Something cool is in the transmedia waters, my friends. Just last week, I received an incredible mystery package in the mail … and on Monday, another cool package arrived. This one is from another sender, for another transmedia experience! Swamped with work, I wasn't able to examine its contents until today. But man, cool stuff awaited inside.
The envelope appeared innocuous enough, but inside, were three very intriguing items: A cover letter (featuring a handwritten note), what appeared to be a comic book, and a CD-ROM.
I'll provide detailed shots of all this stuff in a moment, but first want to share some observations on this crazy comic book. As I flipped through the book, I realized this wasn't like any comic I'd ever seen. It was "shattered." There were no full pages of art or dialogue; merely shards of content on the white pages.
Here's what I mean. (I cut the pages to easily place them on my desk, in order.)
I then examined the contents of the CD-ROM and found these files:
I opened the "WE ARE VERY DISAPPOINTED" movie file. This is what I watched:
The mysterious fellow talks about "cracks" in the foundations of the "fourth wall," a membrane that separates fiction from reality. These disturbances may threaten all worlds -- real and imagined.
A multiverse extinction event? That's pretty uncool in my book. Curious, I then examined the image files stored on the CD-ROM. They were scans of the "shattered" comic book pages. Each had a peculiar file name.
I'm including those images, and their file names -- and the cover letter with handwritten message -- in this PDF. If you want to head down the rabbit hole of this intriguing worlds-rending Alternate Reality Game, I suggest you download the PDF and look closely at its contents.
I also recommend checking out the YouTube page for the above video. There, you'll see links to a Twitter account, a story timeline, and more.
Can you help solve the mystery of the "shattered" comic book? Are there hints in the cover letter? Will your pursuit for the truth lead to the source of these destructive cracks between our world and fictional realms?
Download the PDF, let your curiosity be your guide, and good luck.
--J.C.
Note: The last page of the PDF is missing the file name information. The file name for the image is "22-15-9-4.png". The PDF has been updated with the file name, and will soon be available with that information.