Dwimmermount Thoughts

By now, I'm sure most people reading this are aware of the hullabaloo surrounding the Dwimmermount Kickstarter campaign, occasioned by a comment by Tavis Allison (link will only work for supporters of the original KS), whose Autarch company was deeply involved in managing the Kickstarter campaign itself, although James M. was ultimately responsible for getting the book into the backers' hands.

First off, I think it's unfair to say that James has absconded with the money, or that this was a "scam" (which is the exact term some unfortunate over at the Autarch message boards used), etc. Yes, it's late, but as Erik Tenkar has been reminding us on a regular basis, so are a bunch of other Kickstarter rewards. There have been regular updates, the backers have gotten pdf copies of the drafts, we've seen the art, etc. 

So it seems that all, or most, of the pieces are in place. We just need to see them all put together and shipped off to the printer. 

Now, it seems that James has been incommunicado for the last month or so. No blog posts, nothing on G+, not even any communication with Tavis we are told. So obviously something has happened to James, whether it be health related, family related, or something else. I don't think it's right or fair to jump on him for being out of touch for reasons which are, by definition, unknown. People are engaging in all kinds of baseless  speculation, and it's not helping anything except fuel the rumor mill further. 

Unless folks are suggesting that James will go the way of Dave Trampier and never be heard from again, we just need to take the news that Dwimmermount is going to be yet later than it already is, and move on. Is it disappointing? Sure, but it's hardly worth all the venom that I've seen in certain quarters.

After all, when Rich Burlew nearly cut his thumb off, nobody was giving him grief that his Order of the Stick Kickstarter rewards were going to be late. Something's clearly happened to James to take him offline for a while, preventing him from letting folks know what's up, and I urge patience to all involved. Well, continued patience, anyway.

UPDATE: Victor Raymond over at Sandbox of Doom has spoken with James and gotten permission to let everyone know what's going on. I'm sure everyone wishes James nothing but the best in these trying times. I know I do.