you can have your old-time adventures who went on epic quests in their youth, but you will also get heralds with three-neck electric guitars, orc stand-up comedians and 20-year-old mage apprentices with anxiety,” added Gogou. “There are no rules. I love this genre of fantasy, the one that takes more traditional fantasy elements and flips them on their head. When designing the world and the characters I tried to follow the same principle. I wanted the book to look familiar to what you’ve seen before, but with a little unique touch. For that I took a lot of inspiration from Greek culture, among other things. From the character’s looks and clothes to musical instruments and table top games you’ll notice them playing in the background. I wanted to create a really rich, interesting and fun world and I can’t wait for Brian and me to share this story with you.”
Quests Aside #1 arrives in April 2022.
